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expire hi everybody welcome back to ask
Alisha the weekly series where you ask
me questions and I answer them maybe
first question this week comes from Ali
Riza heigen Ali Ali says hi Alicia
what’s the difference between where have
you been and where were you hmm there’s
not a big difference here if you’ve been
waiting for someone for a long time like
you expected someone to be at a place
like at a meeting or maybe a restaurant
or a cafe and you have been waiting for
a long time you might use where have you
been to mean where were you from this
point in the past until now
like I expected to meet you so we might
use where have you been in a case like
that we might use where were you in a
situation where we’re asking about a
finished situation or something that’s
done it’s it happened in the past like
for example if you miss class one day
you are supposed to go to school but
you’re sick and you go to class the next
day your classmate could say where were
you yesterday so that sounds like
yesterday something happened and they
want to know about that situation at
that point in time only so this is a
little bit different from where have you
been which means like there was some
expectation that you would be there and
you were not so in some cases you can
use both yes like for example if you are
late for a meeting and your coworker
asks where have you been like you’re an
hour late you could use that or the
co-worker might say like where were you
you’re an hour late
those are some cases like where it’s
kind of up to the speaker to decide a
little bit but generally if someone has
been expecting you for a period of time
they’ll probably use the where have you
been pattern if it’s just a past action
a past situation it’s over it’s done you
might use the where were you pattern
instead so I hope that this helps you
thanks for the question okay let’s move
on to our next question next question
comes from shoe high shoe shoe says hi
Alicia your lessons are helpful cool my
question which one is correct most of
the movie takes place in LA or most of
the movies take place in LA nice
question actually both sentences are
correct and they have very different
meanings so let’s take a look the first
one most of the movie is set in LA means
the majority of this movie only takes
place or happens in LA with the plural
most of the movies take place in LA it
means most movies in this specific group
happen in LA so to give an example of
this let’s
imagine like a movie series there are
three movies in the series and the first
two movies movies 1 and 2 take place in
LA and in San Francisco a little bit
movie number 3 takes place in New York
City so when we want to talk about movie
1 for example we could say most of the
movie takes place in LA so that means
the majority of movie number 1 happens
in LA not all of it because a little bit
happens in San Francisco but the
majority of the movie happens in LA so
we say most of the majority of most of
the movie takes place in LA if however
we want to talk about the series this 3
movie series and we want to talk about
where the series happens we could say
most of the movies take place in LA so
that means most of the movies meaning
two of the three movies are set mostly
in LA so that means movies 1 and movies
2 are mostly in LA movie 3 is in New
York City so it’s in a totally different
place so in that case we’re talking
about a group of movies most of the
movies in this group in this series in
this case take place in LA so both of
your original example sentences are
totally correct yes but they just have
very different meanings so think about
it are you talking about one specific
movie and what things are happening in
that movie or are you talking about a
group of movies so this example is just
about movies yes but you can apply the
same idea to many other situations too
so I hope that this helps you thanks
very much for the question
ok let’s move on to your next question
next question comes from on health hello
again on a hill on houses hi Alicia and
team could you please explain the
meaning of the word whatsoever sure ok
whatsoever means at all or of any kind
so you could replace whatsoever in a
sentence with of any kind and it would
still make sense we tend to use this a
lot in
get tip situations like when we’re
saying you cannot do something so it’s
used a lot for like rules or policies or
whatever for example students may use no
devices whatsoever he gave no hints
whatsoever about the new product we had
no help whatsoever with our homework so
in each of these example sentences we
could replace whatsoever with of any
kind and it would still make sense so
again this is not so commonly used in
everyday speech because it’s used a lot
to talk about policies and rules and it
kind of sounds a little bit on the
formal side a little bit but if you’re
ever not sure just try replacing
whatsoever with of any kind and see if
it makes sense so that’s what whatsoever
means I hope that it helps you thanks
for the question
ok let’s move on to your next question
next question comes from saya dosa toh
here hello sy dosa cytosis s hi Alicia
can I learn English with lyrics from
songs yes to some degree sure we get
this question every once in a while so
here are a few reminders first of all
please remember that the lyrics to songs
may not always be grammatically correct
while yes we can communicate ideas and
we can communicate feelings through
songs songs do not always use perfect
grammar second keep in mind that in many
songs there are like slang vocabulary
words they’re inappropriate vocabulary
words or offensive vocabulary where it’s
used also the vocabulary words by one
artist or by one singer may not be used
in everyday speech very much or may not
be used in the people like in
conversation with the kinds of people
you are used to speaking with so for
example if you really like I don’t know
country music or if you really like rap
