Effortless English Archives

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2009-08-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

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Testing Ustream

2009-05-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

Speak English Fluently Squidoo Page

2009-05-25T08:33:00.001-07:00

We have a new Squidoo page called Speak English Fluently. It's a brief introduction to our 7 Rules email course and includes a couple of videos.

You can link to it at: http://www.squidoo.com/speak-english-fluently

Enjoy!

Learn English Videos Coming

2009-03-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our new Learn English Video site is almost finished with development, meaning that beta testing starts soon!

The first phase of testing will involve our All-Star members. These are our most active members and they'll have the opportunity to test the site for free, for 1-2 months.

I have already uploaded a number of videos to the site, and will be making more during the rest of this month.

During beta testing, we'll get feedback from our All-Star members in order to fix bugs and improve the site.

Once we're satisfied that it's ready, we'll launch the site for everyone. The site will be a subscription membership site with a low monthly fee. Every week, I'll add a new video on various topics.

This service has been in very high demand. Videos are the number one request that I get from members-- they are constantly asking for English learning videos from me... especially videos with text transcripts. So that's exactly what this site will have.

We're calling it the Master Member Video Site.

Check our main Home Page for future updates on the Learning English Video Site at: Learn English Videos

The Seminar Rocked!

2009-01-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

The "How To Learn English" Seminar in Bangkok Thailand was fantastic.

Most of the learners said it was the most powerful learning experience they have ever had! They were laughing and smiling as they left the room-- so something went right!

At this seminar, we introduced the "3 Levels of Learning" and the importance of learning at the deepest level. Without deep learning, we never really master anything.

But by using all three levels, we activate the full power of our brain.

At Effortless English, we use these three levels of learning to master spoken English. But you can apply these learning methods to any skill.

For example, I'm currently using them to learn singing-- and am having steady and enjoyable progress (until I killed my voice by yelling for 5 straight hours at the seminar!!!)

The next seminar will be on March 29th in Bangkok. Our goal this time is 100 people.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, check the main Effortless English site!

Go To The Home Page

2008-12-03T23:44:00.000-08:00

Learn spoken English at The Effortless English Club.

Our blog and homepage have moved to a new address, with a new design. See you there at http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

New Address For Blog

2007-10-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

I have finally changed the address of the blog. We've got both the blog and the podcast on our main page now! Look on the right sidebar. New posts will be at:

www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

This blog will remain active as Archives.... but all new posts will be at the above address.

There are a few reasons I've changed.

1. The new URL web address fits better with the main Effortless English Club pages.
2. This blog has tended to focus on my personal English teaching experiences...
3. This blog was written for a general audience of teachers and learners.
3. I want to focus specifically on interests, needs, and ideas related to The Effortless English Club Community (Lesson owners, Podcast listeners, Email Course graduates...)

So... I'll see you all at the new URL. English teachers and others, please enjoy the archives of this blog site.

Take care,

AJ

Listen & Answer

2007-10-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

Every student knows about "listen and repeat". Listen and repeat is the normal way to teach and learn English.

In school, the teacher says something in English. Then the students repeat exactly what the teacher said. I call this "robot English".

English students also do this at home. They buy CDs, or tapes, or a podcast. They listen. Then they repeat after the speaker. More robot English.

Listening to English is great-- but Listen and Repeat is the WRONG way to do it. Listen and repeat is a robot-like activity. You don't even need to understand the English to do it. Just copy the speaker like a robot.

There are several problems with this method:

1. It is passive. You don't think. You don't need to understand. You just repeat, like a robot machine.

2. It is totally unnatural. In a real conversation, will you ever do this? Of course not.

3. It is super boring. Since you don't use your brain, you quickly get bored with "listen and repeat".

As you know, I think Listening is THE MOST important activity for learning English. But you must use a better way.

That better way is "Listen and Answer". This means you Listen to a question, and then you Answer it. You don't repeat after the speaker, you answer his/her question correctly and quickly.

With Listen and Repeat, the speaker says, "What is your name?"... and then you repeat, "What is your name?"

With Listen and Answer, the speaker says, "What is your name?"... and you say, "My name is AJ". It seems like a small difference--- but in fact it is a VERY important difference.

To ANSWER, you MUST understand. You must understand the question, and then you must quickly think of an answer in English. This encourages your brain to think in English. This is an active method.

This is also much more natural. In real conversations, this is exactly what you do... someone asks you a question and you must understand it and answer it quickly.

Listen and Answer is also more interesting. It is challenging. You can't get bored and sleepy because you must Understand and Answer. Its like a game-- you try to answer more and more quickly.

When you use the old method, you are not ready for real conversations. When you use Listen and Answer, you are ready.

Effortless English lesson sets always include Listen and Answer Mini-Stories. You improve your English quickly by answering questions. The questions are usually very easy, but by answering them you teach your brain to use English quickly.

Get my lessons at: http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

Or find your own Listen and Answer lessons and stories. Just never use "listen and repeat" again!

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Heroes

2007-10-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

I want to express my support and admiration for the heroes in Burma-- the monks, the students, the men & women who are fighting, non-violently, for freedom, democracy, human rights, and the true dharma.

Thousands of these brave and peaceful people have been killed by the horrible military government. The people in Burma knew what the military would do. They know their lives were at risk. They knew the government would imprison, torture, burn, and kill any who stood against them. Yet, the monks and people stood anyway.

The events in Burma remind us what is truly important. Let us support the Burmese people any way we can-- with our thoughts, by giving to Human Rights groups,.. and
by pressuring our own governments (and companies) to cut support for the military government.

To this effect, I am working on a new policy for Effortless English. We will give a percentage of every membership fee to Human Rights organizations.

Take care... AJ

Don't Translate

2007-05-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yuriko is an excellent student. She has the best English skills in my class.

Yuriko is an excellent writer. She writes very well in English. I have always been impressed by the skill of her writing.

So I was very surprised today when she gave me an essay. The writing was not so good. I was confused. Normally her sentences are very clear-- very easy to understand. But this time, I had a lot of trouble understanding what she was trying to communicate.

I kept thinking, "Why is this essay different than her others? Why is this one so much worse?"

Finally, I had an idea. I asked her, "Did you write this first in Japanese, and then translate it?"

She said, "Yes". Yuriko wanted this essay to be good. So she wrote it first in Japanese and then translated it. She probably thought this would make it better. Instead, it made it much worse.

By translating, Yuriko stopped thinking in English. She lost her natural "Feel" for English. Her grammar is normally excellent, but in this essay, it was not good. Her sentences are normally clear, but in this essay they were very confusing.

Yuriko's English got worse because she was translating instead of using her normal natural English ability. I told her, "Next time, don't write the essay in Japanese first. Just write it in English directly. When you do that, your writing is always very good."

This is also true of speaking. If you learn by translating, your English grammar and fluency will always be bad. You will always be speaking your native language-- using English vocabulary. Your speech will be slower, more confusing, and harder to understand.

Skip translation. Don't do it. When you study English-- listen to English. Read English. Listen to things that are easy for you. Read English books and articles that are easy for you. Over time, you will understand English naturally and easily, without translation. After a bit more time, you will start to speak more naturally and easily. Your grammar will improve-- because you will have a "feel" for English grammar instead of trying to remember rules and translations.

To learn English, listen to English and read English.... do not translate.

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Persistence

2007-04-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

One of the toughest things about learning a language is finding the time and energy. Most of us can work hard and focus on a language for 4-6 months at a time.

But if you're like me, its hard to keep going longer than that. With Spanish, my efforts have been sporadic. I have tended to do very well for about 3 months at a time. Then I get busy with classes in San Francisco, the Effortless English Club, the podcast, and my personal life.

Its been especially hard as I develop the Club website. Its a lot of work for one person. So, inevitably, my Spanish efforts suffer. For the past 3 and a half months, for example, I haven't studied Spanish at all.

In the past, I would have quit. But this time, I keep coming back... even if I have a long break. The reason is that the study methods I'm using are much more enjoyable. Also, because I'm using a Listen First natural approach.. I find that I still remember most of what I studied in the past. So its very easy to start studying Spanish again... even after a 3 or 4 month break.

But perhaps the biggest change for me has been with my attitude. In the past, I always put a lot of pressure on myself. I wanted to be fluent in one or two years. If I couldn't do that, I just got frustrated and quit.

This time, with Spanish, I don't feel pressure. While I have made goals, I don't get stressed if I can't reach them. I have a much more relaxed attitude... and I have a much longer view. I know that even if I study sporadically-- if I keep doing it when I can, I will eventually become fluent. Already, I can use very basic Spanish to communicate basic information. That's a big improvement from all my past efforts. In the past, when I used traditional study methods, I was never able to communicate.

The main point for me is to never give up. I view Spanish learning as a lifelong activity now. I know my life will get busy at times, and I won't be able to study. That's OK. Because with a Listen First Effortless approach, I know I won't lose what I have already learned. I know that I can come back to Spanish when my life slows down, and I'll be able to easily continue again.

As you study English, remember that learning English is a life-long activity. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes you will get busy and you won't have time to study. Sometimes you may take a long break. No problem. Just continue using a Listen First Effortless method of study-- and your English will continue to grow.

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Podcast Changes

2007-04-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

The Effortless English podcast will be changing over the next few weeks. I've decided to overhaul the format to make it more useful and interesting to students. When I originally started the podcast, I had mostly an audience of English teachers and very advanced English learners.

However, over the past several months, the podcast audience has grown a lot. Most people who listen to the podcast are English learners... and they are a mix of intermediate and advanced learners.

To help these learners, I will be doing more frequent podcasts. I hope to increase to about 4 per week. I will focus on two main points: 1. Casual conversational English and 2. Motivation and Learning methods.

I'll probably do about 3 conversation lessons per week-- each focusing on slang, idioms, and real "street" English. I'll introduce a new word or phrase, explain it, help you pronounce it, and then tell a very short mini-story to help you learn how to use it.

In addition, each week I'll continue to do one podcast focused on motivation, inspiration, and learning methods. Motivation is very important. I know its easy to get tired, or to lose your energy and enthusiasm for English. I'll encourage you and help you keep that motivation high!

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Help others learn to speak English. Go to Delicious, register (top-right), then go to EffortlessEnglish.org and tag us with "learn english"!

Jmemorize

2007-04-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

Today I started using a vocabulary review program called Jmemorize.

Basically, its a computer flashcard system... but it schedules the review to maximize long term memory. Its a very simple program, but I find it useful.

Of course, I am not using it to review random lists of words. I always learn my Spanish vocabulary from articles and podcasts. Once I meet a word in a real context, I sometimes save it for later review.

To be honest, I've never liked doing vocabulary review. Usually I prefer to just listen to the article again as a way of reviewing.. instead of focusing on individual words.

But sometimes it can be helpful to review words or phrases that just aren't "sticking". For these, a program like Jmemorize is helpful. You can download Jmemorize for free at: http://www.jmemorize.org/

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Remembering Naturally

2007-04-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

I have not studied or listened to Spanish for four months. Four months without any Spanish input.

In the past, when I studied languages with traditional methods, this kind of lapse happened all the time. Im a busy person. But more to the point, I tend to do things in spurts. Ill study hard for several months, then take a few months off. Its just the way I like to work.

When I used traditional language study methods, this was a disaster. After a 2 month break, I would forget most of what I had studied. I lost a lot of vocabulary. I lost a lot of listening comprehension. Usually, this discouraged me, and I would give up. I quit. I quit Spanish. I quit Japanese. I quit Italian.

But this time, I'm using a Listen First, Effortless method to learn Spanish. I don't study grammar rules. I don't memorize vocabulary lists in textbooks. In fact, I don't use textbooks.

Learning this way, I find that once I learn something, I keep it forever. I don't forget.

Today, after a 4 month break, I listened to about an hour of Spanish. I listened to some of my old audio files. I was happily shocked that I could still understand them very well. I hadn't forgotten. In fact, I was amazed at how easy it was to start again after such a long break.

This is very encouraging. By using an Effortless method, I know that when I learn something I really learn it. I will have it for the rest of my life. So even if I get busy, or take a long break, I will not go backwards. I will be able to start again at any time, and I'll immediately start at the level I had stopped at.

This makes language learning seem easier. I know I can do it in bite-size chunks... at my own pace.

All that time spent using textbooks is a waste, because you will forget most of what you study.

To learn and keep English for life, use a Listen First, Effortless method.

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Community, Not Marketplace

2007-04-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have recently re-thought my idea about making a Teacher Skype Marketplace on Effortless English. I have decided not to do this in the future.

Why not? Well, I have two main reasons:

1. Commercialization
I don't want to commercialize the member site. I want The Effortless English Club to be a true community... in which all members are working together to develop the site. I don't want it to be a "marketplace". Our lives are commercialized enough. And I must already charge members a fee to join. After that, I don't want to have more ads in the member site.

2. The Linguist
There is already an excellent site that offers Discussions with native speaker tutors: The Linguist. The Linguist offers both group discussions and individual discussions on the internet, using Skype. In fact, I still periodically do discussions with them.

I have always thought that Effortless English and The Linguist complement each other. In fact, I encourage my members to also join The Linguist in order to get speaking practice and writing correction. In truth, they do a great job and its much simpler to just refer my members to them for tutors. Click here to Learn English With The Linguist

What I envision for Effortless English is a true learner-designed community. Now that we have a membership base and the basic site design, I'm trying to give more control to the members. I want them to have more control over lesson topics, materials, layout & design, recruitment & marketing,... in fact, everything.

I have no desire to repeat the hierarchical structure of traditional schools. The truth is, traditional education is failing across the board. Recent posts by Tom Peters and Seth Godin have attacked business schools for being irrelevant. My own Social Work program (a Masters degree) and Journalism program (Bachelors) were also irrelevant.

The truth is, the old hierarchical, passive method of education is no longer useful. Sitting in a class listening to boring lectures is a waste of time... whether you are studying English, business, social work, or journalism. Real learning happens on the job, in life, through mentors, individually, and in learning communities.

These are the kinds of communities you find at Effortless English and The Linguist. These are communities that support self-study... where members are equal, enthusiastic, and responsible for their own learning.

If you are tired of learning or teaching the old way... join the future.. join a learning community online.

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TPRS Wiki Lessons

2007-04-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

To help both English teachers and the members of Effortless English, I have created a public Wiki for lessons.

The Effortless English Wiki allows anyone to add or edit lesson materials. Other teachers and learners (including me) can then use those lessons as they want.

By lesson, I do not mean a typical grammar-centered analytical "ESL Lesson". Rather, Effortless English lessons consist of two parts:

1. A Core Text
This is a 1-2 page authentic article: an original essay, a Wiki article, a "fair use" article, a letter or email, etc. Simply write the Text... and put the more difficult words or phrases in bold.

2. A Mini-Story
This supports the Core Text. TPRS mini-stories are very short (1/2 page to 3/4 page) stories that use 6-8 of the target vocabulary words from the Core Text. Other than the target vocabulary, the mini-story should contain very simple and direct English. This way, the mini-story helps learners understand the vocabulary more easily.. and helps them understand how to use it.

I've got a sample Lesson on the Wiki already.

To join in, simply go to the Effortless English Wiki and click "Register" in the top-right corner. You can then add to or edit the Wiki as you want.

Click here to go to the Wiki.

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Teachers Wanted

2007-04-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Effortless English Club is looking for passionate, fun, enthusiastic English teachers with an interest in "natural" teaching approaches.. especially TPR-Storytelling.

As a member, you can download existing lessons on the site- use them directly in your class or use them for inspiration for your own lessons. This is a great way to save preparation time. Also, by listening to and using the Effortless English lessons, you might learn new teaching methods and techniques... especially TPR-Storytelling.

You can try a Free one month membership by going to: www.effortlessenglish.com.

Even better, if you create an Effortless English lesson yourself, and I use it on the Club site, you will get a 6 month membership for Free. If you create 2 or more lessons that I post to the Club site, you will get a Free 12 month membership.

In the next several months, I will also be working to help teacher-members make an online tutoring income. How? By chatting with Effortless English members online, using Skype. The style and approach you use will be up to you. As will the price you charge. I will simply provide a Forum where teachers can advertise their services (and contact info) to members and learners can find online tutors and discussion leaders. Over time, I hope to develop this as a craigslist-like service to help online learners and online teachers find each other.

At the moment, we are still in Beta mode, so all of this is totally new. But if you'd like to join and become involved in building our English learning community... join at www.effortlessenglish.com

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Casual English

2007-04-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

It is well known that spoken Japanese has many different styles-- often roughly divided into a "polite-formal style" (-mas/desu) and a "casual" style.

But textbooks and teachers rarely discuss the same division in English. Schools almost never talk about the very different styles of spoken English-- yet the same division exists.

In fact, the more I have taught, the more I've realized that the difference between everyday spoken English (casual English) and formal English is big. Its a very big difference.

Textbooks and schools teach formal English. In fact, they often teach a written style of English. Students learn to speak "written English". They learn to pronounce English as if they were reading. When we read, we usually pronounce every word separately and clearly. When we read, we are often using a quite formal style of English.

But in everyday speech, we use a totally different kind of language. First, we do not pronounce every word separately. We speak in phrases--- groups of words are pushed together and pronounced as one.

I'll give you one example. My friend Wat was talking to an American customer and the customer asked him "You beer?" Wat was confused... he said, "What?". The customer said, "Tomorrow... you beer?" Finally I helped Wat and said slowly, "Tomorrow, will you be here?" Wat understood me because I pronounced every word separately.. but in fact, we almost never do that in normal conversation.

Our vocabulary choice is also different in normal conversation. We tend to use a lot of "phrasal verbs" when speaking. "Phrasal verbs" are two (or more) word verbs. We often say, "I messed up"... instead of "I made a mistake". We often say, "I bumped into Jane yesterday",... instead of "I met Jane yesterday".

This is not slang. For a native speaker, this is basic spoken English. An American child understands and uses this vocabulary and pronunciation.

So why aren't schools and textbooks teaching it? I have always wondered why they try to make students fly before they can crawl. In my opinion, the first step is to understand basic conversational English. The next step is to be able to use basic conversational English.

Only after a learner can do this should they worry about the TOEFL exam, writing super-complicated essays, and reading difficult research papers.

The spoken language is the base. Learn the fundamentals first. Master the fundamentals first. Then you will find that advanced English is much easier to understand and use.

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English Teachers

2007-03-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

At Effortless English, I've gotten a few English teachers as members. This has been a big surprise. I have always expected English learners to join.. but didn't expect English teachers to join.

But I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise. The teachers can download the English lessons and play them to their classes. They can also print out the text for the articles. By using all the lesson parts, they get about an hour of teaching from each lesson.

Even better, in a classroom they can then follow-up with questions and discussions. Since the class will probably only hear each lesson once, they may not understand everything and may need to ask the teacher for clarification.

Since the articles are usually about thought-provoking topics, the teacher can lead a discussion (as a class, in small groups, or in pairs) after all the lessons are finished. This is a great way to conclude the lesson-- and a great way for students to solidify their knowledge.

Although all my efforts thus far have been directed towards getting English learners to join... perhaps I'll also start focusing on busy English teachers who are eager to use more natural lessons.

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Birthday Special!

2007-03-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday yesterday, so I'm offering a special FREE Trial with Effortless English. For just this weekend, you can try learning English with me for one month for free.

As a member, you can get all of my audio lessons and you can help me build the Effortless English Club. I hope you enjoy it.

To try one month for Free, go to www.effortlessenglish.com and then click the yellow "Join Now" square.

See you at Effortless English!

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Loving It

2007-03-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know how else to say it, other than "I'm loving Effortless English". I'm just having a fantastic time. Why didn't I do this earlier?

Building the site has been a fantastic experience. To be sure, there have been many frustrations. Tomoe has gotten used to me screaming profanity at the computer :) I've had microphone problems, software problems, marketing problems, payment problems.

But one by one they've gotten solved. And slowly, membership has grown. Slowly, the lesson library has grown. Slowly, the quality and size of the site has grown.

Its an amazing experience to build something like this yourself. So different than working a job. As an employee-teacher, you are never really more than a Mc-WageSlave. You use the textbooks you are told to use, you follow the schedule you are given, you follow a curriculum developed by bureaucrats. However "good" your job, you always serve another's agenda in the end.

Under such circumstances, its hard to remain committed and passionate. And no wonder. No wonder burnout is so common. Who can sustain passion, after all, when you are not serving your own values and principles.

As a freelancing entrepreneur, I have no administrators over me, no rule books, no policy manuals, no "required curriculum", no command & control, no grades, no discipline, no bureaucrats to satisfy, no ego-maniac bosses to tip-toe around, no decorum to follow. I am free-- and so are my learner-members.

We are free to create a fun, cool, interesting, new learning community together. As a free entrepreneur, I can respond to a learner's suggestion immediately. Somebody suggests doing a lesson on censorship... and I can make one and put it on the site the next day. Someone suggests a Forum for scheduling Skype chats... bham, its done in 5 minutes. Somebody complains about a problem... I can immediately address it MYSELF. No administrators to consult or ask permission from. No procedure to follow. No imposed schedules or syllabi to worry about.

I tell you, its exhilarating!

It is absolutely exhilarating to create something yourself-- to be fully responsible and fully autonomous.

And the results are amazing too. The amount and quality of what you can do, when unfettered from bosses and bureaucrats, is simply amazing.

And so today, on my birthday, I offer my thanks to you-- the members of Effortless English. Thank you for helping me live this dream! Thank you for working together with me. Without you, it wouldn't be possible.

Truly, deeply,... Thank you.

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Technical Frustrations

2007-03-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

On one of our Forums, a member told me that the volume for several of the lessons was low. He also said my last two podcasts were much too quiet and he couldn't hear them.

I checked my audio files and there was definitely something wrong. But I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Finally, I found it-- my microphone was slowly dying.

I've had a lot of frustration with my sound equipment-- mainly the microphone. In the beginning, I tried using the built-in mic on my computer... but the quality wasn't good. Then I tried using the microphone on my iSight camera. This was an improvement, but there was always a background hum that was a bit annoying. Finally, I switched to a clip on mic (lavalier). The quality was better, but its a weak mic. Because of this I always had to increase the volume on each audio file. Then it started to die, and the volume decreased even more.

So yesterday I finally went out and bought a professional quality microphone. Its called the "Snowball" from the Blue company. What I love about this mic is that it plugs directly into the USB on my laptop. Most professional mics require additional equipment.

The sound quality is excellent. There is no background hum at all. Its also got a strong and clear sound. I hope Effortless English members notice the difference :)

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Membership Open

2007-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Membership in the Effortless English Club is now open. I will accept 25 new members at this time.

To join the Effortless English Club, go to www.effortlessenglish.com, click the yellow square, fill out the application and payment information, and then enjoy learning English the Effortless Way.

Once I have 25 new members, I will close membership again.

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Survey & Feedback Results

2007-02-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

I've run a couple of surveys on the Club site recently, and members have also posted feedback regularly on the Forums. Here is a short summary of the trends I've noticed:

1. The POV Mini-Stories are a HUGE hit. In fact, the new POV stories already seem to be the most popular lesson with members. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising. The POV stories allow members to practice and use the most common conversational grammar forms-- without studying grammar in any way. You learn how and when to use these grammar forms... but you never study grammar rules and you certainly never worry about terms like "present perfect", etc.

Of course, due to this feedback, I will continue doing POV lessons for all lesson bundles. I will also continuing doing the basic TPR Mini-Stories-- which focus more on vocabulary, but still teach grammar intuitively and naturally as well.

2. The new movie lessons are a hit. The movie lessons have also proven to be popular. In the movie lesson, I take a scene from a popular movie and then base a series of lessons around it (including a TPR Mini-Story & POV Story lesson). Our first movie is the romantic-comedy "Hitch", starring Will Smith.

3. Keep the Vocabulary Discussions. One concern I had was with the vocabulary discussions. To be honest, I worried they were a bit dry and boring compared to the other lesson types. I considered eliminating them. But members have unanimously asked me to keep them-- saying they are easy and helpful. So, I'll keep doing them ;)

4. Layout. Navigation and homepage layout have been a problem for a while-- the source of many complaints, in fact. These have now been completely changed and the new layout seems much more popular. Members can now easily access all lessons from the home page. Also, lessons are now grouped by lesson title instead of lesson type. In other words, on the homepage you click a lesson title (ex. "Hitch Intro", "Censorship") and that links to all the lesson types for that subject (ex. "Censorship Text", "Censorship Mini-Story", "Censorship POV", "Censorship Audio Article", "Censorship Commentary", "Censorship Vocab").

5. Audio Quality. This was a problem in the beginning, but I've finally found a new microphone that is working very well. Audio is now very clear and strong.

