Lesson Transcript

Intro

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: The Easiest Way to Start Writing and Improve on Your Own
Chigusa: You’ll Learn...
Peter: One: How I Started Writing Daily with the Daily Dose App
Chigusa: and Two: How to Practice Writing with Our Lessons on Your Own
Peter: 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 the 10 Habits of Highly Effective Language Learners
Chigusa: ...that will carry you through to language learning success
Peter: ...and that last Inner Circle contained a PDF cheat sheet with the 10 habits...
Chigusa: ...just in case you want to print it out and keep it for reference.
Peter: Chigusa, I actually keep a similar one at my desk
Chigusa: Really? Do you use it?
Peter: I do. I have one for language and one for other life goals. it's nice to have a set of rules to come back to. I feel like it keeps me on track and focused.
Chigusa: Speaking of staying on track… let’s talk about your language goal for this month.
Peter: So, I promised 7 minutes of French conversation…
Chigusa: So? What’s the good news?
Peter: Haha, the news is, I did not reach my goal. I did not budge at all speaking-wise.
Chigusa: What?
Peter: The thing is… my French Skype teacher has been hard to reach lately. So, she’s been delaying our lessons.
Chigusa: Well, that’s not nice.
Peter: But, I’ll do you one better, Chigusa. This month did not go to waste. I started writing instead.
Chigusa: Oh, why writing?
Peter: Well, first, writing...and also reading and listening, are skills you can practice anytime by yourself.
Chigusa: Ah, right, you don’t really need a teacher.
Peter: But, there’s another reason behind it. One of my friends is learning Japanese... and I’d say... he’s at an intermediate level. And every day, he posts on Facebook or Instagram.
Chigusa: Written all in Japanese?
Peter: All in Japanese. And a good paragraph or two.
Chigusa: Oh, wow, that’s impressive!
Peter: It is! I mean, there are few mistakes here and there, and the grammar is not always perfect, but that’s not important.
Chigusa: It’s because he does it daily?
Peter: Exactly. Every day. And all of his Japanese friends comment on it. There are like 5 comments per post.
Chigusa: Wow, that’s a lot! How does he write? Like, what he did today?
Peter: It’s usually that, yeah. Like an experience from his day and his thoughts on it. But the interesting thing is, there’s improvement and I kind of wish I did that when I was learning Japanese. I’m already at an Advanced level now though but it was kind of really cool to see.
Chigusa: You can do something like that for French, Peter. Copy your friend!
Peter: And Chigusa, Actually, I am! Let’s get into today’s Inner Circle.
Chigusa: The Easiest Way to Start Writing and Improve on Your Own
Peter: And let’s jump into the first part.
Chigusa: Part 1: How Peter Started Writing Daily with the Daily Dose App
Peter: So, with all of my languages, I always start with speaking first.
Chigusa: Is that like a personal preference? I feel that most people start reading first.
Peter: I think It depends on your goals. Personally, I want to be able to speak with natives. So,some people want to read so they do on that
Chigusa: Yeah, that makes sense. What about writing?
Peter: Writing is not high up on my list of things to do... and as you know, I set no goals for writing in French for this month.
Chigusa: Yeah, I was a little shocked to hear you’re writing instead... like did something happen to Peter?
Peter: No, i’m just in between French teachers. But circling back to what I said... I was inspired by my friend’s daily writing, so I wanted to copy his approach.
Chigusa: So, are you writing out Facebook posts like him?
Peter: Well, not exactly. It works well for my friend who lives in Japan and he has lots of Japanese friends. I don’t have many French friends. And I’m also a beginner. And I’m still not used writing...
Chigusa: Ah, yeah, you need a simple routine that will be easy to execute... so you can get used to writing. Then, you can start setting goals!
Peter: Exactly. And there is an easy way to start writing in your target language...even if you’re an Absolute Beginner...and stick with it on a daily basis.
Chigusa: Oh, what is it?
Peter: Now, Before I reveal the tools you can use... you should know the tactic first. So, if you’re a beginner... the easiest way to start writing is to... simply write out sentences by hand. Just copy them out.
Chigusa: So, literally, taking out a pen and paper and writing things out.
Peter: Yeah, I know, Chigusa. It sounds a little archaic, right? But the best part is ... there’s no thinking and no worrying about what to write.
Chigusa: No writers block. I like that. So, what study tools are you using?
Peter: I’m using our Daily Dose of language app for the android, iphone and ipad.
Chigusa: Oh, I know it. Listeners,... the Daily Dose of Language is a free app...
Peter: ...and every day, it sends you a quick, 1-minute lesson.
Chigusa: It could be a grammar lesson, a vocab lesson, a culture lesson...
Peter: ...and with each one, you learn a little bit of language.
Chigusa: Each lesson come with words and sample sentences in your target language.
Peter: So, I use it for 2 reasons. First, the app is designed to remind you to study every day. This helps me write daily. And second, I get beginner level sentences I can write out.
Chigusa: What’s your daily routine like?