music but a lot of the people that you
talk to really like pop music or rock
music or something like that you might
find that like they don’t use the same
words or they’re not commonly like using
the kinds of expressions that your
favorite singers are you
so that’s something else to keep in mind
another thing to think about is the
rhythm so in songs it’s great it’s very
important to have a certain rhythm so
that people can enjoy music but this is
very different in many cases from the
way that we actually speak in everyday
life so if you can understand a song
that’s great but that doesn’t mean that
you can apply the same rhythm when
you’re speaking so like rap for example
most people don’t speak in the same way
as they sing or when they perform like
rap songs so that’s another thing to
keep in mind finally remember that even
if you can fluently sing a song it
doesn’t mean that you can fluently
communicate in English so maybe you can
remember all the words to your favorite
song that’s great that’s fun it’s a
great study tool a great motivator for
sure but that doesn’t mean that you can
automatically use all of those words or
you can communicate well in English with
those things that you’ve learned they’re
kind of like supplements they’re like
extra bonuses for your study so don’t
use only song lyrics like they can be
really helpful and they can help you to
identify with culture and make friends
and stuff but I would suggest maybe
using that a little bit using lyrics
from songs a little bit and it’s
important to keep those reminders in
mind that I talked about do so I hope
that this helps you and good luck with
your studies ok let’s move on to your
next question next question comes from
Maxine Maxine Maxime says hi Alicia how
do I use regardless and regardless of
thanks a nice question we use regardless
at the beginning or at the end of a
sentence you may also see it used to
like connect to ideas in the middle of a
sentence some examples well I left my
phone at home
regardless I’m going to enjoy my day our
team is under a tight schedule
regardless everyone is happy
I see you’ve prepared a lovely meal I
have to leave regardless on the other
hand we use regardless of before a noun
phrase regardless of the managers
decision I think our team did a great
job we should respect other people
regard
of their race so regardless of is used
before a noun phrase regardless without
of typically comes at the beginning or
at the end of a sentence I hope that
this helps you thanks very much for the
question hi everybody my name is Alisha
in this lesson I’m going to talk about
the difference between question asked
and inquire these are three verbs that
seem very similar but have a few
different uses so I’ll talk about some
definitions and then I’ll share some
examples to give you an idea of how you
can use these verbs okay let’s get
started I want to begin with the verb
question two questions so please be
careful today I’m not talking about the
noun form question I’m talking about the
verb form to question something so two
question as a verb has a couple of
different meanings first it means to ask
for information to ask someone for
information this often has the nuance of
interrogating someone so to interrogate
someone this is a verb we used for
example in like police situations or
like suspect or crime related situations
where police or authority figures ask a
lot of questions to a person who is
suspected of a crime that’s
interrogation as a noun or in the verb
form to interrogate so maybe a slightly
less serious form of interrogate is
question so it means you’re asking for
information usually about a serious
matter so let’s look at an example here
the reporter questioned the CEO about
the year’s changes so in this case it’s
a business situation a reporter is
talking to a CEO about changes in the
company perhaps for the year and the
verb question in past tense questioned
is used to mean the reporter is asking
for information in a serious manner so
this probably also means that the
reporter is asking many different
questions not just one question but
asking a series of questions about the
same
okay let’s take a look at the second
meaning for this lesson of the verb
question the second meaning here is to
doubt to doubt so like if you’re
suspicious of something something
doesn’t seem true for example it doesn’t
seem genuine we can use the verb
question to describe that let’s look at
an example I can’t believe you’re
questioning my loyalty so here question
in the progressive form questioning
refers to doubting someone’s loyalty so
this could be is like a member of a team
a member of a group a member of a
company whatever in other words the
person listening is questioning or is
doubting the speaker’s loyalty meaning
they’re not sure if it’s true or not so
two question can mean to doubt as well
all right one more example sentence here
just to kind of refresh
I think the first meaning is applicable
for this sentence the suspect was
questioned this morning the suspect was
questioned this morning so here it’s
used in passive and we see that it’s
again in some kind of criminal or crime
related situation so this is something
you’ll commonly see in news like in
reports related to crime
so do question okay now though let’s
move on to ask and inquire so let’s
start with an ask the verb to ask means
to request one to request something it
also means to look for information so
you’ll see actually this is the same as
I have for inquire but one key
difference here is that ask is the most
commonly used verb it’s more casual than
inquire so I’ll show you some examples
of how to use this first one she asked
him for help with her report
so here asked has the meaning of request
in other words she requested him for
help with her report here we have past
tense asked asked she asked him for help
the second example sentence they asked
where the restroom was again we have
past tense here in this case they’re
