want to speak real english from your
first lesson
sign up for your free lifetime account
at englishclass101.com
how to finally learn language in 2020
your new year's resolution solution
so january is over but let me ask you a
question have you set a resolution for
this year
if you haven't it's understandable most
people end up failing with their
resolutions
you set one you try to do it in january
and by february there's no progress
doing it is no longer fun or you get
sidelined by something else
so you quit and put it off until next
year or whenever the guilt of quitting
your goals comes back to haunt you
so what's the problem with setting
resolutions why do we keep failing
first of all regardless of what most
people say about new year's resolutions
setting goals whether on january 1st or
any other time of the year
is a good thing you have to know where
you're going and what you want to
achieve
otherwise you'll be floating around
aimlessly from one language app to
another
and have nothing to show for your time
spent but the problem lies with the
goals that people set
for example most people set goals like i
want to master chinese
or i want to lose weight or i want to be
fluent in japanese
and based on these kinds of goals here
are three reasons why ninety percent of
new year's resolutions fail
first resolutions fail because they are
not specific
and not measurable take a goal like i
want to master chinese this year
the problem is that's a very vague goal
what do you mean by
master do you want to speak about the
economy or do you just want to have
everyday conversations
and can you really measure how much
progress you need to master the language
the second reason is they are
unrealistic
you might think but isn't it good to set
huge goals and aim for the stars
it's not bad but if you say i want to be
fluent by september
is that realistic for you are you ready
to commit yourself to nothing but
language learning
six to eight hours a day non-stop the
answer is no for most people
the third one is there's no action plan
the problem is you'll still fail even
with a specific and realistic goal if
you don't know when
and how you're going to do it for
example when will you study
how long will you study every day and
how will you study
so now you know why most people fail
with their new year's resolutions
then how do we set new year's
resolutions and actually succeed
here are the three rules for successful
goal setting
remember your goals must be one specific
and measurable
two realistic and three they must have
an action plan
yes the complete opposite of everything
you heard earlier for example
let's say you're learning italian this
year instead of saying
my goal is to learn italian this year
set a specific
measurable realistic goal for the month
like speak
three minutes of conversation by
february 28th
and you can also set a yearly goal like
30 minutes of conversation and work
towards that
the whole point is three minutes is
measurable you set a timer
time yourself and know when you reach it
it's realistic
instead of saying i want to learn the
whole language you're just aiming for
three minutes for the month and maybe 30
minutes for the year
so ask yourself do i have time to learn
enough of the language to speak for
three minutes
that will vary from learner to learner
but three minutes sounds much more
realistic
than i want to master a language finally
you still need an action plan for your
goal
and for that you need to answer these
questions when will you study
how long will you study every day where
do you plan to study
how will you study what is your study
schedule
this is the most important part because
this tells you when and how to study
if you don't answer these questions
you'll have no idea what to do and
you'll quit because you have no routine
to stick to
so for example when will you study i'll
study at 9 00 pm on weekdays
how long will you study every day i'll
study for 20 minutes
where do you plan to study i'll study at
home in the living room
on my computer how will you study i'll
listen to one audio lesson a day for
five days
what is your study schedule from monday
to friday with audio lessons
i'll listen to the lesson then go
through the lesson notes for 20 minutes
each day here are a few more things you
can do to improve your chances of
success
reward yourself after hitting a goal
studies have shown that giving yourself
a reward after reaching a goal
is crucial to creating lasting habits
and continuing to conquer
more goals write down your small
measurable goal
and put it somewhere you'll see it often
now that you know why new year's
resolutions fail
and you know what to do differently it's
time to set your goal
our suggested goal for you for february
2020 is
speak one minute of conversation in your
target language
the deadline is february 28th remember
to set your action plan as well
just answer these five questions leave
us a comment letting us know your
answers
and then you're ready to go okay today's
topic
is how remembering your mistakes can
help you learn
faster first take a moment and think of
a time when you made a mistake
maybe you were at work maybe you were at
school maybe you were shopping or in
another public place
we can all probably clearly remember
many mistakes we've made
we also remember the reactions of the
people around us some people are
understanding
some people aren't so understanding but
why do we remember these situations so
clearly
psychologically speaking negative things
tend to impact us more than positive
things
for example if we're asked to choose
between gaining friends or gaining money
and losing friends or losing money will
choose not to lose friends or lose money
not to gain this is called loss aversion
we tend to avoid losing more than we
work on gaining
we spend time thinking about our
negative past experiences to avoid them
in the future
because of this negative events like
making mistakes
stay in our minds for a very long time
and this happens in language learning
if you make a language mistake while
chatting with a native speaker
it'll probably be hard to forget yes
it's true that when we're learning
another language
we don't always know when we've made a
mistake but when we realize we've used
the wrong word
