Effortless English Archives

Effortless English Torrents Search

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 9 Aug 2009 10:13:00 -0700

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Testing Ustream

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:54:00 -0700

Speak English Fluently Squidoo Page

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:33:00 -0700

We have a new Squidoo page called Speak English Fluently. It's a brief introduction to our 7 Rules email course and includes a couple of videos.

You can link to it at: http://www.squidoo.com/speak-english-fluently

Enjoy!

Learn English Videos Coming

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:12:00 -0700

Our new Learn English Video site is almost finished with development, meaning that beta testing starts soon!

The first phase of testing will involve our All-Star members. These are our most active members and they'll have the opportunity to test the site for free, for 1-2 months.

I have already uploaded a number of videos to the site, and will be making more during the rest of this month.

During beta testing, we'll get feedback from our All-Star members in order to fix bugs and improve the site.

Once we're satisfied that it's ready, we'll launch the site for everyone. The site will be a subscription membership site with a low monthly fee. Every week, I'll add a new video on various topics.

This service has been in very high demand. Videos are the number one request that I get from members-- they are constantly asking for English learning videos from me... especially videos with text transcripts. So that's exactly what this site will have.

We're calling it the Master Member Video Site.

Check our main Home Page for future updates on the Learning English Video Site at: Learn English Videos

The Seminar Rocked!

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:00:00 -0800

The "How To Learn English" Seminar in Bangkok Thailand was fantastic.

Most of the learners said it was the most powerful learning experience they have ever had! They were laughing and smiling as they left the room-- so something went right!

At this seminar, we introduced the "3 Levels of Learning" and the importance of learning at the deepest level. Without deep learning, we never really master anything.

But by using all three levels, we activate the full power of our brain.

At Effortless English, we use these three levels of learning to master spoken English. But you can apply these learning methods to any skill.

For example, I'm currently using them to learn singing-- and am having steady and enjoyable progress (until I killed my voice by yelling for 5 straight hours at the seminar!!!)

The next seminar will be on March 29th in Bangkok. Our goal this time is 100 people.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, check the main Effortless English site!

Go To The Home Page

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 23:44:00 -0800

Learn spoken English at The Effortless English Club.

Our blog and homepage have moved to a new address, with a new design. See you there at http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

New Address For Blog

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:11:00 -0700

I have finally changed the address of the blog. We've got both the blog and the podcast on our main page now! Look on the right sidebar. New posts will be at:

www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

This blog will remain active as Archives.... but all new posts will be at the above address.

There are a few reasons I've changed.

1. The new URL web address fits better with the main Effortless English Club pages.
2. This blog has tended to focus on my personal English teaching experiences...
3. This blog was written for a general audience of teachers and learners.
3. I want to focus specifically on interests, needs, and ideas related to The Effortless English Club Community (Lesson owners, Podcast listeners, Email Course graduates...)

So... I'll see you all at the new URL. English teachers and others, please enjoy the archives of this blog site.

Take care,

AJ

Listen & Answer

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Tue, 9 Oct 2007 17:09:00 -0700

Every student knows about "listen and repeat". Listen and repeat is the normal way to teach and learn English.

In school, the teacher says something in English. Then the students repeat exactly what the teacher said. I call this "robot English".

English students also do this at home. They buy CDs, or tapes, or a podcast. They listen. Then they repeat after the speaker. More robot English.

Listening to English is great-- but Listen and Repeat is the WRONG way to do it. Listen and repeat is a robot-like activity. You don't even need to understand the English to do it. Just copy the speaker like a robot.

There are several problems with this method:

1. It is passive. You don't think. You don't need to understand. You just repeat, like a robot machine.

2. It is totally unnatural. In a real conversation, will you ever do this? Of course not.

3. It is super boring. Since you don't use your brain, you quickly get bored with "listen and repeat".

As you know, I think Listening is THE MOST important activity for learning English. But you must use a better way.

That better way is "Listen and Answer". This means you Listen to a question, and then you Answer it. You don't repeat after the speaker, you answer his/her question correctly and quickly.

With Listen and Repeat, the speaker says, "What is your name?"... and then you repeat, "What is your name?"

With Listen and Answer, the speaker says, "What is your name?"... and you say, "My name is AJ". It seems like a small difference--- but in fact it is a VERY important difference.

