Yeah, I really wanted to know how Peter improved so fast. |
So you actually are holding me accountable. |
I lose attention easily. |
My mind wanders. |
The teacher said I don't have to do anything, but the teacher just gave me the list that I need to remember, that I need to study more. |
So that was very useful. |
To be honest, if you have a great teacher and a great program, it makes the learning very interesting, exciting, and fun. |
Welcome to the Inner Circle. |
This is a monthly no-holds-barred newsletter, giving you tried and tested learning methods to help you reach your language goals this year. |
Wow, you remembered that line. |
Well, I did have a month to get it together. |
I'm Kyejin and I'm joined by my co-host, the founder of Innovative Language, Peter Galante. |
Hi everyone, Peter here. |
And today we're talking about the one lever you can pull. |
It's a very, very powerful level that you can pull to really help your language progress. |
And we're talking about preparation. |
Wow, so that's your secret, right? |
Yeah, it's one of the secrets that we'll cover this year. |
Okay, so this month we are going to talk about the preparation. |
Peter did an amazing, amazing, awesome, fantastic job in February. |
Yes, and that was a secret. |
Yeah, I think that was one of the secrets. |
But you know what's really nice about this year, Kyejin? |
Number one, we're doing video. |
Oh, yes. |
And number two is that you're my teacher. |
So you actually are holding me accountable and everybody watching and listening or learning from this can see what I'm saying. |
Well, you can verify it, whether it's true or not, right? |
Right. |
So previously, you are sharing your tips. |
And actually, nobody knows if that's true. |
But from this year, I'll be very honest. |
And I'll be observing Peter's progress and share my honest and brutal feedback with our viewers. |
Yeah, so that's what's very nice about this year. |
Okay, I'm very looking forward to it. |
So speaking of this year, one month is under our belt. |
And so Kyejin, we had some goals that we spoke about, correct? |
Yes, do you remember what they are? |
So one was to maintain the routine. |
The second one was to finish the pathway. |
And the third was to increase my speaking time from 50-50 to 70-30%. |
Wow, yes. |
And what do you think? |
Did you reach all of these goals? |
100% definitely reached all the goals. |
And listeners and viewers, I can prove that this is true. |
Yes. |
He's not lying. |
And I'm the alive evidence. |
So let's talk about the first one. |
Maintain routine. |
So how did you reach that? |
So actually, it's quite easy if you stick to the pathway. |
The pathway is laid out very intuitively. |
And for me, I lose attention easily. |
My mind wanders. |
Do you know my all-time record for tabs open in browsers, Kyejin? |
Well, about 120 tabs open in the four or five browsers. |
Is that how you operate? |
Your brain works? |
Oh, so do you remember all these browsers where you just forgot about them? |
No, no, no, it's the same browser open, the same tab open in many different browsers. |
The point is, I lose focus very easily. |
But the way the pathway I'm using is laid out, each one is about two to five minutes. |
So I can watch a piece of the video. |
I watch the conversation. |
I can go through the conversation, then I move on. |
So it really helps me keep engaged. |
So because of this, I'm actually able to work through the pathways quite nice. |
I start, I go through them, and it's really, really good. |
About 20 minutes a day, every other day. |
That's not so long. |
Oh, yeah. |
And also, they break into several pieces. |
So you don't have to spend 20 minutes at once, right? |
Exactly. |
Maybe we can have a quick little video here of what we're talking about exactly. |
So for example, when I download a podcast, I'm listening for about 20 minutes straight through. |
But the way these paths were redesigned, they were broken up into smaller pieces according to the lesson parts. |
So are we almost there, Kyejin? |
I can't stall any longer. |
Here you are. |
So this is a pathway. |
So if we scroll down just a bit. |
By the way, this is my pathway. |
That's why it's not marked as done, but Peter's pathway is fully done. |
Yes. |
So if we just stop here, we can just go to maybe the first one. |
You can see the dialogue. |
If you click on the dialogue here, you're getting a piece of the video. |
And the video is about 1 minute 38 seconds for this particular video. |
And if you want to scroll down and move a little faster, there's the transcript there. |
Plus we have, if you scroll up Kyejin, you can just review quickly. |
If you know this already, you just review quickly. |
Romanization, English, and you can skip through. |
Kyejin, if we scroll back to the top, then we can move right on by clicking here and moving on to the next. |