looking for information you could
understand it as requesting information
but here
they are looking for some information
this is a fairly simple a fairly casual
situation so ask is a good choice here
we don’t need to use enquire as that
sounds a little too formal
so ask is used in these kind of everyday
simple situations to request help for
example or to get some information okay
so now let’s take a look at inquire as I
said inquire I have the same definitions
listed for inquire as I have for asked
however inquire sounds more formal than
asked so we can use it in similar
situations in terms of the meaning but
when you use enquire it should be for
something that’s a little more serious
or not so maybe everyday so maybe in
like business situations or in customer
client relations for example let’s take
a look at some examples of when inquire
might be used first one reporter’s
inquired about the president’s
motivations so reporters inquired about
so in this case its reporters they’re
searching for information about the
president’s motivations so this is
connected to this meaning looking for
information the reporters are trying to
find some information here let’s look at
the next example sentence
people shouldn’t inquire about the
private lives of celebrities so here
inquire is used in present tense so in
other words people shouldn’t look for
information or maybe even people
shouldn’t request information about the
private lives of celebrities so these
are perhaps more formal situations you
these might be something you could see
in the news for example or in more
serious situations or in serious
discussions so when you’re choosing
between ask and inquire ask yourself is
this a casual situation if so ask is
probably the best choice if it’s more
formal like a
this situation you might use in choir
instead and when you want to talk about
like interrogations and like asking lots
and lots of questions you might use the
verb question here instead 10 useful
prefixes a prefix by the way is like a
small word a few letters that we attach
to the beginning of a word to change the
meaning of that word let’s go
re the first prefix is re re re re means
again so we see the word re in like redo
or replay or we imagine or recreate for
example so it means to do the base word
again so whatever you see re in front of
or not everything but if you see re
before a base word like that it can mean
to do that thing again
so in a sentence I have to redo my
homework ante the next prefix is auntie
auntie or you might hear anti as well
anti or anti both are fine but it means
against or in opposition to or like kind
of the opposite of something so against
against anti so we see this in like
antifreeze or antisocial or
anti-inflammatory or antibiotics so they
all mean against something so like the
word antifreeze for example means like
against freezing so it’s a it’s
antifreeze is a product that prevents a
liquid from freezing for example an
antibiotic is a medicine that we take to
kill like bad microorganisms in our body
germs in other words so we see bio in
that word so relating to like biology
antisocial refers to someone who does
not like social situations they are
against social situations and
anti-inflammatory another type of
medicine is against inflammation so
inflammation can mean like swelling or
like turning you read for example so
anti means against something we see anti
before words which mean like opposing or
again
that thing in a sentence my boss is anti
overtime dis so the next prefix is dis
dis so dis essentially this means not so
we see this in words like disrespect or
disapprove or disconnect or like
disagree for example so these words all
mean not plus the base words so like
disagree for example means to not agree
or disconnect means to not to connect so
something is not connected to the other
thing disrespect means to not respect
something for example so this means not
plus that base word in a sentence a good
editor should be disinterested X the
next prefix is X X X means former former
so something that was once true is not
true anymore we see this very commonly
in relationships so for example my ex
husband ex-wife ex girlfriend ex
boyfriend ex boss so all of these me my
former something my former boyfriend my
former girlfriend my former boss my
former roommate for example in a
sentence the ex CEO was in the news this
week mid the next prefix is mid mid so
mid means like in the middle of ordering
something so we can see this in a word
like midnight or midsummer for example
or mid-morning so meaning in the middle
of or roughly in the middle of something
during that time period mid night means
in the middle of the night or mid
morning is like in the middle of the
morning so all of these refer to mid to
something we can also use it for like an
action like mid meal for example or she
was a mid presentation when the phone
rang for example so mid means in the
middle of something
in a sentence I was mid breakfast when I
heard the news ill the next one is ill
ill so ill means again not or it’s like
a negative prefix it means the base word
but not that base word so we see this in
words like illogical
or illegible or illegal for example so
these all mean not plus the base words
so illogical means not logical illegible
illegible means unable to read legible
means readable illegible means cannot
read that thing unable to read that
illegal means not legal in other words
so an action that is against the law so
ill means not in a sentence highly
illogical captain
that’s a Star Trek reference in the next
prefix is in in I am it also means not
it means not words that fit this pattern
for example could be impossible or
impeccable or improbable or imperfect
for example so again it means not so
imperfect means not perfect
impossible means not possible so it
means not it means not in a sentence
this is impossible
in the next prefix is in in so again in
also means not it’s a negative prefix