used grammar incorrectly spelled
something wrong or similar
we tend to remember the situation
vividly in some languages
just a tiny change in pronunciation tone
or writing
could make a big difference so mistakes
are a big source of worry for many
learners
but the fact that mistakes are very hard
for us to forget can be a powerful tool
when learning a language
we want to avoid the feeling of
embarrassment that comes after a mistake
so we work hard to correct ourselves
past mistakes can motivate us to try
harder
we can use our mistakes as a tool in our
language learning but we can't make
these emotionally powerful mistakes by
reading a textbook or even by taking a
lesson with a teacher
the only way you can make these mistakes
is by speaking in real conversations and
messing up
so what can you take away from this
let's jump into the second part
how to use mistakes in your language
learning we can give advice like go
ahead and make mistakes but that's
easier said than done
here are three tips to help you make the
most of your mistakes
one speak in your target language as
much as possible
why because part of the learning process
is making mistakes
except that mistakes are going to happen
if you're not making any mistakes ever
then you're probably not challenging
yourself
two look for opportunities to speak
many learners have trouble finding
public places to practice the language
they're studying
see if there are language groups in your
community or at your school
if you have trouble with that look
online and be creative you don't need to
search for groups specifically for
language learners
see if you can find a hobby discussion
in your target language maybe you'll
find a news discussion group
think outside the box find somewhere to
practice and make mistakes
when you do mess up you'll probably
remember it three
build on your experiences think
carefully about your conversations
after you have them and work to make
them longer each time
if you made a mistake in your first
conversation think about how to fix it
if you said only a few sentences in your
first discussion
work to speak for 15 or 30 seconds on
the next discussion
challenge yourself many learners have
trouble finding opportunities to speak
that work with their schedule and their
level
if you're not sure where else you can
practice you can consider hiring a tutor
if you're a premium plus member on our
website you can practice with your
teacher
it's still important where possible to
practice and make mistakes in real life
situations
this will help you to more carefully
reflect on your conversations
and work to improve it isn't quite the
same as studying with a textbook or a
hired tutor
this strong desire to avoid making a
mistake will help you work to improve
you'll be motivated to try harder this
can help you learn faster
the easiest way to start writing and
improve on your own
most language learners start with
reading or speaking first
we all want to speak typically most
learners start their studies by reading
textbooks or articles online
but writing not so many practice writing
right away
unless the language has a unique writing
system
there are a few reasons you should
consider writing when you're learning a
language
let's jump into part one one why is
writing an easy way to learn a language
so why is writing easy first you don't
need
anyone to start improving right now when
it comes to language learning we all
want feedback and corrections
and for that we either need a teacher or
a learning program that can quiz us
but if you want to improve on your own
without waiting on anyone else
or if you don't have access to a teacher
you can start with writing
you'll find out how in just a minute
second you don't need to worry about
what to write
how does this work the easiest way to
start writing is to copy text from
somewhere else
that way you don't have to worry about
what to write or how to spell things
just get a piece of paper and a pen and
copy things from a resource you're using
you can even try doing this with your
favorite quotes or ideas
copy them word by word third it can help
you build a strong routine
imagine you copy two sentences per day
it's simple
and it just takes a minute or two that
means you can stick to it on a daily
basis
and if you can learn to stick with that
you can stick to other learning routines
in the future
and fourth you'll end up improving all
areas of the language
how well if you're copying out a few
sentences a day
you'll end up indirectly learning a lot
of words grammar rules and lines you can
actually use
simply because you're exposed to them
and if you read what you write you'll
improve your reading and comprehension
skills too
so how can you actually start writing in
practice let's move on to part two
part two how to practice writing with
our lessons on your own time
number one if you're taking our lessons
write out the phrases sentences and
conversations by hand
this means writing every phrase and
sentence that you learn in the lessons
by hand in a notebook
you can also write out the conversations
in the dialogue study tool
example sentences from the lesson notes
words and phrases from our vocabulary
lists
and words and sentences from the daily
dose app and the word of the day
number two write short sentences to your
premium plus teacher
if you're a premium plus member write a
message and send it to your premium plus
teacher for review
in fact as a first step all new premium
plus
users have to write a self-introduction
and send it to their teachers
your teacher will review your work send
feedback corrections
and help you improve your writing skills
fast you can even write something out by
hand
take a picture of it and send it to your
teacher number three
leave a comment on the lessons after
you're done with a lesson
be sure to use what you've learned
whether a new word or a grammar point
leave a comment in the comment section
and our teachers will review it and give
you feedback
number four dictation this may be best
for advanced learners
dictation is a study method where you
write down what you hear as a way to
test your writing and listening skills
you can do this with any one of our
audio or video lessons
number five create sentences using newly
learned words