Yes. |
So this smaller, it's actually these days I enjoy studying on the site because they're so short that I'm like, I could do a little more. |
I could do a little more. |
Yeah. |
I can spend three more minutes, five more minutes. |
Sometimes it's just one minute and it's not so much pressure to me too. |
When I learn a language. |
And it's quite nice. |
And if I'm on the go and I'm listening, I'm driving or working, I'm doing something. |
I don't work out, so walking. |
Then it's a longer form. |
It's 20 minutes. |
So I'll listen through. |
I can't really go back and forth. |
So this is, I actually really am enjoying this way of studying. |
Yeah. |
I'm very happy to hear that someone like Peter who cannot really focus on for a long time is just perfect for this pathway. |
Exactly. |
And I usually go until I get to the test. |
Usually there's about five or six pieces and then I'll get to the quiz and then I'll take the quiz to see how I do. |
Like this. |
Focus review. |
Yeah. |
Nice. |
So that is how I'm able to stay in the routine. |
The 1.1 pathway, again, everything is laid out one after another. |
So I just simply had to follow the pathway. |
And it was easy, right? |
Well, two things helped. |
I'll be honest. |
When I'm studying by myself, it's a little harder to stay motivated. |
However, with my great teacher, Keijin, I know that I have a deadline. |
Yes. |
I'm very strict about that. |
Very strict. |
Which is good, which is a good thing. |
You need someone. |
So Kyejin really helps me stay focused on reaching my goal because I have the class next week. |
And if I show up at the class without doing the work, then I will be so disappointed. |
And you are a very kind person, so you don't want that happen, right? |
Again, not so kind. |
Don't work out. |
Not so kind, but trying my best to learn Korean with a great teacher. |
So these two things, that human element is very powerful in staying on track for reaching your goal. |
I agree with you. |
And so these are the two things that really helped me stay focused. |
And the last question is for you, Kyejin. |
So when we first started our lesson, what was the speaking time roughly? |
So I think I spoke mostly in English. |
And you are using some Korean and I was also using some Korean. |
But at the beginning level, at the very beginning, we couldn't really use lots of Korean. |
But it's more like me explaining the Korean aspect. |
But in February, interestingly, Peter improved a lot. |
I mean, he prepared a lot, actually. |
Prepared, yes. |
Prepared a lot. |
And we spoke, I think, 70% Korean and 30% English. |
So that's reaching the goal, correct? |
Yes. |
Yes, you did an amazing job. |
So preparation is really about helping you make the most of, well, in this case, it's about allowing me to make the most of the lesson time. |
So if I don't prepare, then the class will mostly be in English. |
And Kyejin will have to explain things that I could have learned outside of class to me. |
And the lessons are not cheap. |
So it's not a very good use of my time. |
So by preparing, it allows me to go in and get the most out of the lessons. |
Yes. |
But what is preparation exactly? |
Yeah, so I brought some things with me today, some secrets. |
So the first I will show is this. |
I can hand it over to Kyejin. |
So I have a little cheat sheet here of how I prepare. |
There's three parts to it. |
Here you go, Kyejin. |
Okay. |
Oh, these are the lines that you use in class. |
Correct. |
So in the top section, I will include phrases and words that we did in the previous lesson. |
And I will make sure that I use these. |
Yes, and you actually use that. |
Yes. |
And the second part is I will prepare and study the upcoming material. |
Now what's nice about again, in the last lesson, we talked about that integrated content. |
So I kind of know what we're going to study in class. |
I can read it and prepare for it so that the conversation is at a higher level in the class. |
Right. |
Since you know the topic, you can prepare, as you said. |
And interestingly, I know some people just prepare what's written in the materials. |
But Peter tried to find interesting lines. |
And I found a really interesting one here. |
Do you have a pet? |
Yes, I have three sons. |
But yeah, I found it really interesting to have a class with you. |
Peter makes a lot of jokes in Korean. |
He prepares a lot of funny expressions. |
So I think that really helps me enjoy my class too. |
And also you learn faster because it's fun. |
And also, it's talking about my life, right? |
Building that profile that we speak about. |
And the last part of prepare are words that I want to use that Kyejin hasn't taught me. |
You can see the one word there, right? |
Kyejin, the last word. |
Yes. |