that we use there are a lot of words
that start with this in meaning not so
like inconsiderate incapable
inconceivable inappropriate so they all
mean not plus the base word for example
like the word in appropriate means not
appropriate so behavior that is not
appropriate in a certain situation or
incapable means not capable someone
cannot do something they’re expected to
do so in means not plus our base meaning
the opposite then of that mean in a
sentence he’s incapable of running the
country here then
prefix is ear ear so the pronunciation
is ear even though it’s I are here for
example we see this in like
irresponsible or irredeemable or
irregular so again this means not
something so irresponsible means not
responsible irregular not regular
irredeemable is something that cannot be
made up we cannot redeem that thing so
here is another negative prefix meaning
not or no in a sentence your behavior
was irresponsible none the next prefix
is non non n o n so n o n is a prefix
again it means not or against or like
efficiency against so non also means not
something so for example we see it in a
word like nonsense or like non
sequential or non sequitur so these are
words that all mean like not something
so for example non sense means no sense
essentially not sense non sequitur so
sequitur the base there is like think of
the word sequence we see that same sort
of base in sequence as we see in non
sequitur and that actually comes from
the Latin meaning like to follow
something so it’s non sequitur means
like it does not follow so a non
sequitur means something that just it’s
not part of the conversation it’s like a
random comment is a non sequitur so it
does not follow non sequitur is one so
non means not or no in a sentence this
is nonsense hi everybody my name is
Alicia welcome back to know your verbs
in this episode we’re going to talk
about the verb act let’s get started
acting
it was hard to choose like a basic
definition of this verb because I think
depending on the person there are a
couple different meanings that you might
think is the basic definition of fact so
I’ve kind of picked one for this lesson
okay so the basic definition for this
lesson is to take action to do something
examples act now and save money we need
to act quickly okay now let’s look at
the conjugations for this verb present
act acts past acted past participle
acted progressive acting
so now let’s talk about some additional
meanings for this verb the first one is
to perform as a character to perform as
a character some examples he acted in a
musical last summer I love to act okay
so in the first example sentence he
acted in a musical last summer means he
performed as a character in a musical
last summer so to act means like to
perform in some way in a production so a
musical or a theater production by the
way musicals are the performances with
singing and dancing usually a play is
the same thing but no singing and no
dancing really just talking so a play is
just talking musicals singing and
dancing so he acted in a musical last
summer the second example sentence was I
love to act in other words I love to
perform as a character so this may be is
a common hobby for many people I think
okay let’s go on to the second meaning
for this verb to behave to behave so
this is a very open meaning to behave in
some way it means like your manners are
like the way that you present to
yourself or the way that you show
yourself examples she acts like she’s
angry but she’s actually happy
my dog is acting strange okay so in
these examples we’re talking about a
person’s behavior in the first example
sentence she’s acting like she’s angry
it means she’s behaving in a way that
makes it seem like she’s angry so
something about her behavior maybe her
facial expression or her body language
or something like that we think she’s
angry she seems angry but she’s actually
happy in the second example sentence my
dog is acting strange there’s something
about my dog’s behavior that is strange
so maybe my dog is behaving in a way
that is not typical for my dog so maybe
my dog is running in circles but he
doesn’t usually do that that’s strange I
could say my dog is acting strange so my
dog is behaving in a strange way okay
let’s go on to another additional
meaning for this verb
the third additional meaning is to
perform a function to perform a function
some examples my phone case acts as a
credit card holder she’s acting as
liaison with the new clients okay so on
both of these sentences we see one thing
or one person is behaving or performing
a specific function in the first example
sentence it’s a phone case my phone case
acts as a credit card holder so it has
the function of a phone case yes but
there’s also this other function I can
use my phone case to put credit cards
inside so it acts as a credit card
holder to in the second example sentence
she’s acting as a liaison with the new
clients it means she is performing the
function of a liaison a liaison is a
person who’s kind of a go-between for
communication between two groups so she
is the go-between she’s performing the
function of a go-between she’s acting as
a liaison for the clients the fourth
additional meaning for this verb is to
have an effect to have an effect some
examples the poison acted quickly
the sad story acted on the audience’s
emotions okay in the first example
sentence the poison acted quickly we see
the poison had an effect quickly that’s
what acted means here we’re seeing it in
the past tense and it means to have an
effect in this case so the poison had an
effect quickly in the second example
sentence however we’re talking about an
effect on people’s emotions not like a
medicinal effect like we saw in the
first example sentence the second
example sentence was the sad story acted
on the audience’s emotions in other
words the sad story had an effect on the
audience’s emotions so that means
probably that the audience felt sad or
the audience felt maybe disappointed or
