Doing English Daily

Here's a small taste of what we do in MEFA. Week 3 all about the "Two Track Approach". This is, as one member, José, put it, a "paradigm shift" in thinking. We split your English learning into two very clear, very distinct periods of time. A short period of high intensity, followed by as much relaxed use and exposure as possible. Simple. But effective. But what exactly is "intensive learning"? Good question In a nutshell, it's exactly that. Hard, focused, intense study. The kind of thing that leaves you exhausted and your brain feeling like jelly. In anything, there are people who get good. And people who get extraordinarily good. And it won't surprise you to hear that there has been a lot of research done on this. And this research shows that there is a subtle, but very important difference in the way people who become remarkable learn and practise. Take pro violinists. In 1993 Anders Ericsson, Ralf Krampe and Clemens Tesch-Römer decided to try and find out why some violinists become good, but others become REMARKABLE. They found that all of them spend a lot of time learning and practising their art. That probably doesn't surprise you much. But here's the important thing -- People who reach an extraordinary level practise a lot in a very, very intense, focused way. And that's the key. While most people are busy fucking around taking conversation lessons and mindlessly chatting about their weekend and forming all kinds of bad habits, the people who get REALLY good are busy focusing on the stuff that really matters, and drilling their English deep into their long-term memory. To be blunt, conversation lessons (or "talking to practise") are a totally pointless endeavour, by the way... if you want to chat, have a real conversation with someone. You get good at what you do. And if you spend all your time learning to speak with someone who is paid minimum wage to pretend they understand or even give a shit about what you're saying when actually they're praying you'll shut up and leave early... well, that's what you'll get good at. Good learning and practise is just like good sex: fast, hard and leaves you sweating and exhausted and should potentially kill you. That's all you're getting in this email. We be covering this stuff in detail in the MEFA course. In Week 3, and then again in Week 7 (where we talk about the 5 elements of fluency) and towards the end of the course where we cover some more advanced topics. If you're in the course... ... Brilliant. If not, you'll have your chance to get in on the 24th of this month. But ONLY if you're on the Priority Notification List: http://doingenglish.com/MEFA Best, Julian

Common question ? "How to speak clearly in English?" Okay, here we go… 1. Sort out your pronunciation No, you don’t need to sound like a native speaker (in fact trying to sound like a Brit or an American just makes things worse - I’ve done research that suggests native speakers just find it irritating and fake). But you do need to say stuff right. Take an 80/20 approach and focus on the vowels. 2. Learn to chunk right One of the main reasons you are hard to understand is because you don’t chunk your English properly. If you speak in individual words, pronouncing each one properly it just makes you HARD to understand, not easy (because that’s not how natives your their language). 3. Speak in probable phrases, not grammatical phrases What do I mean? Native speakers speak in chunks. High-frequency, highly-probable phrases. They don’t speak using grammar rules and words like you were taught. And this is one of the biggest things that makes it obvious English is your second language (and makes you hard to listen to). You speak using expressing that are grammatically correct…. but they are NOT the ones we expect. 4. Vary the speed of your voice Native speakers don’t speak “fast” like you think they do. They speed up and slow down. Speak fast when excited. Slow down, pause and carefully enunciate for dramatic effect. Getting this right makes you interesting… and, yes, clear. 5. Organise your speech well. Most people think “fluency” is one thing… but it’s not. Fluency is actually FIVE separate things all happening at once that, when all done well, make your “fluent”. One of those is how well organised English is in your head, and how organised and logical your flow of speech. If you speak messily… … don’t expect people to easily understand you. What’re the other elements of fluency? We’ll be covering that MEFA in Week 7 (including how to improve each one). If you’re on the course (or have just finished), well done. If not? Sucks to be you. Make sure you’re on the next run by putting yourself on the Priority Notification List: http://doingenglish.com/MEFA Best, Julian