To ANSWER, you MUST understand. You must understand the question, and then you must quickly think of an answer in English. This encourages your brain to think in English. This is an active method.

This is also much more natural. In real conversations, this is exactly what you do... someone asks you a question and you must understand it and answer it quickly.

Listen and Answer is also more interesting. It is challenging. You can't get bored and sleepy because you must Understand and Answer. Its like a game-- you try to answer more and more quickly.

When you use the old method, you are not ready for real conversations. When you use Listen and Answer, you are ready.

Effortless English lesson sets always include Listen and Answer Mini-Stories. You improve your English quickly by answering questions. The questions are usually very easy, but by answering them you teach your brain to use English quickly.

Get my lessons at: http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com

Or find your own Listen and Answer lessons and stories. Just never use "listen and repeat" again!

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Heroes

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Tue, 2 Oct 2007 09:37:00 -0700

I want to express my support and admiration for the heroes in Burma-- the monks, the students, the men & women who are fighting, non-violently, for freedom, democracy, human rights, and the true dharma.

Thousands of these brave and peaceful people have been killed by the horrible military government. The people in Burma knew what the military would do. They know their lives were at risk. They knew the government would imprison, torture, burn, and kill any who stood against them. Yet, the monks and people stood anyway.

The events in Burma remind us what is truly important. Let us support the Burmese people any way we can-- with our thoughts, by giving to Human Rights groups,.. and
by pressuring our own governments (and companies) to cut support for the military government.

To this effect, I am working on a new policy for Effortless English. We will give a percentage of every membership fee to Human Rights organizations.

Take care... AJ

Don't Translate

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Thu, 3 May 2007 14:10:00 -0700

Yuriko is an excellent student. She has the best English skills in my class.

Yuriko is an excellent writer. She writes very well in English. I have always been impressed by the skill of her writing.

So I was very surprised today when she gave me an essay. The writing was not so good. I was confused. Normally her sentences are very clear-- very easy to understand. But this time, I had a lot of trouble understanding what she was trying to communicate.

I kept thinking, "Why is this essay different than her others? Why is this one so much worse?"

Finally, I had an idea. I asked her, "Did you write this first in Japanese, and then translate it?"

She said, "Yes". Yuriko wanted this essay to be good. So she wrote it first in Japanese and then translated it. She probably thought this would make it better. Instead, it made it much worse.

By translating, Yuriko stopped thinking in English. She lost her natural "Feel" for English. Her grammar is normally excellent, but in this essay, it was not good. Her sentences are normally clear, but in this essay they were very confusing.

Yuriko's English got worse because she was translating instead of using her normal natural English ability. I told her, "Next time, don't write the essay in Japanese first. Just write it in English directly. When you do that, your writing is always very good."

This is also true of speaking. If you learn by translating, your English grammar and fluency will always be bad. You will always be speaking your native language-- using English vocabulary. Your speech will be slower, more confusing, and harder to understand.

Skip translation. Don't do it. When you study English-- listen to English. Read English. Listen to things that are easy for you. Read English books and articles that are easy for you. Over time, you will understand English naturally and easily, without translation. After a bit more time, you will start to speak more naturally and easily. Your grammar will improve-- because you will have a "feel" for English grammar instead of trying to remember rules and translations.

To learn English, listen to English and read English.... do not translate.

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Persistence

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:03:00 -0700

One of the toughest things about learning a language is finding the time and energy. Most of us can work hard and focus on a language for 4-6 months at a time.

But if you're like me, its hard to keep going longer than that. With Spanish, my efforts have been sporadic. I have tended to do very well for about 3 months at a time. Then I get busy with classes in San Francisco, the Effortless English Club, the podcast, and my personal life.

Its been especially hard as I develop the Club website. Its a lot of work for one person. So, inevitably, my Spanish efforts suffer. For the past 3 and a half months, for example, I haven't studied Spanish at all.

In the past, I would have quit. But this time, I keep coming back... even if I have a long break. The reason is that the study methods I'm using are much more enjoyable. Also, because I'm using a Listen First natural approach.. I find that I still remember most of what I studied in the past. So its very easy to start studying Spanish again... even after a 3 or 4 month break.

