Lesson Transcript

Intro

Becky: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Becky and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of Innovative Language... Peter Galante!
Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here.
Becky: Listeners, there is one month left in the year. That’s not a lot of time!
Peter: So, how can you reach your language goal in a short time?
Becky: In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about the Power of Reminders..
Peter: ...And the Power of Reading....
Becky: Two really effective tactics for ramping up your language learning progress.
Body
Becky: Welcome back to the Inner Circle, Listeners.
Peter: There’s one month left in the year and the clock is ticking.
Becky: Peter, last month you started ramping up your learning, right?
Peter: I did. My goal for the year is 30 minutes, so you know that the pressure is on.
Becky: And last time you promised... 28 minutes of Italian conversation? Did you hit your goal?
Peter: Becky, I can finally give you some good news. Yes, I did!
Becky: Great! So that leaves you with 1 month and 2 more minutes to go.
Peter: Listeners, can you see how useful it is to know how much you have left to go?
Becky: That’s the power of those small, measurable goals with a deadline....
Peter: ...that we keep reminding you about!
Becky: Just think, by December 31st, you can honestly say, “I can hold a 30 minute conversation in Italian”... or another language you’re studying.
Peter: Okay Becky, enough fantasizing. I’m still not quite there yet.
Becky: Right, right. So, the pressure is still on and December will fly by.
Peter: Which is why we’re continuing with tactics that ramp up your progress....
Becky: ...and simply put, get your goals DONE.
Peter: And in this Inner Circle, we’re talking about two tactics...
Becky: The Power of Reading ...and the Power of Reminders.
Peter: Alright. Let’s get into the first tactic...
Becky: The Power of Reading, why it works...
Peter: ...and how I’ve used it successfully to reach my monthly goal.
Becky: I can’t help but wonder - how does reading help with speaking?
Peter: Great question, Becky. Most learners treat it as a separate skill.
Becky: Right. It sounds like it is. You’re all alone with a book, and you’ve got nobody to speak to.
Peter: Actually there’s a bit of overlap. I’ll give you the 2 major benefits that reading has over speaking.
Becky: Alright.
Peter: The first benefit is Speaking Speed... or how quickly and comfortably you’re able to speak.
Becky: I think that’s pretty important. If a native speaker notices you respond quickly, without thinking...
Peter: ...they’ll know that you understood them completely. And they’ll assume you’re an advanced speaker.
Becky: Which is how real conversations go. So, how does reading help?
Peter: Well Becky, with reading, you can read out loud and re-read to increase your reading speed every time.
Becky: I see.
Peter: For example, if you were reading “My name is Peter” in Italian for the first time, it would go something like...
(slow speed) Mi chiamo Peter.
and then (normal speed) : Mi chiamo Peter.
and when you’re comfortable (faster) Mi chiamo Peter.
Becky: Ah, right. And when someone asks you “What’s your name”...
Peter: ...You instantly reply without thinking. And you can apply this to anything you’ll ever need to say.
Becky: That makes sense.
Peter: Remember, when you’re reading out loud, you’re actually speaking. And you have the ability to read it again and again ‘til your speed improves.
Becky: Okay, what’s the next benefit of reading?
Peter: The second benefit is: reading increases your overall range of expression.
Becky: Which means you pick up more words and phrases.
Peter: That’s right. Reading is the most effective way to boost vocabulary...
Becky: ...and if you want to speak and understand more in your target language...
Peter: ...you need more words.
Becky: Ah, I remember reading studies online about how reading boosts your vocabulary.
Peter: Exactly. It’s a well-known fact, and it’s easily applicable to your speaking skills.
Becky: So, in short, listeners, reading helps you talk faster...
Peter: ...and increases your range of expression.
Becky: Okay Peter, how have you been applying reading this past month?
Peter: Well, I’ve been doing it with the Premium PLUS My Teacher tool.
Becky: On ItalianPod101.com, right?
Peter: That’s right. Every day, my ItalianPod101 Premium PLUS teacher sends me an article through My Teacher.
Becky: Is it any random article?
Peter: Oh no. ItalianPod101 lessons come with a cultural insight, so it’s always related to the lessons I’m doing. The last one was about public transportation in Italy, from Intermediate Lesson 1.