Remaining Issues

Members also had a few more suggestions and issues:

1. Forums-- Forum participation is still anemic. Writing is the final step in the Effortless English system, but many members say they are too shy to write because they fear they will make many mistakes. Of course I say, "Its fine to make mistakes"... but I know that isn't enough to reassure learners.

So I'm still thinking about ways to improve the Forums. One idea I will try is to add lighter Forum topics. Right now they are fairly serious-- especially ones related to the lessons. I'll try adding topics such as "Movies", "Music", "Book Club", etc. and see if this encourages more participation.

2. More Memberships. Lots of people have complained that I'm still in Beta Mode and am still limiting membership each month. My only answer is "please be patient :)" I don't want to fully launch the site (with totally open membership) until it is "ready". By ready I mean: a) The site has a library of at least 50 complete lesson bundles (each "bundle" contains: Text Article, Vocab Discussion, TPRS Mini-Story, POV Mini-Story, Audio Article, and Commentary), b) audio is upgraded further (I'm still researching even higher quality microphones and recording equipment), c) the Forums are active and energetic, d) our Street Team is organized and energized, and e) I've got a wider variety of lesson topics.

Once these goals are met, I will end "Beta Mode" and will open membership more fully. Until then, the best way to hear about periodic membership openings is to subscribe to the free Effortless English Newsletter-- to subscribe go to: www.effortlessenglish.org

So that's where things stand with The Effortless English Club. HUGE thanks to the amazing members who have helped build the site. Its only been a few months, but we have made big progress. I'm having a fantastic time working with you all- and look forward to growing and improving more in the near future.

Take care!

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With Speaking, Be Patient

2006-12-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

I still do not speak Russian with anyone and have no real desire to do so. I guess I would summarize my philosophy as follows; until I can read and listen to a novel, news programs and recorded conversations in Russian and enjoy doing so, I have no desire to speak with anyone. I might be extreme but I feel there is so much I can do on my own to improve in the language, I am not sure that stumbling around in a conversation at this stage in my learning would really help me. I think the same is true for English learning.

--Steve Kaufman of The Linguist (Learn English With The Linguist)

The above quote is from Steve's blog. It comes at a great time for me. As I mentioned previously, I have just restarted Spanish study after a two and a half month break.

The most discouraging part of my Spanish learning experience has been the pressure I get from other people to speak. Whenever someone knows I'm learning Spanish, they immediately want to know if I can speak... or they ask me to say something. If they are a Spanish speaker, they try to talk with me. Of course, they are being friendly and I do appreciate the chance to try out a bit of Spanish.

The problem isn't them, its me. Because whenever I have these encounters, I invariably feel frustrated. I can't say much and what I do say is stuttered and hesitant. Worse, I feel an immediate surge of stress when someone springs Spanish on me.

After such encounters, I feel my motivation drop. I begin to question myself. I start doubting. I think, "I'll never be fluent in this language. I don't really need it. I might as well give up."

Its easy to forget that speaking takes time. Speaking is something that naturally emerges after you have acquired a lot of the language through listening and reading. There is a lot of research about this, and I know that. But its still easy to get discouraged when you feel that your speaking ability hasn't kicked in yet. Its easy to think that nothing is happening.

Which is why I was so encouraged to see Steve's post. It reminds me that even Steve, who already speaks 9 languages, still waits for speaking to emerge. It reminds me to remain patient with speaking, and continue to focus on lots of input. Steve has the benefit of experience-- he's done this before so he knows, from personal experience, that it works. But some of us don't have that personal experience yet and therefore need periodic encouragement.

So remember Steve's advice: Before you can read a novel and enjoy a TV program in English, do not worry about speaking. You might need to speak sometimes, you might want to... and that's fine. But don't put any pressure on yourself in regards to speaking. Focus on input, input, and lots of input.

Be patient. Speaking will emerge naturally, without effort.

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Coaches

2006-12-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

Steve Kaufman, who speaks 9 languages--is now working on number 10-- Russian. Steve is also the founder of The Linguist language learning system-- which I highly recommend (Learn English With The Linguist).

In fact, I also consider Steve to be my informal "coach" for learning Spanish. He never teaches me Spanish... and we talk only rarely.. but whenever I chat with him, or read his blog, I am inspired. After talking with him, I always improve at learning Spanish.

Its easy to get discouraged when learning a language. It takes a long time- and at times can feel overwhelming. So it helps to have a coach. A coach is not a teacher-- their role is simply to encourage you and build your confidence. People sometimes laugh at my extremely enthusiastic teaching style, especially native English speakers. But many students have told me they appreciate my energy and constant encouragement because it builds their confidence.

As Tom Peters once noted, there are two kinds of "managers" [teachers, coaches, etc..]. When one kind walks into the room, you immediately feel an energy drain. Their cynicism, or arrogance, or critical attitude can be felt immediately. But when the other kind of person walks into the room, there is an immediate energy boost. Everyone feeds off their passion, enthusiasm, and positive feelings. These people encourage you to fight the good fight, do the difficult thing, and take the risks you know you should take.

Steve Kaufman is one of the latter. Yes, he knows all about the language acquisition research. Even better, he has the direct experience of learning 10 languages. But to me, his greatest quality as a coach is his keen interest and enthusiasm for languages. It is impossible to talk with him and not get excited about learning a language!

We need more teacher-coaches like Steve... and a lot less of the cynical and "professional" people who pass themselves off as teachers, but are, in fact "the killers of hope" (to use Humberto's phrase).

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Slow but Steady

2006-12-30T02:02:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I haven't had much time for much other than teaching at my school in San Francisco, and working on Effortless English.

Unfortunately, my own language study has suffered. I haven't studied Spanish since October... almost a three month break.

But this week I started back again. I've been reviewing my old materials-- just 20 or 30 minutes a day. Its not much. Its not intensive. But its all the time I have, and is certainly better than nothing.

I've also been dabbling with a little Japanese- since I have a live-in tutor ;) This doesn't even fall into the category of "study"... just learning an odd word or phrase here or there.

Still, if nothing else, its good to be involved in learning a language because it makes me a better English teacher. I'm better able to understand my students and empathize with them. I'm also able to test various materials and learning methods directly and make decisions based on experience (as well as research).

For all these reasons, I still adamantly believe that all TESOL/ESL teachers should be learning a language. In fact, even if you have already mastered several foreign languages, its good to be in the process of learning one right now-- it gives you that immediate experience and thus immediate empathy with your English students.

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Back In The Saddle

2006-12-30T01:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a long break-- from this blog, from The Linguist, and from learning Spanish.

During the last two months, all of my extra energy has been focused on launching Effortless English. Its been a lot of work!

But I'm happy to say that the site is now up and running. We are still in Beta (test) mode, but we have a small membership and are steadily making improvements.

The site originally started with just learning guides (text articles with a vocabulary word list) and audio (audio version of the article). However, I've been gradually adding to the lessons.

Each "lesson" now includes an audio vocabulary discussion (discussing the more difficult words from the article), a mini-story to reinforce key vocabulary, a text learning guide, and an audio version of the article. By using all four parts, learners get a lot of repetition of key words and phrases-- in different contexts.

The mini-story follows the basic technique used by TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). I pick 7-10 tough words/phrases from the article. Then I create a foolish, exaggerated, or strange story using these words.

First I tell the mini-story straight through. Then I tell it again- this time asking a lot of questions in order to reinforce understanding of the key vocabulary. Then I tell the mini-story again. In future lessons, I'll do a pause and "repeat after me" section so learners can practice using the phrases and sentences in the story.

Another recent addition (just this week) has been intermediate level lessons. Up until now, the site has been focused on advanced learners. However, I'm now providing simpler lessons for intermediate level students. The intermediate lessons have two parts:

1. A text article (learning guide with vocabulary word list)
2. An audio lesson (audio of the article, plus a short vocabulary discussion)

The intermediate level articles are about the same topics as the advanced articles-- but they are shorter and use simpler, high-frequency vocabulary.

I'm hoping the easier lessons will help some of the learners who have found previous articles to be too difficult (a frequent complaint I get from my students here in San Francisco).

Finally, on a personal note-- I'm really thrilled to be working on this website. As many readers of this blog know, I've been quite frustrated with the traditional TESOL (English teaching) "industry". For a good long while I put my energies alternately into complaining, rebelling, subverting, and avoiding.

I view these actions as necessary steps. But ultimately there comes a time for DOING something instead of being against something. That's been the biggest thrill of Effortless English-- building a site for students based on my own principles and approach. There's nothing like finally taking responsibility and really trying to do something on your own!

It hasn't been easy. There have been plenty of problems and mistakes. The site is still a work in progress-- but this beats the hell out of Thammasat University, or David English School, or any of the other jobs I've had in the "industry".

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Free Newsletter For English Students

2006-11-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

Enter your email address to get the Effortless English Newsletter, with free learning guides.

You can also learn English with my website, The Effortless English Club We are now accepting members. Joining the Effortless English Club is a great way to improve your English. Try one month for only $1.99.

Finally, you can improve your English by listening to the Effortless English Podcast. This is best for advanced learners.

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Just Leave

2006-11-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

by AJ

I recently reviewed some of my old archives-- especially the ones from Thammasat University. Reading through those was quite instructive. Its quite clear that I felt stifled there; and that big, rigid, authority-driven bureaucracies are not for me. Yet, at the time, I didn't realize how bad it was.

The problem, I think, was that the people I worked with were all really nice. The staff was super nice, the other teachers were super nice, and the students were super nice. I genuinely liked them and this caused me to constantly minimize the deeper structural problems with the job.

Its amazing the lies we can tell to ourselves when we aren't yet ready to face the truth. The truth is that I despise hierarchical, authority & control education structures. The truth is, I hate bureaucracies and the mentality that keeps them functioning. The truth is, teaching is more than just "a job" for me.

Looking back, its quite obvious that I had no business working at Thammasat-- however nice the individuals were. Comparing my situation now to what I was going through then-- its like comparing apples and oranges. I'm so much happier now. My job isn't perfect now; but I'm free to do the kinds of things I love to do, believe in doing, and am good at. I'm a much better teacher as a result-- and therefore my students benefit a lot more.

The lesson this taught me is to try to be more brutally honest about where I am and what I'm doing. When your income and comfort are on the line, its easy to make excuses and lie to yourself. But this never serves you in the end. Sticking with a teaching position that isnt right for you is a really bad idea-- for it leads to either burnout, crisis, or failure (or all three).

Which is why, when I hear teachers complaining frequently about their school, or the education system they are "stuck" in.. I always have just one suggestion: LEAVE.

As fast as possible.

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Work With Those You Can Help

2006-11-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

by AJ

In the past, education was mostly based on a Master-Apprentice model. The relationship was close, intimate, personal, and longterm. The masters job was to pass on his/her knowledge and train the learner to be the best at their chosen skill.

I've been reminded of this old educational model by a Korean TV Drama I've been watching called "Jewel In The Palace" (English Name). The show is about a woman who enters the Royal Palace as a cook's apprentice. Much of the show revolves around her learning experiences as she is guided by her master.

Of course, martial arts movies are filled with these kinds of relationships-- and although these are pop culture myths- I think they are good ones with powerful lessons.

One of the key lessons is that learning occurs best in the context of a very close and personal relationship. The modern factory model of education is, in fact, highly antagonistic to the natural way we learn. We pack the students in like lemmings and actively strive to "treat them all the same". In fact, treating all students the same is a professed goal of many traditional teachers and schools.

Another lesson of the Master-Apprentice system is that learning is best promoted by a longterm relationship that grows and evolves over time. The master and apprentice spend years together. In traditional education, the teacher and students get 9 months or less together. In a semester system, its only 4 months. How can a teacher get to know a student well over such a short time-- especially since she/he is supposed to teach 30, 50, or over 100 students in that short time.

The Master-Apprentice system is naturally a "work-study" program. The apprentice learns on the job while helping the master. In such a context, the student is not only studying-- they are applying what they are learning on a daily basis. This is an integrated model of education which combines theory and practice. By contrast, most traditional education is heavily weighted towards memorization, theory, and abstraction-- with little to know practice. Traditional students learn about a subject-- they don't really learn it in depth.

Finally, the apprentice model is based on selectivity and choice. Apprentices are not (at least in modern times) forced to study. They are not compelled by armed agents of the government. Likewise, the "master" is not coerced into accepting a particular apprentice. Often, in both myth and reality, the teacher will not accept a student until s/he is convinced of their dedication. An apprentice who is not dedicated can be dropped. A master who is not skillful will find their students deserting them. In modern education, students are forced to attend and teachers are forced to teach the students they are given. The result-- large numbers of disinterested students forced to endure large numbers of incompetent or burned out teachers.

In my own teaching, therefore, I am steadily drifting towards an apprentice model. I don't care to incorporate the authority and control aspects of that old model-- but I do prefer the elements of choice, selectivity, and longterm personal relationships. Increasingly, I find myself screening my private students very carefully. If I sense that a potential client is extrinsically motivated- I will refer them to someone else.

I'm also incorporating this approach to Effortless English, my student website. I'm trying to design it to attract independent, conscientious, and highly motivated students (and to discourage those who are not).

This is not only for selfish reasons. I have a certain approach and a certain attitude. It works very well with some learners, but not for all. Those others will be better served by finding a teacher who more closely fits their needs and mindset.

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Loose-Tight

2006-11-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

by AJ

Led Zeppelin often described their playing style as "tight but loose".

I think that's an excellent description for a teaching style too. Too many programs and teachers, in my opinion, focus on being "tight". They obsess over detailed syllabi, lesson plans, etc. They insist on crunching through the required textbook. They diligently follow their plan, or try to follow it, regardless of circumstances in the class.

As Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing; planning is everything". In other words, it is important to plan. The process of planning makes you consider your goals, the needs of the learners, the limitations of the class, your available resources, your method, etc. The planning process is thus invaluable.

But the plan itself is nothing. After writing a syllabus, perhaps the best thing to do is throw it away. You've already done the important part-- if you keep the syllabus, it will be become a prison.

A class should be like a skilled improvisation, in which the students and teacher play off each other and challenge each other. Both students and teacher must always be ready to go into unexpected directions as opportunities present themselves.

I experienced this phenomenon Friday, during my MA class. The class has been struggling from the beginning- mostly because its focus is unclear. It was originally created as an "Oral Presentation" class. But at the last minute, the administration decided to tack on a "TOEFL Prep" element... making it an unwieldy "English Presentation, plus TOEFL" class.

I floundered around trying to mesh these two subjects. As a result, I abandoned the successful methods I'd used in the past when teaching a presentation course. Instead, I had them find "TOEFL-like" articles (science, psychology,... ) and present them to the class. The presentations were, not surprisingly, boring, stiff, and painful.

Last week, my students finally rescued the course. They told me they wanted to follow my usual plan, and not use notes for presentations any more. They also said they wanted to focus on topics that were relevant and interesting to them, such as personal experiences, job interviewing, and the like. Finally, they said they wanted me to teach them a presentation method that would be useful in real life, not just for the TOEFL exam.

Being a fan of tight-looseness, I chucked out the syllabus and took their advice.

The results were astounding. Astounding! This week, they gave the presentations of their lives. I was stunned at the dramatic improvement. Every single student improved, and many made huge improvements.

It was one of those days that makes me love teaching English. Given my recent burnout, it was a much needed day for me.

It was a day that reinforced not only the effectiveness of being flexible-- but the absolute imperative of listening to and following your students.

Always.

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Burnout

2006-10-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

by AJ

One thing I do like about the traditional school system is the school year calendar. Its one of the few things that actually works in education, and it works well.

The American school year has several breaks built in, including a "long" (2 month) summer break.

As I complete my first full year teaching at IIC, I'm realizing how important those breaks are. They provide time for teachers (and learners) to rejuvenate. They provide time to get away from the subject matter, do other things, and let your brain work unconsciously for a while.

Without this, we grow stale. Doing the same thing over and over again without a break is a recipe for burnout.

And that's what's happened to me. For a year, most of my waking hours have been focused on English teaching. I teach my classes. Then I come home and think about the classes. I brainstorm ways to improve them.

I added tutoring hours at The Linguist. I started teaching a few private students.

Then, last month, I started teaching a night class at IIC and at the same time launched my new student website, Effortless English.

Throughout this time, I've never had much of a break-- mainly because I get no paid vacation at my job- so when I do try to take a break, I end up going in debt and more stressed out than if I'd skipped the vacation.

All this has taken its toll and last week, something snapped. I'd simply had enough. Enough of teaching English, tutoring English, writing about English, and thinking about English every moment I'm awake. My energy level is extremely low- I have no enthusiasm in my classes anymore. In fact, the quality of my teaching has dropped dramatically and suddenly. I finally realized that something had to be done.

While I still can't afford to take a nice long trip somewhere, which is what I really need- I have decided to scale back considerably.

I've told my school that I'm finished with the night class. I've cut way back on The Linguist.

Most importantly of all- I'm drawing a stricter line between "work" time and "play" time. In other words, I'm trying to avoid thinking about English when I'm not working. I used to go to coffee shops and brainstorm ways to make improvements-- now I have a strict "no English" policy for my free time.

Long term, I realize that the traditional school year- with its many breaks, is the most productive. We need significant periods of time to relax and recharge. We need significant periods of time away from our subject of teaching or study.

Education is not factory work.

Sometimes the most effective way to work is to not work at all.

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The Effortless English Vision

2006-10-19T16:51:00.001-07:00

by AJ

As the new Effortless English Club slowly gets started, I have been thinking a lot about my vision for its future. Just what do I hope the club will accomplish?

I've been contemplating this question over and over. At first, I had the usual education answers- make a podcast and study guides to help people learn English. But that answer never satisfied me.

Of course, that's part of the answer. I do hope to make better and better podcasts and better and better learning guides. But in truth, I have a much bigger vision for the club. What I really want is to create an international community of learners- founded on the principles of lifelong learning, autonomy, independence, hospitality, mutual encouragement, equality, and respect.

I envision a community in which every member is both a learner and a teacher. I envision a community in which members help each other, encourage each other, support each other. I envision a community that offers mutual respect and hospitality to one another. I envision a community that encourages independent learning. I envision a community that supports curiosity, engagement, and a passion for communication.

In many ways, this vision is born from my frustrations with traditional schools and education. Schools, in many cases, are actively opposed to these principles. Most schools are bastions of authority, isolation, humiliation, and boredom. Schools tend to kill passion, kill curiosity, and kill the love of learning. Schools foster an authoritarian social model, in which the teacher and administrator are believed to have more power and influence than the students.

My vision for the Effortless English Club was born from the many negative stories I hear from students. Many students talk about the trauma of their English classes. They tell tales of being corrected and embarrassed in front of their class. They tell stories of feeling foolish and stupid because they struggled with tests and grades. Many have deeply negative feelings about the English language as a result of their terrible school experiences.

I want to change that. More than providing audio and learning guides, I hope the Effortless English Club will grow into a positive, enthusiastic, supportive community of learners. I hope members will help and encourage each other. I hope they will chat, trade emails, and start Skype discussion groups.

I even hope they'll visit each other and offer hospitality to one another- so when one member travels to a new country, he or she will have a place to stay with other members.

I envision the Effortless English Club as a positive force-- a community of motivated, independent, passionate learners- dedicated to lifelong independent learning, hospitality, mutual respect, and mutual support.

In short, I hope to undo the trauma (and boredom) caused by wretched school systems- and help adults rediscover the amazing thrill of learning, connecting, and communicating.

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Meditation for Language Learning

2006-10-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast Article

We have a strong tendency, as both language teachers and language learners, to focus on quantity. We stress about test score numbers. We stress about the number of words we know. We stress about the number of hours we study each day.

There's no doubt that quantity is important. To learn a language well, you have to put in a lot of hours. You need hundreds (thousands) of hours of listening. You need hundreds and thousands of hours of reading. You've got to listen to and read a lot of different material.

But quantity is only half the story. For all study hours are not equal.

I see this a lot in my class. Many students dutifully come to class each day. They attend four hours a day, four days a week.. for a total of 16 hours.

But some learn a lot faster than others. I've found that the speed of their learning has less to do with natural talent and more to do with the quality of their class time. In other words, some students concentrate and participate during the entire four hours... while others barely pay attention. The latter group text message on their cell phones, stare out the window, chat with each other in their native language, daydream,.. and do anything else but focus on the English material we are working on.

All the students in my class are getting the same quantity of English hours, but some are getting much higher quality...in other words, much more efficiency... because they have the ability to focus and concentrate.

While many of the "bad" students are not motivated, some are. What they lack is not so much the desire to learn English as the ability to focus for an extended period of time.

Perhaps this is a result of the TV age. But for whatever reason, many people just can't seem to concentrate on one thing longer than 15 minutes.

This is a problem- as concentration is essential for mastering any skill, not just language learning.

The good news is that if you don't have much power of concentration, you can develop it. The best way I know is through meditation. There are many forms of meditation, but all demand increasing powers of concentration. Daily meditation practice, therefore, will strengthen and lengthen your mental concentration. Little by little, day by day, your mind will grow stronger.

Do a google search on "meditation", or get a book by Thich Nhat Hahn, S.N. Goenka, or another meditation master. Start slow.. just a few minutes a day.. and then build up gradually.

As your meditaion time increases, you'll be able to focus longer, and will thus get much more out of your study time.

This is vital, because in language learning, all hours are not created equal.

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Change Your Goal

2006-10-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast Article

Its so easy to get impatient. We are conditioned, by school and society, to demand instant results. Our attention spans get shorter and shorter.

School, in particular, teaches us a lie. The lie is that in one semester, or four years, we can take all the required courses, pass all the required tests, and then receive our degree as proof of our "mastery" of a subject or subjects.

But this is a farce. Its a farce in most subjects, not just language education. In fact, formal school is a very poor place to master any subject or skill.

I got my undergraduate degree in journalism. I graduated with honors. I took all the required journalism courses and was near the top of my class. I thought I knew this subject well.

But upon graduation, I realized that I knew almost nothing about writing or journalism. I was told by many reporters and editors that journalism school was almost useless- and that the only thing that mattered was developing one's skills independently, through experience.

Several years later (still clueless), I went back to school to get a Masters degree in Social Work. I took classes, passed tests, and endlessly analyzed obtuse theories of social work. At the end of my program I had an internship. I was placed in an agency that helped abused and neglected teenagers. After just one week there, I realized that I had no idea what to do. My Masters degree program had not given me any practical knowledge- nor usable theories.

Everything I learned as a social worker, I learned on the job. I learned by trying things, examining the results, formulating new ideas, and then trying more things. Relentlessly, over several years, I improved as a social worker. The Masters degree was a ticket to higher paying jobs- but it provided nothing useful beyond that.

The truth is- school is not a good place to learn. Life is where you learn and that learning is a lifelong process. There is no end. There is no graduation. There are no "permanent grades" or records.

True learning, true skill, true mastery, come from the process that Anthony Robbins calls CANI- Constant And Neverending Improvement. The Japanese call this "kaizen".

The truth is- learning never ends. Most language learners, including me, are still stuck with a school mentality. They think that if they take enough courses, they'll get a certificate that will prove that they speak the language. Then they try to talk to a native speaker and discover that their certificate is, in fact, useless. Many language learners also have a "graduation" mentality. They think that if they study hard enough, in one year, two years, five years, etc. they will finally "graduate" from English and be finished.

But there is no graduation. I am a 38 year old native speaker and I'm still trying to improve my English speaking ability. I'm trying to work on the rhythm of my speech. I'm also trying to reduce the number of fillers that I use (for example, "Uhm", "you know", "like"). As a writer, I still have a lot of improvement to make. I need to develop the clarity and power of my writing. And I'm still learning new words.

The point is- I will always be improving my English ability. I'll never be "finished". I'll never graduate. English learning is a life long learning process.

And though I'm starting 38 years later than I did with English, I'm beginning to realize that Spanish is also a life long learning process. I'm trying to shift my attitude from a "graduation" mentality to a CANI mentality. There is no finish line- there is only constant and neverending improvement- for as long as I live.

A CANI attitude can help your motivation because it takes off the pressure. So many language learners view learning as a race. They are desperately trying to get to the finish line as fast as possible. Instead, try adopting a mindset of Constant And Neverending Improvement. Don't worry about finish lines. Instead, be sure that every week, you improve just a little bit. You might learn a few new phrases. You might make a tiny improvement in listening comprehension, or pronunciation.

The next week, be sure to make a few more improvements. They don't need to be big. They don't need to be dramatic. Small, even tiny improvements are enough- as long as they are constant and neverending.