But perhaps the biggest change for me has been with my attitude. In the past, I always put a lot of pressure on myself. I wanted to be fluent in one or two years. If I couldn't do that, I just got frustrated and quit.

This time, with Spanish, I don't feel pressure. While I have made goals, I don't get stressed if I can't reach them. I have a much more relaxed attitude... and I have a much longer view. I know that even if I study sporadically-- if I keep doing it when I can, I will eventually become fluent. Already, I can use very basic Spanish to communicate basic information. That's a big improvement from all my past efforts. In the past, when I used traditional study methods, I was never able to communicate.

The main point for me is to never give up. I view Spanish learning as a lifelong activity now. I know my life will get busy at times, and I won't be able to study. That's OK. Because with a Listen First Effortless approach, I know I won't lose what I have already learned. I know that I can come back to Spanish when my life slows down, and I'll be able to easily continue again.

As you study English, remember that learning English is a life-long activity. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes you will get busy and you won't have time to study. Sometimes you may take a long break. No problem. Just continue using a Listen First Effortless method of study-- and your English will continue to grow.

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Podcast Changes

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:39:00 -0700

The Effortless English podcast will be changing over the next few weeks. I've decided to overhaul the format to make it more useful and interesting to students. When I originally started the podcast, I had mostly an audience of English teachers and very advanced English learners.

However, over the past several months, the podcast audience has grown a lot. Most people who listen to the podcast are English learners... and they are a mix of intermediate and advanced learners.

To help these learners, I will be doing more frequent podcasts. I hope to increase to about 4 per week. I will focus on two main points: 1. Casual conversational English and 2. Motivation and Learning methods.

I'll probably do about 3 conversation lessons per week-- each focusing on slang, idioms, and real "street" English. I'll introduce a new word or phrase, explain it, help you pronounce it, and then tell a very short mini-story to help you learn how to use it.

In addition, each week I'll continue to do one podcast focused on motivation, inspiration, and learning methods. Motivation is very important. I know its easy to get tired, or to lose your energy and enthusiasm for English. I'll encourage you and help you keep that motivation high!

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Help others learn to speak English. Go to Delicious, register (top-right), then go to EffortlessEnglish.org and tag us with "learn english"!

Jmemorize

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:29:00 -0700

Today I started using a vocabulary review program called Jmemorize.

Basically, its a computer flashcard system... but it schedules the review to maximize long term memory. Its a very simple program, but I find it useful.

Of course, I am not using it to review random lists of words. I always learn my Spanish vocabulary from articles and podcasts. Once I meet a word in a real context, I sometimes save it for later review.

To be honest, I've never liked doing vocabulary review. Usually I prefer to just listen to the article again as a way of reviewing.. instead of focusing on individual words.

But sometimes it can be helpful to review words or phrases that just aren't "sticking". For these, a program like Jmemorize is helpful. You can download Jmemorize for free at: http://www.jmemorize.org/

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Remembering Naturally

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:18:00 -0700

I have not studied or listened to Spanish for four months. Four months without any Spanish input.

In the past, when I studied languages with traditional methods, this kind of lapse happened all the time. Im a busy person. But more to the point, I tend to do things in spurts. Ill study hard for several months, then take a few months off. Its just the way I like to work.

When I used traditional language study methods, this was a disaster. After a 2 month break, I would forget most of what I had studied. I lost a lot of vocabulary. I lost a lot of listening comprehension. Usually, this discouraged me, and I would give up. I quit. I quit Spanish. I quit Japanese. I quit Italian.

But this time, I'm using a Listen First, Effortless method to learn Spanish. I don't study grammar rules. I don't memorize vocabulary lists in textbooks. In fact, I don't use textbooks.

Learning this way, I find that once I learn something, I keep it forever. I don't forget.

Today, after a 4 month break, I listened to about an hour of Spanish. I listened to some of my old audio files. I was happily shocked that I could still understand them very well. I hadn't forgotten. In fact, I was amazed at how easy it was to start again after such a long break.

This is very encouraging. By using an Effortless method, I know that when I learn something I really learn it. I will have it for the rest of my life. So even if I get busy, or take a long break, I will not go backwards. I will be able to start again at any time, and I'll immediately start at the level I had stopped at.

This makes language learning seem easier. I know I can do it in bite-size chunks... at my own pace.

All that time spent using textbooks is a waste, because you will forget most of what you study.