something the audience’s emotions were
affected by the story by the sad story
so we say the sad story acted on the
audience’s emotions so this means to
have an effect
okay let’s move on to some variations in
how we use this verb the first variation
is act up to act up this means to
exhibit negative behavior to have bad
behavior some examples my asthma is
acting up the kids acted up at the
dinner party last night
okay so in the first example sentence I
mentioned asthma actually asthma is a
sickness it’s a disease asthma asthma is
very common it’s a lung problem or kind
of a breathing related problem where it
becomes difficult to breathe depending
on different situations for different
people so if I say my asthma is acting
up it means my asthma is behaving in a
negative way my asthma is there’s some
problem with it my condition is not good
because of my asthma my asthma my
illness in other words is kind of strong
right now it’s acting up so I’m having
problems because of my asthma right now
in the second example of sentence
however it’s a person in this case kids
so kids acting up at a dinner party
means kids were displaying bad behavior
negative behavior at a dinner party so
acting up means something negative is
happening some kind of negative behavior
is occurring okay so the next variation
is to act out to act out also does mean
to behave in kind of a negative way but
the difference between act out and act
up is act out has the feeling of doing
this bad behavior in order to get
attention so you act out because you
want to be noticed some examples of this
your son has been acting out in school
she’s only acting out because she wants
attention
so acting out is like you’re making some
kind of extreme behavior or maybe it’s
like kind of scandalous or maybe it’s
really rude or maybe like too sexy there
can be lots of different ways to act out
but the idea is that the action happens
because this person wants to get some
attention whether negative or positive
doesn’t matter it just wants attention
but we should be careful because this is
different from to act something out to
act something out is different from to
act out to act something out means to
represent an activity with your body so
that means to showcase a scene or to
explain a scene in a movie or to kind of
show somebody a gesture with your body
so examples we acted out our favorite
movie scene she acted out the story so
acting something out means using your
body like physically using parts of your
body to act out to show something so for
example like a simple action if I want
to act out making a phone call I would
do this like making the gestures of
making a phone call we could say this is
acting out a phone call hello that’s
acting something out I’m using my body
and I’m using gestures to explain
something to explain a behavior so this
is different to act something out and to
act out have very different meanings so
be cautious to act something out takes a
direct object to act out does not so
please be careful of this there are some
grammatical hints for you hey everyone
welcome to the monthly review the
monthly show on language learning where
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today’s topic is are you improving how
to assess your language skills have you
ever wondered am I actually getting
better with my target language if you
want to know how to check and see if
you’ve improved or not then keep
watching today you’ll learn why
assessment can mean the difference
between fluency and failure how to
assess your language skills even if
you’re learning on your own and much
more
are you improving how to assess your
language skills so have you ever
wondered am I actually improving with my
target language feeling like you’re not
improving can hurt your motivation on
the flip side if you notice yourself
understanding more of the language than
before you can feel good and that can
fuel your motivation to keep going but
it’s not easy to spot your improvement
it’s tricky with language it’s not like
going to the gym where you can see your
muscles in the mirror this is where
assessment comes in what’s assessment
the easiest example of assessment is a
test if you go to a language class
you’ll get a test on the first day the
goal of the assessment test is to
understand where your language level is
and any test after that is a way to see
how much you’ve improved this is ongoing
assessment so assessment is checking
where you are now and how far you’ve
come with your language learning
assessment lets you see where you’ve
improved and helped you find what you
need to work on if you’re serious about
learning a language it’s one of the best
things you can do to stay on track stay
motivated correct your mistakes and
reach fluency but assessing yourself is
also hard if you’re learning on your own
so what can you do here’s how you can
assess your language skills whether
you’re learning with our program or not
number one if you’re a Premium Plus user
retake the assessment test technically
you can only take this once but if you
get in touch with our support team we’ll
give you the link if you’re using any
other resource find a way to test
yourself look for practice tests apply
for a proficiency test take online
quizzes anything that forces you to test
your language skills
number two revisit old lessons an easier
way to self assess your language level
is to revisit old lessons you can do
this with any program you’re learning
with if you’ve truly made progress then
you should be able to understand the
lesson dialogues with no problem if not
then you know that you need to review
them some more number three try harder
lessons also something you can do with
any language resource if you’re using
our program try lessons from a higher
level if you’re a lower intermediate try
upper intermediate lessons if you don’t
understand anything that’s fine but if
you do then that’s a good
that you’ve improved and are ready for
