Lesson Transcript

Hey everyone, welcome to the Monthly Review!
The monthly show on language learning.
Where you discover new learning strategies, motivational tips, study tools, and resources.
By the way, all the lessons and bonuses you’re about to see can be downloaded for free on our website.
So, click the link in the description right now to sign up for your free lifetime account.
Okay, today’s topic is:
How to Match Your Routine to Language Learning
If you’re having a hard time sticking with language learning, then this episode is for you. You’ll learn:
1) How to Map Your Routine and Set Your Schedule
2) How to Choose the Learning Medium That’s Right for You, and
3) The Language Tools You’ll Want for Your Learning Style
But first, listen up! Here are this month’s new lessons and resources.
First — The “Life Events” Conversation Cheat Sheet
If you’re a language learner, then this is the most important resource you can have. You’ll learn to talk about your life and major life events - birth, graduation, getting a job, marriage - and much more - in your target language.
Second — “All the Words &Phrases You Must Know About Food”
Learn the most common words and phrases for fruits, drinks, flavors, cooking and more with this new PDF.
Download it now for free.
Third — The 20 Must-Know Small Talk Phrases
With this bonus, you'll be able to have small talk in your target language, and say phrases like “how are things?” ”I haven’t seen you in ages” and much more.
Fourth — Do you know how to say “summer” in your target language?
If you don’t, you’ll want this essential summer vocabulary bonus. This 1-minute lesson is perfect for beginners.
Fifth — How to say you dislike something.
With this next bonus, you’ll learn useful phrases like... “I don't like this idea.” “I hate this” and much more.
To get your free resources, click the link in the description below right now. They’re yours to keep forever. Ok, let’s jump in to today’s topic:
If you’re having a hard time sticking with language learning, you’ll find out how to fix it now.
Let’s jump into the first part.
1) How to Map Your Routine and Set Your Schedule.
First, here’s a quick question for you. Which of these would you rather have? A) The world’s most comprehensive language learning resources BUT a weak study routine, or
B) a strong study routine and average resources?
Leave your answer in the comments.
But there is a correct answer here. You want a strong study routine. Why?
You can have the best app or textbook in the world, but if you don’t use it because you don’t have a learning routine or a habit, you won’t learn anything. If you have a strong routine and work ethic and just a dictionary and internet access, you’ll learn more than someone with the best program and no routine.
The point is, we are creatures of routines and habits. And our habits can be used for good or bad. They make us or break us.
For example, if you have a bad habit like going to bed at 4 AM, you’ll always feel tired when you wake up for work or school in the morning. If you have a good habit like exercising regularly, you’ll have energy and good health.
Once we have a routine, we tend to stick to it. If it’s a bad routine, it can do a lot of damage. But if it’s a good routine, it can help us enjoy incredible results.
We can also use routines to our advantage by applying them to work toward our goals.
Like language learning.
How do you create a strong language learning routine? Here’s one way to do it.
First, write down your current daily schedule. For example, 7 AM, I wake up. 8AM, I leave the house. 8:20 to 8:50, I’m on the train. 9:10AM, I arrive at work. 1PM, I go to lunch. And so on. Write out your daily schedule for the whole week. Make it detailed.
If you write out your schedule, you can see your existing daily routine. You can see where you can fit language learning into your existing routine—the routine that you’re used to—instead of trying to create a new routine.
Why does this matter?
For example, some people will look at their schedule and see that they wake up at 8AM. They think that if they wake up at 7AM, they can have an extra hour for language learning. But for many of us, that approach usually doesn’t work because it’s not something we’re used to. You’re trying to wake up early so you can learn a language. You’re trying to implement 2 brand new routines that you’re not used to. For many people, this results in failure. Even if you do wake up at 7 AM, will you get out of bed immediately, and jump straight to learning every day? Or will you lose motivation after a few days because you miss that hour of sleep?
So, map out your weekly schedule. Once you understand where your time goes, find an existing part of your routine that you can fit language learning into. For example, if you take the train in the morning, you can use that existing routine and learn some language during that time. If you always eat lunch at 1PM, watch a video lesson during your break. If you always cook at 8 PM, play some audio lessons in the background.
If at first you have to start with multi-tasking, it’s better than nothing. You can at least get used to being exposed to the language while you work on dedicating more time and attention to it.
Now, let’s jump in to part 2
2): How to Choose the Learning Medium That’s Right for You.