To learn and keep English for life, use a Listen First, Effortless method.

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Community, Not Marketplace

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Fri, 6 Apr 2007 20:58:00 -0700

I have recently re-thought my idea about making a Teacher Skype Marketplace on Effortless English. I have decided not to do this in the future.

Why not? Well, I have two main reasons:

1. Commercialization
I don't want to commercialize the member site. I want The Effortless English Club to be a true community... in which all members are working together to develop the site. I don't want it to be a "marketplace". Our lives are commercialized enough. And I must already charge members a fee to join. After that, I don't want to have more ads in the member site.

2. The Linguist
There is already an excellent site that offers Discussions with native speaker tutors: The Linguist. The Linguist offers both group discussions and individual discussions on the internet, using Skype. In fact, I still periodically do discussions with them.

I have always thought that Effortless English and The Linguist complement each other. In fact, I encourage my members to also join The Linguist in order to get speaking practice and writing correction. In truth, they do a great job and its much simpler to just refer my members to them for tutors. Click here to Learn English With The Linguist

What I envision for Effortless English is a true learner-designed community. Now that we have a membership base and the basic site design, I'm trying to give more control to the members. I want them to have more control over lesson topics, materials, layout & design, recruitment & marketing,... in fact, everything.

I have no desire to repeat the hierarchical structure of traditional schools. The truth is, traditional education is failing across the board. Recent posts by Tom Peters and Seth Godin have attacked business schools for being irrelevant. My own Social Work program (a Masters degree) and Journalism program (Bachelors) were also irrelevant.

The truth is, the old hierarchical, passive method of education is no longer useful. Sitting in a class listening to boring lectures is a waste of time... whether you are studying English, business, social work, or journalism. Real learning happens on the job, in life, through mentors, individually, and in learning communities.

These are the kinds of communities you find at Effortless English and The Linguist. These are communities that support self-study... where members are equal, enthusiastic, and responsible for their own learning.

If you are tired of learning or teaching the old way... join the future.. join a learning community online.

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TPRS Wiki Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Thu, 5 Apr 2007 22:48:00 -0700

To help both English teachers and the members of Effortless English, I have created a public Wiki for lessons.

The Effortless English Wiki allows anyone to add or edit lesson materials. Other teachers and learners (including me) can then use those lessons as they want.

By lesson, I do not mean a typical grammar-centered analytical "ESL Lesson". Rather, Effortless English lessons consist of two parts:

1. A Core Text
This is a 1-2 page authentic article: an original essay, a Wiki article, a "fair use" article, a letter or email, etc. Simply write the Text... and put the more difficult words or phrases in bold.

2. A Mini-Story
This supports the Core Text. TPRS mini-stories are very short (1/2 page to 3/4 page) stories that use 6-8 of the target vocabulary words from the Core Text. Other than the target vocabulary, the mini-story should contain very simple and direct English. This way, the mini-story helps learners understand the vocabulary more easily.. and helps them understand how to use it.

I've got a sample Lesson on the Wiki already.

To join in, simply go to the Effortless English Wiki and click "Register" in the top-right corner. You can then add to or edit the Wiki as you want.

Click here to go to the Wiki.

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Teachers Wanted

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Tue, 3 Apr 2007 23:25:00 -0700

The Effortless English Club is looking for passionate, fun, enthusiastic English teachers with an interest in "natural" teaching approaches.. especially TPR-Storytelling.

As a member, you can download existing lessons on the site- use them directly in your class or use them for inspiration for your own lessons. This is a great way to save preparation time. Also, by listening to and using the Effortless English lessons, you might learn new teaching methods and techniques... especially TPR-Storytelling.

You can try a Free one month membership by going to: www.effortlessenglish.com.

Even better, if you create an Effortless English lesson yourself, and I use it on the Club site, you will get a 6 month membership for Free. If you create 2 or more lessons that I post to the Club site, you will get a Free 12 month membership.

In the next several months, I will also be working to help teacher-members make an online tutoring income. How? By chatting with Effortless English members online, using Skype. The style and approach you use will be up to you. As will the price you charge. I will simply provide a Forum where teachers can advertise their services (and contact info) to members and learners can find online tutors and discussion leaders. Over time, I hope to develop this as a craigslist-like service to help online learners and online teachers find each other.