I'll end this article with a challenge. For the next few months I challenge you to forget all your "finish line" goals. Forget TOEIC and TOEFL scores. Forget certificates or degrees. Forget any idea of "finishing" English. Instead, for the next few months, make Constant And Neverending Improvement your only goal. Decide that every week you will make a very small improvement with your English ability. And you will do this every week.

Constantly. Consistently. Neverending.

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Mom and I Discuss Sigmund

2006-10-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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In this conversation, my Mom and I discuss Sigmund. You'll remember that Sigmund is my best friend's (Kristin's) cat. When Kristin was living in Thailand, my mother watched Sigmund. When Kristin returned to the United States, she got Sigmund from my Mom.

Unfortunately, Sigmund had just been diagnosed with sinus (nose) cancer. The vet said that he only had 3 months to live. Luckily, he is doing allright still (after 1.5 months).

In this conversation, my Mom asks me about Sigmund.

For transcripts to this conversation, join Effortless English (100 conversations a year for only $9.99/month)

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A Great Blog

2006-10-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Here's a plug ("plug" is slang for "recommendation") for a great language acquisition site called Phrase Base.

Here's a quote from the blog:

We at Phrasebase have been advocating language learning through the relentless memorization of phrases. We feel that traditional language learning material’s approach of focusing on word memorization is simply too granular to be effective.

We feel that focusing on word vocabulary memorization in your language learning efforts is just too detailed and granular to be effective. It’s analogous to the ingredient salt in a cookbook recipe as Sodium Chloride NaCL.

For academics, it’s ok to get into this much detail. But for those who just want to converse in the language, to hear and be heard, the key is to lighten up and NOT to dig too deep into the details, your time is better spent focusing on communicating thoughts and ideas one phrase at a time.

By focusing on Phrases instead of individual words, you reap the following advantages:

1) Words can be ambiguous, a Phrase can not. The word blue can refer to the color or the mood, and if heard instead of written, blew has yet another meaning. The phrase “the sky is blue” has one single meaning that can’t be misinterpreted. Ambiguity creates confusion and the need for clarification, which just wastes time.

2) You can’t ever use just a word. You can’t go to the bar with a buddy and step up to the counter and say “have”. Words don’t get you anywhere in the real world. On the other hand, you say, “I’ll have a beer” and whola…. now you are in business.

3) Individual words get learned over time as a byproduct of focusing on phrases. If for example, I learn the phrase “the sky is blue”. I may not know at first which word refers to the sky and which one refers to the color blue, all I know is what this phrase communicates. Later, perhaps I learn a phrase “there is not a cloud in the sky”. Well, again, I may not know which word means cloud and which one means sky, but I know the meaning of what it communicates. But if remember the earlier phrase, “the sky is blue”, well now I make a connection and can decipher which word now refers to the “sky”. When you learn this way, an amazing thing happens, it hits you profoundly… nobody ever told you what the word “sky” means… you didn’t read it in a book that you know you can always go back and refer too, you didn’t have to learn it by a teacher who likes giving pop quizzes, it was learned the natural way, it was learned in the most powerful way possible to learn something, your brain makes a discovery… Ah HA! You’ve figured it out. This is the most impacting form of learning possible, and more so, it now strengthens your memorization of both phrases.

Fantastic! I'll be checking back to this site often.

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The Math of English Learning

2006-09-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast Article

Let's do some math. Let's compare the cost and efficiency of attending a typical English school, with the cost and efficiency of supported self-study.

Most semi-intensive schools in San Francisco charge between 400-1000 dollars a month, for about 16 hours of classes per week. Let's say the average is about 500/month.

For 500 dollars a month, you get a class with 8-20 people in it-- or possibly more. Some of the learners in the class are serious and motivated, some are only a little motivated, and many are not motivated at all.

Also, some students will be above your level, and some will be below your level.

At the typical English school, the teacher will use an eclectic mix of grammar analysis, textbook based explanations, textbook drills, dialogue formulas, and contrived "communication activities". Much time will be spent discussing, debating, explaining, and questioning linguistic jargon such as "transitive vs. intransitive verbs", "countable and uncountable nouns", complex rules for using "definite and indefinite articles", verb tenses such as "the past progressive, the present perfect, and the past perfect progressive".

You'll spend hours disecting incredibly complex explanations for such simple phrases as "listen to the music", or "hear a sound", or "that's a lot of information", etc.

You'll waste a lot of time. You'll waste time while the teacher takes attendance. You'll waste time while students come in late. You'll waste time while the teacher explains something to another student that you already understand. You'll waste time taking exams. And you'll waste tremendous time on super-complicated explanations that you will quickly forget.

For all of this, you pay 500 dollars a month or more.

As an independent learner, you can do VERY well spending only 100 dollars a month, and can succeed paying half that much.

For 48 dollars, you could learn English with The Linguist. With The Linguist, you could chat with native speakers, and learners all over the world, using Skype. You would have access to a huge audio and text library. You would be able to use the Linguist system to find the meaning of new words, save them in a personal database, and review them. You could submit writing samples and have them corrected by a native speaker.

With your remaining 52 dollars, you could buy study guides, audio books, English magazines, English audio magazines, books, tapes, etc. every month. In other words, you could build a library of REAL English materials- not textbooks.

Not only would you have tremendous resources, for only 100 dollars a month, you'd also save a lot of time. Independent study is much more efficient. You choose exactly what YOU want to read and listen to. You choose when you want to study. You waste no time on lengthy and complicated (and, in my opinion, useless) linguistic explanations- instead concentrating on the real, living language itself.

You don't have to wait while other students get explanations. You don't have to feel frustrated by rushing ahead too fast. You set your own pace.

It is my belief- a belief shared by Steve Kaufman (of The Linguist)- that one hour of intensive independent study is equal to four hours of classroom instruction.

You will make the same progress by studying one hour a day on your own, if you use effective methods, as you will sitting in a typical English class for four hours.

Thus, the independent learner pays much less, spends much less time, uses more interesting materials, generally has more fun, and learns more quickly than the student who is stuck in a typical English classroom.

If you are serious about wanting to learn (or improve) English, supported independent study is the best way to do it!

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Podcast Problems

2006-09-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

by AJ

The podcast host, LibSyn, is currently having problems with their network. So, you may have trouble listening to the Effortless English podcast right now.

They say the problems will be solved soon and everything will be back to normal.

Fingers crossed!

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The Dance of Learning

2006-09-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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When learning any difficult skill, there is a dance that goes on.

We do not learn in a regular, linear, methodical way. Learning occurs in spurts. Sudden jumps in skill are interspersed with plateaus in which nothing much seems to happen.

Of course, we generally love the sudden improvements, and become very frustrated during the plateaus. Its easy to understand why. We were working hard. We were making fast progress. Then suddenly, all progress seems to stop.

We keep working. We keep listening and reading. We keep reviewing. We might even increase the time and energy we devote to language learning. Yet nothing much seems to happen.

At such times, its easy to panic. We start having crazy thoughts like, "I'm never going to learn English", "I'm not learning anymore", "this is impossible". If we indulge these feelings, we may start to lose our motivation. We become frustrated and depressed, and convince ourselves that we will never again make good progress.

During such times, its important to realize that this phenomenon is universal. It applies to learning ANY skill-- not just language learning. Athletes experience the same cycles of rapid progress and plateaus. At times, their strength, skill, and endurance improve quickly. At other times, they train intensely yet make only a little bit of progress. Athletes must deal with the same frustrations that language learners face.

What we must realize is that the plateaus are natural and necessary. In fact, many psychologists believe that the plateaus are where the real learning is taking place. While you seem to be making no progress, your brain is in fact processing all the new information, creating new neural networks, linking pieces of information together, and learning how to access and use it.

Your speech may not seem to be improving- but inside your brain, dramatic changes are happening. Once these changes are complete you "suddenly" make rapid progress again. In other words, what you do during the plateaus determines how much and how fast you improve during the learning jumps.

This relates to another common experience that most researchers and language learners recognize-- understanding is usually more advanced than speaking. For example, you may hear and understand a word many times before you are actually able to use it correctly in speech. Many learners complain about this. They are frustrated that they understand words or phrases but struggle to use them.

But native English speakers are no different. Various research shows that with native speakers, listening/understanding ability is usually about one year ahead of speaking/writing ability.

In other words, all the progress you are making right now, by listening and reading and reviewing, won't show up in your speech until next year! With speech, we generally have a long plateau. There is a long delay between learning new English and actually using it in conversation.

There is not much you can do about this. With intense practice, you can shorten the plateaus. But the best attitude is to accept them. Realize that they are useful. Realize that while you may feel you are not improving, in fact your brain is working hard. And most importantly, realize that the work you are doing right now won't actually show results for weeks, months, or even a year.

In this way, we must develop the attitude of professional athletes. We must realize that the benefits of training are delayed. You don't run 10 miles one day and expect to be faster and stronger the next day. It takes time for the body to adapt, change, and grow.

The same is true of the brain.

So..... even when you feel nothing is happening- keep listening, keep reading, and keep up your motivation. Enjoy yourself. Read and listen to interesting content. Focus more on communication and fascinating content than on obsessing about your progress.

If you continue to listen and read repetitively and consistently- your progress is automatically guaranteed.

So relax and enjoy the ride!

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Word Learner

2006-09-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I just found an interesting web site called Wordlearner. This is a site that allows you to save new words in any target language. The site also offers review functions such as games and flashcards. It will make printable flashcards and you can also download software for your mobile phone- so your phone will help you review new words.

This is very useful software- try it :)

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Pronunciation: AJ and Steve

2006-09-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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OK, here's the next part of my conversation with Steve Kaufman at The Linguist (To Learn English with The Linguist, Click Here).

In this conversation we discuss pronunciation, and how to improve it. We both agree that using phonetic alphabets and charts of the mouth & tongue are not very useful. I talk instead about the method I use with my private students in San Francisco- a method that Steve uses as well.

Of course, pronunciation is very important. You don't need perfect pronunciation- like a native speaker. But you must be good enough to be understood. If you aren't understood, than none of your vocabulary or grammar will matter at all!

So definitely work to improve your pronunciation. You can do it! Gambatte Kudasai!! :)

Enjoy!

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AJ and Steve- Confidence (C)

2006-09-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

by AJ

In this conversation, Steve Kaufman and I discuss the importance of confidence when learning English. Confidence is absolutely vital. It is essential. You must believe you can do it. You must KNOW that you can and will learn English and learn it will.

Unfortunately, most traditional schools destroy confidence. They make you feel stupid with tests, grades, criticism, and teaching methods that don't work. As a result, most English learners have very low confidence.

But its not your fault. You can forget the past and start again. You can rebuild your confidence and make great progress!

Here is the conversation:

Listen To The Podcast Conversation

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Idioms and Slang (C)

2006-09-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Welcome to Effortless English. In today's conversation, I talk to my mother about some of the problems that immigrants, and international students, and visitors to the United States often have when they try to communicate with Americans.

We begin the conversation talking about a co-worker of my mother's. My Mom works in a dental research lab and she works with a lot of doctors and dentists who are from other countries.

Mom: Now he does get a little stumped with,.. I forgot what the English word is,... kind of the slang that we use.

AJ: Uh-huh

Mom: He gets, um, you know, like someone will say "He got cold feet".
AJ: Uhm-uhm

Mom: He doesn't.. ha! He thinks his feet are cold.

AJ: Yeah, those are hard in all languages, you know, its a... cause, you know, they're metaphors basically.... and... you've gotta know what they mean.
Mom: Right, that's the word.

AJ: Spanish has a decent amount of those also. So, ha. So
Mom: Oh they do.

AJ: Yeah. Well there's a guy.. this guy that I work with.. this guy Steve Kaufman, who,.. he speaks nine languages. He's got this internet learning site.
Mom: Uh-huh.

AJ: But he really makes the point and he's totally correct, that, um,.. really in, in a language you have to learn phrases, not so much individual words.
Mom: Uh huh.

AJ: You know individual words will only get you so far.

Mom: Well, well that makes sense.

AJ: Yeah, and, and after that you've gotta learn phrases... that's how you learn the grammar, that's how you learn the slang. So its really,.. the phrases are the, the most important block of language that you've gotta focus on. And, you know, most people focus on just the individual words. And they struggle because of that.

Mom: There's, you know, there's so many of them. There's so many of them, that, uh, its its very confusing.
AJ: Uh-hmmm

Mom: And I think I told you one that, well, this, it wasn't Dr. Soto, it was a Japanese woman, uhm, student, that we had... and and Sharon said that her sister had a lead foot.

AJ: Uh-hmm

Mom: And (s)he said, "I'm so sorry".

(Laughing)

Mom: You can tell your class that.

AJ: Ah, that's great.

Mom: She goes... Sharon goes "Ah,". She just,.. Sharon just stood there for a minute, she goes, "Oh no"

AJ: She just drives fast.

Mom: She drives too fast.

AJ: Yes. And you know they never learn that stuff, you know, they... that's the problem, all these English schools in America, in Canada, in Japan..

Mom: Uh huh

AJ: They're teaching them this kind of very formal written style of English.

Mom: That nobody here talks.. speaks.

AJ: Nobody speaks.. and even if they've studies eight years in Japan.. they've, they've.. you know, they majored in English in University.. that was their major... and they've taken it since middle school, and high school, and all through college...

And they come here and they're always shocked that, "Oh my god, I can't even.. I can't have a conversation with any Americans here. What have I been doing for the last, you know, eight years? "

Mom: Right. Right.

AJ: Because they never learned the real, the real language that everybody speaks. Not like, not like teenager slang, not special slang. But just the stuff that everybody knows... You know, if, if, if, you're grandma's age, or my age, or you're a teenager, you know, there are certain idioms and phrases that we all use.

Its kind of this, you know, they learn this kind of very formal dictionary English.
And, you know, just know one speaks like that. I still don't understand why all the textbooks are designed that way, and all the classes are designed that way.

Mom: Uh-huh

AJ: And yet, no one actually talks that way. Its, its just kind of a-- ha!
Actually, I'm, I'm starting a website.... in fact I'm recording your conversation. I forgot to warn you.

Mom: Oh, that's OK.

AJ: Uhm, ah, so I'm going to take little pieces, like our conversation.. maybe what we're... this topic... and maybe about Sigmund.. and I'm gonna transcribe them, I'm gonna write them down. And then I'm gonna define all the... like.. "lead foot". I'll use that one and I'll, I'll describe what that actually means.

And so, my, my hope is that students, you know, anywhere.. they can go to my website, and then they can listen to these conversations and they can learn, you know, the real English that we use. The idiomatic, normal speech.

And I'm recording conversations with Kristin, and I recorded some with Tiffany.. uh, because they, they so desperately need that.

Mom: Uh-huh

AJ: Its Its really sad, its really sad when I see my students come to San Francisco.. and they've, they've had all this English, and they think they're really advanced, uh, and then they're isolated. They don't make friends, they, they, they, they get really frustrated and upset because they, they struggle with just everyday conversations with people.

Its kind of sad because, you know, they come here with these dreams of making all these friends, and getting jobs here, and going to University, and then, and and they think that's gonna happen quickly and they... and that's when they realize, "Wow. All this education I've had.. they weren't teaching me anything useful."

Well, its not totally not, not useful.

Mom: Right

AJ: But there's a lot they missed.

Mom: Uh-hmm

AJ: And then they come here and people say, "Hey, what's up?", and they're, "Huh? What?". You no one... very few people actually say that whole sentence, "Hi. How are you?" You now, uh... maybe in a kind of formal setting, maybe, but... people are like, "What's up?", "Hey", "How's it goin", "Whatcha doin?",...

Mom: Right. Yeah.

AJ: And, and they're just shocked that no one actually uses the sentence they were taught from middle school,.. and no one says it.....

That's the the language learning system in,.. I would say, almost every country, but in Asia it seems, tends to be worse, and its this.. they learn these canned, kind of,...
Mom: Yeah.

AJ:... ways of speaking that are so unnatural. They're, they're, you know, they're studying these textbook dialogues and scripts..

Mom: Uh-huh....

AJ: And, you know, they memorize them by heart. Some classes they literally have to memorize these dialogues, word for word, and repeat them back.

Learn English Free Podcast

Remember Where You Were (A)

2006-09-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast Recording

I just had an excellent discussion with students at the Linguist. (To Learn English With The Linguist (click here).

In this discussion, we discussed the power of beliefs and motivation. Positive beliefs can be very very powerful. If you believe you are intelligent, if you believe you are an excellent language learner, if you have total faith that you will master English, and if you have a deep interest in some aspect of the language & its culture-- you are sure to succeed.

Of course, it helps to have a good learning method. But even with a great method, you will probably fail if you don't have strong positive beliefs.

One problem that many language learners have is that they become so focused on their goal that they forget to celebrate their successes. I have this problem. I'm always comparing myself to better Spanish speakers. If I'm walking around San Francisco and hear Mexican people talking-- I always listen carefully. If I don't understand them, I become depressed. I think, "I'm still terrible at Spanish. I'm not learning fast enough".

This is absolutely crazy. I've only been studying Spanish for 4.5 months.

Of course its good to have goals-- especially measurable goals. But we must not become too focused on them. It is very dangerous to always be comparing ourselves to native speakers, or more advanced learners. Its dangerous because we tend to focus only on the negative-- My pronunciation isn't as good as theirs, my grammar is weak, I don't know enough words, etc.

When we focus only on the negative, we forget how much we have already accomplished. So its important to think about this sometimes. Think back 4 months, 6 months, 1 year. Remember what your English ability was like then. Even better, find some old content that seemed really difficult at that time. Read it and listen to it again. You may be shocked how easy it seems now.

I did this recently with Spanish. I'd been getting discouraged, feeling like my progress was slow. So, I listened to a story called "Patricia Va a California", which I used to listen to four months ago, when I first started. Wow! It seems so slow and easy now.

I realized that I have made a lot of progress. No, I'm not speaking yet. No, I can't understand native speakers on the street. But I'm understanding more of the content I read and listen to. I'm feeling more comfortable with Spanish. I'm enjoying it more.

Set high standards for yourself. Work towards your goals. But in the meantime, don't forget to remember and celebrate all the progress you have made-- and are making right now!

Building confidence is a vital part of language learning. Do it consciously. Do it regularly. Do it systematically. Change your beliefs, strengthen your faith- obsess over your successes!

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Homeless In Athens, Part 1B (A)

2006-09-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Part 1 B

The bathroom situation was not nearly so sublime. Mostly I managed with public bathrooms... restaurants, stores, and libraries took care of my needs. When necessary, I ducked behind a tree or into an alley. Again, I was more fortunate than many of Athens’ homeless population. Generally, I had a clean cut appearance and never had trouble using public bathrooms. Many homeless people, especially those who have been living in hard conditions for a long time, have become ragged in appearance and suffer a great deal more discrimination than I. They are refused access to bathrooms in restaurants or businesses and must often resort to the outdoors. Using the outdoors carries risk, as it is illegal. So a homeless person faces police harassment and a ticket for satisfying a basic bodily function.

Most homeless people will tell you that sleep, more than food or clothing or elimination, is their most difficult challenge. They are chronically sleep-deprived.... subject to terrible conditions at night--- biting insects, harassment from drunks, police checks, rain, noise, and extremely uncomfortable “beds”. I faired better than most, but rarely got a good nights sleep. My bunk was narrow, only two feet wide, and the plywood was hard (though certainly an improvement over the cement sidewalks that some use).

At night I covered the windows of the Nissan with burlap curtains for privacy. Mosquitoes plagued me relentlessly.... I’d lie awake in the windless heat and listen to them buzzing in my ears. I rolled and turned and swatted at my arms and legs.... unsure if I was feeling bites or imagining them. At times I sealed myself under a blanket to avoid the bugs....but this cut off air circulation... and I was soon sweating and panting and miserable- and still could not sleep. Every night this was my choice, between unbearable heat or biting bugs.

When I finally drifted off to sleep I was often woken up by drunks.... usually around 2:00am when the bars emptied. They never noticed or bothered me directly... but their shouts and fights and broken bottles jarred me from sleep- and I had great difficulty drifting off again. For the first few months, my own paranoia made it worse. I was terrified of being “discovered”....of being harassed or assaulted by violent drunken hordes. Such were my fears- but they never materialized. My threats were far more domestic: sleep deprivation was by far my worst enemy. In six months, I did not have a single good night’s sleep.

Often I’d curse my car, the heat, the bugs, and the drunks.... yet I was grateful too. My cramped home was far better than what many homeless people have. Many lack any sort of roof and must try to survive on benches or sidewalks. The sidewalk is a killer. The cement sucks the heat from your body even on the hottest of nights. You find yourself simultaneously chilled (from below) and heated (from the air above). You awake from the sidewalk aching and sore.... as if you’d suffered a light beating.

In the car I had privacy. I was never directly harassed or disturbed. But on sidewalks and benches there is none. Passing drunks yell at you- or throw things at you. Police wake you and tell you to move on. Store owners insult you. Rarely can you get more than a couple hours of rest..... fitful and wary. More than they are hungry or sad or cold,.... most homeless people are bone-tired.

Despite deep fatigue, everyday I woke up soon after sunrise- the sun turned my car into a solar oven. Groggy and sore, I rolled out of the bunk, took down the curtains, and drove to a park. Athena and I would walk for an hour or so, to stretch our bodies and work out the aches... and then I’d find a soft spot under a tree and take a nap. These naps helped a great deal. They were far more restful than my bug infested nights.

Somewhat rested, I’d feed Athena and cook my breakfast in the parking lot ( a package of instant oats). I’d then make my way to the library to check email and work on my blog (www.effortlessacquisition.blogspot.com). There is, in fact, a large community of homeless bloggers... who use free access to library computers to record their experiences on the streets of America. The most famous of these is “The Homeless Guy”, a man who has been chronically homeless for twenty years. The Homeless Guy suffers from severe clinical depression. He has, at times, had jobs and housing, but loses them when the worst of the depression kicks in. Most of the time he lives in shelters or on the street. He uses his blog to tell his story, and to advocate for dignified treatment of all homeless people (www.thehomelessguy.blogspot.com). The diversity, and the quality, of these “homeless blogs” is astounding and certainly challenges the stereotype of lazy and inarticulate beggars.

After a few hours at the library I would return downtown. For the price of coffee I rented a seat outside Blue Sky Coffee Shop-- where I’d sit for long hours. I watched the businessmen hustle and the students scurry off to class. There I’d sit..... reading, scribbling, sketching. And it was there that I gained a bigger window into Athens’ homeless life.....for I was often joined by others who’d scrounge a cup of coffee and join me. This is how I met Mike....

Homeless In Athens, Part 1A (A)

2006-09-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Part 1 A

For six months I lived homeless in Athens, Georgia (USA). Actually, “homeless” is not an accurate term, as I did have a home- a 1986 Nissan Sentra, which I shared with my dog Athena. Inside I built a bunk bed- a two foot wide plywood platform that stretched from the rear dash to the front dash. This makeshift bunk allowed me to stretch out fully when I slept, though it was far from comfortable. It gave me only three inches of room between my nose and the roof of the car. I slept directly on the plywood and covered myself with a thin sheet. Athena slept on the back seat, below the bunk on a thick dog bed.

Still, I was reasonably comfortable... and certainly better off than most who are thrust into homelessness involuntarily. I chose to be homeless, and could thus prepare for the experience. The Nissan sheltered me from rain, gave me a small degree of privacy, and provided a secure place to keep my possessions.

I had only a simple and extremely practical wardrobe... chosen for its utility more than its fashion. I had an umbrella and a wind breaker. I had a sheet, a pillow, and a fleece blanket for cold Spring nights. For cooking I used a propane stove, a set of backpackers’ pots, one fork, and one spoon. I had a few books and pencils and pens for sketching. I also had a small bag with basic toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor, toilet paper, and biodegradable liquid soap. I had one towel. In a pinch, most of my possession could be stuffed into a large book bag, and yet I had far more than most who live on the street.

The two most common questions I was asked, when someone learned of my living situation, were: “How do you bathe?” and “How do you use the bathroom?”. Bathing was simple.....in the Spring, when the weather was cold, I made due with sponge baths. Typically I’d find a lockable public bathroom and bring my towel and toiletries in a book bag. Once inside, I unpacked and washed one body part at a time... using a small sponge and the bathroom sink. I moved quickly and could clean my entire body in less than five minutes. Once clean, I towelled off- then cleaned the bathroom to leave no evidence of what I’d been doing. I needed these bathrooms-- and did not want to arouse suspicion or resentment from the owners.... I tried to practice a “low impact” form of homelessness.

