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 Secret to Speaking More of Your Target Language.
Chigusa: And today, you will learn...
Peter: 1) What is Preparation?
Chigusa: 2) How Peter Cheated His Way to Reaching His Speaking Goal
Peter: and 3) How to Speak More Through Preparation
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 match your routine to your learning.
Chigusa: Meaning, how to fit language learning into your schedule. Or what resources are best.
Peter: So, if you’re at home, relaxing and can’t really focus...
Chigusa: ...then you might want to listen to audio lessons.
Peter: But, if you’re at your computer and have time to focus, then you’ll want to use more engaging resources like flashcards.
Chigusa: And last time, you promised us 3 minutes 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: Well, you could say I cheated just a bit.
Chigusa: What, you cheated?
Peter: Yep, with our new 1-minute conversation cheat sheets. But Chigusa, even though this resource is brand new… the learning tactic I used here… is not. It’s something I’ve used over and over, to speak more of the language.
Chigusa: Oh, what is it?
Peter: It’s simply… preparation. And that’s the topic of this Inner Circle.
Chigusa: The Secret to Speaking More of Your Target Language.
Peter: Let’s jump into part 1.
Chigusa: Part 1: What is Preparation?
Chigusa: Okay, Peter, so what do you mean by preparation?
Peter: It’s where you prepare talking points and lines ahead of time… for a certain conversation. For example, let’s say you were meeting a person for the first time…
Chigusa: Okay.
Peter: What are some things you’d say to them?
Chigusa: Hmm. Things like, “what’s your name? My name is, where are you from, I am from,” and so on.
Peter: And if you were meeting someone you knew, a friend, you’d ask… “Hey, how you’ve been, what’s up, what’d you do this weekend”
Chigusa: Yes. Ah, and if you have to go to a store, then you’d need to learn lines like, “how much is this? I’d like to buy this. Do you have this in another size?”
Peter: Exactly. If you have to open a bank account…
Chigusa: Then, you’d need to know words like “bank account,” “open,” “checking account,” and “debit card”...
Peter: ...and you’d need to prepare lines like “I’d like to open a checking account.” So before you actually go, you sit down, you can make a list of all the words and phrases you need to know.
Chigusa: ...you find out how to say them in your target language…
Peter: And you’re good to go. The point is, most conversations are predictable to a degree.
Chigusa: Which means you can prepare for them…
Peter: ...and you learn to speak MORE on your own, without the need of a teacher.
Chigusa: So, this sounds simple and all… but how did you do it?
Peter: The good news is, I didn’t have to sit down and make a list of all the words I need to know. Although that’s a good learning method as well. But, let’s move onto Part 2.
Chigusa: Part 2: How Peter Cheated His Way to Reaching His Speaking Goal
Peter: So, just to give a bit of background, every one of our lessons — from Beginner to Advanced — teaches you a quick, practical conversation. They’re based around real situations, like introducing yourself, catching up with a friend, or shopping.
Chigusa: Right, and you’ve been taking HebrewPod101 lessons.
Peter: Exactly. I’m taking the HebrewPod101 audio lessons in the mornings. I listen to lessons on Alexa - the device - in the evenings.
Chigusa: But, how do you prepare? Because I can listen to a lesson…I learn a conversation… but when it comes time to speak in real life…?
Peter: ...you won’t remember it, right?
Chigusa: Yeah!
Peter: Chigusa, you bring up a great point. Listeners, we’ll reveal all the ways you can prepare and speak more in the 3rd part, but here’s how I cheated.
Chigusa: The cheat sheets!
Peter: You got it. Our team came up with one minute conversation cheat sheets. These are based on the Can-Do lessons we have on the site. The cheat sheets give you must-know lines for common conversations. For example, there’s one for weather. There you have lines like “how’s the weather?” and responses like “it’s sunny” or “it’s windy,” plus tons of words you can switch in, so you can create your own answers.
Chigusa: But how do they get you speaking?
Peter: Well, like you mentioned, it’s hard to remember lines that you learned in a lesson, right?
Chigusa: Yes.