At the moment, we are still in Beta mode, so all of this is totally new. But if you'd like to join and become involved in building our English learning community... join at www.effortlessenglish.com

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Casual English

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 1 Apr 2007 12:03:00 -0700

It is well known that spoken Japanese has many different styles-- often roughly divided into a "polite-formal style" (-mas/desu) and a "casual" style.

But textbooks and teachers rarely discuss the same division in English. Schools almost never talk about the very different styles of spoken English-- yet the same division exists.

In fact, the more I have taught, the more I've realized that the difference between everyday spoken English (casual English) and formal English is big. Its a very big difference.

Textbooks and schools teach formal English. In fact, they often teach a written style of English. Students learn to speak "written English". They learn to pronounce English as if they were reading. When we read, we usually pronounce every word separately and clearly. When we read, we are often using a quite formal style of English.

But in everyday speech, we use a totally different kind of language. First, we do not pronounce every word separately. We speak in phrases--- groups of words are pushed together and pronounced as one.

I'll give you one example. My friend Wat was talking to an American customer and the customer asked him "You beer?" Wat was confused... he said, "What?". The customer said, "Tomorrow... you beer?" Finally I helped Wat and said slowly, "Tomorrow, will you be here?" Wat understood me because I pronounced every word separately.. but in fact, we almost never do that in normal conversation.

Our vocabulary choice is also different in normal conversation. We tend to use a lot of "phrasal verbs" when speaking. "Phrasal verbs" are two (or more) word verbs. We often say, "I messed up"... instead of "I made a mistake". We often say, "I bumped into Jane yesterday",... instead of "I met Jane yesterday".

This is not slang. For a native speaker, this is basic spoken English. An American child understands and uses this vocabulary and pronunciation.

So why aren't schools and textbooks teaching it? I have always wondered why they try to make students fly before they can crawl. In my opinion, the first step is to understand basic conversational English. The next step is to be able to use basic conversational English.

Only after a learner can do this should they worry about the TOEFL exam, writing super-complicated essays, and reading difficult research papers.

The spoken language is the base. Learn the fundamentals first. Master the fundamentals first. Then you will find that advanced English is much easier to understand and use.

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English Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:40:00 -0700

At Effortless English, I've gotten a few English teachers as members. This has been a big surprise. I have always expected English learners to join.. but didn't expect English teachers to join.

But I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise. The teachers can download the English lessons and play them to their classes. They can also print out the text for the articles. By using all the lesson parts, they get about an hour of teaching from each lesson.

Even better, in a classroom they can then follow-up with questions and discussions. Since the class will probably only hear each lesson once, they may not understand everything and may need to ask the teacher for clarification.

Since the articles are usually about thought-provoking topics, the teacher can lead a discussion (as a class, in small groups, or in pairs) after all the lessons are finished. This is a great way to conclude the lesson-- and a great way for students to solidify their knowledge.

Although all my efforts thus far have been directed towards getting English learners to join... perhaps I'll also start focusing on busy English teachers who are eager to use more natural lessons.

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Birthday Special!

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:44:00 -0700

It was my birthday yesterday, so I'm offering a special FREE Trial with Effortless English. For just this weekend, you can try learning English with me for one month for free.

As a member, you can get all of my audio lessons and you can help me build the Effortless English Club. I hope you enjoy it.

To try one month for Free, go to www.effortlessenglish.com and then click the yellow "Join Now" square.

See you at Effortless English!

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Loving It

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:47:00 -0700

I don't know how else to say it, other than "I'm loving Effortless English". I'm just having a fantastic time. Why didn't I do this earlier?

Building the site has been a fantastic experience. To be sure, there have been many frustrations. Tomoe has gotten used to me screaming profanity at the computer :) I've had microphone problems, software problems, marketing problems, payment problems.

But one by one they've gotten solved. And slowly, membership has grown. Slowly, the lesson library has grown. Slowly, the quality and size of the site has grown.

Its an amazing experience to build something like this yourself. So different than working a job. As an employee-teacher, you are never really more than a Mc-WageSlave. You use the textbooks you are told to use, you follow the schedule you are given, you follow a curriculum developed by bureaucrats. However "good" your job, you always serve another's agenda in the end.

