Intro
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| Becky: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Becky and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Becky: In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds |
| Peter: ....to Language Learning Success. |
| Becky: You’ll learn One: How To Develop a Rock-Solid Learning Routine |
| Peter: ...in just 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds a Day... |
| Becky: ...Two: Why 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds Is All You Need To Get Started with a Language. |
| Peter: ...And Three: How You Can Apply It As Well... |
| Becky: ...All so you can master your target language and finally reach your goals! |
| Body |
| Becky: Listeners, welcome to the Inner Circle. |
| Peter: Last time, you learned why you need a language learning profile... |
| Becky: Which is a personal cheat sheet for the phrases that are most relevant for you... |
| Peter: ...so you don’t have to use generic examples out of a textbook. For those of you wondering why your own profile is important... |
| Becky: Look at it like this – The things that a 20-year-old wants to talk about... |
| Peter: ..are probably very different from what a 40-year-old wants to talk about. |
| Becky: Meaning... they want to learn the type of language and phrases that fit them best. Everyone, including you, have a unique set of phrases he or she wants to use. |
| Peter: Right. A 20-year-old might want to learn slang. A 40-year-old might want to talk about things that are more mature. |
| Becky: Right. Family. Kids. Work. Things like that. More mature hobbies. |
| Peter: Yes. So last time, you learned how to make your profile, based on your interests, with our system... |
| Becky: ...and last time, you didn’t reach your goal, Peter. Remember? How’s that going? |
| Peter: It’s going, Becky. |
| Becky: Going where? Going on a break...? |
| Peter: Well, to be honest, not to make excuses, but, I’ve had a personal injury that has been taking up a lot of my time. |
| Becky: Oh, I see. |
| Peter: And... it’s kind of derailed my German progress, Becky. |
| Becky: Yeah, I can understand that. |
| Peter: In fact, I think it’d make for a great Inner Circle Lesson. |
| Becky: How to keep going.. or bounce back when life throws obstacles in your way? |
| Peter: Yeah, actually, exactly, Becky. This past month, I sat down and evaluated my approach to German. I needed something different to match the changes in my routine due to the injury. |
| Becky: Oh? Like coming up with a new learning routine... something easier, right? |
| Peter: Right. And listeners, this is the topic of today’s Inner Circle. |
| Becky: 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds to Language Learning Success. |
| Peter: You’ll learn – One: How To Develop a Rock-Solid Learning Routine |
| Becky: ...in just 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds a Day |
| Peter: Two: Why 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds Is All You Need |
| Becky: ...To Get Started with a Language |
| Peter: And Three: How You Can Apply This As Well |
| Becky: So Peter, where does this number come from? |
| Peter: To be perfectly honest, Becky, YouTube. I came up with this idea based on the length of a YouTube video I watched. |
| Becky: Sounds like... you spent this month watching your recommended videos on YouTube. |
| Peter: Not the whole month. But I did catch myself one day getting stuck on a...what do you call it.... a YouTube loop. I was going through video after video after video... and one of the videos I watched was particularly awful and it happened to be 7 minutes and 7 seconds long. So that is where i kind of came up with the idea “7 minutes and 7 seconds to success.” |
| Becky: Ah, I see. |
| Peter: And you know how easy it is to passively enjoy YouTube videos. |
| Becky: Yeah. You watch one, then another. And before you know it, you’re stuck in YouTube purgatory! |
| Peter: But with this 7 minute 7 second video, I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t turn away, I couldn’t turn it off. I just wasted that time of life on it. |
| Becky: You know with all that time wasting Peter you could definitely find the time to learn some German. |
| Peter: And that is where I came up with this strategy from. Because you’re exactly right, Becky. |
| Becky: So how about we get to that first part. One: How To Develop a Rock-Solid Learning ,Routine in just 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds a Day. |
| Peter: So, basically, I applied this to my German studies. And I decided to study 7 minutes and 7 seconds on my first day. |
| Becky: ...That sounds like a small, measurable goal, almost! |
| Peter: Becky it is small and measurable! And that’s exactly what I did. |
| Becky: So how did it go? |
| Peter: So... I do most of my learning at night which means I procrastinate during the day. And I left my German, the 7 minute 7 second study session, until the end of the day, right before I went to sleep. And I know a lot of self-help, motivational books say it’s all about “morning, morning, morning.” |
| Becky: Oh yeah, The early bird gets the worm and all that. |
| Peter: But it didn’t exactly work for me. So, I did my sessions right before bed. And even though it’s not THE best time to learn because you’re exhausted from the day... |
| Becky: ... it got you started. |
| Peter: Exactly. |
| Becky: Okay, so you just did 7 minutes and 7 seconds of German a night. What did you do exactly? |
| Peter: So, Becky, the first thing I did was... I’d press start on the stopwatch in the Clock App on my iPhone. I’d set that nearby. Then, I’d start a GermanPod101 lesson. And I started with Top 25 Questions You Need to Know Series. |
| Becky: That’s a good lesson series, especially if you want to master basic conversation. But Peter, some of those lessons are well under 7 minutes. |
| Peter: You’re right. So, just because the lesson was over, doesn’t mean I’d stop. I’d review the vocab with the flashcards. Review the lesson notes. And on occasion, most of the time, I’d just start another audio lesson. |