Becky: Alright, so you read the article on the same day your teacher sends them.
Peter: And as I said earlier, I’ll practice reading it out loud. I’ll learn new words.
Becky: Do you record yourself too?
Peter: Of course. You know, it’s funny. Most learners never hear what they sound like. I record my readings, send them to My Teacher...
Becky: And she corrects your accent and pronunciation, right?
Peter: That’s right. I get to hear her corrected version.
Becky: That’s a good point, actually. Most learners never know what they sound like. And they never really get their speaking corrected.
Peter: But with Premium PLUS My Teacher, I can record my Italian, hear myself and get my speaking corrected by my teacher.
Becky: So, you’ve read the article. What happens next?
Peter: I tell her I’m done. The next day, she’ll send me questions about the old article AND a new one to read.
Becky: Ah, so you get tested as well.
Peter: That’s right. The questions test me on how well I understood the previous article.
Becky: Coming back, re-reading and reviewing sounds like it would work really well.
Peter: I think that’s where the magic is - re-reading and reviewing.
Becky: And that’s what most learners don’t do. They usually just finish and move on.
Peter: But when you re-read and review, you can improve your reading and speaking speed...
Becky: ...as well as remember those new words and improve your comprehension skills.
Peter: We should do an Inner Circle on reviewing as well... But that’s for another time.
Becky: So adding reading to your routine helped you reach 28 minutes, right?
Peter: ...Well, yes, but let’s not forget the second tactic...
Becky: Which is the Power of Reminders.
Peter: You and the listeners already know how I map out my goals and deadlines. But with deadlines...
Becky: ...life can get in the way. And you can miss a deadline.
Peter: Right. Without reminders, I would be behind on my November goal.
Becky: What do you mean?
Peter: For starters, think about your own Japanese learning goal. Imagine I called you one day and asked “Hey, how’s that goal going?”
Becky: I’d probably respond with... “well... it’s uh, slowly getting there..”
Peter: And if I called you the following week and said “Becky, did you reach your monthly goal yet?”
Becky: Hmmm. I’d probably sit down and start putting effort into it.
Peter: And then, I’d call you the week after and say “Becky! I hope you’re working at it!”
Becky: Then, I think I’d stop picking up the phone, Peter!
Peter: That’s good. But the point stands. Reminders are powerful for getting things done.
Becky: That’s very true. If someone was with you making sure you didn’t give up...
Peter: You’d make progress that much FASTER! That’s exactly what I had My ItalianPod101 teacher do.
Becky: Oh, really? What happened?
Peter:Well, the first time we tried the reading tactic, she sent me an article and I didn’t read it.
Becky: And did she hunt you down?
Peter: Actually, yes! She didn’t wait until the second day to send the next article. She sent me a message saying “Why didn’t you read it?” And she sent the article to my email inbox as well.
Becky: Did you read it then?
Peter: I did! It was right there, staring at me in my inbox, so I stopped what I was doing and I read it.
Becky: That reminder really worked well, huh.
Peter: It did. On the third day, she sent me a new one. And again, I ended up being busy and couldn’t read it.
Becky: You must’ve gotten a nice reminder on the fourth day.
Peter: I did. And I made time to read. And because these reminders worked so well, I asked her to get tough on me.
Becky: You must really like reminders if you asked her to get tough!
Peter: Becky, that’s because reminders work REALLY well! We’ve made that part of my routine now.
Becky: And it did help you reach your 28 minute goal overall!
Peter: Listeners, imagine if you had someone making sure you didn’t give up...
Becky: ...you’d make so much progress!
Peter: Do you use this tactic in your learning as well? Let us know in the comments!
Becky: And let us know what your next monthly goal is.
Peter: I’ll be aiming for the goal I set back in January - 30 minutes of Italian conversation.
Becky: You have 1 month and 2 more minutes to go.
Peter: We’ll see how it works out, Becky!
Becky: Good luck! Time is running out, listeners! Next time, we’ll see if Peter hits his yearly goal.

Outro

Becky: Well that’s going to do it for this special Inner Circle lesson!
Peter: Bye everyone!
Becky: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.

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