Under such circumstances, its hard to remain committed and passionate. And no wonder. No wonder burnout is so common. Who can sustain passion, after all, when you are not serving your own values and principles.

As a freelancing entrepreneur, I have no administrators over me, no rule books, no policy manuals, no "required curriculum", no command & control, no grades, no discipline, no bureaucrats to satisfy, no ego-maniac bosses to tip-toe around, no decorum to follow. I am free-- and so are my learner-members.

We are free to create a fun, cool, interesting, new learning community together. As a free entrepreneur, I can respond to a learner's suggestion immediately. Somebody suggests doing a lesson on censorship... and I can make one and put it on the site the next day. Someone suggests a Forum for scheduling Skype chats... bham, its done in 5 minutes. Somebody complains about a problem... I can immediately address it MYSELF. No administrators to consult or ask permission from. No procedure to follow. No imposed schedules or syllabi to worry about.

I tell you, its exhilarating!

It is absolutely exhilarating to create something yourself-- to be fully responsible and fully autonomous.

And the results are amazing too. The amount and quality of what you can do, when unfettered from bosses and bureaucrats, is simply amazing.

And so today, on my birthday, I offer my thanks to you-- the members of Effortless English. Thank you for helping me live this dream! Thank you for working together with me. Without you, it wouldn't be possible.

Truly, deeply,... Thank you.

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Technical Frustrations

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:35:00 -0700

On one of our Forums, a member told me that the volume for several of the lessons was low. He also said my last two podcasts were much too quiet and he couldn't hear them.

I checked my audio files and there was definitely something wrong. But I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Finally, I found it-- my microphone was slowly dying.

I've had a lot of frustration with my sound equipment-- mainly the microphone. In the beginning, I tried using the built-in mic on my computer... but the quality wasn't good. Then I tried using the microphone on my iSight camera. This was an improvement, but there was always a background hum that was a bit annoying. Finally, I switched to a clip on mic (lavalier). The quality was better, but its a weak mic. Because of this I always had to increase the volume on each audio file. Then it started to die, and the volume decreased even more.

So yesterday I finally went out and bought a professional quality microphone. Its called the "Snowball" from the Blue company. What I love about this mic is that it plugs directly into the USB on my laptop. Most professional mics require additional equipment.

The sound quality is excellent. There is no background hum at all. Its also got a strong and clear sound. I hope Effortless English members notice the difference :)

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Membership Open

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 14:14:00 -0800

Membership in the Effortless English Club is now open. I will accept 25 new members at this time.

To join the Effortless English Club, go to www.effortlessenglish.com, click the yellow square, fill out the application and payment information, and then enjoy learning English the Effortless Way.

Once I have 25 new members, I will close membership again.

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Survey & Feedback Results

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:33:00 -0800

I've run a couple of surveys on the Club site recently, and members have also posted feedback regularly on the Forums. Here is a short summary of the trends I've noticed:

1. The POV Mini-Stories are a HUGE hit. In fact, the new POV stories already seem to be the most popular lesson with members. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising. The POV stories allow members to practice and use the most common conversational grammar forms-- without studying grammar in any way. You learn how and when to use these grammar forms... but you never study grammar rules and you certainly never worry about terms like "present perfect", etc.

Of course, due to this feedback, I will continue doing POV lessons for all lesson bundles. I will also continuing doing the basic TPR Mini-Stories-- which focus more on vocabulary, but still teach grammar intuitively and naturally as well.

2. The new movie lessons are a hit. The movie lessons have also proven to be popular. In the movie lesson, I take a scene from a popular movie and then base a series of lessons around it (including a TPR Mini-Story & POV Story lesson). Our first movie is the romantic-comedy "Hitch", starring Will Smith.

3. Keep the Vocabulary Discussions. One concern I had was with the vocabulary discussions. To be honest, I worried they were a bit dry and boring compared to the other lesson types. I considered eliminating them. But members have unanimously asked me to keep them-- saying they are easy and helpful. So, I'll keep doing them ;)

4. Layout. Navigation and homepage layout have been a problem for a while-- the source of many complaints, in fact. These have now been completely changed and the new layout seems much more popular. Members can now easily access all lessons from the home page. Also, lessons are now grouped by lesson title instead of lesson type. In other words, on the homepage you click a lesson title (ex. "Hitch Intro", "Censorship") and that links to all the lesson types for that subject (ex. "Censorship Text", "Censorship Mini-Story", "Censorship POV", "Censorship Audio Article", "Censorship Commentary", "Censorship Vocab").