harder lessons number four for reading
check out our extensive reading books
these are available for all levels from
absolute beginner to advanced you can
reread old ones or try harder ones to
see where your current level is you’ll
find these books in our lesson library
this will help you assess your reading
and comprehension skills number five for
speaking use our voice recording tool if
you can easily repeat the lines from the
conversation that’s a good sign or if
you’re using another program try to
shadow the provided conversations if you
can do it without a problem then you’ve
made progress and are ready to go to the
next level
number six for writing try and copy out
our lesson dialogue by hand the point
here is to see if you can write smoothly
or not as a way of assessing your
writing you can also do this with any
text book you can also take a picture of
your writing and send it to your Premium
Plus teacher for feedback number seven
use our premium plus assignments if
you’re a Premium Plus member you can ask
your teacher to send you weekly
assignments based on your knees
whether for reading writing speaking or
listening and they’ll provide you
feedback so you can see where you are
with each skill so to recap one take our
assessment test to revisit old lessons
three try harder lessons or use our
extensive reading books for reading five
use our voice recording tool sixth right
out dialogues by hand and seven take
advantage of our assignments remember
the point of assessment is not to pass
or fail but to see where you’ve improved
and where you need to work if you’re
trying to learn a new language you’ll
sometimes have to contend with a whole
new alphabet complex grammar and
difficult pronunciation many new
learners start out strong but peter out
after a short time but that doesn’t have
to be your story
don’t let the harsh reputation of some
languages scare you away
yes it’s not easy but it probably isn’t
as hard as you think either in this
video we’ll give you four ways to
improve the way you study while learning
a new language follow these and it will
be hard not to see improvement in your
language
number one develop a good accent when
first trying to learn a new language the
words might overwhelm you some words
might be extremely long or complicated
in ways you aren’t used to as a result
the new language can sometimes sound
more like noise in an actual language
this could be because you don’t yet have
a good grasp of pronunciation in that
language so focus on this weak point by
learning and practicing how to correctly
pronounce each individual sound in the
language start with one’s most similar
to your native language and then move on
to the more difficult ones then start
practicing with full words phrases and
sentences work your way up to listening
to recorded audio of native speakers and
try your best to mimic their flow of
speech while this method probably won’t
make your accident perfect it will help
you improve greatly even more
importantly you’ll be able to hear the
language differently and continue to
improve when you intuitively know how to
correctly pronounce a sound it’s a lot
easier to recognize that sound when it
is spoken or read knowing these new
sounds gives your brain some context for
what it hears when you’re using the
language our language learning program
is a great tool for working on your
pronunciation it lets you play back the
words from a lesson in isolation you can
also play audio at a slower speed this
is perfect for pinpointing the nuances
of the language and developing your own
accent as well as your ear
number to break down the writing system
every language has its own unique set of
rules and challenges when it comes to
writing your best bet is to focus on one
point at a time trying to learn the
entire system at once can be
overwhelming work with a section of the
writing system until you become fairly
comfortable with it the point of going
slowly in doing one piece at a time is
to ensure that you have a firm
foundation if you rush through this
stage you might miss essential details
and this may negatively affect your
learning in the future number three
learn grammar in context this tip is
applicable no matter what language
you’re learning once you move past the
basic vocabulary in the language try to
pick up the patterns of the grammar by
learning the rules in the context of
phrases or so
census example sentences found in the
lesson notes of each of our lessons are
extremely helpful for this after each
lesson you can look at the examples to
get a feel for how a particular aspect
of the grammar worked then you can
practice making your own similar phrases
using the same rule
slowly but surely as you work through
each episode you’ll take greater
ownership of the language this approach
is a lot more effective than memorizing
tables or rules if you can use the
grammar and vocabulary you just learned
you’re much more likely to internalize
it and thus remember it the next time
you want to say something in your target
language number 4 get feedback from
native speakers receiving correct and
accurate feedback from native speakers
is vital to improving your skills in the
language whether you’re reading or
writing you need to find out what your
mistakes are so that you can correct
them some people are willing and able to
pay a private tutor or take a formal
class in order to help them progress
these things will certainly help but
they aren’t the only options if you live
near a major city there’s a chance that
there are some native speakers in your
area keep your eyes and ears open
because you might be surprised where you
can find them you can look for a nearby
meetup group or a language exchange
you’re likely to find speakers there as
well if these options don’t work out you
can take your search online there are
several free language exchanges where
you can chat via video or audio with
other language learners look for a
