Intro
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| Chigusa: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Chigusa and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Chigusa: In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about... |
| Peter: How to Match Your Routine to Language Learning |
| Chigusa: And today, you will learn... |
| Peter: 1) How to Map Your Routine and Set Your Schedule |
| Chigusa: 2) How to Choose the Learning Medium That’s Right for You |
| Peter: and 3) The Language Tools You Can Take Advantage Of |
| Chigusa: All so you can master your target language and reach your goals! |
| Body |
| Chigusa: Listeners, welcome back to the Inner Circle. |
| Peter: Last time, you learned how to start off on the right foot with language learning. |
| Chigusa: And we covered quite a bit. You learned how to set goals, rewards... |
| Peter: The importance of knowing your “why”... or your reason for learning... |
| Chigusa: ...Anchor points, assessment... |
| Peter: ...and how to match your routine to your medium. |
| Chigusa: Meaning, how to pick the learning tools that are right for you and your schedule. |
| Peter: Just... finding how to fit language learning into your schedule. Or what resources are best. |
| Chigusa: So, if you’re taking a train... |
| Peter: ...then you might want to listen to audio lessons. |
| Chigusa: If you have time to sit down and focus.... |
| Peter: Then you’ll want to have more engaging resources like flashcards. |
| Chigusa: And last time, you promised us 1 minute of Hebrew conversation, Peter. |
| Peter: I did. And I hit it. |
| Chigusa: That’s good. Did you do anything new this past month to help you hit your goal? |
| Peter: So last time, we talked about “matching your routine to medium.” |
| Chigusa: Yes. |
| Peter: And I did just that. I figured out my schedule. What kind of learner I am. And what resources... or “medium” match my routine best. And listeners, that’s the topic of today’s Inner Circle. |
| Chigusa: “How to Match Your Routine to Language Learning” |
| Peter: And let’s jump right into the first part. |
| Chigusa: Part 1: How to Map Your Routine and Set Your Schedule |
| Peter: So, Chigusa, here’s a quick question. Would you want to have the best language learning resources BUT have a weak study routine... OR a strong routine and... so-so resources |
| Chigusa: Definitely a strong routine. |
| Peter: And why is that? |
| Chigusa: Well, you can have the best app or textbook in the world... but if you don’t use it, if you don’t have a routine or a habit of learning... it won’t work. |
| Peter: Exactly. We are creatures of routines and habits. |
| Chigusa: We are. |
| Peter: And our habits can be used for good or bad. They make us or break us. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, you can have a bad habit of going to bed at 3AM... which will just make you tired the next day. |
| Peter: Or, you can have a good habit like working out...which has a positive impact on your health. |
| Chigusa: But because our routines stick with us, over a long period of time...you can either do a lot of damage to yourself... |
| Peter: ...or you can enjoy incredible results and benefits. The point is, for better or worse, we’re governed by routines... |
| Chigusa: But, we can use routines to our advantage... |
| Peter: ...and use them to succeed at our goals. |
| Chigusa: So, Peter, let’s tie language learning into this. |
| Peter: Okay, how do you set a routine with language learning? |
| Chigusa: We talked about this last time but, listeners... |
| Peter: You need to sit down and write out your existing daily schedule. |
| Chigusa: As in, 7AM, I wake up. 8AM. I leave the house. 820 to 850, I’m on the train. |
| Peter: 910AM, I arrive at work. 1PM, I go to lunch. So, write out your daily schedule...for a whole week. Make it that detailed. |
| Chigusa: You can do that with the worksheet that we’ve included inside the PDF. |
| Peter: And once you’ve written it out, now you have your existing daily routine. |
| Chigusa: And it’s much easier to try and fit in language learning into your existing routine, that you are used to... |
| Peter: ...than to add a new routine into your day that you’re not used to. For example, some people will look at their schedule and see that they wake up at 8AM. But if they wake up at 7AM, they can have an extra hour for language learning. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, that usually doesn’t work... because you’re not used to it. |
| Peter: Exactly. |
| Chigusa: So, once you’ve mapped out your week, what’s next? |
| Peter: Once you know how your time goes, you can easily see how you can fit language learning into your day. For example, I take the train at 9AM, and since I do pretty much nothing on the train... I started listening to audio lessons. |
| Chigusa: And was that an easy routine to set? |
| Peter: It was. I’m not exactly. Commuting time is dead time so it was no big deal to press play on a lesson and use that time productively. I also study with flashcards during lunch and listen to the Alexa device at home with my kids. |
| Chigusa: Okay, so for our listeners, once you figured out how to fit language into your day... What's next? |
| Peter: Let’s jump into part 2 |
| Chigusa: Part 2: How to Choose the Learning Medium That’s Right for You |
| Peter: So, before we jump into the actual learning... It also helps to find out what kind of learner are you? |
| Chigusa: Like, a visual learner or if you learn by reading? |
| Peter: Exactly. There’s something called the VARK model, and it’s an acronym for 4 learning styles: Visual, Auditory (or listening), Reading/Writing or Kinesthetic. |
| Chigusa: Kinesthetic? |
| Peter: Meaning hands-on.. Or actual practice and trial-and-error. |
| Chigusa: So, how can you determine which kind of learner you are? |
| Peter: Well again, this depends on you. Chigusa, do you like watching videos? |
| Chigusa: Yes. |
| Peter: Do you like listening? |
| Chigusa: Mmm, yes. |
| Peter: Or, maybe you prefer reading first? |
| Chigusa: Uh uh. |
| Peter: Or do you just want to dive head first? |
| Chigusa: Uh uh. |
| Peter: Yeah, see, there’s no wrong answer. It depends on what kind of learner you are. You seem more like ... visual. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, visual person. I see. |