Peter: So, what I do is... I get a reminder from the app. I open up the lesson. Read through it. And then, I copy out the sentence for that day into a notebook.
Chigusa: Reminders are powerful. That reminder must be keeping you on track. Without it...
Peter: ...without it, Chigusa, i probably wouldn’t be doing it daily.
Chigusa: Yeah, I have apps send me notifications about my plans and schedule. It’s super powerful.
Peter: Exactly. The reminders alone make the daily dose app a powerful learning tool.
Chigusa: So, your routine sounds so simple. Is that all you do?
Peter: It is. It’s that simple, Chigusa.
Chigusa: But... why are you focusing on sentences? Why not words?
Peter: With sentences... you’re exposed to a ton more words, you learn grammar indirectly... and you get actual lines you can use elsewhere.
Chigusa: Ah, yeah, it does sound better than learning words one by one.
Peter. So, every day, I’d copy out a sentence into a notebook. And I rewrite it a few times over for extra practice.
Chigusa: That’s how people learn to write Japanese characters too. I actually like this hands on approach actually.
Peter: Really, Chigusa? I don't believe you. When was the last time you wrote something?
Chigusa: Um, i forget, but I like it because it feels like ACTUAL practice, you know? You’re putting in work! If you’re learning by watching YouTube or sitting in class and listening, it’s hard to say if things are actually getting into your head. And if they’ll stay there.
Peter: Very goodpoint, Chigusa. In fact, it’s a practice among writers... to imitate the greats just by... copying out what others have wrote, word for word.
Chigusa: Oh wow. I did not know that! Okay, what about our listeners, what can they do?
Peter: Let’s jump into the second part of the Inner Circle.
Chigusa: Part 2 — How to Practice Writing with Our Lessons, Your Own Time
Peter: So, how can you practice writing....
Chigusa: ...with our learning program?
Peter: Number One: Write out the phrases, sentences and even conversations by hand
Chigusa: One of the best way to improve your writing is simply to write more!
Peter: So, for every word, phrase and sentence that you learn in the lessons...
Chigusa: ...write them out by hand in a notebook.
Peter: You can write out the conversations in the Dialog Study Tool...
Chigusa:...example sentences from the lesson notes....
Peter: ...words and phrases from our vocabulary lists.
Chigusa: As well as words and sentences from the Daily Dose App and the Word of the Day.
Peter: Number Two: Write short sentences to your Premium PLUS teacher
Chigusa: If you’re a Premium PLUS member, write out a message and send it to your Premium PLUS teacher for review.
Peter: In fact, as a first step, all new Premium PLUS users have to write a self-introduction...
Chigusa: ..and send it to their teachers.
Peter: Your teacher will review your work, send you feedback, corrections....
Chigusa: ...and help you improve your writing skills fast!
Peter: You can even write something out by hand, take a picture of it, and send it to your teacher.
Peter: Number Three: Leave a comment on the lessons
Chigusa: You can do this if you’re a Premium or Premium PLUS member.
Peter: After you’re done with a lesson...
Chigusa: Be sure to use what you’ve learned - whether a new word or a grammar point.
Peter: Leave a comment in the comments section...
Chigusa: ...and our teachers will review it and give you feedback
Peter: Number Four: Dictation. This may be best for advanced learners.
Chigusa: Dictation is a study method where..
Peter: ...you write down what you hear as a way to test both..
Chigusa: ..your writing AND listening skills.
Peter: You can do this with any one of our audio and video lessons.
Chigusa: Number Five: Create sentences using newly learned words
Peter: You can learn new words with our Lessons, the Word of the Day, the Vocab Lists
Chigusa: ...And the Core 2,000 Word List - which gives you the 2,000 most frequently used words.
Peter: And I mentioned before, you can also leave a comment with the sentence...
Chigusa: ...and our teachers will review it.
Peter: Number Six: Take the Writing Quizzes
Chigusa: With every lesson, you get review quizzes...
Peter: ...to help you master what you’ve learned.
Chigusa: Just scroll down to the Vocabulary Section... or click on Vocabulary.
Peter: Then, click on “Take a Quiz.” And that's it!
Chigusa: Alright, Peter, so you’ve missed your speaking goal for the month... but I’m happy that you took it as an opportunity to learn writing.
Peter: Thank you, Chigusa. Thank you for noticing my work.
Chigusa: But, I am furious that your skype teacher isn’t available.
Peter: ...Wow, I will work on that next month!
Chigusa; So, what will it be for next month?
Peter: And for my next month... I’ll aim for ... 7 minutes... of conversation... again. And, this time, I’ll write out 1 conversation a day, for FrenchPod101 lessons that I take.
Chigusa: Sounds great! Deadline?
Peter: June 30th. Wow, Chigusa. Halfway point in another year.
Chigusa: Wow, so fast! Listeners, how about you?
Peter: What’s your small, measurable monthly goal? And what’s the deadline?
Chigusa: Let us know.
Peter: Email us at inner dot circle at innovative language dot com.
Chigusa: And stay tuned for the next Inner Circle.

Outro

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

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