native speaker learning your own native
language so that you can practice
together and correct each other’s
mistakes don’t be afraid to put yourself
out there and make mistakes it’s all
part of the process as long as you’re
getting good feedback when you use the
language your skills will improve
hopefully this video took some of the
fear and mystery out of learning a new
language remember that the most
important tip is to enjoy the language
for its own sake if you enjoy the
process of learning then studying will
seem more like a journey of discovery
than work use these pointers as tools
for the road ahead as you work your way
to fluency in your target language some
language learners progress more quickly
than others is this because they’re
smarter more
or maybe just lucky this is not the case
most of the time a lot of what
determines your success in a language is
the amount and consistency of the time
you put into it and the way that you go
about practicing in this video we’ll
take a look at five techniques of
successful language learners that you
can use in your own studies number one
hit the easy targets start with easy
attainable goals in the beginning you
might want to do as much studying as
possible when you first start learning a
new language but this is a good way to
get burned out fast by all of the
obstacles you’ll hit whether you’re
trying to learn ten basic vocabulary
words a week or just want to review some
grammar that you’ve already studied and
might need a refresher on having easier
goals to get you started on your
language learning journey can make it
easier to keep progressing and then when
you hit those goals you feel motivated
to make even more challenging ones it’s
okay to start small and work towards
hitting the harder targets but when
you’re just starting to learn a language
go for the easier ones rather than
overwhelming yourself with too much at
once there’s always been a bit of debate
in the language learning world as to
whether or not you should learn grammar
explicitly or implicitly a lack of
grammar should never keep you from
trying to speak a foreign language
however implicit learning by itself
doesn’t work well when dealing with more
complicated grammar number two break
down the most difficult parts of the
grammar tenses verb conjugations noun
inflection there are a lot of tough
spots you’ll find in grammar as you come
across these foreign grammar concepts
take some time to study and practice
them hone in on one aspect at a time and
practice it by writing out sentences or
simply by speaking read different
grammatical explanations and example
sentences well you don’t want to spend
all your time grinding out grammar
exercises 10 or 15 minutes a day of
focused practice will help you master
these otherwise difficult areas of the
language another great way to master
grammar is to work with whole phrases or
conversations this isn’t as easy to do
while you’re speaking with someone but
it can be done by listening to audio
our language podcast lessons are ideal
for this because they feature native
conversations that you can pause or
replay over and over again as you study
and work through a conversation first
look at the words and phrases that you
do know then without resorting to a
translator or dictionary
do your best to figure out what any new
or unfamiliar words mean after that feel
free to look them up if you work this
way with whole sentences you’re much
more likely to internalize the new
grammar number three practice with
native speakers language course books
apps and podcasts are all great ways to
learn the language but eventually the
rubber will have to meet the road and
you’ll need to start using what you
learn the best students take every
opportunity they can to practice the
language with real people you might not
be learning the most popular language
but even so there are still a lot of
other learners out there trying to
master it like you take advantage of
this and try to link up with a meet-up
or a language exchange in your town or
city this way you can connect with other
learners and get tips and tricks from
them that might help in your own studies
if you’re unable to find an exchange in
your area take the search online and you
can even find some native speakers on
free sites the connect language learners
around the world here you can help out a
native speaker who’s learning your
language you can learn from each other
it’s a win win number four
focus on being understood not being
perfect undoubtedly when you begin to
speak with native speakers you will make
a lot of mistakes this is a natural part
of the language learning process in your
first few conversations you’ll probably
mispronounced miss conjugate or
altogether forget words but that’s okay
learn to embrace these mistakes as long
as you’re practicing with a native
speaker who can give you accurate
feedback those mistakes can do nothing
but help you improve after getting
feedback on your mistakes the next most
important thing in your spoken language
practice will be to keep the
conversation going if you make a mistake
correct it and move on if you can’t
remember a word do your best to describe
but in your target language to your
language partner use what words you have
in order to be understood even if your
sentence or addiction comes out a little
weird
number five keep a journal in your
target language most people talk about
how important it is to speak a language
you’re learning but not nearly as many
mention how powerful writing in the
language can be writing in your target
language lets you use all the material
you’ve learned but without the demands
of a real-time conversation writing is
also an excellent way to expose the
words or phrases you don’t know or are
unsure about you can write in an
old-fashioned paper journal and do your
best to check it or have a friend look
over it you can also write entries
online and have them corrected by native
speakers while it’s not always easy to