Before you begin learning, it’s important to understand what kind of learner you are.
Are you a visual learner, or do you learn by reading?
There’s something called the VARK model, and it’s an acronym for 4 learning styles: Visual, Auditory (or listening), Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic (meaning “hands-on” or “actual practice and trial-and-error”). You need to understand what kind of learning resources are best for you.
So, how do you determine what kind of learner you are?
This depends on you. Do you like watching videos, listening, reading, or writing, or do you prefer more hands-on practice? There's no wrong answer. It depends on what kind of learner you are and what you like.
Also, think about your past language study experience. Did you remember vocabulary words better when you read them from a book? Or was listening to a podcast more helpful for you? How do you usually remember information best?
This helps you choose the learning medium - or study tools - that are right for you. We’ll talk more about this in a few minutes. For now, determine what kind of learner you are. Leave a comment and let us know.
The last thing you need to keep in mind is your study ratio. Your study ratio is how much time you spend absorbing information (input), and how much time you spend producing language, (output). What you want to strive for is about 50% input and 50% practice or production - producing that language.
So, if you read for 30 minutes, then you want to practice for 30 minutes. You can’t just consume. You must practice. Otherwise, it’s not going to stick as fast.
All right, so we’ve covered routines and learning types. Let’s move onto part 3.
3) The Language Tools You’ll Want for Your Learning Style
In this last part, we’re going to cover all the resources that you can take advantage of based on your learning style.
But remember, if you’re a visual learner, that doesn’t mean you should shun resources that don’t fit that style. Sometimes, it’s not practical to watch a video. For example if you’re driving, audio is a much better choice!
So, let’s jump in.
If you’re a visual learner, take advantage of our video lessons in the lesson library. We have them across all levels - from Absolute Beginner to Advanced. These will be your main source of learning.
Use the vocab slideshows. You’ll find these on every lesson page and vocab list. The slideshows make it super easy to learn and review words. Just press play and watch. You can put it on loop and watch for as long as you want.
Next, if you’re an auditory learner, then take advantage of our audio lessons. You can also use dialog audio tracks. These give you just the conversation from that lesson. And you can use these tracks to immerse yourself in conversations.
Next, if you prefer reading and writing, we include lesson notes and transcripts for every audio and video lesson.
So, if you’re taking a lesson, read along. The lesson notes include extra grammar explanations, vocab lists, and cultural insights that are not available in the lesson.
You can also check out our extensive reading books in the lesson library. These are simple 1-line-per page books that will build you into a confident reader.
If you prefer writing, you can copy out the lesson dialogue into your notebook. You can leave comments on our lessons with sample sentences. You can keep a daily journal in your target language. Plus, you can send messages to your Premium PLUS teacher, and practice writing. They’ll correct your mistakes, tell you how to express yourself in a natural way, and help you improve fast.
And finally, if you’re a kinesthetic learner and prefer hands-on experience and trial and error...
Definitely use our Premium PLUS teachers and practice with them. You can do that via the MyTeacher messenger on the site or in the app.
Use our spaced repetition flashcards. These cards quiz you on words and phrases and help you master them fast. They sort the words for you and quiz you accordingly. So, if you don’t know a word, you’ll keep seeing it over and over until you get it right. And if you do know it, you’ll see it again in a few days. It’ll pop up every now and then, just to refresh your memory.
Also, take advantage of our lesson quizzes. You’ll find these in every audio lesson, and these test you on the words and phrases you learned in the lessons.
You can also practice speaking with our Voice Recorder. You’ll find this inside the Dialogue Tool. You can record yourself and compare with native speakers. You can keep practicing until you can say the lesson dialog at a native level.
There are tools for every learning style!
So, today you learned...
1) How to Map Your Routine and Set Your Schedule
2) How to Choose the Learning Medium That’s Right for You
And, 3) The Language Tools You’ll Want for Your Learning Style
So, thank you for watching this episode of Monthly Review
Next time, we’ll talk about: The Secret to Speaking More of Your Target Language
If you enjoyed these tips, hit the “like” button, share the video with anyone who's trying to learn a language, and subscribe to our channel. We release new videos every week!
And, if you’re ready to finally learn language the fast, fun and easy way and start speaking from your very first lesson, get our complete learning program. Sign up for your free lifetime account right now. Click the link in the description.
See you next time! Bye!

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