Which is a vampire, which is not a normally occurring word. |
But I will show Kyejin how I'll use that in the next class. |
But so that's how I prepare for the lesson. |
I create something that Kyejin taught me because I believe one question for you, Kyejin. |
Do you like when your students use the material that you taught? |
Well, I haven't thought it's good or bad. |
But now I think, oh, if I have this kind of materials that suits my interest, that would be even more fun. |
Yes. |
So this is the thought process in that first part. |
And the second part is the material we want to go over because Kyejin, we agree. |
Sometimes I take the class too far out of the main track, correct? |
Yes, correct. |
But I kind of let you do that because through that process, I noticed you try to figure out some words yourself, trying to search some words yourself. |
And you remember that words later. |
So that was okay. |
But... |
And then last, I prepare something that I want to use that if I get the chance to use it, it would be very interesting. |
So there's the one word here, one phrase like piece of cake, which is rather advanced Korean. |
Right. |
Because it's an idiom. |
Yes. |
But that's the thing. |
If you start from even a beginner level practicing with idioms, they become part of that language profile. |
So you don't have to be an expert to start with something complicated if you're going to use it again and again. |
Exactly. |
There's one more piece of material that I'd like to show you that we have here and that all subscribers have, I believe it's in the welcome package. |
If not, you could mail us, email us, and we will send it back to you. |
And it's called the conversational patterns. |
So here you have a common question that you can ask your teacher or the teacher can ask you, and then it has the variations of the response. |
Yes. |
So this is another tool I use to prepare the class. |
So the class just doesn't start with, hi, how are you? |
I'm fine. |
How are you? |
That will make that beginning interaction very quick. |
Right. |
So this welcome pack includes this conversational pattern and basic grammar, key vocabulary, and the alphabet, etc. |
So it's very useful for absolute beginners or who want to join, who want to start learning a language. |
Yeah. |
And we have to talk about well-being, talk about your hobby, talk about the weather, things you like, some key phrases. |
So it's a nice way to help you prepare for your lessons. |
Interesting. |
And I heard you use some kind of tools too, right? |
For this preparation. |
What are they? |
Okay. |
So many years ago, we developed a great product, but it kind of got pushed to the back burner a bit, but the first part of that preparation document I showed you, and what we could do is we can take that document and share it so everyone can see when I hand write out. |
That's another thing. |
I hand write out the things to help me learn a bit better. |
So that's all the material from the previous lesson. |
So something I used in the previous class, I will make sure that I use again to reinforce it. |
So there's something we have called custom lists. |
Do you remember this, Kyejin? |
Yes. |
This is an app where you can store your words and review them very easily. |
Yes. |
And did you use it? |
So after each of our classes, I take a screenshot of what we talked about, and then I add that to custom lists. |
So I'm sure it will help you memorize the words more easily. |
Exactly. |
And so the custom list is a tool that allows you to add your own phrases that you want to practice and get better at. |
So you could also add existing words and phrases to your own specific list, but this helps you prepare while you're getting in between your classes. |
So I always use that after the class finishes. |
I put the material that I want to practice for next week inside of custom lists, and then during the week, I use custom lists to review and practice. |
Yeah, actually, I also use the custom list when I learned the language, and it is useful. |
So we will put the link in the material for viewers. |
So please check it out. |
Yeah, I think, Kyejin, do you remember when you took the Japanese classes here? |
What did your Japanese teacher do? |
My Japanese teacher, of course, I had a class with my Japanese teacher, and she added the phrases or words that I didn't understand, or she taught me in the class in the word list, I mean, the custom list. |
So my favorite thing is, well, I'm a little lazy sometimes. |
So I just look at the custom list on the train, and I review that a few times in a week, maybe on the way back home, then I can memorize those words very easily. |
So I don't really spend a lot of time to write down the vocabulary on my notes. |
And what was it? |
What the teacher said? |