speak successfully it is always
rewarding use these tips as a guide to
jump-start your progress no matter what
keep your head up and after a bit of
patience and hard work you’ll be
speaking your target language soon
enough for some learning a new language
seems to come naturally for others the
entire process feels more like a tooth
and nail struggle however if you’ve had
a negative experience learning a new
language at one point in time don’t let
that discourage you from trying again
the truth is that learning any language
is never easy but it’s definitely
possible sometimes the difference
between success and failure has less to
do with your abilities or talents and a
lot more to do with the way you look at
things in this video we’re going to look
at how to avoid five serious mistakes
made by new language learners number one
listen before you speak being slow to
speak and quick to listen is good life
advice whether or not you’re learning a
foreign language effective listening is
essential to communication as a beginner
there is a tendency to concentrate so
much on what you’re going to say and how
you’re going to say it that you can
completely miss the meaning or heart of
what the other person is trying to
communicate not only will this impair
your ability to listen in your target
language
it will also stall what little
conversation you had going remember the
conversations are a two-way street if
you’re speaking more than listening then
you actually have more of a monologue on
your hand
than a dialog the inputs of language
learning listening and reading are just
as important as the outputs speaking and
writing for a beginner inputs are even
more crucial as they are the main way
you acquire new vocabulary we even go so
far to say that for new students the
best method for learning involves more
listening than it does speaking though
that may change with higher proficiency
levels number two don’t be embarrassed
when you do speak people’s next mistake
usually comes from the other side of the
spectrum where new learners are too
scared or embarrassed to contribute to a
conversation the fear of making mistakes
and embarrassing yourself can paralyze
your language learning it’s vital to
remember that everyone makes mistakes
even native speakers had to find their
way through the language when they were
children making mistakes while learning
a new language is inevitable but it’s
also a good thing
the faster you make mistakes the quicker
you can correct them and move on with
your learning so instead of being afraid
to make mistakes
try looking at them as steps towards
progress in reality that’s what they
really are number three don’t fixate on
minor issues if taken in all at once a
new language can feel overwhelming to
learn it’s so easy to get discouraged by
all your little mistakes and
conversational mishaps and you lose
sight if the progress you’re making in
addition to mistakes you’ll also come
across plateaus where you study and
practice consistently but don’t see any
results for a significant amount of time
but whether you face errors or plateaus
remember that these things are minor
obstacles on the road to fluency the
most important thing is not to give up
stick with it if you stay persistent
your mistakes will be corrected and your
abilities will improve but if you slow
down or throw in the towel completely
then you’ll either subvert your progress
or Nix it all together so remember that
as long as you’re still studying and
learning the language you can’t lose
it might feel like you’re losing the
battle for language learning for a
little while but hang in there a
practical way to help you stay motivated
is to make small weekly goals
research shows that goal-setting has a
significant impact on learning try
picking one aspect of grammar or a
collection of new words or phrases to
study for the next seven days at the end
of the week check your progress and
measure your success setting little
benchmarks like this will give you a
rightful sense of accomplishment number
four remember that immersion isn’t
magical a lot of people think that by
moving to a foreign country they will
learn the language by osmosis but
whether you learn abroad or at home you
still need to study and practice the
language living in a new country gives
you way more opportunities to do this
than staying at home but if you don’t
consciously take advantage of these
opportunities while living abroad it
won’t benefit your language learning if
you’re an expat living in a foreign
country there’s a natural inclination to
hang out around other expats learning a
language and living in a foreign culture
is hard and uncomfortable for better or
worse we’re often drawn to the easier
road if you made the decision to study
abroad then you want to hang out with
native speaking people as much as
possible you have the rest of your life
to be with people who speak your
language
this doesn’t mean ignore your expat
friends just be sure that you’re giving
proper attention to your language
learning languages are better lived than
they are learned number five be
open-minded languages are better lived
than they are learned when learning a
new language your brain will want to
conform the new grammar and vocabulary
to your native language norms and
grammar rules ignore your brain on this
one at first you might feel completely
wrong saying a sentence that is in fact
correct after a certain point in
language learning there is a switch that
goes off when your brain finally
realizes that you’re not speaking your
native language but a new one altogether
this could take a while though
especially if this is your first time
learning a new language until then do
what you know is correct even if it
feels a bit weird when you say it
the same goes for culture just as you
want to be open to the differences in
the language don’t forget to be open to
the differences in the culture too
[Music]
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