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Here is everything you need (and don't need!) to improve your English in the next 12 months...
Welcome to1%On the first Thursday of every month, you receive tips and content to help you improve your English skills, 1 % at a time. It's the start of a new season. A new academic year. A fresh start. After a summer break, people return to their routines with renewed energy. They have a commitment to reaching new goals, or the same ones as last year (but this year will be the year to finally accomplish them!). Unfortunately, people often don't reach their goals. It's not because of a lack of effort, but a combination of factors. So, if your goal is to improve your English (for whatever specific purpose), here is a proven methodology for how to do it. Setting a goal: The first mistake people make is that they do not write down their goal. Research shows that only 3% of adults have a written goal. Writing your goal sparks your subconscious to find ideas to reach that goal, even when you are not actively thinking about it. And, neuropsychologists have identified the “generation effect,” meaning individuals demonstrate better memory for material they’ve generated themselves than for material they’ve only read or thought about. Creating a learning plan: It might sound obvious, but your learning plan needs to be aligned with your goal. You need to be practising things that will move the needle towards your goal. The way to do this is to firstly write a list of actions that will help you reach your goal. After that, put a circle around the actions that you think are simple for you to do. By simple I mean that you will realistically have enough time and energy to commit to these actions on a regular basis. Then you put a star next to the actions that you will be the most effective in helping you reach your goal. By effective I mean, which actions will help move the needle the most towards your goal? The actions that have both a star and a circle are the ones you should focus on. They are the ones that are both simple for you to do, and effective. What material should you use? Again, it might sound obvious but you should only use material that will help you to reach your goal. For example: if your goal is to improve your speaking then only reading books will not move the needle sufficiently towards your goal. Similarly, if you work in insurance for example, or hospitality, or telecommunications, learn vocabulary that is relevant to your field. The material that you use, the vocabulary that you actively learn, and anything else that you practise and use to practise should all be related to your goal. Don't fall into the trap of practising the wrong things, or using material that is not going to help you reach your goal. Some tricks to accelerate your learning: 1- Start small. Research shows that motivation is at its highest at the beginning of a new process, however this motivation is not sustainable and it's not sustained. It's a trick, because when motivation decreases, you need disciple to continue with your plan. So, the solution is to start small, implement the habit, then gradually increase it so you don't rely on motivation ever, because it's not always there! If you make a commitment to practise for 5 minutes per day, your brain will tell you: "That's easy! I can do it." Then you will do it. And you will do it the next day, and the day after, and therefore you will build and implement the habit. Then you can increase your practice to 10 minutes per day, then 15, then 20... 2- Buy two notebooks- one for writing vocabulary and mistakes (vocabulary at the front; mistakes at the back) and the other for your exercises and general practice. 3- Attach the habit of practising English with an existing habit you have. The advantage is that you won't have to look for a new space in your day to practise English. The key is to find a moment where you will realistically be able to commit to your practice and not have any distractions. Trying to find time when at work could be difficult as unexpected tasks, meetings, or interruptions may occur. The same may happen at home if you have young children around (I am familiar with this one!). Habit and behavioural science experts use the following phrases to help implement habits: Before I do ___ I will do ___ After I do ___ I will do ___ While I do ___ I will do ___ This could translate to: Before I eat breakfast I will practise my English for 5 minutes. After I eat breakfast I will practise my English for 5 minutes. While I eat breakfast I will practise my English for 5 minutes. The key is to choose a moment that is both sustainable and distraction free. 4- Use prompts! And I don't mean like the ones you write for AI, I mean prompts as a synonym for reminder: For example: leave your English notebooks next to your coffee machine at night. This makes you remember to practise and it also makes it easier for you to do so (you don't have to go searching for your books). What you shouldn't do or don't need to do: You don't need to learn and memorise 1000s of phrasal verbs, nor do you need to watch a film every day, nor do you need to only study endless hours of grammar. These actions are neither useful, nor realistic, nor are they going to help you reach your goals, unless your goal is to learn 1000s of phrasal verbs etc. Many people often say to me their goal is to learn phrasal verbs or improve their grammar. That's great, but it should not be the goal because it is not really going to help you improve a lot (unless you want to enter a phrasal verb competition). It could be part of the goal (an action you do) to improve business vocabulary when talking about your company's products to investors, for example (if that were your specific goal). But don't obsess over watching films, learning irrelevant vocabulary lists, and endless phrasal verbs. Conclusion: Setting a goal and having a plan to achieve it is more simple than people think. Remember: winners and losers have the same goal- to win. However it's the systems that often differentiate the winners and losers and not their goals. Your habits, and the way you train and practise (your systems) will determine if you reach your goal. The most important thing you can do is to think about WHAT specifically you want to improve. After you know that, you will have your goal. Then you should think about HOW to achieve it. Then you need to take action. Start small, and don't stop! Follow the plan and this is the year when you are going to reach your goal! I have 100% confidence in you! You just need to start... TIPS
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2. Book a free call with me to find out in more detail how you can set up and use your AI agent for learning English. I can also set it up and control it for you... 3. Try the Fluent In 50 Days course to really make progress with your confidence in English, and your professional career!
A CHALLENGETake 15 minutes and... 1- Write your specific goal with a deadline. 2- List the actions that will allow you to reach your goal. 3- Use only the material that moves the needle. You just need to start... (If you would like assistance with this process, arrange a free call with me here: https://calendly.com/ben--palmer/30-minute-calls ) AN INSPIRING QUOTE“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” Warren Buffett. The work you do now to reach your goal will be rewarded at a future date. For now, focus on the small, daily achievements. They will lead to your goal, and one day, you will be sitting in the shade... If you want to improve your communication in English, book a free call to see how I can help you: https://calendly.com/ben--palmer/30-minute-calls If you want to learn English, you can read the How to (finally) learn English book: https://lighthousetraininggroup.com/books/ Out on Amazon! Find out more at https://lighthousetraininggroup.com/ Ben PS: Keep progressing! |
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I help people improve their English in just a few minutes every day so they can improve their job prospects, increase their salary, and so they can communicate like a native, with fluency and with confidence... Sign up and get a free speaking toolkit...
Welcome to 1% On the first Thursday of every month, you receive tips and content to help you improve your English skills, 1 % at a time. "I can't small talk in English." If I had 1€ for every time a person told me that, I would be a rich man. What's curious though is the type of person that most tells me the phrase. It's the team-leaders, directors, and CEO's- experts in their fields (and normally with a proficient level of English) who feel comfortable talking about anything work-related-...
Welcome to 1% Every Thursday you receive tips and content to help you improve your English skills, 1 % at a time. I will be taking a break from the 1% newsletter in August. See you again in September. Happy holidays! This is second and final part of how to create and use an AI agent. Last week I showed you how to create an agent, this week we will see how you can use it. First, a short review of what exactly is an AI agent... What is an AI agent? For the purpose of improving your English,...
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