Peter: But what if you had them on hand with you. Think about a person giving a speech. Think about the cue cards in their hands. They might not need them, they might be able to get through their speech, but if they ever get stuck, they can glance down at their cue cards. This is what this tool is like. Cue cards. So in case you don’t remember, you can glance at them while you’re talking to a native speaker.
Chigusa: Ah, I see now. You can use that as an aid to keep the conversation going.
Peter: Exactly. If you run out of things to say like most beginners do, and if you have the weather cheat sheet - these cue cards - you can easily switch topics and say…”oh, by the way, how’s the weather.” Once you use that one, you can move on to the next, “Talk About Well Being,” then you can go on and on, using these cheat sheets to keep the conversation going… I’d layout 4 or 5 of them.
Chigusa: ...and this adds extra time to your conversation.
Peter: ...and that’s how I hit the 3 minute mark. I had a bunch of cheat sheets for a bunch of topics...and I did glance more than once, Chigusa.
Chigusa: Now, what about our listeners? And how can they get these cheat sheets, Peter?
Peter: Let’s jump into part 3.
Chigusa: Part 3: How to Speak More Through Preparation
Peter: Now, just to recap, preparation is one of the easiest ways to speak more of your target language. However...
Chigusa: It’s where you prepare talking points and lines ahead of time… for certain conversations.
Peter: And that’s the key point: ahead of time. And that’s because most conversations are fairly predictable.
Chigusa: For example, every time you meet a new person, you ask them the usual “what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you for work” and you say “my name is… I’m from… and I work at…”
Peter: If you want to talk about the weather, there are some common lines that are used all the time.
Chigusa: Or, if you’re going to the store, to the bank…
Peter: So, here’s how you prepare. One: Take our audio and video lessons.
Chigusa: You’ll find these in our lesson library...
Peter: ...and just focus on the Conversational lessons.
Chigusa: Lessons are just 3 to 15 minutes in length, and in the first minute…
Peter: You’ll hear a practical conversation. For example, meeting someone new, catching up with a friend, or ordering at a restaurant...
Chigusa: ...and then our teachers break down and explain every word and grammar rule.
Peter: So, you can learn these lines and conversations ahead of time.
Chigusa: Number two: Download the audio dialogue track.
Peter: This gives you JUST the conversation. So, when you finish a lesson, download it for easy review.
Chigusa: Then, make a playlist out of all of them and play the conversations on repeat. You’ll get them stuck in your head, guaranteed.
Peter: Number three: Save the lesson notes.
Chigusa: The lesson notes give you the lesson in writing.
Peter: So, you can read the lesson dialog, the grammar explanations, and cultural insights for every lesson.
Chigusa: So, download and keep the notes for conversations you think are useful.
Peter: For example, if you want to talk about the weather...and you took a lesson on that...
Chigusa: Then, download the lesson notes for that lesson.
Peter: Now, if you’re looking to prepare ahead of time for specific topics...then do this next one.
Chigusa: Number four: Look up lesson topics in our lesson library.
Peter: So, if you want to open a bank account, or eat at a certain restaurant...
Chigusa: ...and if you don’t know how to talk about these topics...
Peter: You’ll likely find a lesson about it in our Lesson Library.
Chigusa: Number five: If you’re a Premium PLUS user…
Peter: Simply ask your teacher to point you to lessons for a certain topic…
Chigusa: ...or even better, ask them for potential lines…
Peter: And you can even practice speaking... Just record yourself, send it in, and your teacher will provide you feedback on what to say and how.
Chigusa: Number 6…
Peter: Our brand new 1-minute conversation cheat sheets.
Chigusa: if you want access...
Peter: Shoot us an email at inner dot circle at innovative language dot com, or look for the email address in the PDF of this Inner circle.
Chigusa: And we’ll add you to the waiting list...
Peter: ...and send them over when they’re ready.
Chigusa: Alright, Peter, so, you hit your 3 minute goal. What’s next?
Peter: I’m going to stick with my routine so far. I’ll aim for 5 minutes of conversation by April 30th
Chigusa: Sounds good. And listeners, let us know what your small, measurable monthly goal is.
Peter: Email us at inner dot circle at innovative language dot com, 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!

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