5. Audio Quality. This was a problem in the beginning, but I've finally found a new microphone that is working very well. Audio is now very clear and strong.

Remaining Issues

Members also had a few more suggestions and issues:

1. Forums-- Forum participation is still anemic. Writing is the final step in the Effortless English system, but many members say they are too shy to write because they fear they will make many mistakes. Of course I say, "Its fine to make mistakes"... but I know that isn't enough to reassure learners.

So I'm still thinking about ways to improve the Forums. One idea I will try is to add lighter Forum topics. Right now they are fairly serious-- especially ones related to the lessons. I'll try adding topics such as "Movies", "Music", "Book Club", etc. and see if this encourages more participation.

2. More Memberships. Lots of people have complained that I'm still in Beta Mode and am still limiting membership each month. My only answer is "please be patient :)" I don't want to fully launch the site (with totally open membership) until it is "ready". By ready I mean: a) The site has a library of at least 50 complete lesson bundles (each "bundle" contains: Text Article, Vocab Discussion, TPRS Mini-Story, POV Mini-Story, Audio Article, and Commentary), b) audio is upgraded further (I'm still researching even higher quality microphones and recording equipment), c) the Forums are active and energetic, d) our Street Team is organized and energized, and e) I've got a wider variety of lesson topics.

Once these goals are met, I will end "Beta Mode" and will open membership more fully. Until then, the best way to hear about periodic membership openings is to subscribe to the free Effortless English Newsletter-- to subscribe go to: www.effortlessenglish.org

So that's where things stand with The Effortless English Club. HUGE thanks to the amazing members who have helped build the site. Its only been a few months, but we have made big progress. I'm having a fantastic time working with you all- and look forward to growing and improving more in the near future.

Take care!

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With Speaking, Be Patient

noreply@blogger.com (AJ Hoge) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 09:33:00 -0800

I still do not speak Russian with anyone and have no real desire to do so. I guess I would summarize my philosophy as follows; until I can read and listen to a novel, news programs and recorded conversations in Russian and enjoy doing so, I have no desire to speak with anyone. I might be extreme but I feel there is so much I can do on my own to improve in the language, I am not sure that stumbling around in a conversation at this stage in my learning would really help me. I think the same is true for English learning.

--Steve Kaufman of The Linguist (Learn English With The Linguist)

The above quote is from Steve's blog. It comes at a great time for me. As I mentioned previously, I have just restarted Spanish study after a two and a half month break.

The most discouraging part of my Spanish learning experience has been the pressure I get from other people to speak. Whenever someone knows I'm learning Spanish, they immediately want to know if I can speak... or they ask me to say something. If they are a Spanish speaker, they try to talk with me. Of course, they are being friendly and I do appreciate the chance to try out a bit of Spanish.

The problem isn't them, its me. Because whenever I have these encounters, I invariably feel frustrated. I can't say much and what I do say is stuttered and hesitant. Worse, I feel an immediate surge of stress when someone springs Spanish on me.

After such encounters, I feel my motivation drop. I begin to question myself. I start doubting. I think, "I'll never be fluent in this language. I don't really need it. I might as well give up."

Its easy to forget that speaking takes time. Speaking is something that naturally emerges after you have acquired a lot of the language through listening and reading. There is a lot of research about this, and I know that. But its still easy to get discouraged when you feel that your speaking ability hasn't kicked in yet. Its easy to think that nothing is happening.

Which is why I was so encouraged to see Steve's post. It reminds me that even Steve, who already speaks 9 languages, still waits for speaking to emerge. It reminds me to remain patient with speaking, and continue to focus on lots of input. Steve has the benefit of experience-- he's done this before so he knows, from personal experience, that it works. But some of us don't have that personal experience yet and therefore need periodic encouragement.

So remember Steve's advice: Before you can read a novel and enjoy a TV program in English, do not worry about speaking. You might need to speak sometimes, you might want to... and that's fine. But don't put any pressure on yourself in regards to speaking. Focus on input, input, and lots of input.

Be patient. Speaking will emerge naturally, without effort.

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