Hi there, I'm Hilary and welcome to Adept English and the third day of our seven day
course, 'The Seven Rules of Adept English'.
You're getting used to the format by now.
Every day an e-mail will arrive in your in-box and there'll be a video [link], and an MP3
file and a PDF file.
So just to recap on the first two rules of Adept English.
Rule Number One says 'Understanding first'.
So the way to become fluent is to massively improve you understanding of spoken English
and English that is spoken by natives Rule Two is to practice by repeating the listening
and so that the understanding becomes much more automatic and so that you begin to think
in English.
And it takes you away from translating.
Today we're going to talk about Rule Three.
Now, remember yesterday when I asked you to do a piece of homework for me?
I asked you to listen to the recording from yesterday five times.
Did you do that?
If yes, excellent!
Hopefully, you're beginning to learn some of the benefits of this way of learning English.
If no, well - oh dear!
I forgive you!
But I think I may understand why it might have been that you didn't do your homework.
You would probably say to me that you didn't have enough time.
There wasn't enough time in your day to do it.
So, Rule Three is really about a simple trick.
Rule Three is called 'Stick at it!'
And when we say 'stick at it' in English, we mean 'keep it up', keep doing it, make
it a habit.
Make it part of your normal schedule.
Now, when we're talking about doing the listening, it means a commitment over time.
It's no good for the first three days doing lots and lots and lots of listening and then
it's a month before you start to do it again.
What I'm talking about here is doing a little bit most days.
Now a lot of us live hectic and busy lives.
We've got lots of different interests.
We have busy jobs.
Many people spend long hours at work, or commuting to and from work.
We have families, we have friends, we have places we live, mundane life things to do
- and exciting projects as well.
So most people don't have very much time.
So how do you commit the time to learn English?
Well...a story.
My son does swimming lessons and every January, I get really cross, because the carpark attached
to the swimming pool is full.
And this is because in January, lots of people join the gym, which is in the same building.
They join the gym in January - part of their New Year resolution often.
They want to get fit, they want to lose weight.
They're full of good intentions.
But I get cross, 'cause there's nowhere to park my car and my son sometimes has missed
his swimming lesson.
However, I always remember, 'Mm....don't get too cross about it, because by the end of
January and certainly by the beginning of February, there'll be plenty of parking spaces
again, because the people who signed up to the gym would have begun to drift away, would
have begun to stop going to the gym.
They can't sustain the habit, they don't keep it up, they don't stick at it.
And it's often the same when people learn a language.
They start off full of good intention, but they don't stick with the habit.
Now you may notice that the children who succeed at their swimming lessons tend to be the ones
whose parents take them to their swimming class, week in, week out.
They may miss the occasional lesson, but they sustain the habit.
They make it a habit and they stick at it.
So this is the same with your learning of English language.
But how do you find the time to do that?
Well, my personal example, I have my own business, I have my own practice, I have a partner,
I have three children, I have a house, I have a cat - he doesn't take much time, but I have
plenty other projects and friends and occasionally family things that I do.
So.. how do I find the time for my language learning?
Well, it's very simple - I use my phone and I download MP3 files of spoken language so
that I can listen on my earphones whilst I'm doing other things.
So, if I'm travelling into work - say, I go into London once a week.
When I'm on the train, I put it on then.
If I'm driving somewhere in the car, I listen to it then.
If I'm doing really boring jobs round the house, like doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning,
tidying up.
There's lots of mess with three children.
Put my earphones in and I can do my language learning at the same time.
It means that I'm using the time where only part of my brain is engaged.
If I'm putting clothes in the washing machine, it's not very exciting, I'm not enjoying myself,
but at least I'm learning a language whilst I'm doing it.
This means that you can create for yourself, a schedule.
So, if you have a look at your routine for the week and identify the times when you are
doing boring jobs or the times when you're sitting for something to happen or when you're
sitting in your car, travelling somewhere or you're on the train.
We have a phrase in English 'killing two birds with one stone'.
What that means...it's not very nice really, is it that....but what it means is we're doing
two things at the same time.
Technology enables us to do this.
It enables us to immerse ourselves in spoken language, quite practically for thirty minutes
a day, every day.
There is a system of learning maths devised by a Japanese person, called Kumon.
And children learn mathematics this way and they get very good at doing addition and it's
basic maths.
But the key to Kumon is a little every day.
[It..]
Might even be as little as ten minutes for small children, but it's a little every day.
So I suggest practising, repeating and keeping to your schedule of a little every day is
a very very good way of learning the English language.
It's enough for today.
I'll see you tomorrow and we'll talk about Rule Four.
Have a lovely day!