Episode 58
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Hi, everybody! I'm Georgiana, your online English teacher. My mission is to help you to speak English fluently. Speaking English is way easier when you use the right material and techniques.
In the first part of today's episode, I'll show you how you can benefit from creating habits that help you with your English.
SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast >
And in the second part of this episode, you'll learn English grammar without studying any rules with an exclusive point of view story.
All right, let's get started!
The first thing we have to keep in mind is that willpower is not as important as it seems. In fact, it's quite limited.
It's impossible to do anything consistently with willpower alone. We are not designed that way. We are creatures of habit, and essentially our life consists of a sum of habits. For example, think for a moment what you do when you wake up in the morning. Maybe you brush your teeth, make a cup of coffee, and turn on your cell phone to check the social networks.
I'm sure that I have mentioned in one of the previous episodes that I speak different languages. Let me tell you now what I do to maintain and improve different languages through habits.
I don't know about you, but I enjoy taking a walk every day. And every time I open the door, I put on my air-pods, I press play, and I start listening to an audiobook or a podcast in German, French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese.
If I don't like what I hear, I simply select another content.
What's important is that I do this action almost without thinking automatically. Of course, I don't always listen to audiobooks or podcasts. Sometimes I just wanna relax and listen to music or not listen to anything at all. 🙂
And I don't only listen when I go for a walk. I also listen to audiobooks or podcasts while I drive my car or even when I'm doing my chores at home.
Recently I realized that in the last few years, I have been listening to about 2000 hours of podcasts and audiobooks in several languages. That's amazing! Right?
Can you imagine listening to English content for that amount of time? Well, it may seem like a lot, but it's a long-term goal that you can achieve this by creating good habits.
And I'm sure that many experts can explain to you in greater depth how to create habits. But I'm just telling you what works for me.
The first thing I do is look for a trigger. This is a stimulus that initiates the action of habit. Every time I opened the door and started walking, I began listening to something on my smartphone. It was a completely automatic thing.
You can listen to English by finding different moments during the day and trying to identify triggers you can use. The trick is to create a new habit from something you always do; in my case, I go for a walk every day. But think about it, many of you commute almost every day. Why not listen to a podcast when you go to work?
A key aspect is to understand that in the early stages, it's more important to create the habit than the amount of time devoted to the activity. For example, if your goal is to listen to one hour of English every day, it doesn't matter if, in the early stages, you only listen for a few minutes a day as long as you repeat the activity every day. The most important thing is to create a habit.
Finally, there's the prize. Experts say that associating a small prize with the activity helps us to consolidate the habit.
In my case, I subconsciously associate the pleasure of walking with listening to audios in several languages. You can look for all sorts of little things that will motivate you.
Sometimes, the same activity acts as a reward. For example, if you really like learning English, listening to this podcast, or the lessons from the Speak English Now courses can act as a reward. On the other hand, learning new languages is my passion, so it's a real privilege to listen to different and interesting topics each day.
Just be patient. It takes around three weeks to create a new habit. You also have to keep in mind that it's better to focus on creating one habit at a time and not several simultaneously.
Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about today - I hope it will inspire you to achieve your goals!
Speaking Practice
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story from different points of view and notice how grammar changes naturally.
First version
Third Person · Past Tense
Jason wanted to become the best opera singer in the world, but he was very frustrated because he never found time to practice.
He took the subway every day to go to work, so he decided to take advantage of that extra time.
Whenever his feet touched the floor of the wagon, he began to sing. At first, the other passengers complained and covered their ears with their hands. But Jason didn't care about the situation because he just wanted to practice.
As a reward for good practice, whenever he got off the subway, he would buy a box of delicious donuts.
Jason practiced and practiced every time he took the subway until one day, he noticed that the passengers weren't covering their ears anymore. All the people in the wagon were clapping their hands.
At that moment, Jason knew that he had become a great opera singer. Not only did he sing well, but because he also became overweight from eating donuts, the transformation was complete.
Second version
Second Person · Past Tense
Jason, I remember that you wanted to become the best opera singer in the world, but you were very frustrated because you never found time to practice.
One day you decided to take advantage of the time you had when you went to work by subway. Every time your feet touched the floor of the wagon, you started singing. Couldn't you practice in the shower like everybody else? The other passengers complained and covered their ears. Poor passengers! You really didn't care about the situation. You just wanted to practice.
When you got off the subway, as a reward for good practice, you bought a box of delicious donuts. Couldn't you buy fruit or something healthier?
You practiced and practiced every time you took the subway until one day, the passengers stopped covering their ears and began applauding you.
At that moment, you knew that you had become a great opera singer. Not only did you sing well, but you also became overweight because of eating donuts. Congratulations, Jason, but now is the time to create the habit of losing weight and giving up the donuts once and for all.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary from This Episode
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
01 habit
an action you do regularly, often automatically.
05 take advantage of
use an opportunity for your benefit.
02 trigger
something that causes an action or reaction.
06 give up
stop doing or trying something.
03 routine
a usual sequence of actions.
07 one at a time
individually rather than all together.
04 reward
something pleasant received after an action.
08 overweight
heavier than is considered healthy.
Dear ma’am,
I will appreciate your kind assistance as would like to learn how to speak English fluently.
Regards,
Rita
At the end of the story, I was laughing at this part; “Not only did he
sing well, but because he also became
overweight from eating donuts, the transformation was complete.” 😀 😀
Thanks for the inspiring story
Hi Georgiana, very interesting your suggestion to listen to audiobooks/podcasts in different languages.
I’m Italian, I use the English language a lot in my (digital) work.
But I continue to have a very problem understanding podcasts/audiobooks/videos in English (at natural speed).
By now I’m listing your podcast and my listening ability seems to improve.
Thank you!