you can learn new words with our lessons
the word of the day the vocab lists and
the core
2000 word list which gives you the 2000
most frequently used words
and as mentioned before you can also
leave comments for our teachers to
review
number six take the writing quizzes with
every lesson you'll get review quizzes
to help you master what you've learned
just scroll down to the vocabulary
section or click on vocabulary
then click on take a quiz and that's it
now you know how to improve your target
language on your own just copy things
out
if you're having a hard time sticking
with language learning you'll find out
how to fix it now
let's jump into the first part one
how to map your routine and set your
schedule first
here's a quick question for you which of
these would you rather have
a the world's most comprehensive
language learning resources
but a weak study routine or b
a strong study routine and average
resources leave your answer in the
comments
but there is a correct answer here you
want a strong study routine
why you can have the best app or
textbook in the world
but if you don't use it because you
don't have a learning routine or a habit
you won't learn anything if you have a
strong routine and work ethic
and just a dictionary and internet
access you'll learn more than someone
with the best program and
no routine the point is we are creatures
of routines and habits
and our habits can be used for good or
bad they make us
or break us for example if you have a
bad habit like going to bed at 4am
you'll always feel tired when you wake
up for work or school in the morning
if you have a good habit like exercising
regularly you'll have energy
and good health once we have a routine
we tend to stick to it
if it's a bad routine it can do a lot of
damage but
if it's a good routine it can help us
enjoy incredible results
we can also use routines to our
advantage by applying them to work
toward our goals
like language learning how do you create
a strong language learning routine
here's one way to do it first write down
your current daily schedule
for example 7 am i wake up 8 am
i leave the house 8 20 to 8 50 i'm on
the train
9 10 am i arrive at work 1 pm i go to
lunch
and so on write out your daily schedule
for the whole week
make it detailed if you write out your
schedule you can see your existing daily
routine
you can see where you can fit language
learning into your existing routine
the routine that you're used to instead
of trying to create a new routine
why does this matter for example some
people will look at their schedule
and see that they wake up at 8 a.m they
think that if they wake up at 7 00 am
they can have an extra hour for language
learning but for many of us
that approach usually doesn't work
because it's not something we're used to
you're trying to wake up early so you
can learn a language you're trying to
implement
two brand new routines that you're not
used to
for many people this results in failure
even if you do wake up at 7 a.m
will you get out of bed immediately and
jump straight to learning every day
or will you lose motivation after a few
days because you miss that hour of sleep
so map out your weekly schedule once you
understand where your time goes
find an existing part of your routine
that you can fit language learning into
for example if you take the train in the
morning you can use that existing
routine and learn some language during
that time
if you always eat lunch at 1pm watch a
video lesson during your break
if you always cook at 8pm play some
audio lessons in the background
if at first you have to start with
multitasking it's better than nothing
you can at least get used to being
exposed to the language while you work
on dedicating more time and attention to
it
now let's jump into part two two
how to choose the learning medium that's
right for you
before you begin learning it's important
to understand what kind of learner you
are
are you a visual learner or do you learn
by reading
there's something called the vark model
and it's an acronym for four learning
styles
visual auditory or listening reading
writing and kinesthetic
meaning hands-on or actual practice and
trial and error
you need to understand what kind of
learning resources are best for you
so how do you determine what kind of
learner you are
this depends on you do you like watching
videos
listening reading or writing or do you
prefer more hands-on practice
there's no wrong answer it depends on
what kind of learner you
are and what you like also think about
your past language study experience
did you remember vocabulary words better
when you read them from a book
or was listening to a podcast more
helpful for you
how do you usually remember information
best this helps you choose the learning
medium
or study tools that are right for you
we'll talk more about this in a few
minutes
for now determine what kind of learner
you are leave us a comment and let us
know
the last thing you need to keep in mind
is your study ratio
your study ratio is how much time you
spend absorbing information
input and how much time you spend
producing language
output what you want to strive for is
about 50 input and 50
practice or production producing that
language
so if you read for 30 minutes then you
want to practice for 30 minutes
you can't just consume you must practice
otherwise it's not going to stick as
fast alright
we've covered routines and learning
types let's move on to part three
three the language tools you'll want for
your learning style
in this last part we're going to cover
all the resources that you can take
advantage of based on your learning
style
but remember if you're a visual learner
that doesn't mean you should shun
resources that don't fit that style
sometimes it's not practical to watch a
video for example
if you're driving audio is a much better
choice so let's jump
in if you're a visual learner take
advantage of our video lessons in the
lesson library
we have them across all levels from
absolute beginner to advanced
these will be your main source of
learning use the vocab slideshows
you'll find these on every lesson page
and vocab list
the slideshows make it super easy to
learn and review words
just press play and watch you can put it
on a loop and watch for as long as you
want