| Peter:The point here is... it helps you choose the learning medium - or study tools - that are right for you. |
| Chigusa: So, that’s the next step. |
| Peter: So, we found out fast that you’re a visual and auditory learner. So, let’s take the auditory learning first. That means you want to start with audio lessons. We have a wide library of audio lessons. You also like videos. So, we have a large library of videos to learn from. Exactly. |
| Chigusa: If you’re into reading and writing, you’ll want a book. |
| Peter: And if you’re a kinesthetic learner, you’d want quizzes, flashcards and actual interaction. But remember, if you’re a visual learner, it doesn’t mean you should shun audio. In my case, even though I’m more of a reading/writing learner, I STILL listen to audio on the train... Because it’s the best match for the medium and the method. |
| Chigusa: I agree. I think reading can also be good for the train...even if you’re not into reading. If you can sit down, it’s a good use of your commute time. |
| Peter: Exactly. But in Japan, the rush hour gets a little tight, I mean you can’t even lift your hands. When the train’s empty, it works well. |
| Chigusa: Okay, now, once we’ve decided on the medium... |
| Peter: The last thing you need to keep in mind is your study ratio. So, in short, the study ratio is how much time you spend absorbing information, input, and how much time you spend producing language, output. What you want to strive for is about 50% input and 50% practice or production - producing that language. |
| Chigusa: So, if you read for 30 minutes... |
| Peter: Then, you want to practice for 30 minutes. You can’t just consume. You must practice. Otherwise, it’s not going to stick as fast. |
| Chigusa: That’s a great point. What’s your study ratio right now, Peter? |
| Peter: My study ratio right now, to be honest, is 70-80% input, and only 20-30% output. I’m not where I need to be, but that’s okay. |
| Chigusa: Alright, so we’ve covered routines, learning types and mediums... |
| Peter: ...let’s move onto part 3; |
| Chigusa: 3) The Language Tools You Can Take Advantage Of |
| Peter: Listeners, in this last part, we’re going to cover all the resources that you can take advantage of... |
| Chigusa: ...based on your learning style. |
| Peter: But remember, if you’re a visual learner, that doesn’t mean you should shun resources that don’t fit that style. Sometimes, it’s not practical to watch a video. For example if you’re driving. Audio is a much better choice there. |
| Chigusa: Alright, let’s jump in. So if you’re a visual learner.... |
| Peter: Take advantage of our video lessons in the lesson library. We have them across all levels - from Absolute Beginner to Advanced. |
| Chigusa: These will be your main source of learning. |
| Peter: Use the vocab slideshows. |
| Chigusa: You’ll find these on every lesson page and vocab list. |
| Peter: The slideshows make it super easy to learn and review words. Just press play and watch. |
| Chigusa: You can put it on loop and watch for as long as you want. |
| Peter: Next, if you’re an Auditory learner... |
| Chigusa: Then take advantage of our audio lessons. These will be your main resource. |
| Peter: You can use dialog audio tracks. These give you just the conversation from that lesson. |
| Chigusa: And you can use these tracks to immerse yourself in conversations. |
| Peter: Next, if you prefer reading and writing, we include lesson notes and transcripts for every audio and video lesson. |
| Chigusa: So, if you’re taking a lesson, read along. |
| Peter: The lesson notes include extra grammar explanations, vocab lists and cultural insights that are not available in the lesson. |
| Chigusa: You can also check out our extensive reading books in the lesson library. |
| Peter: These are simple 1-line-per page books that will build you into a confident reader. |
| Chigusa: And if you prefer writing, you can copy out the lesson dialogue into your notebook. |
| Peter: You can leave comments on our lessons with sample sentences. |
| Chigusa: You can keep a daily journal in your target language. |
| Peter: And, send messages to your Premium PLUS teacher, and practice writing. |
| Chigusa: They’ll correct your mistakes, tell you how to express yourself in a natural way, and help you improve fast. |
| Peter: And finally, if you’re a kinesthetic learner and prefer hands-on experience and trial and error... |
| Chigusa: Definitely use our Premium PLUS teachers and practice with them. |
| Peter: You can do that via the MyTeacher messenger on the site or in the app. |
| Chigusa: Use our spaced repetition flashcards. These cards quiz you on words and phrases and help you master them fast. |
| Peter: These flashcards sort the words for you and quiz you accordingly. |
| Chigusa: So, If you don’t know a word, you’ll keep seeing it over and over... until you get it right. |
| Peter: And if you do know it, you’ll see it in a few days. It’ll pop up every now and then, just to refresh your memory. |
| Chigusa: Also, take advantage of our lesson quizzes. You’ll find these in every audio lesson. |
| Peter: ...and these test you on the words and phrases you learned in the lessons. |
| Chigusa: You can also practice speaking with our Voice Recorder.... |
| Peter: You’ll find this inside the Dialogue Tool. |
| Chigusa: You can record and compare yourself with native speakers, see how close you get... |
| Peter: ...and keep practicing until you can say the lesson dialog at a native level. |
| Chigusa: Alright Peter, you mentioned that you’re learning with the audio lessons and flashcards. And you’re taking classes. Will you add any more resources to your routine? |
| Peter: The enemy of a good plan is a better plan. So, I’m going to stick with my good plan. I think if I can stick to this good plan, I’m pretty confident that I can reach my goals of 3 minute conversation by March 31st |
| Chigusa: Sounds good. And listeners, let us know what your small, measurable monthly goal is. |
| Peter: Email us at inner.circle at innovative language dot com, and stay tuned for the next Inner Circle. |
Outro
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| Chigusa: Well, that’s going to do it for this special Inner Circle lesson! |
| Peter: Bye. Everyone! |
| Chigusa: Thanks for listening! |
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