Occasionally people tell me… "You should be more polite because people might get offended" Last week I got it twice. Once on Tuesday, and once yesterday. But this raises an interesting point. You see... Not only do I not care if you are offended… and not only do I not care if ANYONE is offended… but on the contrary, I WANT people to be offended. Not because I’m a mean person… But because right from the beginning I want you to understand what it is like to work with me as a client, or be a member of one of my courses. If you find me rude and offensive now? It’s far, far better for us both if you unsubscribe from these emails. See, I’ve long found I get the best results by being myself. And that means painfully blunt. Frank. Relentless. Which is why I only want to work with people with a thick skin. People who can take a bit of harsh reality and blunt criticism. Because if you ask me what’s wrong with your English… I’m not going to do what most so-called English teachers do and tell you that you’re great even if you’re not. No. I’m going to tell you EXACTLY what I think, and EXACTLY what is wrong with your English. And if you can’t see why this kind of uninhibited honesty is incredibly beneficial to you and improving your English… you’re a fool. One more thing ? Not only that but honestly? It’s more fun. Who wants to be dry and boring and "professional" all the time? I have a dark, gritty sense of humour and I’d far rather work with people who are the same than boring snowflakes who can’t take a joke. If that upsets you? Unsubscribe. If you have a thick skin, though, and want to fix your English FAST, without pretence or bullshit, you’d do well to get yourself on the MEFA Priority Notification List: http://doingenglish.com/MEFA Best, Julian

[itunes] Six hours of Spiderman? God yes. That was my yesterday. Spiderman Marathon. All three films (the good ones with Tobey Maguire; not the shitty new ones) watched in a row, non-stop. The perfect way to get over my mildly hungover Saturday. Have you noticed that Amazon video pops up little bits of trivia when you pause films? One caught my attention ? "According to Stan Lee, Spiderman wears a mask so his enemies couldn't see his fear." Even superheroes get shit-scared in the face of adversity. Just like with dogs, it’s never a good idea to show your fear. Doing so just puts you in a position of weakness and makes you powerless. Spurs on the beast you’re battling with. And so it is with English. Half of the battle is getting over your own mindset, and putting your fear of looking stupid aside so you can get on with speaking well. Not freezing. Starting with confidence. First impressions count, as they say, and so you need to make that first impression a good one. And that’s exactly what we do in Week 2 of MEFA. It’s all about reconditioning your thinking and behaviour so that English becomes something we do, easily, with confidence, and without hesitation. If you’re on MEFA… … we kick off at 11 am Ireland time tomorrow. The rest of you can (and should) get yourself on the Priority Notification List for next time we open by going here: http://DoingEnglish.com/MEFA Best, Julian

This is a very personal topic. And not something I’ve shared with many people. But a topic that I think is worth sharing because of a number of people reading my daily emails will ‘get it’. You may be one of them (and I’ve just had a conversation with someone about this, which is why it’s top of mind). Or you might not get it at all… which is also fine. When I was a kid people said I was, well, “A bit thick.” See, first I wasn’t good at classes. I understood the lessons fine but found it hard to pay attention. I’d always be staring out the window or thinking about totally different things. I lived in a day-dream. Another thing I wasn’t good at was break time. It’s not that I didn’t have friends. I did. Some very good friends, in fact. But this is how I’ve always been ? I spend all my time with a very, very small group of very, very good friends. And not want to get involved with other people. See, I always found big groups hard. I can’t stand too many people talking all at once. They’d all be laughing and joking, but I’d totally lose the plot. You’ll either understand this metaphor or you won’t… but the only way I can describe it is that my focus is like a delicate glass ball. If you’re talking to me, everything’s fine. But if someone else talks over you the glass ball shatters and I can’t bring the pieces back together. I also had a lot of trouble telling if people were joking or being serious (I still do with people I don’t know well). I’d freeze and simply not be able to find words (yes, I still do this too, but unless I’m talking with close friends?which is much easier?I tend to lead the conversation and keep everything under my control). Occasionally I’d laugh when someone wasn’t joking (something which gotten me into trouble when I was a kid… but that’s a story for another day). I’ve also never been able to pick up on hints or when, say, a girl likes me (or guy ? when you’re as good looking as I am it happens). My ex-girlfriend used to get really pissed off because apparently, some other girl was always flirting with me. Everybody knew she was doing it. Apart from me. I was totally oblivious. I’m talking in the past tense, but the reality is… ... I still often don’t get this stuff. If you wanted to sleep with me, well, you’d have to be pretty damn explicit otherwise I simply won’t notice. All this is only something I’ve really come to understand over the last six or seven months, though still not completely. I score very high on tests for ADHD and Aspergers (the two are NOT exclusive) though lean more to the former category. I should point out that haven’t had a formal diagnosis (yet). But I’ve talked to a couple of people who are experts and they came to exactly the same conclusion as me (enough so that I'm 99% sure). Anyway… As I said, you’ll either get this… ... or you won’t. The new podcast still hasn’t been approved on iTunes (so, er, stay tuned). But you can (and should) click here and add yourself the Priority Notification List for the next run of MEFA: http://doingenglish.com/MEFA Best, Julian P.S. You know what? For a long time I DID think I was thick. Dumb. Unintelligent. But then one day I realised that I couldn’t be. I never performed well in school, but that wasn’t because I didn’t understand the content. I just wasn’t good at school. I grasp complex topics in an instant and see patterns where other people only see chaos (which I why when I got into language research all those years ago I took to complexity theory like a duck to water). This skill helped me pass the highest level of the Japanese proficiency exam in just 18 months (something people said was impossible) and finish said masters in less than half the time the course was supposed to take. It also makes me an astounding coach… … because patterns in your behaviour that most people would never notice and blindingly obvious to me. Not that I’m taking on new coaching clients right now. MEFA: http://doingenglish.com/MEFA