When the weather warmed in summer, my options became more pleasant: I bathed in the Oconee River... in a secluded cove at sunset. This was a sublime experience: River flowing quietly... sun painting the sky pink and purple..... overhead, trees swaying to a gentle breeze and in the distance- a heron gliding from one rock to the next. The river water was brisk and invigorating and seemed to provide a deeper cleaning than the chlorinated showers most of us use. Birds sang to me, the river whispered, and the trees danced. I left the river each night not only cleaner, but calmer and happier as well. Bathing outdoors under the open sky was my favorite experience of being homeless.

Learn English Free Podcast

Lessons From Video Games

2006-09-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Educators can learn a lot from video games. Good video games are, in fact, highly addictive learning experiences. The novice player is guided through ever-increasing levels of difficulty and challenge. This process is full of "failures"- ie. death, loss, etc. And yet, most gamers LOVE the experience. A failure in a video game is seen as a learning experience and a challenge.

Contrast this to the typical English class. How many schools treat "failures" as positive (and fun!) learning experiences and challenges? And thus, how many students have this viewpoint? In school, failure is a terrible, humiliating, and shameful thing.

What's more, students are rarely given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. The worst example of this I ever encountered was at Thammasat University. Instructors were not allowed to review the answers to a test after it had been graded. We could not go through the test and help the students understand the correct answers. The test was not a learning tool, it was a weapon for degrading students and boosting the authority of the university & teachers.

Another important aspect of video game learning is that learning occurs in "sub domains". The "domain" is the "real" environment- in this case, the full scale, normal level of the game. Novice game players rarely use an instruction manual-- perhaps they scan a small pamphlet to see how the controls work- but that's usually all.

Rather, most games come with built in learner scenarios that match the full game quite closely. For example, in the American Football Game "Madden 2006", the novice can play scrimmage games, practice plays against a "practice squad", or play full games in "novice mode". The important point is that the training module closely resembles the full game dynamics- only its simpler and easier. The gamer learns by actually doing.

English schools are exactly the opposite. Schools are obsessed with manuals, ie. textbooks. Students spend the bulk of their time reading the manual, studying the manual, memorizing the manual, discussing the manual, and being tested on the manual. This is learning by analysis, not doing. In fact, many students will spend 3, 4, 5, 6, or more years studying English manuals without ever really "playing" with authentic English-- without ever really communicating.

The English school is NOT a subdomain of the real environment (an English language speaking environment). The English school and manual have almost no resemblance to the environment in which the student actually hopes to perform. And so we see the same sad story again and again-- students who have "studied" English for 6 years, but can barely communicate beyond "How are you? I'm fine, and you?"

As teachers, we should be doing a MUCH better job. We should create English learning environments that closely resemble the real English environments that students will perform in.

Most students say that conversation and verbal communication are their most important goals. They want to be able to talk to native speakers (and other foreigners) in a clear and confident manner. They want to understand native speakers, and be understood by them. Writing excellence, TOEFL scores, and special interests (ie. Business English, English for Scientists) usually come after the most important goal- the ability to communicate in everyday spoken English.

So how should we be teaching these students? In English language education, what constitutes a subdomain? In other words, how can we create learning modules that are simpler and easier, but which still closely approximate the real English environment students plan to operate in?

Of course, there are many answers. But I've got one-- Real conversations. No more scripted dialogues. No more idiotic actors reading textbook English. No more grammar analysis, isolated vocabulary wordlists, linguistic terminology, textbooks, exams, grades, humiliation, or mindless drills.

Real conversations. This is why I've decided to launch a website for students-- to provide REAL conversations, by REAL people (not actors), talking about their REAL lives. Unscripted, unplanned, natural conversations from everyday life. Step two is to make these conversations simpler and easier for the student- which I will do by providing full transcripts and a learning guide for each conversation. The guide won't use any linguist terminology- just the simplest explanations or synonyms possible (and for Japanese students- the simplest translation).

This is a much closer approximation of the real life English environment in which students will perform-- but made easier and simpler. Recordings also provide another benefit- for just like a videogame, they can be played over and over again. If the learner "fails" to understand the first time, its no problem. They just play it again.

Week by week, I will build my library of real conversations. I've been recording phone calls with my sister, my mom, and my friends. I carry a small digital recorder everywhere I go now- and likewise record chats with friends and strangers.

As I transcribe these, I've been very surprised. Actually typing out the conversations word for word makes me see just how different these real conversations are from the dialogues you see in textbooks. They are totally different. The truth is, no one talks the way the textbook tapes do. No one. So why are we teaching students this nonsense?

Unfortunately, these ideas are hard to use in schools. I've encountered nothing but resistance and denial at every school I've worked at. The rules are too entrenched. The attitudes too rigid. Schools are the worst possible places to innovate. The administrators are mostly focused on keeping everything and everyone under control, following the rules, doing what has always been done. Teachers are mostly focused on preserving their perceived control, power, and influence. Both groups are utterly enthralled with the textbook industry and can't imagine a class without grammar points, long vocabulary lists, "communication drills", dialogues, tests, and grades.

And so, I feel the internet is the best possible place to both "teach" and learn a language. Nowadays, with the wealth of authentic material available, with online dictionaries and portable software dictionaries, with podcasts, with learning systems like The Linguist, with Skype, with Amazon.com-- there is simply no reason to waste time and money on a traditional language school.

My short advice to students is this: Don't waste your money on a school. Do it yourself!

Learn English Free Podcast

11 Cats, 4 Dogs, and a Baby!

2006-09-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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I talked to my sister today. She lives in Indiana, in the middle part of the United States.

Today we talked about Tiffany's house and some work her and her husband are doing to it. Tiffany is an avid animal lover and she is married to a vet (animal doctor). Her and her husband Andrew are always rescuing hurt and sick animals. So now they have 11 cats and 4 dogs! Two of the cats are sick with feline leukemia- an incurable disease. These cats must be separated from the other healthy cats.

In addition to all these animals, my sister now has a new baby- Isabella. Isabella is just starting to move around by herself- and she will be crawling soon.

Because of this, my sister and Andrew decided to take out the carpet from their living room and replace it with a wood floor. Carpets are quite dirty and they didn't want the baby crawling on it.

In this conversation, Tiffany and I talk about Isabella, the animals, and the house. Tiffany and Andrew just got back from a vacation- and they left the baby with my Mom. They felt insulted because Isabella was very happy with her grandmother and didn't seem to miss Tiffany and Andrew at all!

Here is the conversation.

(I am busily working on my new website for students and hope to have a test version ready soon. I'll put the full text transcript for this conversation on the site, as well as a word list to explain difficult words, phrases, or idioms). Coming soon!

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Learn English Free Podcast

Relax!

2006-09-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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"Do as I say, not as I do."
--My Dad

"Learning English should be fun! If it isn't you'’re learning the wrong way. Half the fun of traveling, they say, is the journey. Well, that'’s how we feel about learning languages. "
--Steve Kaufman

When training for my first marathon, I sometimes became stressed. My life would get very busy. Perhaps I had a lot to do at my job. Or maybe my social life became busy. Whatever the reason, there were times in which my time and energy were committed to other things and I couldn't train the way I wanted to. I would miss training days. Other days, I'd go running, but I'd feel tired and would run quite slowly. The worst weeks were when I missed a long run- the most important run of the week.

At such times, I'd get stressed and worried. I'd think, "I'm not gonna make my goal. I'm missing training days- this isn't good. I've got to run more. I've got to train harder." The busier I got, the more I worried.

At a certain level, this sort of worry was helpful. It showed that I was very motivated. It showed I was serious about my goal of finishing my first marathon in under 4 hours. The worry gave me a kick and made sure I didn't slip too much.

But all things in moderation! Past a certain point, this kind of worry is counter-productive. It began to erode my enjoyment of running. When I worried too much, running became stressful. It became a chore and a duty instead of a fun, healthy, and engaging activity. This worry also effected my job and social life. I began to feel guilty about working late, or joining my friends for a weekend camping trip.

Finally, I realized that my 4 hour goal was good-- but that I had to remember the larger goals-- to enjoy running, to complete a marathon (with any time), and to enjoy the process of training- not just the end result. I forced myself to relax! When life became busy, I missed some runs. When I felt tired, I ran slowly and was happy to just be running- instead of obsessing about speed and time. This was an important change. This change in attitude allowed me to balance running with other aspects of my life and encouraged me to focus more on the experience of running rather than a time or finish line.

I'm reminded of this experience because I've experienced the same problem with Spanish lately. During the past 4 weeks, my life has become extremely hectic. My hours increased at my school, I've been teaching a lot of private hours, I'm still tutoring with The Linguist, and I'm working on my website. Plus, I have friends and I like to spend time with them.

And so, Spanish study has suffered. I missed some days. Other days, I studied but my energy and focus were low. I just wasn't learning as well or as fast as I had been. I got stressed. I got worried. I began to resent my jobs and even my social life. They were interfering with my Spanish goal- Dammit!

Well, finally I realized that this attitude is crazy. I forgot my biggest goals-- to reach fluency with Spanish and to enjoy the process. In the end, it doesn't matter if I become fluent in one year, two years, or three years. However long it takes, I won't get there if the process is stressful and unpleasant.

So, I've given myself a new rule: Relax.

What's funny is that this is my Number One rule for my students. Literally. When I begin a class with new students, I write my rules on the board. Rule 1 is always: Relax! I tell my students that relaxing and enjoying the language is the single most important factor for success.

But I was asking them to "do as I say, not as I do".

Not anymore. I will keep learning Spanish. I'll still read and listen about one hour a day- sometimes more, sometimes less. But I will miss some days. And I'll be tired some days. And that's fine.

Learning a language is much like training for a marathon. Any particular day is not very important. What's important is overall consistency over a long period of time. You can miss a few days so long as you enjoy the process and keep going-- week after week, month after month.

And so my best advice to frustrated students is-- "Do as I say, not as I did-- Relax!!"

And by the way, I still reached my four hour goal for that first marathon-- 3:48:00 in fact.

Learn English Free Podcast

Wat Struggles With Pronunciation

2006-09-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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This is a conversation between my best friend Kristin, a Japanese student, and I.

In this conversation, we discuss the problems Kristin's boyfriend is having with pronunciation. Her boyfriend is named Wat. He is Thai. Wat taught himself to speak English-- all by himself. He learned by listening, and by trying to communicate with foreign tourists in Bangkok. Wat sold jewelry on the sidewalk. His story is amazing.

Wat moved to San Francisco one month ago. Although his spoken English is great- he does have one problem-- pronunciation. Wat has a strong Thai accent. This didn't cause him problems in Thailand, but it has caused some problems in America.

In this conversation, We discusses Wat's pronunciation challenges. Kristin mentions some of the frustrations she is having trying to convince Wat that pronunciation is important. We then discuss the reason why it is important to have good pronunciation.

Here is the conversation:

Kristin: Last night he was trying to say "tools".

Student: Tools?

Kristin: Like hammer, and screwdriver... you know. Like if you're making something. So.... putting together....

AJ: Yeah, all those things are tools. Hammer, screwdriver, anything you use to make something.

Kristin: So he's trying,.. last night he's trying to say "tools" but he's saying "two"... "two". So I think he's saying "two".
So for five minutes I'm saying, "I don't understand-- two?"

And he kept saying "two, two" and I was like "two.... two what?"
Yeah, sometimes it can be very difficult.
Trying to get him to say that.. the "s" sound is almost impossible.

AJ: The final "s"

Kristin: Yes. That's what happens when...

AJ: Thai people, they chop the ends off

Kristin: They chop the ends off of words. That's why its,... like, if he just finished-- "tools", I could understand. But he's cut, cut it... "two, two"

AJ: "Two, two" yeah. They make everything kind of shorter. Yeah. That's why I was telling her about enunciation, right, and I was... because she was practicing her pronunciation-- like if she focuses on "r" and "l" she doesn't... not like a Thai person... but other sounds become weak, so I was trying to tell her, you know, try to pronounce every sound in the word.

And, even... even if it sounds a little unnatural, you know, more like an actor. Still, you know, that pronunciation will be very clear. Its tough.

Kristin: I try... I try to do that with Wat. I haven't said that to him, but I try to encourage that and he's... I think he feels weird doing it.

AJ: Um, hmm.

Kristin: So he doesn't. Uh, like last night finally he's, like, "Oh whatever".
Uh, when I finally realized what he was saying, I was, like, "tools" and he's like "Whatever".

And I was, like, "Don't say whatever. You're here now and people aren't gonna understand you. You need to work on that"

AJ: I think that, you know, that obviously he needs to learn to read, but I think he also needs to work on pronunciation.

Kristin: He does.

AJ: Because a lot of people don't understand. And that makes his life more difficult here. I mean, he's trying to talk to Americans and they don't understand him. That will be frustrating to him... cause problems.

If his pronunciation is good, even if he can't read he can ask someone- "Hey where's this? " And if they understand him quickly.. its no problem.

I was trying to tell her that, you know, I think her pronunciation is quite good... and...

Kristin: It is. Yeah.

AJ: And I said that's good. That helps a lot. So, you know, like, Wat... or someone else with more of a strong accent,... many times Americans get frustrated.

They don't understand you the first time, they, they become frustrated and they stop listening. They're, like, "What, what"... and they just.... you know.

We're teachers so we'll be patient. But, but many Americans will not be patient. They'll just, like, "OK, whatever".
You know, they just stop listening to you... and.. so its, it is important.

Conversation About Sigmund: Study Guide & Podcast

2006-09-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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This podcast presents a real, unscripted conversation I had with my best friend Kristin. I recorded the conversation in her apartment.

Kristin has a cat named named Sigmund (nicknamed Siggy). Unfortunately, Sigmund was diagnosed with an incurable form of sinus cancer. My brother-in-law is a vet, and he said that there is no cure for this cancer. Neither surgery nor drugs nor chemotherapy can cure it. He said that most cats only live about three months once this particular kind of cancer is diagnosed.

Kristin has a very close connection with Sigmund. She's had him for over 13 years, since he was a kitten. She was very upset about Sigmund's diagnosis. But she has decided not to give up. Since traditional medical science has no cure, Kristin has decided to try to treat Sigmund with natural herbs, supplements, and remedies. She researched cat sinus cancer on the internet and found a few suggestions for natural treatments.

Here is Sigmund's standard treatment plan:

Transfer Factors: These are immune boosting components taken from cow colostrum (in the milk) and chicken egg yolks. This supplement is supposed to boost the immune system.

Flax Seed Oil: Many natural vets recommended flax seed oil as an overall health booster. Some claim that flax oil has anti-cancer and immune boosting properties.

Blessed Thistle: This is an herb. It increases appetite and boosts general health. Kristin got a liquid tincture and adds it to Sigmund's water.

Licorice Root: This herb (also a liquid concentrate) thins mucus and thus helps Siggy breath (since the tumor partially blocks his nose).

Digestive Enzymes: Cooking food destroys natural enzymes in it that aid digestion. So Kristin gives Sigmund a digestive enzyme capsule after every meal.

Fulvic Minerals: This is a multi-mineral and trace mineral liquid supplement that Kristin adds to his water-- which is supposed to boost his general health and immune system.

Raw Food: Kristin adds a bit of raw cat food (not cooked, bought at a pet store) to Sigmund's canned food. The raw food is supposed to contain a lot of healthy enzymes, vitamins, minerals, etc.

Other supplements she sometimes uses:

Q10: This is an anti-oxidant that boosts the immune system.

Shitake Mushroom capsules: Shitake mushrooms have anti-cancer properties.

Cat's Claw: This is an herb that boosts the immune system.

Essiac: This is an herbal blend that is rumored to have immune boosting and anti-cancer properties.

Terramin Clay: This clay is rich in minerals and is also supposed to have de-tox properties. It is added to the water.

Kristin has been following the "standard plan" for about a month. It seems to have helped Sigmund. His general health seems good and he seems generally happy and comfortable. The swelling around his eye and nose, caused by the tumor, has not increased.

However, it has not decreased either. So Kristin bought the additional supplements (Q10, Shitake, Cats Claw, Clay, & Essiac). This Monday, she gave him all these new supplements on the same day. It was too much. Sigmund vomited (threw up) shortly after getting all these pills.

So, when I went to Kristin's apartment, we discussed this problem and what to do about it.

Here is the discussion:

AJ: Yeah, so anyway I think that.... I think that, you know, we've established a pretty good routine with his, uh, you know, the raw food....

just the Blessed Thistle in the water, the licorice stuff in the water. The Transfer factors I think are pretty good. Flax seed oil is supposed to be really good, and...

what else do you give him everyday?

Kristin: The minerals.

AJ: Oh yeah, the minerals in his water. You still... you got those in his water again?

Kristin: Not right now, I have the,.. only the clay.

AJ: Ahhh.

Kristin: That's why yesterday I gave him a syringe-full of, ahh, minerals, the Blessed Thistle, and the Licorice Root.

AJ: And he barfed.... I think that.....
[barfed= vomited]

Kristin: It wasn't just that it was everything.

AJ: Yeah, I think that the minerals are also supposed to be diluted in water maybe.

Kristin: Oh.

Kristin: They usually are, that's the first time I've done that cause
(AJ: Cause he was....)
Kristin: I hadn't given him any in a few days.

AJ: And he was drinking it all down fine before right? When it was in his water...

Kristin: Yeah

AJ: So, you know, maybe go back to all that routine.. and then just the other stuff is just kind of maybe a little extra supplement. You know, one extra thing a day-- either the Cat's Claw or the mushrooms or the Q10 is probably plenty.

Kristin: After a few days?

AJ: Yeah, like maybe, maybe tomorrow just do the standard thing. I mean, go... maybe when the clay is... when you're done with that, go ahead and put that..... the minerals back in his water. And then, uh...

Kristin: Yeah

AJ: Yeah, just do the basic stuff, for tomorrow and... then maybe after that you can test him with one thing, one of the pills... of the pills..., with food.

Does he ever eat the catnip?

Kristin: He has been.

AJ: Oh really.

Kristin: So all this time he's been throwing up in the past several days...

AJ: Yeah.

Kristin: He's started eating it a little bit.

AJ: Does he get crazy?

Kristin: No, I don't.... I think he kind of just pulls it off and...
AJ: Chews on it?
Kristin: Chews at it but doesn't really take it in... ingest it.

(Sigmund comes out from under the bed, AJ talks to him)

AJ (to Sigmund): Hey Mr. Sigmund. Whatcha doin boy? Hello boy. Ooohp, he's gonna eat some Catnip.

-------
Notes:

1. Catnip is a plant that many cats like to eat. It has a calming effect on many cats. Many cats also love to roll around and play after eating it. Some people call Catnip "Kitty Marijuana"!!

2. As always, I recommend a specific study method for using this podcast- especially if you are below the advanced level.
First, read the text, which is located on my blog at: www.effortlessacquisition.blogspot.com
Use an online dictionary to find words you don't understand.

Second, Listen to the audio podcast while reading at the same time. Do this many times-- the more the better!

Third, Listen only, without reading. Do this once you can understand all the vocabulary quickly. Listen many times. Download this file and put it in your iPod or other MP3 player.

Finally, fourth- Listen, pause, and then imitate the pronunciation (including individual sounds, words, phrasing, and rhythm) of the speakers. Try to sound exactly like them.

Good luck!

The adventures of Sigmund will continue in later podcast episodes.

Learn English San Francisco
One on one english instruction
Authentic real english, no textbooks

Identity: Podcast

2006-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Identity is a powerful thing. What we believe about ourselves- and how we define ourselves- will determine our speed of progress, our enjoyment of a language, and our ultimate success or failure with a language. A negative identity can destroy our motivation and thus our ability to learn a language quickly and easily. A positive identity can do exactly the opposite- it can be rocket fuel for our language acquisition engine.

Tony Robbins, an inspirational speaker, talks a lot about the power of identity. In a CD of his called "Lessons In Mastery" he makes the following point:

"See, to get to where we wanna be we gotta take on a new level of thinking. We gotta know that what we've done up until now has been great- there's nothing wrong with it, its fantastic.

But to get to the next level we've gotta look at life in a new way, and one of those new looks is we gotta perceive ourselves in a different way. Not just our capability, but who we are right now. Not someday. Today.

That shift begins the minute you begin to consciously define yourself, instead of letting the environment do it for you. Cause think about it- how do most of us define ourselves? Where do we come up with our identity anyway? Well it comes from a variety of environments but maybe the best way to answer the question is to ask a different one: How do you define the people around you? How do you know if they're a friend- if they're a good person or not?

The way we define other people. The way we discover their identity is we watch them. We listen to them. We judge people's identity usually by their behavior. Isn't that true?

I mean think about it, somebody treats you real harshly several times, each time you're around them-- pretty soon you go, "I know that person. That person's a jerk."

You know what the challenge is? Once you decide that they're a jerk, and if that becomes a belief- or worse, if that becomes a conviction where you KNOW they're a jerk-- nothing's gonna change your opinion about it. Then even if they're a really nice person later on, they were just having a horrible day, maybe they were being a jerk that day, but that's not who they are.

Once you define them that way, guess what, nothing they can do can change it.

So you gotta know that sometimes we do the same thing to ourselves. That's the danger. "

Tony makes a good point. Defining ourselves can be very very dangerous. For example, for many years I defined myself as "a terrible language learner". I had failed to learn a language in High School. In college I took two semesters of Mandarin and I didn't learn anything. I failed to learn Japanese while living in Japan. And I failed to learn Thai while in Thailand.

These experiences built upon one another. Each time I started a language, I already had the belief that I was a bad language learner. When I failed again, this identity was strengthened. In Thailand, I began telling people that I was a good language teacher, but a horrible language learner.

As long as I had that identity, I was sure to fail at any language I tried. But luckily, I chose to change that belief. I began to realize that I was not "bad at languages". Rather, I had had bad teachers in the past, and had used ineffective (and horribly boring) learning methods when studying on my own. I began to read research about language acquisition in order to become a better teacher- but this information also helped me change my learning identity.

Then I began to talk to successful language learners like David Long and Steve Kaufman. The methods they used were totally different than those I had tried. After one conversation with Steve in particular, I had an epiphany. I was not a bad language learner. With the right approach, I could learn a language just as effectively as Steve, or David, or anyone else.

I changed my identity. Suddenly, Spanish became exciting and fun. I've been learning it for four months now, and I'm more motivated and more excited than when I first started. I'm making steady progress. I don't know if I will be fluent in one year, or two years, or when-- but I do know that within the foreseeable future- I will be fluent. I have no doubt that I will be successful. I have a new, chosen identity-- I am an enthusiastic and successful language learner!

Another self-defeating identity we can create is a nationalistic one. If we identify too much with our native country and culture, we will be closed to other cultures-- and thus other languages. For example, if an American goes to Thailand and avoids Thai food, makes no Thai friends, lives near Sukhumvit Road with other Westerners, and constantly complains that "America is better"-- what chance does he have to learn the Thai language.

Likewise, if a Japanese student comes to America-- but lives with other Japanese people, has only Japanese friends, eats only Japanese food, and constantly wishes they were back in Japan-- what chance do they have of mastering English? Very little. And even if they do, it will require a herculean effort of willpower.

To my mind, the whole point of learning a language is to connect with other people and other cultures. Why would I learn Spanish if I didn't want to travel in Latin America, meet Spanish speakers, learn about Spanish football, read about Latin American history, etc. I mean, I'm dying to take a trip to Mexico, or Ecuador, or Venezuela. I've already got a long list of places I want to visit. That's what makes the language interesting and alive.

But to do this, I must let go of my "I'm an American" identity a little. Of course I was born here and I'll always be an American. But its only a small part of my identity. I like many things about America, and dislike many things too. Likewise, there are many things I love about Thailand, and Japan, and India.

I've changed my identity, from "American" to "World citizen".

These beliefs may not seem to be directly related to language learning- but they are. By redefining our identity- as language learners and citizens-- we can radically improve our ability to learn another language.

So forget your past beliefs. Forget past English "trauma". Forget all those boring classes and terrible teachers and tests and grades and criticism. None of that matters. Its not you. You are not bad at English. You are not bad at languages.

You are an enthusiastic, engaged, successful language learner-- if you choose to be.

Three Jobs

2006-09-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

By AJ

I essentially have three jobs.

First, I work for a school called IIC in San Francisco, CA. Its a good school, with very nice students and teachers, and a great director. While I am often highly critical of schools, I feel that IIC is an excellent English language school and I'm very happy to be teaching there.

My second job is tutoring with The Linguist. I don't do this for money- I do it because I believe The Linguist is the most powerful and effective language learning resource available. With The Linguist, a student can access a large library of material that comes in both text and audio form. The learner can use the system to acquire and save new words and phrases. Linguist students can also submit writing samples for correction by tutors. Finally, the Linguist offers one one one and group discussions with native speaker coaches, via Skype. I can't say enough good things about The Linguist- and am excited to contribute to their success- if only a little bit.