I don't have to do anything, but teacher just give me the list that I need to remember, that I need to study more. |
So that was very useful. |
Yeah, and again, this concept of a language profile, like how you want to speak, the custom list gives you the flexibility to build your own lists that reflect who you are and what you want to talk about in your target language. |
Right. |
And very often it also comes with some picture. |
I search for some words that I don't know. |
For example, like computer, then there's a computer word and the image, or sometimes I can add my image there. |
So that makes me memorize the words more easily. |
Yeah, very, very well said. |
Yeah, I hope more people can take advantage of it. |
It was very useful. |
And so these are some really excellent ways to prepare for a live class. |
And again, that live class is something that's moving towards you in time, a deadline that you have to prepare for. |
Otherwise, you're going to waste your money or the class will not be fun. |
That's true. |
One of the reasons I think, you know, we're having so much fun is Kyejin prepares a lot as a teacher for the classes. |
And a student, in this case me, I prepare a lot for the classes. |
So I look forward to my class. |
Me too, I look forward to my class. |
It's very fun. |
Yeah. |
So you use the custom list and you actually used a very good, you made a very good use of Premium Plus membership, right? |
Well, thanks to you. |
So each week Kyejin sends me homework through Premium Plus. |
So again, Premium Plus is a tool you can access either on your desktop, your mobile device, and I've actually been using it here. |
I brought this in. |
So the tablet I use for Premium Plus because it has the writing feature and I'll tell you how I use that in a bit, but tell us a bit about the homework that you send to the students via Premium Plus. |
Yes, so this is an example. |
And for example, this is a homework. |
So this is just the part of our learning materials for a group class. |
And I send it to Peter. |
What Peter did is, he did homework using this iPad. |
He did a very good job and I gave him feedback like this. |
So there's a small mistake. |
I was testing you. |
Yes, I was reading it. |
Peter said, of course, I don't need any correction. |
And I said, no, you need correction. |
Or the other homework that Peter did is this and again. |
If we, Kyejin, last year we just stopped here for a minute. |
What's nice is you can see that it's fill in the blank and on the bottom there are hints there. |
So the homework is very, very nice. |
I receive it through the Premium Plus chat on the tablet. |
I take a screenshot, then I edit the screenshot by writing on it. |
Then I capture the screen, then I save it, and then I send it back to my teacher. |
And it's such a great way to complete this. |
Other ways to do this, you can hand write it. |
Yes, actually, some of my friends just see this and they do the handwriting on their note and take a photo and send it to me. |
Or some students just type it, type in Korean directly and send it to me. |
Whichever is okay. |
But I personally prefer the handwriting because I want them to get used to the Korean alphabet. |
But anyway, it's okay. |
So do as you want and the teacher will correct you. |
And for me, this is one of the most exciting things because in the pathway studying by myself, it's self-corrected. |
So I can take the test again and again. |
And again, I'm reading and I'm listening and I'm choosing. |
But this is actually creating the content, as you said, with your own hand. |
So I feel it's very, very powerful. |
But it's only possible because the teacher sends you the homework and gives you the deadline. |
Again, you don't want to show up to class without this. |
Right. |
And you did a great job. |
I give you feedback like, no, it's not perfect, but almost perfect. |
But actually, it was a joke. |
It was a joke. |
You did an amazing job. |
Really. |
You impressed me in February. |
February has been a very good month now. |
But again, my attention goes up and down. |
So to maintain this, we will work on some skills for next time. |
But to be honest, if you have a great teacher and a great program, it makes the learning very interesting, exciting and fun. |
Right. |
So I look really forward to these classes. |
Yeah. |
I also enjoy teaching a language to Peter because he prepares. |
He prepares a lot. |
So related to the topic, he says something very interesting. |
And also he finds some useful phrases for himself, not just following the materials. |
So I'm looking forward to our next class. |
Yeah. |
When is the next class? |
Next class will be... |
Wednesday? |
Yes. |
In two days. |
Two days. |
Don't forget your homework. |
Yes. |
I am actually a little late on the homework to prepare for this. |
It's by today. |
So you're not late yet. |