next if you're an auditory learner then
take advantage of our audio lessons
you can also use dialog audio tracks
these give you just the conversation
from that lesson
and you can use these tracks to immerse
yourself in conversations
next if you prefer reading and writing
we include lesson notes and transcripts
for every audio and video lesson
so if you're taking a lesson read along
the lesson notes include
extra grammar explanations vocab lists
and cultural insights that are not
available in the lesson
you can also check out our extensive
reading books in the lesson library
these are simple one line per page books
that will build you into a confident
reader
if you prefer writing you can copy out
the lesson dialogue into your notebook
you can leave comments on our lessons
with sample sentences
you can keep a daily journal in your
target language plus
you can send messages to your premium
plus teacher and practice writing
they'll correct your mistakes tell you
how to express yourself in a natural way
and help you improve fast and finally if
you're a kinesthetic learner and prefer
hands-on experience and trial and error
definitely use our premium plus teachers
and practice with them
you can do that via the my teacher
messenger on the site or in the app
use our space repetition flash cards
these cards quiz you on words and
phrases and help you master them fast
they sort the words for you and quiz you
accordingly so
if you don't know a word you'll keep
seeing it over and over until you get it
right
and if you do know it you'll see it
again in a few days it'll pop up every
now and then just to refresh your memory
also take advantage of our lesson
quizzes you'll find these in every audio
lesson
and these test you on the words and
phrases you learned in the lessons
you can also practice speaking with our
voice recorder you'll find this inside
the dialog tool
you can record yourself and compare with
native speakers
you can keep practicing until you can
say the lesson dialogue at a native
level there are tools for every learning
style
so today you learned one how to map your
routine and set your schedule
two how to choose the learning medium
that's right for you
and three the language tools you'll want
for your learning style
how to improve your language and speak
more through preparation
okay let's get into part one why you
should prepare for conversations ahead
of time
if you're a beginner you can probably
relate to this when it comes to speaking
you tend to run out of things to say and
that's because you don't know enough of
the language to express yourself
and that's where preparation comes in
you may think that the conversations we
have in our daily lives are spontaneous
that you can't prepare for them you're
right to an extent
but imagine meeting someone for the
first time both of you will go through
some common questions and phrases
like what's your name my name is where
are you from
and how long have you been studying the
language as a language learner
you'll have these kinds of conversations
with almost every native you meet
guaranteed they'll always ask you about
how long and how you've been learning
and even with your friends some
conversations start the same way
for example you say things like hey how
are you
how are things how was your weekend my
weekend was good
and you let's say you went to a
restaurant this weekend
and now you want to talk about it well
that allows you to prepare
and learn some phrases like i went to a
restaurant
the restaurant had delicious food the
point is
some questions and phrases come up often
in conversations
so it makes total sense to master them
ahead of time
and you can always plan ahead and
prepare for things you want to talk
about
when it comes time to speak you know
what to say how to respond and you don't
run out of talking points as quickly
so how do you prepare let's jump into
part two
the first thing you can do to prepare is
check out our 25
questions you need to know lesson series
this series is specifically designed to
help you with the first time
conversations you'll have with native
speakers
you'll learn the 25 most common
questions and answers used in
conversations
just listen to the lessons repeat out
loud then
put what you learned to use these will
serve as talking points so you can keep
your conversations going
number two print out the curriculum for
this lesson series so you can review
all of the lessons at once the
curriculum gives you the lines and
vocabulary used in all lessons up front
so you can use this to review key
questions and responses
this will allow you to control
conversations and ask questions
instead of just having the native
speaker ask you all the questions
in other words you'll sound like a fluid
confident and experienced speaker
number three check out our printable
conversation cheat sheets
this is another free resource that gives
you lines and words for all kinds of
topics
for example talking about hobbies your
family and much more
number four ask yourself what do you
want to talk about
come up with some topics and for each
topic write out potential questions and
phrases that would come up in a
conversation
for example if you want to talk about
restaurants you can have lines like
my favorite restaurant is my favorite
food is
what's your favorite restaurant and then
run these lines through a translation
app
it won't be perfect but it'll give you
lines to use that you can correct later
number five look for lessons that are
related to your topics with our lesson
library
on our site we have hundreds of lessons
that teach you conversations
so if you're looking for lessons related
to restaurants and food
you'll get all kinds of conversations
that you can use for yourself
and number six if you're a premium plus
user
get in touch with your teacher be a my
teacher and try a conversation with them
they'll help you every step of the way
correct your writing and give you the
lines to use in a conversation
that way you can prepare ahead of time
and when it comes time to speak
you'll know what to say want to speed up
your language learning
take your very first lesson with us
you'll start speaking in minutes
and master real conversations sign up
for your free lifetime account
just click the link in the description