Finally, my third job is teaching private students on my own. I work with a few students here in San Francisco. My job is to coach them towards English mastery AND independence. I don't just teach them English. Rather, I work to teach them a language learning system. When I first meet them, I always tell my private students- "I will teach you a very effective system, but you are going to do all the work!" I'm very honest with my students. I tell them that one hour a week, or three hours a week, is not enough. I tell them that they need to devote at least an hour a day to focused, repeated, systematic listening, reading, and (if ready) speaking practice- every single day. I tell them that if they follow the plan, they WILL make a breakthrough within 6 months. And finally, I tell them that I expect them to fire me once they make the breakthrough. I'm direct about this- I don't want them to become dependent on me. I don't want them to still be coming to me one year, two years, or five years later. I want them to learn an effective self-learning method, master it, make it a daily habit, and then- eventually, be free of me.

As a private coach/tutor, I do not consider language explanation to be a very important job. I do explain things now and then. But the most important part of my job is to:
1) help students develop their own powerful learning plan
2) motivate, encourage, coach, and cajole them to boost their motivation, increase their focus, build their confidence, and assure their success.

Of the three jobs, I must admit that the third one- private English coaching- is the most rewarding. I enjoy it the most because I see the best results. Its so exciting to see a learner make fast progress. Its wonderful to see their confidence grow. Its simply amazing to see what can be accomplished by an energized learner with an effective plan. Truly amazing.

I love being a part of that!

Learn English San Francisco

Sample Learning Guide: Podcast

2006-09-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This English Podcast

This weekend I've been doing a lot of thinking about learners. I realize that while I do love teaching, I really want to start providing more help and resources for students.

In my opinion, learners are the most important people in education. Not teachers. Not schools. Not administrators and bureaucrats. Not textbook publishing companies. Learners.

I've also come to realize that language learners are the people I really want to reach- not teachers. Unfortunately, the education industry is broken, and I don't think it can be fixed by teachers. Learners are the one's who will fix education. They will fix it by abandoning traditional language education in favor of independent learning methods that work. They will fix it by creating their own learning communities.

Learners are the most open to these ideas because they have no power to preserve, no job to justify, no bureaucracy to maintain. The learner cares only about one thing-- actually learning the language.

And so, over the next few months I will be shifting my focus from teaching to helping learners (unfortunately, these are not the same thing :( I will be working on a new website/blog/podcast that will be focused on learners and their needs.

And I will start creating conversations, audio essays, and audio stories-- with transcripts and wordlists.

As practice, I just created a study guide for the conversation I had with Steve Kaufman a few weeks ago. I've included it below- as four jpeg images.

English learners- I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions on how to improve these guides. In the future (starting in October), the guides will also include Japanese translatioins of the key vocabulary & phrases.

Listen To This Podcast Conversation

Learn English San Francisco
One on one english instruction
Authentic real english, no textbooks

Split Coming

2006-09-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

by AJ

In the near future, I'm planning to split this site. Originally, Effortless Language Acquisition was created as a blog for language teachers. Most of my posts were about teaching.

Over time, however, I've become increasingly interested in language LEARNING. Many of my posts are now targeted towards independent learners.

I find that I want to provide more resources for learners and move beyond the narrow subjects related to language teaching. To do this, I think it makes sense to create a new site specifically for learners. Such a site could include text and audio on a wide range of topics of interest to English learners.

That, in turn, would allow me to refocus this site more specifically on issues related to teaching, coaching, helping, and motivating students.

More to come......

San Francisco

Podcasting

2006-09-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This English Podcast

My first experiment with podcasting has been fairly successful.

However, I've been having a lot of problems with my podcast host, "Solidcasts", lately. Turns out they are anything but solid. At the moment, I'm unable to upload audio and thus unable to publish more podcast episodes.

So I've decided to change my podcast and feed. I've signed up with "Liberated Syndication", which seems to be more reliable. I'll be changing my podcast feed soon- and will hopefully then be up and running.

In addition to changing the host, I'll be making other changes:

1. I will have a separate webpage/blog for the podcast. I'll continue to post them on this blog as well, of course. But I'll also have another page which will only have the podcasts-- nothing else. Hopefully this will be more convenient for students who are interested in the podcasts, but don't care to wade through and read all my teaching-oriented posts.

2. I'll be gradually mixing the content of the podcasts to make them more useful to English language learners. Primarily, this means adding natural, unscripted conversations between native speakers. I just ordered a small digital voice recorder and will start carrying it with me everywhere. I plan to record conversations with my friends, with waiters, with co-workers, with strangers.

3. In the more distant future, I plan to offer full transcripts and study guides for all podcast audio-- especially the natural unscripted conversations. The study guide will have word for word text of the audio, and also explanations of difficult idioms, phrases, and slang.

Unfortunately, I will have to charge a token monthly subscription fee for these guides. It takes me a VERY long time to transcribe conversations. To have the time to do this, I must reduce my teaching hours (and thus my pay)-- so I must be able to recoup that somehow. I'll probably charge about $5 a month for this.

4. In a few months time, each study guide will also include Japanese translations of key vocabulary, idioms, slang, and phrases. I (we) may also add Japanese audio explanations of more difficult material as additional study guides (available for subscribers).

In general, I hope to provide the kind of resource I have been craving for my own Spanish language study: Real, unplanned, unscripted conversations between native speakers- with a full text transcript, convenient word & phrase lists (with translations in my native language), and easy to understand explanations of difficult slang/idioms/phrases.

This kind of resource is important. Textbook dialogues are scripted, unnatural, and slow. They do not include any of the common idioms (phrases) used by native speakers in everyday conversation.

Audiobooks and articles are excellent resources. I highly recommend using them. However, they do have a weakness- they are essentially written English- recorded in audio form. Thus, the style of most audiobooks and audio articles is much more formal than true, natural conversations. Classroom English is also much different than conversational English as used by native speakers.

I suddenly realized this at the end of a lesson with one of my students. We had just finished and my phone rang. I answered it and had a short talk with a (native speaker) friend while my student collected her notebooks. When I hung up the phone, my student seemed surprised.

She said, "I think you are very easy to understand. I always understand when you talk to me. But when you talked to your friend now, I couldn't understand anything!"

I thought about it and realized she is right- I speak very differently when chatting with native speakers. I talk faster, I use common idioms and slang, and I don't use complete sentences all the time. I'm not using a lot of slang, or unusual slang, but I do use a very different kind of English than what I use with students. In other words, I use everyday conversational English-- the one thing that is never taught in language schools!

This is a very serious weakness. We need more materials to help English learners understand English as it is actually used. Not as the textbooks tell us it should be-- but as it actually is.

In the future, I hope my podcast can be one such learning resource.

San Francisco, CA

Community

2006-09-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This English Podcast

During a recent conversation with Humberto and Tony, we discussed the potential of learner-created content. Each of us expressed our frustrations with the difficulty of finding authentic and interesting conversational materials that include BOTH audio and text.

As we chatted, I mentioned my desire to record unscripted conversations between my friends, and then transcribe them. Such unplanned conversations are always much different then the carefully scripted "interactions" presented in textbooks. Natural conversations are also quite different from audiobooks or audio articles.

Next, Humberto mentioned recording short, unscripted conversations between he and his wife- in Spanish- and then posting them to his blog. As members of a language learning community, we would then support each other's learning efforts. I'd supply English content in audio and text form, for use by community members who want to learn English. And Humberto would do the same for members who want to learn Spanish.

The Linguist community also has a large number of Japanese speakers. Tony is currently learning Japanese- so he wants to encourage these students to add Japanese podcasts (with text) to their blogs-- which would then serve as learning resources for him. Since Tony is a native Chinese speaker, he could return the favor with Mandarin content.

With a large enough and active enough community, there would be absolutely no need for commercial materials of any kind. Learners could find all the authentic content they needed- easily and conveniently -- from their language learning community. They could also find plenty of conversation partners (via Skype) in their new language, while acting as a partner in their own native language.

In such a community, everyone is indeed both a learner and a teacher. The hierarchical, power-preserving dynamics of traditional education disappear- as do the failed methods such systems produce.

The exciting thing about this is that its happening right now- at The Linguist.

To be honest, I can't imagine why any language learner would choose another system. I don't understand why someone would pay outrageous amounts of money to go to a typical language school- where they will sit in little rows of desks, work through banal textbooks, practice contrived & scripted dialogues, take tests, analyze rules, and, in the end, acquire very little of the language itself.

Actually, I do understand. Schools attract students who are not truly motivated. The bulk of traditional students are being coerced to study English. Their government, or job, or parents are pushing them. Or they are motivated solely by extrinsic factors like test scores. Many of these students have very little desire to actually use the language fluently. Many have little desire to connect with English language cultures or people. For these kinds of students, perhaps school is the right place-- though honestly, I see no reason why such people should be coerced at all. Most, in fact, don't need English.

Others in such schools are highly motivated and do have a genuine desire to learn the language. But they don't know of another way. They have been brainwashed by years of traditional education and don't know what else to do. Many of these students started as enthusiastic learners, but school quickly crushed their joy for learning the language.

But for the others-- the learners who DO want to reach fluency and know that schools don't work-- there is no better choice than self-study within a community of motivated language learners. This is the fastest way. This is the most effective way. This is the most enjoyable way.

School is a toxic environment for genuine learners. School is deadly for the curious, the interested, and the passionate.

Motivated learners don't need school.

They only need a community.

San Francisco, CA

Mix It Up

2006-08-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

by AJ

One key aspect of language learning is to constantly mix things up in order to keep the material fresh and interesting. As I progress with Spanish, I find that I occasionally "hit a wall"- where I get bored and feel like I'm making no progress.

At that time, I find it helps to radically switch the content I'm using. For example, for the last month I've been working through "Read and Think Spanish". I enjoyed the articles and found the topics very interesting. I repeated every story many times, probably at least 25 times each-- some of them more.

Then suddenly, this week, I became bored. I felt that no matter how much I repeated some articles, I simply wasn't getting better at understanding them. Rather than strive and try to force myself- I put the book aside. Today I switched my focus to 1) A fairly easy podcast episode (Spanish as a Second Language For You) and 2) A very difficult article about futbol.

The change totally refreshed me. I enjoyed listening to the easier material. It boosted my confidence and let my brain rest a bit while still getting Spanish input. On the other hand, the futbol article was very tough, but the subject matter was completely different than anything I've read before-- so again I found it refreshing.

This is a big advantage of independent study. You can read your own moods and adapt to them very quickly. While you should follow a system, you can be totally flexible about the content you choose and how you use it.

This is one reason why independent study is so much more efficient than classroom study. In a class, you must follow the teacher. He will often choose material which you find boring. When you are wanting something easy, he may choose something very difficult. When you want something challenging, he may choose something too easy. He may go too fast, or too slow, for you. He will probably give long and complicated explanations of points you already understand. If you're in a typical class, he'll probably make you read lots of grammar explanations and do lots of contrived textbook activities.

And really, its not totally his fault. I'm a classroom teacher and I know its totally impossible for me to please all 17 students in my class. I know I can rarely find an article that they will all be interested in. I know that if I go fast, the slower students will suffer... and if I go slower, the faster students will become bored. Its simply a fact of classroom instruction-- its not efficient.

That's why self-directed study is vitally important. Even if you are enrolled in a class- don't fool yourself-- its not enough. To make rapid progress you MUST learn outside of school. You must take charge of your language learning. You must find content that is interesting to you. You must both read it, and listen to it, many times.

I am a classroom English teacher. I try my best to do an excellent job. But I'm telling you-- no matter how good the teachers are- school is not enough.

San Francisco, CA

Sex and The English Class

2006-08-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Last week I started using "Sex & The City" during the last hour of my English class. Not surprisingly, its a huge hit-- both from a language learning and an enjoyment point of view.

Sex & The City is perfect for English class. Its filled with plenty of high-frequency conversational words, plenty of natural idioms, and a decent dose of "higher level" vocabulary. In addition, the show's format is a perfect discussion generator. In every episode, the main character asks a series of questions about love, dating, and relationships. These questions are provocative & interesting class discussion topics.

Thus, last week we discussed:

Are all men bums?
What are your breakup rules?
Is quickly rebounding with another man/woman a good idea?
How long does it take to get over an ex?
Is there a gender double standard for dating?

All this from just one episode.

Another great thing about using Sex & The City is that these discussion questions don't come out of the blue-- created randomly by me. Rather, they come directly from the episode's themes and stories-- thus its easy for students to talk about these topics even if they can't (or don't want to) relate to them personally. They can always frame their opinions and ideas in terms of the show's characters (of course most are more than eager to talk about these topics on a personal level).

Contrast this kind of interesting and provocative discussion with the normal "ESL class"-- in which the teacher distributes some lame vignette from a commercial textbook, along with a set of stiff & contrived "comprehension and discussion questions". Students yawn, skim through the mini-article, and give the briefest possible answer to the canned questions.

No such problem with Sex & The City-- most students can't stop talking about it.

San Francisco, CA

La Liga Language Lessons

2006-08-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

What is the number one secret to successful language learning? Of course, many factors contribute. But which is top? Which holds the key?

After observing countless students, I can clearly identify the most important factor: a curious and passionate connection with the target language culture. This is number one. Its more important than study method, raw talent, intelligence, training, education, or any other factor.

My very best students almost always have a passionate interest in American (or UK or Aussie) culture. I've got one student, for example, who loves the Beatles. She's crazy about the Beatles. She's a musician and wants to write and sing songs in English. She's a great student.

The best students engage the culture. They become interested in the country's art, or history, or music, or sports, or food, or dating norms, or geography.

Another example- my friend Wat, who is Thai, taught himself English on the streets of Bangkok-- selling jewelry to foreigners. He never used a textbook and, in fact, can't read English. Of course he listened carefully. Of course he was patient. But what sustained him and drove him was a passionate interest in two aspects of American culture: Native American jewelry- and American motorcycle culture. He loved to talk to tourists about these subjects. He incorporated many elements of Native American art into his jewelry. Of course, he rode a motorcycle and was a member of a motorcycle "gang".

Now he's in America, living in San Francisco. He seems to connect with people very easily because he is naturally curious. He's already made several connections with artists and other jewelers. He's already visited a Harley Davidson souvenir shop-- and is eager to visit a shop that sells bikes. As he walks around the city, he's always checking out parked motorcycles-- and chats with the owners if he gets a chance.

Contrast this with the students who obsess only about exam scores. Their progress is typically slow, and even worse, its painful. They exhibit no joy or passion for the language-- or the cultures/countries where its spoken. For them, English is a chore, an ordeal, a test score. Many of these folks spend YEARS in test prep courses just to boost their TOEFL score a few points. They are chronically frustrated-- and can often be heard to say, "I hate English". I can't help but think, "Then stop torturing yourself and quit."

Which brings me to my own Spanish study. Recently, I've taken an enthusiastic interest in soccer (ie. futbol). It started with the World Cup. Our school showed most of the games, and our students were filled with passion. I got caught up in the spirit and began taking an active interest in the players, teams, and tactics.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I bought the FIFA 2006 videogame for my Sony Playstation. It hooked me. Wat and I have been playing it like crazy. Not only is it fun, but by playing it I've learned even more about futbol-- especially the Spanish teams of La Liga.

This, in turn, led me to read about La Liga on the internet. I started reading articles on ESPN.com, in English. However, since a new season just started... and I'm craving new Spanish language material... I've decided to start reading & listening to articles about soccer-- in Spanish. I copied the first story today-- a recap of the game between Barcelona and Celta Vigo. I used Speechisimo to create an audio file (and used Audio Hijack Pro to convert it to an MP3). As I've become more passionately interested in the Spanish League-- my desire to understand Spanish articles and broadcasts has increased.

Likewise, I'm an avid traveler- which is why the travel, geography, and cultural articles in "Read & Think Spanish" are so interesting to me.

The point? To learn a language more quickly, more effectively, and more thoroughly, forget the damn test scores. Connect emotionally with the language-- with some aspect of the people, places, cultures, & countries. Investigate new, strange, and different elements of those cultures. If you are an English learner, become an American Football aficionado, or a maniac about Harley Davidsons, or a fan of some kind of American music, or movies, or writing.

If you do so, you'll truly enjoy learning the language.

And your test scores will get better too.

San Francisco, CA

Its Unbelievable!

2006-08-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I've gotten Humberto's permission to podcast part of a conversation we recently had on Skype. In this conversation, Humberto talks about his experiences with traditional ESL (English language) education. He states- "It doesn't work!"

Humberto then compares the experiences he had at traditional language schools with his experience using the "effortless acquisition" methods used at The Linguist.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to transcribe this conversation-- so listen closely and repeatedly if necessary.

Here is the conversation:

Listen To The Conversation

San Francisco, CA

English Text & Audio Resource

2006-08-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Giuliana alerted me to an excellent learning resource for English language students.

Slate.com has interesting articles on a variety of subjects. This is an "authentic English" website, meaning it is written for native speakers.

But the best thing about Slate.com is that they have a daily podcast of one of their articles. Thus, you get both the text article and the audio- ideal for language learning. If you are a Linguist student, you can import the text and use the system to learn and save new words/phrases. Otherwise, use an online dictionary, electronic dictionary, or an "old school" paper dictionary.

Once you understand the written text, listen to the audio version-- at first reading along as you listen. Once that is fairly easy to understand, put away the text and listen to the audio only... as many times as is necessary (or until boredom sets in :)

Here's a link: Slate.com

PS: Does anyone know of Spanish language resources like this? Its easy for me to find text, OR audio... but not so easy to find BOTH for the same content.

San Francisco, CA

Clients

2006-08-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Since I'm now getting more students than I can handle, I've decided to stop focusing on quantity and shift my focus to quality. In other words, I'm going to fire students who are not motivated. From now on, I'm also going to screen potential clients. I'm going to make sure that they have compelling real life reasons to learn English. In my view, going to an American graduate school is a compelling motivation-- getting an arbitrary score on the TOEFL test is not.

I'm also going to make sure they understand my methods and are willing to exercise a great deal of independence as learners. Those who expect to show up for an hour-a-week textbook lesson, and somehow become fluent, will be referred to traditional schools.

As I build my freelance teaching business I realize that I'm also increasingly focusing on female students. In fact, at the moment all my private students are motivated, professional women. This happened by accident, but its not a fluke.

As I think back on all the classes I have taught- in America, in Thailand, in Korea, in Japan- I realize that in every case (EVERY!) the women in those classes were the best students. Sure there were occasionally excellent male students. And of course, not every woman was great. But there was, and is, a VERY big gender gap. In this case, it is women who are on the right side of that gap.

I'm sure there are socio-economic-political reasons for this, but what it boils down to for me is this: women are my best clients. In general, they work harder, they listen more carefully, they are more persistent, and they are more motivated. Not surprisingly, they progress faster than most male students.

For these reasons, I enjoy teaching female students-- especially motivated professionals (or would-be professionals). After all, I don't teach just for the money. I do it because I love it. I do it because I have a passion for learning, for language, and for other countries and cultures. As a language learner, I am passionate and committed. I expect the same from my students.

Therefore, I've decided to consciously reinforce this accidental trend and, henceforth, direct all of my marketing efforts towards professional, motivated, committed women.

There are plenty of ESL schools serving the "hack the TOEFL" crowd.

I prefer something with more heart and humanity.

San Francisco, CA

Guinea Pig

2006-08-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

I've read the research. I've seen countless students fail with traditional methods. I've seen others succeed wildly with an "effortless acquisition" approach. I can offer stories. I can offer examples. I can quote Krashen, Brown, McQuillan, Tse, Asher, Hastings, Murphy, Long, Kaufman, etc.

Only one things remains. One thing is lacking- direct personal experience.

I want to experience the power of effortless acquisition myself. I want to become fluent in a foreign language. After all, why should my students have all the fun :)

Three months ago, I began studying Spanish. When I started to design my learning plan, I drew on all of my past language learning failures, I drew on language acquisition research, I drew on my experiences as an English teacher, and I drew on the expertise of others who had already mastered one or more foreign languages. I put together a plan that emphasized comprehensible input (reading and listening), absolutely NO conscious grammar study, and the use of authentic materials.

Three months into the plan, things are going well. The most important success has been the change in my attitude. In the past, whenever I studied a language, I quickly became frustrated. I became confused, bored, and discouraged.

But this time, using effortless acquisition methods, I'm doing great. In fact, my motivation and enthusiasm just keep growing. I'm thoroughly enjoying my Spanish study. The only time I get frustrated is when I don't have time to study. I get REALLY annoyed when life gets busy and I have to miss a day or two of Spanish.

I feel no stress. I'm reading and listening to interesting content. Since I'm observing a 6 month "silent period", I feel no pressure to speak. I'm never tested or graded.

Week by week, I'm feeling more comfortable with Spanish. I'm recognizing more and more words. I'm able to understand more content and I can understand it at a faster speed. As a result, my confidence is growing. Of course I know I have a long way to go. And I certainly can't understand native speakers when they chat on the street. Spanish language TV is likewise far too difficult for me. But so what. No one is pressuring me or testing me, so I can be patient and enjoy the progress I'm making-- and can feel confident that progress will continue until I will indeed be able to chat fluently and understand Spanish language TV shows.

Even though I'm still in my "silent period", I've recently felt the urge to start working on pronunciation. I'm not concerned (yet) with rapid recall of vocabulary, or with being able to hold a conversation. But I feel that I'm now hearing the sounds of the language pretty well, and would enjoy trying to imitate them. Therefore, starting next week, I will begin devoting a little time each day to pronunciation practice.

This practice will take up 20% or less of my Spanish study time. The bulk of my time will still be spent listening and reading. In fact, I'll be using the same listening material for pronunciation practice- starting with Las Puertas Retorcidas-- a book/CD I finished about a month ago.

Since I'm just beginning, I thought it would be interesting to keep a record of my progress- in the form of recordings. Therefore, as part of this podcast, I'm including my very first speaking entry. Its a small passage from Las Puertas Retorcidas. In the months that follow, I'll occasionally post more recordings of myself speaking Spanish-- and let ELA listeners track my progress. Eventually, I hope to reach the point where I can record myself having short Skype conversations in Spanish-- at which point I'll switch my Spanish language chronicles to the currently hibernating "Espanol Natural" blog.

Here then is my first spoken Spanish:

You estoy nerviosa. Yo decido ser una nina valiente. Camino hacia la casa grande y misteriosa. Tengo mucho miedo.

In his autobiography, Gandhi wrote that the best path to wisdom is to experiment with one's own life. I completely agree. I look forward to sharing the results of this experiment with other teachers and learners!

San Francisco, CA

Real Life: The Ideal Textbook

2006-08-25T10:32:00.001-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

Commercial textbooks suck.

I don't know what else to say about them. As a teacher, I find them random, overly complex, unnatural, and obtuse. As a student (Spanish), I find them confusing, boring, and useless.

Unfortunately, traditional language education is driven by the textbook industry. Most of the problems of traditional education can be traced back to the twin evils of textbooks and tests. Most language programs are textbook-centric. The book determines what will be taught and when it will be taught. Good teachers throw in some extra "communicative activities", but it is the textbook that determines the content of the course.

Despite the fact that these books suck, schools keep following them, teachers keep using them, and students keep buying them. Most students complain that their progress is slow. They complain that they can't actually use the language. Their teachers have the same complaint. Yet, they keep using the textbook. This is a classic case of "doing the same thing, but expecting a different result". In other words, this is insanity.

Is there another way? Of course there is. The best textbook is real life. Authentic materials are far superior to commercially prepared textbooks. Authentic materials are made for native speakers. They thus contain "real language"-- natural words, phrases, and vocabulary used by native speakers.

Its very easy to find authentic English materials, they are everywhere: Magazines, TV shows, movies, audiobooks, children's books, pre-teen adventure books, romance books, websites, blogs, etc...

But what about natural conversations? Students often tell me that they enjoy reading books and listening to audiobooks, but they don't get enough exposure to casual conversations. They point out, correctly, that audiobooks & podcasts use a more deliberate and formal style of English. They ask, "How can we improve our casual conversation skills? Shouldn't we study dialogues in textbooks?"

My answer is a resounding "NO!" I instead suggest that they carry a small tape recorder everywhere they go, and record conversations with waiters, English speaking friends, clerks, and even strangers. Stephen Krashen calls this practice "narrow listening". He suggests asking a native speaker to talk a few minutes about a subject of interest-- perhaps their family, job, or hobbies. You then listen to this recording many times to improve comprehension. This is an excellent idea.

But, to be honest, its still not ideal. If a student records a conversation with a friend, for example, most likely the friend will speak more slowly and simply than they normally do. They will probably choose simpler vocabulary words.