Yes, not late yet. |
But there's actually quite a bit of homework that I have because we added in some portfolio reviews. |
Kyejin did not send me this, but rather my success coach sent me this. |
This is a test. |
So once you go through the material and you finish a certain part of the pathway, we ask you to submit evidence that you're able to actually do this task. |
For example, can you give your phone number or can you introduce yourself? |
That means say your name, where you're from, and your job, and I think your hobby. |
So there's four elements to this self-introduction. |
And what you do here is the success coach sends this to you, then you're asked to submit audio or video of you doing this, and then my teacher will check it to make sure that |
I actually can do what I've completed. |
Yes, now I remember that. |
So for this, I remember some of my students sent me their actual video and introduce themselves or they talk about themselves like their hobby or their phone number, not real one, but the phone number or email address. |
So I can actually check if they can achieve their goal, not just looking at the test score, but I can actually see if they can speak for the topic. |
That's very nice. |
So I have some goals here that are related to completing things that have come to me through Premium Plus, things in the pathway, and of course, preparing to make sure the class is a success. |
So again, they're all interrelated here. |
Right, so today you talk about how to prepare with live classes. |
Yeah, you use a lot of tools like the custom list and Premium Plus and also homework. |
Yes, and taking my own notes, and those notes consist of three parts. |
The first part, reviewing, making sure I cover what we did in the last class. |
Then what we're going to do in this class, plus a bonus area of phrases and things that |
I kind of want to talk about. |
That was your secret. |
That was my secret. |
Yeah, I really wanted to know how Peter improves so fast. |
Interesting, and you said this is just one of your secrets, right? |
Oh boy, yeah, I gotta think. |
We covered a lot of secrets in this one. |
And then we also have this material from the Welcome Pack. |
If you haven't had that, then just mail us and we'll get you that. |
Right, so Peter, what's your goal for next month? |
Okay, so I kind of wanted to talk about this before, but for the video, it's to stop moving my hand so much. |
So hand stillness, I go from 70% to 30%. |
Yes. |
Change my outfit, same outfit for the last two. |
So that's on the video front, on the Korean learning front. |
I don't know, Kyejin, what do you think would be a good challenge for me? |
You know, in March, we start level 1.2A because you already finished 1.1. |
Wow. |
Yes, and I have a question. |
Would you like to finish 1.2A level in a month? |
Or it's okay, you can take time. |
Yeah, let's take a little time. |
Okay, for that level, let's take time. |
Because I think that one will be a little harder. |
So how about, what do you think, one third of that or one half? |
What do you think would be a good challenge? |
It contains the 10 lessons. |
So I think it's okay, we just do one lesson a week. |
But make sure to do homework. |
My homework will be a little harder and a little more than February. |
Okay, so 1.2, one lesson a week. |
Okay, I think that's a very good goal. |
And we should try and get the English down to 20%, that would be a good goal. |
Yes, that would be a very good goal. |
And would you like to share your custom list next time? |
I would love to see that. |
Your custom list with some useful words for you, like vampire, etc. |
I can do that. |
Okay. |
Yeah, that'd be nice to organize it. |
And also next time, I think we can talk about how Premium Plus can really power your progress. |
Because right now I've done writing, but we haven't done so much speaking via the Premium Plus, which is also possible. |
So through this teacher chat. |
So maybe next time we could focus on how to use the teacher chat to turbocharge your progress. |
Sounds great. |
Because I told you I'll give you more homework. |
And actually, I want to give you some speaking homework. |
So that will be just perfect one. |
Best teacher. |
Yes, best student. |
Oh, can I have that in writing? |
Yes. |
Okay, so I think that covers for this lesson. |
So there's some video footage this time. |
Plus we'll add maybe images of this cheat sheet that I wrote out. |
And the welcome pack images, probably we can flash those across the screen. |
Okay. |
So if you have any questions, or any comments, or you did not get anything covered in here, email us at inner.circle at innovativelanguage.com. |
And stay tuned for the next inner circle. |
Thank you so much, Kyejin. |
Bye, everyone. |
Bye. |
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