It’s Citybizzy time, ladies and gentlemen. By which I mean… ... it’s Friday … ... and time for the latest Extraordinary English Speakers lesson. If you want to get right to it, it’s here: http://extraordinaryenglishspeakers.com/lessons/s5e10-the-citybizzy-bakeoff/ The setting for this week’s lesson is the Weekly Citybizzy catch-up meeting. Sasha has an idea… cue much grumpiness from Stan (who’s ALWAYS grumpy) and jokes directed at the fact Sasha ALWAYS has good ideas... which lead to more work for everyone. The conversation quickly disintegrates into banter, jokes and minor argument over who bakes the best brownies. We look at… Good-natured humour, banter and playful language. Pisstaking and guy talk (i.e. "Dick Measuring"). A very common chunk that lets you boast about yourself without appearing big-headed and full of yourself (this is essential if you live in the UK or use English with British people). Dan’s humorous way of trying to sound cool and mysterious, and the exact phrases and expressions that George uses to call dan out on his joke. A simple but powerful expression that Sasha uses to add weight and power to her idea that makes it very difficult for people to ignore (pay close attention to this and use it yourself next time you need to present an idea to someone). And 21 chunks of English for you to steal and use yourself in your own conversations. The place to go is here: http://extraordinaryenglishspeakers.com/lessons/s5e10-the-citybizzy-bakeoff/ Best, Julian P.S. If you’re not a member yet you can go here to apply for a place: http://doingenglish.com/EES

Before you listen to what someone says... ... watch what they DO. Take this Facebook comment for a software company's ad: "Glenn Hunter: Keap is e rebrand for infusionsoft. If you think you're losing 47 hours per month... Subscribe to this... You'll pay huge in programming and supper fees. I've had this product for over 8 years and have spent huge money. Close to $78000 Stay away. It used to be called Confusionsoft for us and users" (^ all spelling and grammar mistakes present in original comment.) Now, I use Infusionsoft (it's what just sent this email to you). And I personally love it. I get nothing for defending it. But I can't help picking apart pure stupidity when I see it (we'll ignore that Glenn writes like a retard; proof once again that native speakers aren't always better at English.) He's spent $78000 over 8 years. That's close to $10000 a year. Infusionsoft is incredibly powerful. And used properly should be making him back FAR more than that so the point is moot (cost almost always is, providing you're using what you paid for). More importantly - He says, "stay away". But he's been using the product for 8 years. And he doesn't see the irony in that? You see crap like this all the time with language learning, too. Teachers who give advice that they don't follow themselves (the English teacher who doesn't speak a language other than English? Yeah, you know what I mean). Fuckwits on YouTube (in videos and comments) dispensing Engish improvement advice when they can't put together a grammatical sentence to save their lives. MEFA. Is it the ONLY way to master English? No. Does it work incredibly well for me personally? Absolutely. The people who have taken the course and my one-on-one clients before them? Absolutely. Rant over. Here's the place to get on the Priority Notification List for next time: Http://DoingEnglish.Com/MEFA Best, Julian

Go here for the transcript: http://doingenglish.com/podcast/ded3-a-mistake-youre-making/

Go here for the transcript: http://doingenglish.com/podcast/stop-your-english-from-wasting-away/

Transcript for this episode: http://doingenglish.com/doing-english-podcast/what-my-kids-hate-about-ireland/

Go here for the transcript: http://doingenglish.com/podcast/welcome-to-doing-english-daily/