Thus, I've been thinking a lot about recording and transcribing natural, full speed conversations between native speakers only. For example, I might carry a digital voice recorder and record various conversations between me and my friends-- natural, unscripted, unplanned conversations.

The only problem with this plan is the transcription. Transcribing a conversation is very, very time consuming. It took me over an hour and a half to transcribe the short "Silent Period" conversation with Steve. Having text is important, as it makes the audio much more comprehensible. Unfortunately, I simply don't have time to transcribe conversations.

However, I may have stumbled upon a solution. I'm considering a program called iListen. Its voice recognition software for the Mac. Supposedly, its fairly good-- and would allow me to dictate a conversation and have it automatically transcribed as I speak. I doubt it could handle the original audio of a conversation, but I might be able to listen to the original with an earpiece, and then dictate to the computer.

If it worked, such a system would allow me to frequently podcast REAL conversations between native speakers AND provide text for each conversation.

The software is expensive, so it will be some time before I invest in it. But hopefully, in the future, I'll be able to create an audio/print "textbook" of real English conversations.

Hopefully this effort will inspire other teachers to use the same method-- and once and for all abandon commercial textbooks. Hopefully, communities of learners will create and share text/audio of conversations in their own native language with learners who want to learn their language.

In this way, the stranglehold of the commercial textbook industry could easily be broken. We could create our own textbooks, each and every one of us.

Real life, real materials, real conversations and real people are the only "textbooks" we need.

San Francisco, CA

Rapid Progress

2006-08-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

Have you ever wondered how to make rapid improvement with your speaking ability? If you are a teacher, have you ever wondered how to coach your students to make such a breakthrough?

At the moment I have a semi-intensive private student. Her name is Eriko and she is from Japan. She just came to the United States two weeks ago and this is her first time to visit an English speaking country.

Like most Japanese students, she struggles with certain sounds, such as "l" and "r". She also struggles with natural English intonation and rhythm.

When we first met, Eriko told me that conversation was her number one goal. She has studied English for many, many years in Japan, but is very frustrated with her ability to speak. She told me that she has studied lots of grammar, lots of writing and reading, but has not been able to make much of an improvement with her speaking.

Of course, Eriko is like many students. So many students who study in traditional programs have the same problem. They study for a year, or two, or six... or even ten! Yet, they still can't communicate effectively with a fluent speaker.

I understand how frustrating this is. When we begin a new language, most of us are very hopeful and excited. We look forward to communicating with native speakers. Perhaps we look forward to using the language when we travel, in our job, or to make new friends.

But then we suffer the trauma of traditional education. We waste YEARS memorizing extremely complex grammar "rules". We study long lists of vocabulary words. We learn about the "passive voice" , "intransitive verbs", the "past perfect progressive tense", "countable and uncountable nouns", etc. We spend hours studying for tests. We work hard for grades or certificates.

And after all this work, all this boredom, all this confusion and suffering... we still can't USE the language!

Thus, when Eriko told me that conversation and REAL communication were her goals-- I understood.

And so, I developed a plan. I told her directly and clearly that I expected her to follow it- and that if she did so, she would certainly make a breakthrough within six months. With Eriko, I decided to be much stronger and more direct than I usually am with my classroom students. I decide to be her guide and coach, as well as her tutor. I decided to outline a clear method, that she could follow on her own, to reach her goal.

I expected her to follow the plan. I expected her to make progress.

What I didn't expect was for her to progress so fast. In just two weeks, she has significantly improved her pronunciation and general speech. She's happy and excited. I'm happy and excited. In fact, I think I might be more excited than she is! For me, there is no greater reward than seeing a learner make rapid progress towards their goal. Its a wonderful feeling to be part of that (even though you know they are doing all the work ;)

For intermediate and above students, who are already in the speaking stage, I recommend following the same plan that Eriko is using. Essentially, it is a version of the approach described by Steve at the Linguist, Dr. Stephen Krashen, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, Dr. J. Marvin Brown, etc.:

1. First Read
Every day, Eriko and I read several pages of Steve's book. I teach her vocabulary words and phrases that she doesn't understand, and we discuss the main ideas of each passage.

I also help her with pronunciation. We usually read each section twice or more. First I read it out loud, so she can hear my pronunciation. After she learns all the new words, I ask her to read the passage again, and I help her pronounce any words that she struggles with.

2. Listen
At the end of "class", I record myself reading the day's passage. This recording serves as Eriko's homework-- I ask her to listen (and read) two or more hours every day. Eriko keeps track of her listening time, and so do I. At the beginning of each class I ask her how much she listened the day before, and I write it down. Her goal is to accumulate 60 hours of attentive, repeated listening in one month.

Eriko's listening has three stages:

A. Listen For Understanding
First, she listens and focuses solely on the meaning of the passage. She listens to the same passage repeatedly, over and over again. She also reviews previous passages, conversations I have recorded (with my friends), snippets of movies I've recorded, etc.

Her goal is to listen repeatedly until she quickly and effortlessly understands ALL of the passage, read by me at a normal, native rate of speech. This may require 5, 50, or 500 repetitions.

B Listen For Pronunciation
Once she thoroughly understands a passage, she shifts her focus to the sounds, phrasing, ups & downs, stresses, and rhythm of the native speaker. Her goal is to clearly hear when my voice rises, and when it falls. She also tries to hear which words are clumped together in phrases (pronounced almost as one word), and where the pauses naturally occur. Of course, she also listens for individual sounds that she has trouble pronouncing, such as "r" & "l"

C. Listen & Imitate
Once Eriko can HEAR the sounds, tone shifts, phrasing, and rhythm, she tries to imitate them. I tell her to imagine that she is an actress, preparing for a part. Her job is to copy, EXACTLY, the speech of the person on the tape. I even encourage her to use hand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions in order to "get in character".

At the moment, I'm encouraging her to pay particular attention to English phrasing-- as many Japanese speakers struggle with this.

3. Review
The final piece of the plan is review. Every day, Eriko reviews the articles (reads them) and reviews the notes she took about the new vocabulary and phrases. This is done in a relaxed way, with no striving to memorize. Rather, she merely reads over her notes... each and every day.

As a result of following this plan, Eriko is making rapid progress-- far more rapid progress than I expected. Of course, she not only has a good plan, she is working intensely at it and is spending a lot of time each day doing it. She is motivated. She is enthusiastic. She has taken responsibility for her learning.

Eriko has identified her goal, she has a plan to reach it, and she's working that plan every day.

Thus, she is improving faster than any student I've ever taught.

San Francisco, CA

The Killers of Hope

2006-08-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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ESL schools are the killers of hope. They kill the hopes of new immigrants.
--Humberto Soto

That damning quote is from a Venezuelan immigrant to Canada. Humberto and I talked last week. I hope to post a segment of the conversation as a podcast, as I recorded it.. but I need to get his permission first. During the discussion Humberto described his ESL (English as a Second Language) educational experiences. Humberto talked about how he spent 14 months taking classes and at the end of it all "couldn't speak a sentence of English".

Then he summarized his experience with the initial quote- referring to the ESL industry in general as "killers of hope".

The line stuck with me. Teaching in foreign (non-English speaking) countries such as Japan or Thailand, its easy to be flippant about the horrid state of English education. Most English schools and programs in Asia are, in fact, terrible. Most are designed to teach students how to "hack" a test. In the Japanese public school system, English education seems mostly to be a test of enduring boredom and misery.

But that doesn't really matter. Truthfully, most Japanese people don't need English. They can, and do, live successful, happy, enjoyable lives without English (just as most Americans live successful lives without knowing a foreign language). Most Japanese people do not NEED English. The same is true for most Thais and most Asians in general.

But the situation for immigrants is totally different. People who immigrate to Canada, Australia, America, or the UK desperately NEED English skills. Many highly educated immigrants, with great skills, get stuck in crappy jobs simply because they have poor English skills. Many immigrants become isolated in their small communities, simply because they lack English. Many are shut out of the country's political and cultural society, simply because they have not mastered English.

For immigrants, English is VERY important.

Most immigrants come to their new country full of hope. They hope for greater opportunities than they had in their home countries. They hope to build a new life. Most that I've known are willing to work extremely hard to better their lives. They are very motivated.

For example, my current school in San Francisco mostly caters to international students-- not immigrants. Many come late and most absolutely refuse to do any kind of homework or self study. Many do not have jobs, or work only part time.

On the other hand, I used to teach immigrants in Georgia, several years ago. These people all worked full time jobs. And they usually worked very difficult jobs. Yet they came to class and eagerly participated. At the end of class, they would REQUEST homework. They were full of motivation. They were full of determination. They were full of hope.

Which is what makes the failure of the ESL industry so damning. What is considered absurd comedy in foreign countries becomes brutal tragedy when applied to immigrants. When ESL programs fail immigrants, much more is lost than the chance to learn English. Dreams are lost. Hopes are crushed.

When I look back on my experience in Georgia, I feel a sense of deep regret. I failed those students. At the time, I had no idea what I was doing. So I followed the standard industry approach. I dutifully worked through a textbook. I taught grammar point after grammar point. When students asked me how to study at home, I suggested more of the same. Not surprisingly, their progress was slow.... or non-existent.

Today, my teaching is driven by that memory, and by the memory of my own foreign language failures. I refuse to fail my students today, the way I failed those enthusiastic immigrants in Georgia. I refuse to follow the accepted way of doing things, simply because thats what the students and administration expect.... or because it will help them pass some test. The only test I care about is the acquisition of authentic English.

Teachers in foreign teaching environments (EFL) may safely continue the farce with no terrible consequences. But I suggest that those in ESL environments, working with hopeful immigrants, have a deep responsibility. Their responsibility to these students trumps the expectations of their boss, or the government, or the bureaucracy. People's futures are at stake.

When the shit hits the fan, you must choose: will you be a giver, or a killer, of hope.

San Francisco, CA

The Silent Period: A Conversation With Steve

2006-08-19T00:39:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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I have transcribed part of the conversation I had with Steve last month, and reposted that section of the audio for my podcast. In this conversation, Steve and I discuss the idea of an initial "silent period" when learning a language. The "silent period" is the phase in which the learner focuses solely on input (listening and reading) and makes no effort to speak. This period imitates the natural process that all babies and small children follow when learning their own native languages.

The Conversation:
----------------------------------------------

Steve: You had a post, on your blog,... which I think you called something like- laying down the gauntlet

AJ: (laughs) yes...

S: And you said that within two years you were gonna,... first of all you said you were gonna follow a... you know... I mean you talk... your blog is entitled "Effortless Acquisition".... or "effortless learning".. what's the name of your blog?

AJ: Yeah, "Effortless Language Acquisition".

S: Acquisition. And we are both, more or less, sort of influenced by the Krashen approach.. I think.

AJ: Sure

S: I think that's fair to say. And so we both feel that, uh, meaningful, interesting content... and the pursuit of content and the, sort of, desire to learn what's in the language... what's being said there ... if we then listen and read and, and, so forth.... that we will learn faster than if we, if we get tied up in rules of grammar.

AJ: Right.

S: I think that's one element of the Krashen thing. Uh, I think... the other element which I... and I... and here I go to... there's a fellow called Paul Nation out of New Zealand. And he's done a lot of work on vocabulary learning.

And uh,.. there's also a fellow called Tom Cobb, in Montreal. And uh,.. they believe, and I've spoken to Tom Cobb, and, and he agrees.. and I feel, and I think you feel that vocabulary trumps grammar.

AJ: Right.

S: You, You've gotta build up a lot of words. Uh, uh, particularly in the beginning. If you get too tied up with grammar.. you'll... its easier to get discouraged. If you have a lot of words, you know, if you know the names of a lot of things, you'll be able to say things... even if you make a mistake here and there.

AJ: Sure. Yeah. Absolutely.

S: So, uh... And that, that.. in time if you are learning words and if you are exposed to a lot of the language through listening and reading... at some point you can read the grammar rules, and it may provide you explanation for.. for things which by that time you have become familiar with so, therefore, the explanations make sense.

But until you have had that exposure and you've accumulated a certain number of words, the grammar explanations simply conjure up this,.. this idea of "this language is very complicated".

AJ: Right

S: And uh.. so I think we're both kind of "on the same wavelength". But I want to challenge one thing in your challenge, where you "laid down the gauntlet"..
I don't think it should take you two years to be fluent in Spanish.

AJ: Ahhhhh, really?

S: Oh yeah. No, no. It need not take two years.

AJ: Well that's good... that's encouraging.

S: Uh,.. How much time do you intend to spend...

AJ: Uhhh, I've.. you know... I've, I've been steadily getting more and more. I would say, if I average it out over the three months, since I started three months ago.. maybe an hour a day so far, but right now I'm probably hitting.. hour and a half to two hours a day.

S: Um, Hmm. And, and is it largely listening and reading?

AJ: Yeah, yeah... um.. 90 percent I would say.

S: Right. See I believe... and you, of course you live in Los Angeles..

AJ: San Francisco actually

S: San Francisco, Ok, but you have.....
AJ: Same thing

S: Spanish.. Spanish language radio stations, Spanish on TV,..
AJ: Yes.

S: Uh, and if you wanted to find some Spanish speaking friends you could.

AJ: Yes, absolutely.

S: So... I mean, if you spend an initial six months.. you've already spent three. Another three.. building up your passive knowledge, in a way... you know, becoming more and more familiar with words... becoming more and more familiar with words and phrases...
enjoying content.. listening to different kinds of content.. occasionally treating yourself to a movie, er... We've had this discussion whether movies are effective or not-- they're fun, so, I, I personally don't think they're very intensive language learning opportunities, but they're fun and they're stimulating..

If you do all of those things within six months you'll be able to comfortably talk to people about simple subjects.

AJ: Wow. Well that's good news.. you know, cause right now... I'm, I'm kind of at a point where its starting to gel... come together. The, uh, the.. the material, um, I'm understanding it better. It doesn't seem so alien and, and, and impossible... but, but actually producing it still... you know I mean I could put some words out there but its still,... eh, very hesitant,.. very kind of, eh...

Well , cause of course I'm not really focusing on that at all right now.

S: Right. And it is a little stressful. Like if you had to sit down for an hour and speak to someone in Spanish, and, and, I'm at that stage say in my Russian... its a little stressful, almost to the point of being a little bit annoying.

AJ: Yeah

S: Because you're forced to try to do something which you fundamentally know you can't do.

AJ: Right

S: I, I,... at least that's the way I look at it. I mean I can come up with a few sentences, but I'm looking for words and I'm getting it all wrong. And, so I'm in, in my Russian... eh... I'm not sure that I'm at the same level,.. place.. but we've spent about the same amount of time at it..

I want to get to where I've read a lot of Russian, and listened to a lot of Russian.. and then,.. and I've, and I've told this to this lady that I speak to half an hour a week.... that, you know, three months from now, yeah, we'll be speaking Russian. Right now its, its an exchange, I speak half an hour of English, she speaks half an hour of Russian.... but to me, within my Russian language learning,.. I consider the importance of the half hour conversation I have with her every week is..like.. very very low.

AJ: Ahh, right.

S: Very low. I, its not to me a priority at all. I've gotta increase my familiarity with words which,.. which I will do because I will have seen them in so many different contexts. And then I have a better chance of remembering them when I want to use them.

But I think the passive phase can be six months, without feeling badly that you can't express too much in the language.

San Francisco, CA

Intensity

2006-08-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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The number one advantage of individual learning is that its more intense.

I now have an individual private student named "Emiko". She is Japanese and we meet for 15 hours every week. Usually we meet 3 hours a day.

At my school, I teach an "intensive" class 4 hours a day. We meet four days for a total of 16 hours per week.

The weekly hours for each are thus about the same. But what a contrast! My private student and I waste very little time. In my school class, however, we waste tons of it.

Today, for example, Emiko and I chatted about her friends and family, worked through an article (a section of Steve Kaufman's book), learned new vocabulary, discussed the article's main ideas, practiced pronunciation intensely, and recorded a conversation with a waitress at a cafe. We also discussed Emiko's past English learning experiences, her goals, and her learning plan. Most of her time was spent directly with the language- reading, discussing, listening, writing. In other words, she spent most of that time focused on genuine communication.

By contrast, much time was wasted in my school class today. The first 30 minutes are always a waste, because almost none of the students come on time. They slowly file in and most arrive 30 minutes late, or later. Once we do get started, I inevitably get bogged down by one or more students who demand hyper-detailed explanations of vocabulary or grammar. I usually try to give a concise explanation, but often this is not enough and the student demands more detail, or debates my explanation, or ask more and more and more questions. These questions are usually about the form and structure of the language and relate only tangentially to meaningful communication.

Another classroom problem is that some students are easily distracted, or don't want to concentrate, or are bored by the material or topics I choose. When I put them in groups to discuss a topic, some will speak their native language. Others will chit-chat about small talk and avoid the discussion topic. Some play with their cell phones.

Finally, because the class is getting bigger and bigger, its more difficult for me to pay attention to individual students and their needs. When my class had only 6 students, it was easy to do. Now I average 17-24 and its nearly impossible.

Thus, a huge amount of time is wasted in the classroom. I therefore believe that even an "intense" school program is far less intense than a well executed individual learning plan. Two hours of intensive, repeated, comprehensible input is more effective than five hours of classroom instruction.

I'm trying to convince my classroom students of this. I've seen it over and over- students who follow a self-study plan focused on massive comprehensible input (repeated listening & reading) progress MUCH faster than students who only come to class.

And yet, most of my students don't believe me. Most still seem to think that school is enough- and that the teacher is the one who is responsible for their learning.

Tragically, this is a belief that severely inhibits their progress.

San Francisco, CA

Leadership 101

2006-08-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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To be a better teacher, or coach, or tutor I must develop better leadership skills. This, now, is my quest.

I will begin simply. The first step I'm going to take is to follow the basic principles of "situational management" as outlined by Ken Blanchard. The beauty of Blanchard's approach is its simplicity.

Of course, leadership is a complex skill. However, at the moment I am at a very low level of competency. Right now, I need to develop a few basic skills that I can use in almost any situation with almost any client.

I will begin by observing the three basic principles of Blanchard's "One Minute Manager".

Principle One: One Minute Goal Setting
The first step, and perhaps the most crucial step, is to have agreed upon goals and a plan for reaching them. This has been a big weakness of my teaching thus far. I have not created measurable goals with my students. Of course we share vague goals such as "improve English ability", but such a goal is much too vague to be helpful.

Goals, ideally, should be measurable in some way. They could be "process goals". Such goals describe the ideal behavior and process the learner hopes to follow. For example, "I will listen to comprehensible English, repeatedly, for one hour every day". I like process goals because they create good habits. Process goals are the key to reaching "outcome goals".

An outcome goal is an end result. Its what you hope to accomplish at the end of a specific time. For example, "I will have a 2000 word Spanish vocabulary by may 2007". Outcome goals can be very motivating, but ONLY if the outcome is very meaningful and important to you, the learner. Otherwise, these kinds of goals can be very demotivating. For example, "I will get a very high TOEFL score" could be a very motivating goal if you have a strong, positive feeling about your TOEFL score and if this score has important real-life meaning to you (ie. you want to go to graduate school in America). However, if the TOEFL does not have a very important real-life meaning for you, you will simply see the test as something unpleasant and stressful. In such a situation, its better to avoid creating a goal about getting a certain score, and instead focus on process goals.

Another important factor regarding goals is that they should be measurable in some way. For example, when learning English with The Linguist you can use the system to track how many words/phrases you know. But if you don't have such a system, its very difficult to measure the size of your vocabulary and thus you should probably choose a more easily measured goal.

The final step in "one minute goal setting" is to agree upon a few goals (1 or 2 is best... don't choose too many) and write them down. These written goals should have a deadline. Both the coach/teacher and the learner should have a copy of the goals and both should sign them, thus creating a learning contract.

Step Two: One Minute Praisings
Once the goals are clear, the most important job of the teacher-coach is to encourage the learner. After all, the learner must do most of the work. Sometimes its easy to become tired or frustrated. The teacher's job is to notice what the learner is doing well and point it out. The teacher should praise the learner as often as possible.

But praise must be specific. Its nice to say, "you are a good student", but its better to say, "you are doing a great job of listening to interesting content more than one time. I like how you are repeating the content often and thus absorbing the new phrases. Keep doing this!"

In other words, the teachers NUMBER ONE JOB is to catch the learner doing something right.

Step Three: One Minute Reprimands
For students who are new, or who lack confidence, the teacher should follow only steps one and two-- clear measurable goals plus lots of praise. If a student is not confident, the teacher should not correct them. They should not criticize them. Constant, specific praise is enough.

Learners who are confident, well known, and motivated, however, can sometimes benefit from a short reprimand. For example, some high performers like to be pushed. If they are lazy one week, they want the teacher-coach to reprimand them and remind them of their goals. They want to be held to high standards.

According to Blanchard, reprimands should be done in a certain way. You do not simply criticize the person. Rather, you point out what they did incorrectly, then you remind them of their goals and how it should be done. Finally, and very importantly, you end with praise. You remind them of the positive qualities they have and of your respect for them. For example, "You didn't listen at all this week. That's not good. You need to listen more. Your goal is to increase your usable vocabulary by 500 words, but you will not do that if you don't listen. So this week, get back on track and stick to your plan. You are a motivated student and you are making progress. You are usually excellent and I'm sure you will continue to be".

That, in a nutshell, is the "One Minute Manager" approach. In my previous career as a social worker, I used this approach with my clients and it was quite successful. I'm hopeful I can find equal or greater success using it to help students learn English.

San Francisco, CA

Script On iPod?

2006-08-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

by AJ

A listener/reader recently posted the following question:

"I'm a french people who try to improve her English by listening your podcast. I just discover this technology and I find it very interesting but when I get the podcast by I-tunes, the script don't appear....why?
So, I put it on the area "Paroles" (in french;-) in I-tunes but with my Ipod the script don't appear I only see your "description".

For example:¨
Podcast "Bad Business, Good Education"

Description "My thoughts on being a good teacher and a bad businessman. "
It's the only thing I see by my Ipod and would like to see
"I'm a terrible businessman. I admit it. As I build my freelance teaching business, I'm doing everything wrong.

If I was a good businessman, I would aggressively seek students.

If I was a good businessman, I would claim to have a "secret" curriculum that no one else knows.
etc..."

So, is it possible to you to put the script in the description or to explain how to see the script on the Ipod (because it's OK by Itunes)."

---------

I'll try this with the next podcast. I will paste the entire script into the "description" section of iTunes. Please tell me if this works and if this is helpful. If this causes problems, please leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks for the suggestion!!

San Francisco, CA

Belichik, Parcells, Saban, and EFL

2006-08-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

by AJ

As I contemplate the lessons of "Good to Great" I realize that my classroom teaching skills are getting there. I need to increase the intensity & efficiency of my classes. I need to waste less time. I need to provide more comprehensible input. I need to provide more concise explanations. I need to review vocabulary more intensely, by having students encounter and use the words/phrases in a variety of contexts.

Those are very doable improvements. But they aren't enough to catapult my teaching from good to great.

What, then, do I need in order to make a huge breakthrough? What dramatic distinction am I missing? Where do I truly need to kick ass?

I believe the answer to those questions can be found by examining the very best NFL (National Football League) coaches. Every coach in the NFL is good. They have the basic knowledge and skills. They know how to drill the players. They know how to develop a good playbook. They know how to train the players and they know how to prepare for a game. That's what all the good coaches do.

But the great ones have something more. Great coaches go beyond the nuts and bolts of the game. Great coaches motivate and inspire.

These coaches know how to get the most out of their players. They have great leadership skills. They know how to articulate an inspiring vision in a powerful way.

Players on their teams routinely do more than is required. They voluntarily put in extra hours at the gym. They practice harder. They study harder. In the off-season, they don't slack off. They stay in great shape and improve themselves. Great coaches inspire their players to be the best they can be, even when the coach isn't around.

That's what I'm missing. To be blunt, I have no leadership skills. I don't inspire. I have passion, but its rarely contagious. I have a vision, but don't articulate it in a powerful and motivating way. I don't bring out the best in my students.

Often I bring out the worst. I'm basically a pushover in class and this seems to encourage a rather lazy attitude in my students. I rarely inspire students to go the extra mile or put in extra time outside of class. I'm a shit motivator and that's just the ugly truth.

But I have faith that this can change. I may not have the talent to be a Belichik, Parcells, or Saban... but I can certainly acquire better leadership skills. I can learn how to be more persuasive. I can learn how to better articulate a compelling vision of success for learners in my class. This I can do.

In fact, this is something that all teachers can do... and most should do. I'm not alone in my shortcomings, after all. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the words "leadership", "compelling vision of success", or "inspire" used in an EFL publication. The EFL teaching resources I've seen seem to have had all passion and soul sucked out of them. They are filled with dead phrases like "best practices" , but devoid of phrases that carry even a hint of fire. Many publications go out of their way to subtract "the human factor". Administrators are even worse- for this is mostly a profession for the undead. There are no goosebumps in the literature, no flashes of brilliance in the bureaucracy, and nothing to stir the soul from its slumber.

Is it any wonder our students seem half asleep?

San Francisco, CA

The Flywheel

2006-08-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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Today I went to Borders Bookstore at Union Square and scanned a booklet called (something like) "Good To Great for Social Organizations". Basically, this book takes the principles of "Good to Great", which is a business book, and applies them to schools, non-profits, etc.

Its a nice little book with great ideas.

The main thrust of the book revolves around the distinction between"bad", "mediocre" and "good" organizations on one hand, and the truly great ones, on the other. The book outlines what the author thinks are the most important factors that help an organization (or person) become great.

Since GREAT teaching is my goal, I read the booklet with interest.

The first factor identified by the author was passion. Great organizations have a passionate mission. They are driven to be more than ordinary. No problem. I've definitely got passion.

The second factor is what he called "Great People First". This means that great organizations (companies, schools, whatever) make talent recruitment and retention their number one mission. Stocking the organization with enthusiastic, excellent, passionate, amazing people is the first and most important secret to eventual greatness. Systems, policies, rules, budget issues, and all other concerns come way behind this principle.

Unfortunately, very few schools follow this principle. Most consider policies, rules, and procedures to be far more important than teachers. Most will readily sacrifice great teachers to preserve a bureaucratic rule, or a bosses ego. Most consider "policy" to be the driving force of the school, not people.

But since I'm an organization of one, I don't need to worry about such problems!

The next factor mentioned struck me as very important. Great organizations (or individual performers) have what Tom Peters calls a "dramatic difference". They don't try to be everything to everyone. They don't do what everyone else does. They identify what they can do with total excellence (Wow!) and that's what they focus on.

This is a principle that most schools (and teachers) neglect. They try to please everyone. If a student complains that they aren't reading enough in class, the administration will send out a memo to teachers to "do more reading". Then another student or two complains that they aren't getting enough speaking time, so admin extols the teachers to "get the students talking". Some students want traditional textbook grammar-based instruction and complain that there is too much talking & reading and the textbook isn't used enough. So teachers are told to "use the textbook more". But this makes many other students, who hate the textbook and consider it useless, unhappy. So they complain.

In the end, the school does a little of everything and a whole lot of nothing. The results are the same in almost every language school in America, Japan, Thailand, Korea, etc: Confusing grammar study, heavy reliance on commercial textbooks, and a dash of contrived "communicative activities". Boring. Ineffective. Mediocre. Useless.

Far better for a teacher, or school, to do what they strongly believe to be most effective-- regardless of what student's expect or are used to. If a school is truly convinced, due to research and practical experience, that comprehensible input is the engine that drives language acquisition- they shouldn't waste time doing other useless activities just to seem more conventional. Rather, to be truly great, they should focus on providing the most comprehensible input possible in the most interesting and effective way possible.

This is my mission as an individual teacher. I've made some progress. But now I'm working on the last principle mentioned in the book: The flywheel.

A flywheel is a metaphor for momentum. Imagine a large, heavy wheel... such as a gigantic Tibetan prayer wheel. To get it to move requires great effort. At first, it takes tremendous energy to turn it only one time. It happens very slowly. But you can't stop, you've got to keep pushing very hard to get it to turn a second time... and a third. Initially, and for quite a while, it seems you are making a lot of effort but not doing very much.

But very gradually, the wheel begins to turn faster. And faster. As it speeds up, it becomes easier to push. The wheel gains momentum. Eventually it gathers tremendous energy and moves at great speed. At this point, it only takes a little bit of effort to keep it going.

This analogy applies to any person or group striving for excellence. For example, as I push to improve my teaching, its seems that I'm getting better at a very slow rate. I try many things, and most fail. I get tired and frustrated and feel I'm making a big effort but not much is happening. Progress seems to be quite slow.

But I have made improvements. When I compare my teaching now to my teaching two years ago, I realize I have improved a lot.

The challenge is to keep pushing, keep improving, keep gathering energy, keep innovating & trying things-- until these efforts gather momentum on their own. The trick is to push for excellence even when nothing much seems to be happening.

This, in truth, requires faith-- faith in yourself-- faith that you will eventually build momentum and make a breakthrough-- to greatness.

In short, stay focused on what you do best, maintain your passion, and persevere until you make a dramatic breakthrough.

Don't settle for mediocrity.

San Francisco, CA

Intensity & Efficiency

2006-08-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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My worst criticism of traditional education is that it is incredibly wasteful. Vast amounts of time are wasted in the classroom. We waste time taking attendance. We waste time as students straggle in late. We waste time on long winded explanations and complicated grammar questions. We waste time on idle chat. At times, it seems that the last thing in the world the students and teachers want is to actually read, listen to, and use comprehensible language.

By contrast, individual study is far more intense and efficient. When I study Spanish for an hour, I'm getting a full hour of comprehensible input. I read. I listen. I read and listen again.

Another advantage of individual study is that it allows for repetition. In class, students whine about repetition. They get bored easily because they have a passive mindset from the start. But when studying as an individual, I can repeat the same content as often as I want or need to. At this point in my Spanish learning, I repeat everything at least 30 times. This would never happen in a traditional classroom.

My 1 hour a day of individual study is incredibly more effective than the four hours a day students get at my school. I get much more comprehensible input, much more repetition, much more vocabulary, and even more practical grammar.

When I study for an hour, I'm usually focused and motivated. But in the classroom, its common for students to be sleepy, to lose concentration, to become bored. They are not in charge. They are not choosing the content. They don't see themselves as totally responsible for their own learning. And so its easy for them to become distracted, bored, and unfocused.

Traditional education is not about learning. Its about societal programming. In school, you learn your country's official propaganda (called "history"). You learn various "facts" that turn out not to be facts at all. Eventually, you earn a diploma or degree that gives you the stamp of approval for work. You get a transcript showing that you had all "A's" in English or Spanish. But you can't understand or speak the language.

Don't confuse education with learning. Education has its practical uses for getting a job. But you won't learn a language well simply by going to school. In fact, school is probably the worst possible place to learn a language.

True learning, for the most part, happens outside of the classroom. Learning is what you do on your own. Learning takes place in the apartment, in a cafe, in the library, on the bus. You get no grades or transcripts for true learning.

San Francisco, CA

Exceptions to the Mediocre Rule

2006-08-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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The most common word my Japanese friends use to describe their English education experience is "trauma". They speak often of the "trauma" of English classes. They cite this "trauma" as the cause of their hatred of English and their low confidence.

Its a good word. Though "trauma" is too powerful a word for me, I realize that I too have many negative experiences with traditional language education. These bad experiences relate to both my language teaching (English) and language learning attempts (Japanese, Thai, Spanish).

In general, my encounters with the language education industry have been overwhelmingly negative. Most schools and most classes, quite simply, are overpriced, ineffective, boring, wasteful, and demotivating. At worst, they are "traumatic" for the learner, and for the enthusiastic teacher as well.

But I have found a couple of exceptions. One is my current school in San Francisco. While it is certainly constrained by some of the challenges that face all schools/classrooms, on the whole it is an excellent place that I have loved working at.

Due to prior negative experiences, I admit that I have constantly been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've had a nagging feeling that things were too good to last, and eventually my school would turn a corner and become just like every other ESL/EFL factory.

In my last post, I bemoaned the hiring of a new teacher supervisor and predicted that this was the feared moment-- when the school's energy, enthusiasm, freedom, and innovation would die. Time will tell, of course, but I'm happy to say that my dread appears to be unfounded. Today I talked with the new "head teacher" for the first time and she turned out to be a delightful person with interesting and creative teaching ideas. She in no way struck me as a typical grammar-analysis textbook slave. Quite the contrary.

Which just goes to prove that however bad our past experiences with learning or teaching, we should not let them destroy our present attitude. We've got to let go of those experiences and start anew. We've got to have faith in our own abilities. We've got to find renewed enthusiasm for the language, and for learning & teaching.

After today's meeting, I am cautiously optimistic that my school will continue to be a great place to teach. And while school is never enough by itself, I'm optimistic that it will also continue to be a great place for English learners.

I base this optimism not so much on the new coordinator's linguistic background, or teaching methodology, or experience... but rather on the far more important attitudes that she seems to radiate: enthusiasm, flexibility, curiosity, energy, and creativity. For teachers and learners alike, these traits are FAR more important than so called "linguistic factors".

The second exception to traditional schools that I've found is the AUA Thai program in Bangkok. This program is as close to an "ideal language school" as I can imagine. To my mind, the program is exactly what a school should be-- a fun and interesting source of comprehensible input. In my observation journal for AUA, I criticized some of the weak points of the program.

However, I've rethought many of those criticisms. I now believe that most of those weak points were my own, and not the school's. My problem was that I relied solely on the school. I showed up with a passive attitude. I sat there and expected the AUA teachers to "teach me Thai".

But a school program, however good, is never enough. You must take control of your own learning. I should have been reading and listening to Thai outside of class. I should have been listening to interesting content repeatedly. I should have taught myself to read Thai, starting with baby books. I should have had Thai friends create audio versions for those books. Instead, I went to AUA and became frustrated at the slow progress. If I'd taken responsibility, the AUA program would have been much more powerful for me. It would have been a more effective learning resource.

Someday, I plan to return to Bangkok to finish what I started-- and do it right. Until then, I'm applying the lessons I've learned to my current Spanish learning plan. This time, I'm taking full responsibility for learning the language. I understand that I and I alone am in charge. I understand that no one can learn this language for me.

I am the one who must put in the listening hours and reading time. I am the one who must find content that interests me. I am the one who will make the process interesting and fun.

I, and I alone, am responsible.

San Francisco, CA

Heretics

2006-08-03T01:59:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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After a nice break from blogging, I took a peek at Steve's Linguist Blog and whoa... its jam packed with fantastic and interesting posts.

One general theme I picked out was his frustration with the established ESL "Industry"... including most academics.

I share his frustration. In fact, I'm almost to the breaking point. Though I generally enjoy teaching at the school where I work, I increasingly question the efficacy of the traditional school environment.

Also, as seems inevitable, small, innovative, interesting places grow-- and without fail begin to take on more bureaucracy and regulation. My school just hired a "teacher supervisor" who will begin regular observations of our classes. Usually these sorts of administrative bureaucrats favor the typical "industry" approach-- ie. plenty of tests, grammar-analysis, contrived exercises, and artificial textbooks. I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but my gut tells me it will soon be time to move on.

Luckily, my private teaching opportunities are suddenly taking off. I'm having an amazing time working with The Linguist, and am getting private students here in San Francisco and on the internet as well. What I love most about these opportunities is that they allow me to use and encourage learning methods that are more fun, more interesting, and more effective. No matter how much money I'm paid, I simply can't enjoy a job unless I feel good about what I'm doing and believe its the best possible approach.

The ESL/EFL industry approach is not the best. Not even close. Its a massively expensive and inefficient system. This industry has a horrible success rate. Learner (ie customer) satisfaction rates are abysmal. Students are made ever more dependent on the industry. A massive number of textbooks are sold at outrageous prices. Countless tests are created, taken, graded, and passed. Students learn a dizzying array of complex grammatical terms.

And after all is said and done, their progress with English is much poorer than Linguist students who pay a fraction of the price, ignore complex grammatical terms, have no teacher-bosses, use no textbooks, and are extremely independent & autonomous.

For the price of an ipod, a $35/month Linguist membership, and access to a computer lab, a learner can learn more quickly and effectively than one who spends $600+/month on school fees, $50 for a textbook, and endures a tremendous amount of boredom and nonsense in the process.

In the ESL/EFL industry, folks like me, Steve, David Long, etc. are considered heretics. So be it. I long ago tired of wrestling with entrenched teachers and bureaucrats. I'm not very interested in their dogma, to be honest. My concern and enjoyment lies with enthusiastic learners-- those who are actively learning a language... whatever their level. These folks are where the energy, innovation, and enjoyment lie. The school industry is peopled by the undead. Don't become one of them.

Abandon industry dogma. Abandon expensive schools. Abandon irrelevant and boring textbooks. Abandon large classes. Abandon teacher/administrator as boss.

In order to learn a language effectively and enjoyably, become a heretic.

San Francisco, CA

Conversation With Steve Kaufman

2006-07-21T01:33:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I had a great conversation with Steve (Kaufman) at The Linguist recently. The conversation is too long to transcribe, but I'm including it here as a two part podcast.

At the beginning of the conversation, Steve throws down an even bigger gauntlet for me regarding Spanish!

Then we go on to discuss our ideas about learning and teaching a foreign language.

Listen to This Podcast, Part 1

Listen to This Podcast, Part 2

For English learners using this podcast, I suggest you listen to each part of the conversation many times- especially since there is no text to go with it! For teachers & native speakers, no worries of course :)

San Francisco, CA

Bad Business, Good Education

2006-07-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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I'm a terrible businessman. I admit it. As I build my freelance teaching business, I'm doing everything wrong.

If I was a good businessman, I would aggressively seek students.

If I was a good businessman, I would claim to have a "secret" curriculum that no one else knows.

If I was a good businessman, I would teach larger classes in order to maximize profits.

If I was a good businessman, I wouldn't tell potential students that they can join a great system at The Linguist, for only $35 a month, or learn from ESLPod for free.

If I was a good businessman, I would radiate all-knowing authority.

If I was a good businessman, I would try to keep students dependent on me so they would need me (and pay me) for a very long time.

But I'm not a good businessman. I love learning, I love teaching, and I want students to succeed as quickly as possible. I do not want them to depend on me. I charge a lot of money, but I don't want them to be stuck paying me for a long time. My number one goal is to push them towards autonomy as quickly as possible.

Despite my constant recommendations for The Linguist, I realize that many students want or need a face to face coach. Others need a very personal relationship, in person or online. They need that direct human contact. They need that guidance. They need the support and encouragement, at least for a while.

New students often come to me with the expectation that I will "teach them English". But that is not my goal. My goal is to teach them how to teach themselves, to teach them enjoyable and effective learning methods, to help them design their own learning plan, and (most importantly) to build their confidence.

Like any coach, I recognize that in the end, they are the one's who must perform. THEY have to put in the hours of listening. THEY have to put in the hours of reading. THEY have to put in the hours of review. THEY have to seek out situations in which they can communicate in English.

I can help them develop a plan. I can recommend a training routine. I can inspire, encourage, and extol them to excel. I can do all the things that good coaches do.

But I can't learn the language for them. Like any good coach, I want them to grow more independent. I want them to take charge and develop their autonomy and their own leadership.

My goal is to be the kind of teacher I would want for myself. That's good education. But its not good business.

San Francisco, CA

Momentum and Engineering

2006-07-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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I've reached a very important point in my Spanish studies. I am truly addicted.

Today I had an extremely hectic day. I was running around frantically to classes and meetings. As a result, I didn't have the opportunity to listen to much Spanish-- only 20 minutes.

Though I didn't have time, Spanish was constantly on my mind. I found myself getting frustrated because I was too busy to listen and read. Its the feeling I used to get when I was running regularly-- a gnawing feeling that I was missing something I wanted and needed to do.

The great part about this is that I can remember three months ago, when I started, that I struggled to complete 20 minutes a day. That seemed like a lot of listening and reading to me. It took effort to do it. But today I was severely annoyed because I could "only" do 20 minutes.

Why the change? There are a few reasons. First of all, I'm having fun. I'm reading/listening to content that I find enjoyable and interesting. Though I sometimes use the word, in fact I don't feel like I'm "studying" at all. I'm enjoying the process. Read & Think Spanish is particularly interesting- with its myriad articles about the food, people, history, and culture of Spanish speaking countries.

Second, success is addictive. I can feel myself improving. What was very difficult to understand two months ago now seems fairly easy. That feeling of progress and success is extremely motivating. Its what Kathy Sierra calls the all important "I kick ass" feeling. No, I can't really speak. Yes, I'm still a beginner. But I'm understanding text/audio that just two months ago seemed impossibly difficult. What a feeling.

Third, I believe. As a runner, a key milestone for me was completing my first 5k run. For serious runners, that's nothing. But doing it changed my image of myself. Before that race, I never called myself a "runner". After finishing that race, and from then on, I've always referred to myself as "a runner"... even now, though I haven't run regularly in the last 6 months!

Likewise, something changed for me recently. Suddenly I started to think of myself as a language learner. I could envision myself successfully speaking Spanish. I know it will take a lot more time and effort, but I believe! I know I can do it.

As I analyze my increasing momentum with Spanish, I can't help but notice the stark contrast with traditional language education. Most students who go to "normal" language programs (public schools, language schools) have the exact opposite experience from mine. First, they're bludgeoned with artificial, grammar-heavy, extremely boring content-- usually textbooks. Second, they never experience success. Rather, teachers focus on their mistakes, test them, and grade them... a frustrating and demotivating experiencing for even the most talented. Finally, these students rarely learn to believe in themselves. They are subjected to methods that don't work, and then, when they fail to acquire the language, they blame themselves and not the school.

In short, traditional language education is engineered for demotivation. It is engineered for failure.

San Francisco, CA

The Gauntlet

2006-07-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I'm throwing down the gauntlet. I've read plenty of research. I've listened and talked to excellent language learners such as David Long, Steve Kaufman, and Jerry Dai. I've taught English as a foreign language for six years, and have carefully observed what seems to work best and what does not.

But in the end, integrity comes down to personal performance. Its not just what you know, or what you believe, its what you actually do.

And so I am committed to making myself an example of natural, grammarless, input-based language acquisition.

I will give myself two years to achieve fluency with Spanish. I will continue to use comprehensible input based methods, and ONLY comprehensible input based methods. No traditional classes or textbooks. I will continue to observe a listen-first silent period for at least another month (bringing the total to 4 or more).

Two years from my start will be May 2008. At that time I'll do a podcast, in Spanish, and let folks judge the results for themselves. I may even do a few podcasts before then, to provide a kind of before & after contrast.

In short, I am putting my money where my mouth is!

Stay tuned........

San Francisco, CA

Feedback About Podcast Wanted

2006-07-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I'm new to podcasting, so I would appreciate comments and advice-- especially from English learners.

In my first two podcasts, I have included two version of the audio. The first is at normal speed, the second is slower (too slow, obviously, in my first podcast :) Is this helpful? Or do you find the repetition, and the slower version, to be annoying and unnecessary?

In my second podcast, I included a brief explanation of a few words & phrases. Again, is this helpful or is it unnecessary, distracting, and/or annoying?

Would it be better to have just one audio speech/reading of the post, at a normal rate of speech? Without explanations and without a slower version? Or should the explanations be included, or maybe expanded?

San Francisco, CA

The Grammar Joke

2006-07-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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"Grammar is the biggest joke in language education"
-- Jerry Dai

Wow. I love that quote. Its from a speech by Jerry Dai, that I found on Tony's blog. Jerry is a Chinese immigrant who lives in Toronto. He speaks near perfect English and sounds like a native speaker (though mispronounces the word "pronunciation" ;) Before mastering the language, Jerry, like most foreign language learners, suffered through years of traditional language education. As in most countries, Chinese educators are obsessed with grammar. As a result, so are the students. Jerry arrived in Canada at the age of twenty with years of English study under his belt, but he could not communicate effectively. Frustrated, he embarked on an intense two year period of self study.

What did he do during that time? He did not study grammar or vocabulary word lists. He focused on listening & reading & pronunciation.

David Long, director of AUA's Thai language program, by all accounts speaks excellent Thai. Though I can't judge this directly, I've been told by many Thais that his speech sounds natural, effortless, and fluent. How did he learn Thai? By listening intensely for one year. In fact, David did not speak Thai during this entire "silent period". His Thai language program uses the same approach-- students listen first. There is absolutely no grammar instruction in the program.

And then there's me :) By all accounts, I seem to have mastered English ;) How did I do this? When I was a child, did my parents teach me grammar? Did I learn about the past perfect progressive tense in elementary school? No. In fact, I never knew what the "past perfect" was until I became an English teacher. Walk around SF and ask any native speaker "what is the present progressive tense" and they will give you a confused look. Of course, any native speaker of any language (unless they are a language teacher :( will usually give you just such a response if you ask them grammar questions.

Grammar, especially the obtuse, analytical, incredibly complex mish-mash of "rules" used in English language education, is not only useless-- it is harmful. Grammar, you must understand, is an artificial construct. Grammar is a model. Its a model developed by academics to analyze languages. If your goal is to get a Phd. in Linguistics, and become the next Noam Chomsky, grammar is indeed something you should study intensely.

But if you actually want to master English, or any foreign language, grammar is not very useful. Grammar study ingrains a lot of very bad habits. The worst is a tendency to analyze the language rather than acquire it. I see this all the time with students-- they'd rather analyze and debate minute grammar points than truly understand, acquire, and use the language in a natural and intuitive way. Grammar study causes them to analyze and translate every utterance.... producing stilted, unnatural, painful speech (painful for them and painful to the person they are trying to talk to).

As Steve Kaufman, Jerry Dai, David Long and others have noted, the language education field is filled with teachers and researchers who have never actually mastered a foreign language. They also note that much of what passes for "language education" is counter productive, and serves mostly to prop up the perceived authority of the teacher and school.

I have not mastered a foreign language. But I'm determined to master Spanish. As I reviewed my learning plan, I realized I had a very clear choice. I could follow the advice of traditional educators-- people who sound very authoritative, but who have rarely mastered a foreign language themselves. Or I could follow the advice of people who have actually mastered another language-- who did so as adults, and who speak the language fluently, naturally, intuitively, and without hesitation. Since my goal is to speak Spanish, not obtain a Phd. in Linguistics, I've chosen to follow the advice of the latter group.

We can all judge the end results for ourselves, in a couple of years. But I'm already convinced. Already, I'm experiencing great benefits. I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of learning Spanish. My motivation is growing week by week. I can feel my comprehension improving, even though I'm still not able to communicate much. Perhaps most importantly, I can imagine myself as a fluent speaker.

These things never happened when I followed the grammar-analysis approach.

The tragic part about this is that so many students blame themselves. They think there is something wrong with them. They think, as I used to, that they don't have a talent for languages. They think that mastering English (or another language) is impossible. They think the teachers and schools are right, and therefore they must simply be bad students.

In the end, I agree with Jerry: Grammar is the biggest joke in language education.

Its a cruel joke.

San Francisco, CA

Visualization Instead of Translation

2006-07-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

As I listen to Spanish audio, I'm trying a new approach. In the beginning of my studies (starting 3 months ago), I usually translated what I heard into English. This was not a conscious decision, its just what seemed to happen. As I heard the Spanish, I would try to translate it instantly to English.

This was a bad idea. It was impossible for me to do this at a normal speaking speed. As such, I ended up missing lots of words. Also, I realized that I will never train myself to think in Spanish if I continue to translate back and forth in my head.

So recently I've taken a different approach. As I hear the Spanish, I imagine pictures in my head. When I hear "puerta", I picture a door. I do this deliberately and consciously, trying to avoid English altogether. It doesn't work perfectly. But since starting to do this, I've found that my listening comprehension has improved. I'm able to understand more Spanish at a faster rate.

To further enhance direct comprehension (without translation), I sometimes try a little "personal TPR". As I hear the Spanish, I not only make images.. I also move my hands around to imitate the action. For example, if I hear "controlar el ganado" (control the livestock), I make a gripping gesture with my hands (control) then make horns on my head using my fingers (livestock). Yes, it makes me look like a crazy person.

But this is San Francisco, city of freaks! So I can actually get away with doing this in public and no one even looks at me!

I find that these gestures and images help the vocabulary sink in and help me move more quickly to direct (without translation) understanding of the words.

San Francisco, CA

Beauty, Vibe, and Other Touchy-Feely Things

2006-07-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

by AJ

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"Aesthetics matter.
Beautiful things WORK better."
--From Kathy Sierra's most recent post.

One of the best things about freelance teaching is that I'm able to choose aesthetically pleasing environments in which to do it. I typically meet my private (face to face) students in local coffee shops. These shops get the "beautiful things work better" thing. They have a warm, inviting, cozy environment. The air is saturated with the smell of roasted coffee. Pleasant music (classical, opera, "world"..) resonates. There are large windows, ideal for people watching.

Likewise, I have a comfortable environment when teaching online-- my apartment. I open a big window to let in the light and air, kick back, and enjoy myself.

The most frustrating thing about the educational "culture of ugliness" is that its so unnecessary. Beautiful things don't cost more. In fact, funky fabulous furniture can be bought from thrift stores for a fraction of the cost of the sterile stuff favored by most schools.

Most cities have an art/design school or two-- why not hire a couple of students to beautify the school?

I keep asking these questions but I think I already know the answer. The "culture of ugly", after all, is not an isolated problem. Its just a small component of the "school as factory" mentality. This mentality goes very deep into the core of traditional educational. Its a mentality that values control, standardization, numbers, detailed syllabi, tests, grades, authority, and obedience. However nice the individual teachers and administrators are, they all become infected with the "factory virus". Students, too, become infected.

This virus is very difficult to cure.

The safest and most effective cure is quarantine-- that is, removal from the school environment. Though it takes time, learners who leave school and embark on self-directed study do recover. They recover their curiosity. They recover their enthusiasm. They recover their motivation, energy, and passion.

Teachers who leave often recover as well. They recover their humanity. They recover their joy. They recover their passion and enthusiasm. They recover a sense of purpose and a love of learning.

The power of environment and aesthetics goes well beyond a few touchy-feely vibes. The environment has a massive impact on our expectations, our beliefs, and our attitude. A learner in a school environment behaves much differently than a learner in a coffee shop.

Perhaps the simplest solution to the myriad evils of traditional education is simply this: leave.

San Francisco, CA

Skype Recording for Mac

2006-07-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Most of the learners and tutors at The Linguist use Powergramo to record their Skype conversations. This is a very useful capability. Learners can record their discussions and review them later as often as they like. Tutors can record conversations and use them for podcasts.

Up until now, I've been out of the loop because Powergramo does not support Mac/Apple.

But I just came across software that allows Mac users to record their Skype conversations. Its called Call Recorder from Ecamm. This software costs only $12.95. I recommend this software to Mac users who'd like to record Skype conversations & interviews (for podcasting or learning). It is very simple to use (hardly surprising for a Mac application ;)

San Francisco, CA

ELA Now Podcasting

2006-07-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

by AJ

I've decided to take the easiest approach to podcasting (at least for the moment), by creating podcasts of posts on this blog. Not all posts will be podcast (though all will still have the computer generated audio from Talkr). I will be adding an RSS Podcast feed link to the sidebar (and also a link to iTunes), for learners who would like to subscribe.

For now the podcasts will be very simple. I'll read the post at normal speed. Then I will use software to create a second, much slower version. The last post (Sleepy Resistance) was my first podcast for this blog!

Unfortunately, the slow version of that post is TOO slow. I sound like I'm on serious drugs! In the future I'll still do a slow version, but not quite THAT slow :)

For English learners, here are my suggestions for using the podcast:

1. First read the post. Use an online dictionary to find the meaning of unknown words. Save these in a notebook (or computer). (In the future I may add an explanation section, as Drs. Tse & McQuillan do at ESLPod, but for now I won't be doing that).

2. Listen to the audio, both the normal and the slow versions, and read along with them. Do this several times. You can download the audio file to iTunes or an MP3 player.

3. Just listen, without reading. Again, I recommend repeated listening in order to thoroughly absorb any new vocabulary or phrasing.

If you have questions, feel free to email me!

Happy Listening!!

San Francisco, CA

Sleepy Resistance

2006-07-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Listen To This Podcast

This week I've encountered a new obstacle to Spanish study-- sleepiness. Every afternoon after work, I come home and pop in the iPod headphones. For the last couple of weeks, I've had great concentration and focus. But this week, something happened. After about 15 minutes of listening/reading/studying, I find myself getting sleepy. My mind gets sluggish. I've tried downing coffee, but it hasn't worked.

I've been getting enough sleep, so what's happening?

Turns out I have encountered this problem before-- when meditating. During a 10 day Vipassana meditation course I took, I hit a period where I was constantly sleepy. I'd sit down to meditate feeling energetic, but 5 minutes after starting I'd feel tired. I would have to struggle to keep my eyes open.

The meditation instructor (Goenka) explained this phenomenon. He said it was a common problem and was a form of ego-resistance to the meditation. Basically, your conscious/social mind, for whatever reason, starts to sabotage your efforts. Goenka suggested that we work through the challenge-- and try hard to keep our focus. He predicted that if we did so, we'd eventually develop greater mental concentration and endurance and the sleepiness would go away. As he predicted, after three days of struggle this problem went away.

So perhaps this is a good sign- a sign that I've reached a mental limit and am now trying to push past it. I know that there is nothing to do but keep trying. I know that if I refuse to surrender to this kind of lazy-sleepiness, I will eventually develop greater concentration and endurance.

In the meantime, I'm trying to do more walking while I listen.. to keep my mind and body awake. I also take more frequent breaks, but I always try to return again to studying.

In time I hope for a breakthrough-- and an end to the sleepiness.

San Francisco, CA

A Community, not a "class"

2006-07-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

by AJ

I LOVE tutoring (or "coaching") with the Linguist. Simply LOVE it.

Its not because of the pay... I get paid far more at my school, and from my freelance clients.

Its not because the system is excellent... although it certainly is.

Its because of the students. They are the most enthusiastic and self-directed students I've ever met. These guys are excited about English... and about learning in general. They take initiative. They don't sit back passively waiting for the teacher/tutor/coach to tell them what to do. They seek out interesting content on their own. They enthusiastically listen to audio, read, and watch TV. Some have their own blogs in English.

The Linguist does not have "classes"... they have an online community. The students often chat with each other. They visit each other's blogs. They encourage one another.

In this community, there is still a role for a tutor. But its very different than what you find in a traditional classroom. In a class, the teacher is the boss, the director, the judge, the initiator. Students, not surprisingly, are relegated to a passive role.

But in a community like The Linguist, my role is totally different. I'm a resource. I'm an advisor. I'm someone with valuable skills (native English fluency) that other community members hope to acquire. None of the community members depend on me. Our interactions contain none of the "master-student" dynamics so common in traditional classrooms.

This has benefits for me as well as them. I learn a great deal from these community members-- approaches, strategies, and suggestions I can apply to my own language learning (Spanish). I also benefit from the energy and enthusiasm. I don't feel tired after a discussion on The Linguist. Quite the opposite-- I'm energized.

The Linguist presents a learning model that is more enjoyable, more effective, and more efficient than the classroom model. While their particular community is an online one, there is no reason such a model couldn't be replicated in an actual physical space. This might be a community of learners in a city who help, support, encourage, and share with one another. Such a community would be made up of a mix of nationalities. It might even involve learners of different languages. Who says we must segregate language learning?

For example, why not a group of native Spanish speakers and a group of native English speakers together in a learning community... helping each other learn their respective languages.... Holding discussions in both languages... Organizing social events in both languages... Finding tutors/coaches/mentors in both languages.... Creating a library of audio, text, & video in both languages....

In such a scenario, the tutor becomes a facilitator & organizer & resource, rather than an authority figure. His/her job is to schedule discussions, organize a great content library, bring in interesting guest speakers/tutors, answer questions, MOTIVATE & ENCOURAGE (perhaps job #1), bring people together, and guide learners to self-sufficiency.

Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like what Steve Kaufman is doing at The Linguist :) I'm thinking I need to try to do this with a face to face community here in San Francisco.

Stay tuned.......

San Francisco, CA

Pleasant Environment

2006-07-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Part of making the learning process enjoyable is doing it in a pleasant environment.

One of my favorite subjects to rant about is the butt-ugly atmosphere of most schools. Bland colors, office style furniture, and a general vibe of sterility and ugliness are the norm. Who in their right mind wants to spend time in such places?

One of the best things about independent learning is that you can choose the setting where you study. You aren't stuck in a bland classroom, confined to an uncomfortable desk, sitting under fluorescent lights. You can choose to study in places that stimulate and nourish you.

My favorite location is Cafe Puccini-- an Italian cafe in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Most afternoons I can be found there with my iPod and a couple of Spanish books. Cafe Puccini is everything that a classroom is not-- its lively, its interesting, its human. Its a great place to spend the afternoon hours.. whether studying, chatting with friends, or people watching.

At times, the Italian owner cranks up his favorite opera music. Neighborhood regulars mix with tourists. Sometimes I even overhear Spanish conversations... for while the owners are Italian, many of the workers are native Spanish speakers.

Cafe Puccini has soul. I attribute much of my studying consistency to the fact that I mostly study there. If I were in a school every afternoon, I would have quit by now.

But since I'm an independent learner, I'm able to choose a place that makes me feel happy and alive. Not surprisingly, this has benefited my language learning tremendously.

San Francisco, CA

Small Is Oh So Beautiful

2006-07-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Subtract out all issues of methodology, approach, theory, and materials... and I still find that traditional classes ( a bunch of students sitting in a room, focused on a teacher) are a poor way to learn a language (or, indeed, most anything). The simplest, the easiest, the first way to make a learning breakthrough is to adhere to the maxim "small is beautiful".

The more people you add to a class, the less attention each will get. That means that with each new student, it becomes even more difficult to customize the class to each person's needs. In practice, beyond 3 or 4 students, its almost impossible. The law of averages, the practice of teaching to the lowest common denominator, takes over. Its very difficult to avoid. And its not only the teacher's fault. Students too fall into a kind of hypnosis when they enter a class. Its like they walk through the door and automatically surrender their autonomy and responsibility to the authority figure.

In short, BIG SUCKS!

Small is beautiful. And the smallest possible learning unit is ONE. That's you- the learner. No one else. No teacher. No school. No authority figures to surrender to. No one else responsible for learning but YOU.

That is the most effective approach. In the beginning, it seems like more work. We are so used to being passive and lazy learners-- sit back, take notes, and depend on the authority (teacher and textbook) to tell us what to do.

But the traditional way really isn't easier, because you waste huge amounts of time and get very little benefit from it. Also, what you save in initiative you pay for with boredom.

The initial stage of becoming a self-responsible learner does feel like more effort. Like any good habit, it takes a few weeks to keep yourself on a consistent self-learning schedule. You've got to do the research, find the content, and put in that time listening to audio. No one is going to check up on you. No one is going to berate you about not studying, or fail you if you don't do anything. So at first it seems like you need strong willpower to study on your own.

But that's only for a few weeks. If you use methods that are enjoyable-- mainly reading and listening to content you enjoy (repeatedly... especially in the beginning) the process gets easier and easier. Before long, it becomes enjoyable. Then it becomes fun. Finally, it becomes addictive.

Its much like starting a physical exercise program. When you are lazy, flabby, and out of shape... it does indeed take effort to get your ass moving each day. But after a month or two, you've developed a strong habit. You feel healthier. You have more energy and endurance. And you've started to crave those good feelings. After a while, you become irritable and frustrated if you CAN'T exercise.

So it goes with mental exercise. My Spanish self-learning has followed exactly this progression. In the beginning, it seemed like a big chore to study 30 minutes every day (by "study" I mean read & listen). I needed great effort to do it. I needed pep talks and support (such as reading Steve Kaufman's book, talking to others who'd learned a language, etc...).

After a month, the habit was formed. It no longer felt tiring to listen or read for 30 minutes everyday. Soon after, I began to understand a bit more. And then a bit more. I slowly increased the reading/listening time to 40 minutes a day... then 50... then 60.

After a couple of months, I was really enjoying it. I looked forward to my Spanish time each day.

And now, three months later, I'm addicted. I not only look forward to Spanish-- I crave it. I turn on iTunes when I wake up. After work, I get my iPod, walk to North Beach, sit at Cafe Puccini, and read/listen to Spanish for 90 minutes.. or more if I have time.

If work or other obligations prevent me from studying Spanish, I now become very irritated! I've come to enjoy the pleasant experience of learning on my own.

At this point, I can't imagine returning to a traditional classroom-- stuck in a desk listening to somebody give obtuse explanations about textbook grammar points. Ugh! Such a brain-antagonistic way to learn! So damn boring!

No, much as I became a running/walking addict... I'm now a Spanish learning addict. It's an addiction I'm happy to indulge!

In learning, small is indeed beautiful.

(This experience, by the way, is profoundly changing my thoughts about my role as a "teacher". I now think the best service I can perform for "my students" is to wean them off me until they are autonomous leaners. In other words, my job is to teach my student-customers how to fire me :)

San Francisco, CA

Tony's Blog

2006-07-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Time for another plug. Tony, an English language learner in Taiwan (and Linguist student), has an excellent blog. Tony is extremely dedicated. In fact, I'd say he's a language learning maniac. I've had a few Skype conversations with him, and am always inspired by his enthusiasm and passion for learning.

Tony's blog provides insights that most teaching blogs (like this one :) simply can't. He shares his experiences. He shares his approach, attitude, and learning methods. He provides a very practical perspective- that of one who is actually DOING it (mastering English). Not just teaching it. Not just researching it. Not just thinking about it and discussing it.

Tony is a living example-in-progress of how to master a foreign language. Check his blog regularly at:
Tony's Blog!

San Francisco, CA

MJ, Tiger, Ronaldhino

2006-07-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

by AJ

In general, I'm having a great time studying Spanish on my own. I'm consistently studying everyday, at least an hour. I feel I am making progress.

Clearly, its possible to learn a language on your own. As I've noted in past posts, I also feel that traditional classroom instruction is extremely wasteful. Often, in fact, its worse than that-- its counter-productive.

Dependence on a teacher is not a good thing. A teacher can't learn for you. A teacher can't force the language into your brain.

However, I do realize that there are many benefits to having a COACH. Michael Jordan had a coach. Tiger Woods has a coach. Ronaldhino has a coach.

Let's face it, learning a language is a long process. Sometimes its frustrating, whatever methods you use. Sometimes it helps to have someone to encourage you, to pat you on the back, to give you a bit of advice. In fact, its amazing how helpful just this little bit of help is.

My current burst of consistent Spanish effort grew out of a conversation with Steve Kaufman (at The Linguist). At the time, about two months ago, I had just started to study. I was making an effort, but was constantly frustrated. I felt my progress was too difficult and slow. I couldn't understand most of the audio in "Las Puertas Retorcidas". I doubted if I really had the ability and persistence to learn a language. I remembered all of my past failures.

Steve gave me a pep talk. In fact, he gave me a couple. He didn't have any magic words or shortcuts. But he convinced me that I could indeed do it, that I was using good methods, and that I would be successful if I stuck with it. Coming from him, a guy who has been VERY successful learning languages, it meant a lot. He gave me a tremendous boost of confidence which has fueled my efforts ever since.

This is the most important thing a teacher/coach/tutor does. They help you to keep going. They address the emotional ("affective") issues that cause students to become anxious & frustrated. They help you develop an effective learning plan and they help you to stick to it. When you need it, they compliment you and point out your strengths. At other times (especially for accomplished/advanced learners) they give you a kick in the butt and a "get back to work" nudge. They remind you that you can, and WILL, succeed.

Students & teachers underestimate the value of this role. (And they grossly OVERestimate the role of explaining the language).

San Francisco, CA

Transforming Classes

2006-07-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

by AJ

In a recent comment, Anna wrote:

"I would be quite interested in the process you apply in your classroom while trying to persuade your pupils to use this system with you. Is that even possible? I, as an English teacher myself, though not professionally or anything, have always had trouble slowing down my pupils and making them repeat the same texts again cause they think it's useless. Can you give me some tips?"

Ahh, very very good questions. Unfortunately, I don't have many good answers as I've been wrestling with these same issues lately.

It started as a result of my own efforts with Spanish. Suddenly it hit me, my private efforts were much more efficient (and enjoyable) than taking a class. I thought back to previous experiences (all failures) with language classes. Then I examined my own English classes with a critical eye.

I found both to be lacking. The truth is, my traditional English classes at my school are not amazing. I've tried to make them better than average. But the group/school system is tough to overcome. Large classes, I'm afraid, just aren't terribly effective compared to one on one tutoring coupled with self-study (or self-study alone, if you are motivated).

As I've gotten my own private students, I've realized how much more I enjoy them. I enjoy private coaching because it is so much more effective. The students understand that they must take responsibility for their learning, while I will act as their helper and coach. Working one on one, I can focus on their specific needs. I can help them develop an individual study plan that will work for them.

I have the time and ability to focus on their emotional needs too. I quickly realize if they are discouraged, or anxious, or frustrated and I can help them with these problems. I do a much better job of motivating my individual private students than I do of motivating my class.

Still, I haven't given up on my class. But I realize that just tweaking the traditional approach isn't enough. Somehow I've got to find a way to destroy the underlying assumptions of traditional school: that the teacher is responsible, that textbooks and formal lessons are the best way to learn, that talking ABOUT the language is better than direct immersion IN the language.

These are tough beliefs to crack! I'll certainly let you know if I find a way to transform my group classes, but right now, I am at a loss.

San Francisco, CA

Long Slow Runs and Language Learning

2006-07-05T13:18:00.001-07:00

by AJ

The cornerstone of my first marathon training program was the "long slow run". As I've mentioned before, slowing down was the key change that transformed me from someone who hated to run, to an avid runner and marathoner.

Slow running is especially important for beginners. Most people run too fast and too far when they begin a program. They think they must pour sweat and pant like a dog, or else they aren't accomplishing anything. New wanna-be runners are often obsessed with distance too. "Farther and faster"... that's their motto.

That attitude may work for veteran runners, but it is extremely harmful for beginners. Beginners who start this way quickly learn to associate running with pain. For them, running is a struggle. Every run requires great willpower. Progress is never fast enough. These folks are constantly frustrated. Most quit after one or two months (or weeks!).

Runners who run slowly do much better. They learn to enjoy the act itself. They don't worry about speed and they don't worry about distance. They just get out there and listen to their bodies. They take it easy. And yet, with each run, they build their muscles, lungs, heart, and mind to handle more. Without pushing, they begin to run faster and run farther.

The more I examine my own foreign language experiences and those of my students, the more similarities I see between runners and language learners.

Most students & teachers are likewise obsessed with speed and quantity. They race through textbooks as fast as possible. They try to study as many grammar points and as much vocabulary as they can fit into a semester. Underlying these behaviors is an attitude that says, "more is better".

But that is not necessarily the case. For beginning and intermediate students, quality is often more important than amount. In other words, its better to go slower and truly acquire the language. This means shorter passages. This means MUCH more repetition. This means thoroughly absorbing authentic content.

Just as importantly, it means relaxing and enjoying the process. By following a slower, more repetitive, deeper, and more relaxed approach, you will build your English ability without pushing. You'll truly acquire the language and be able to use it without translating back and forth between English and your native language.

So...

Rather than cover 50 pages in a month, cover only 5... and learn them thoroughly. Read them every day. Listen to the audio repeatedly, every day. Practice imitating the phrases. Thoroughly and totally absorb the content.

Eventually, of course, you will be able to do more. Once I finished my first marathon, I was strong, I was used to running, and I was ready to focus on more speed. But I needed a good base first.

So too with language learning. Build a good base first-- a solid foundation of listening & reading comprehension.

San Francisco, CA

Writing Instruction & The Internet

2006-07-04T00:07:00.000-07:00

by AJ

As I've begun to explore the (relatively) new phenomenon of teaching English on the internet, I've discovered that writing instruction, in particular, is ideally suited to the medium.

Speaking & listening are certainly possible on the web... utilizing Skype or other internet communication software. And, of course, there is plenty of reading material on the net... some with corresponding audio as well (see previous post re: ESL Pod).

But for my purposes, writing instruction is the simplest and most effective internet subject. Email makes written communication quick and easy. Students send me writing samples at their convenience. A high speed connection is not required. Nor is a headset or web camera.

Since writing correction and instruction usually does not need to occur in "real time", time zone differences are no problem. Scheduling Skype calls with students in Europe, Japan, Thailand, and South America, while Im living in San Francisco, can be quite a challenge. However, its no problem at all to receive writing from students anywhere in the world.

Usually I use two techniques to teach writing over the net (as I've mentioned in a previous post).

First I do rewrites. Rather than simply point out errors, I rewrite the piece using standard (and concise) written English (which is certainly more strict and formal than the loose writing used on this blog ;) Rewrites, in my opinion, are much better than simple corrections because they provide correct, comprehensible input. In other words, they not only show what is wrong, they also show what is right.

The second thing I do is record myself reading my version of the written piece. I use Audacity and convert the recording to an MP3. I then email the student, attaching the original piece, my rewrite, and the MP3 of the rewrite. I encourage students to compare the two text versions often. I also encourage them to listen to the audio of the rewrite as much as possible, to help them absorb the phrasing, vocab, and grammar of standard written English.

Overall, my goal when teaching writing is to go beyond finding errors and focus instead on providing clear (and comprehensible) examples of standard written English.

San Francisco, CA

Another Plug for ESL Pod

2006-07-04T00:02:00.000-07:00

by AJ

Gotta put in another plug for ESL Pod. I dont know how they do it, but they put out an amazing variety and number of English podcasts. Each podcast starts with a conversation at slower-than-normal speed (aids comprehension), followed by an explanation of phrases, idioms, etc....., followed by the same conversation at normal native speed. For a tiny fee ($10/month I think) you can also access learning guides for each podcast.

Another nice improvement... they have now organized/tagged their podcasts by topic. Thus, you can focus your reading/listening on relationships, or daily life, or business, or travel.....

If you are an English learner, do check out ESL Pod!

San Francisco, CA

Taking Control

2006-07-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

by AJ

The greatest challenge I now face as a teacher is encouraging my students to take control of their own learning.

Frankly, the school and classroom setting works against this. Put a group of students in a room, sitting at desks, with a whiteboard on the wall... and a sort of auto-pilot takes over. Teacher and students sink into automatic roles. Breaking those roles, and the assumptions that go with them, is very very difficult.

The thing that I can't get out of my mind is how incredibly wasteful classroom instruction is. Despite hours in a language class, students get a remarkably small amount of comprehensible input. They waste countless hours on explanations, pointless textbook activities, time killers, nit-picky analysis. At times, I wonder if the last thing they want to do is actually read, listen to, and use comprehensible language.

Studying (Spanish) on my own, I can work through a couple of short articles in an hour. I can learn the new vocabulary, figure out the basic grammar, and also listen to the audio multiple times. I am a beginner.

By contrast, it often takes my advanced class two hours to work through an article. Why? Because we will analyze, discuss, and explain it to death. We'll spend 20 minutes actually reading the thing... then 60+ minutes on detailed explanations (not counting discussion of the actual issues/meaning of the overall article). In this time, they will hear me read the article only one time.

Another example: On my own, I can review a great deal of vocabulary quickly. I do so almost everyday. I try to do this with my class too... but it wastes tremendous time. Why? Because we get bogged down on almost every word. Quick & rough explanations never seem to be enough.... and I end up giving long treatises on the shades of meaning of each phrase or word. This wastes a tremendous amount of time.

Boiled down, I find two essential problems with traditional classroom instruction. One, students surrender responsibility for learning to the teacher. Two, students and teachers alike are frightened of ambiguity. Both of these tendencies are fatal to actual learning and mastery.

San Francisco, CA

More on Anxiety, Pain, & Enjoyment

2006-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

by AJ

After completing my first marathon, friends and acquaintances would often ask me for advice about running. Typically, they started something like this: "I really want to run and get in shape. I've tried it before, but its horrible. What should I do? How can I run farther and faster?"

My first, knee-jerk bit of advice was always, "Run slower". Most beginning runners simply run too fast. They have a "no pain, no gain" mentality. So they charge out the door and complete a punishing run. They huff and puff. They pour sweat. The next day, their legs are in pain.

A few stalwart souls manage to do this for a few weeks, or even months. They are propelled by sheer mental determination. Every run is a battle.

But few people indeed can sustain this kind of approach for long. Most quit running.. Convinced that running is a horribly unpleasant activity.

I understand, because I used to take the same approach. As a teenager, I thought I wanted to join the cross country team at my High School. During the summer, I decided to train to get in shape. I followed the approach outlined above. After a couple weeks of pain, I decided that I hated running.

Later, at the age of 27, I came across a book by a professional marathoner. His central piece of advice was "run slower". I followed his advice and suddenly, running was enjoyable. I took it easy. I paid attention to my breathing as I ran, and any time it became labored, I slowed down.

The ironic thing is-- because I was enjoying the process, I ran more. Each week, I added distance. As the weeks passed, my legs, heart, lungs all got stronger.

And something else magical happened- without making any attempt to run fast.. I naturally got faster.

Eventually I started to join 5k and 10k races. And eventually my body became strong enough to handle a bit of "speed training".. where I did indeed try to run fast. But by then, I was strong, I loved running, and I could handle the intensity.

I think there's a lesson for language learning here... :)

San Francisco, CA