| Becky: Okay, so you make sure to hit 7 minutes and 7 seconds every day, no matter what. |
| Peter: Exactly. Some days, if I wanted to learn just vocab, I’d spend that time drilling Flashcards. Same thing with German videos on YouTube. Never anything less than 7 minutes, 7 seconds. In fact, I’d often go over the time limit and keep going, but never under 7 minutes, 7 seconds. So, when I would go over the 7 minutes, 7 seconds, sometimes I wound up studying for more than 15 minutes. |
| Becky: Really? |
| Peter: Yep. Before I even realized it. You know, once you’ve started, Becky, it’s really pretty good. |
| Becky: Ah, I see. So this makes your learning routine super simple to start with... |
| Peter: ...and also to keep going with. Becky, this worked so well for me in the first week, that German went from being the last thing I did in the day... |
| Becky: ...to the first thing in the morning? |
| Peter: Not exactly. But, by the second week, I was studying at lunch, when my mind was much more alert. |
| Becky: And you’ve maintained this routine for the whole month? Wow, that’s pretty impressive. Why did this work so well? |
| Peter: Let’s get into the second point. |
| Becky: Two: Why 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds Is All You Need To Get Started with a Language |
| Peter: First and foremost listeners, routines are the cornerstone of success. |
| Becky: ...and if you can stick with a routine, you’re on a guaranteed path to mastering your language. |
| Peter: So Becky, here's what’s nice: it doesn’t seem like a long time, right? |
| Becky: Right. And I bet having a stopwatch in front of you is a nice reminder. Like if you knew you had 3 more minutes to go, it doesn’t feel so bad. |
| Peter: Exactly. And that’s a major reason why this tactic works so well. |
| Becky: It’s not a serious commitment that you’d dread all day. |
| Peter: And there’s simply no excuse not to find 7 minutes and 7 seconds in a day... when a day is 1,440 minutes! |
| Becky: It’s like your small, measurable goal for the day. |
| Peter: Listeners, it’s the kind of goal that we ask you to set every month. Small enough to accomplish. And measurable so that you know when you reach it. |
| Becky: All you have to do is hit that number every day... |
| Peter: ...and you’re done. Listeners, if you have a tough time getting into a language learning routine... |
| Becky: ...This is perfect for you. |
| Peter: Which brings us to part 3. |
| Becky: Three: How You Can Apply This Tactic As Well |
| Peter: Listeners, you know how I applied this. Every single day...and at first, right before bed, I’d start a stopwatch and start a GermanPod101 lesson. The Top 25 Question Series. |
| Becky: And the only goal was to put in a minimum of 7 minutes and 7 seconds of learning. |
| Peter: You can definitely go over like I did, but, 7 minutes and 7 seconds is the absolute minimum. |
| Becky: And if your lesson is under 5 minutes, you can simply move on to the next. |
| Peter: Right. In my case, I’ve done 40 GermanPod101 lessons over the past 25 days. So, I did go over the 7 minutes and 7 seconds quite often. |
| Becky: You can also review with the PDF Lesson Notes and review the lesson vocab. There are lots of ways to take up those 7 minutes. |
| Peter: ..and 7 seconds. Listeners, the easiest way to apply this is to set aside 7 minutes and 7 seconds in a day. You know, Becky, to be honest, you don’t even need to plan to set aside 7 minutes and 7 seconds. |
| Becky: I know that’s what you were doing in the beginning of the month. But then... you go it into it. You can set a stopwatch, you put it in the background.... |
| Peter ...and just start learning. Take one of our Audio or Video Lessons. Send a message to your Premium PLUS teacher for 1-on-1 learning... |
| Becky: ...and just put in that amount of time. |
| Peter: If you’re commuting and that takes 20 or 30 minutes... that’s a perfect chance to squeeze this in. |
| Becky: Once your stopwatch hits 7 minutes and 7 seconds, you’re done. You’re free. |
| Peter: That’s it. But... you can go over if you want to. |
| Becky: Like, if your train ride is not exactly 7 minutes and 7 seconds, keep going, its okay! Then, repeat this tactic every single day and you’ll realize how easy it is to maintain this routine. |
| Peter: That’s right, Becky. |
| Becky: Just stick to your routine and you’ll succeed with your language goals! |
| Peter: So even though I haven’t reached my goals these past 2 months, the fact that I stuck with German for all of February... |
| Becky: ...even with your injury... |
| Peter: that sounds so bad, right, Becky...means that now, I have an excellent base for the third month. Even with the injury, Becky. My routine is in place. And my German studies increased in importance and I moved it to earlier in the day. Remember, we went from studying right before bed to studying at lunch time. |
| Becky: ... and it became a part of your life. It’s really interesting how such a small amount of time can go so far if you stick with it. |
| Peter: Listeners, if you’ve had a tough time sticking to a learning routine in 2016... |
| Becky: ..definitely put this tactic to use. |
| Peter: Remember, 7 minutes and 7 seconds is all you need to get started with a language. |
| Becky: Alright, Peter. So what about your goal for March? |
| Peter: I’ll keep it easy and try to hit 3 minutes of German conversation again. The deadline is March 31st, 2016. But I have a pretty good feeling that I’ll easily beat this goal. |
| Becky: And listeners, let us know... what is your small, measurable monthly goal? |
| Peter: Also, if you’ve had problems with maintaining a routine, let us know WHY... |
| Becky: ...or better yet, if you were able to successfully stick with a routine... |
| Peter: ...we want to hear about it! |
| Becky: Email us and tell us at inner dot circle at innovativelanguage dot com. |
| Peter: And stay tuned for the next Inner Circle. |
Outro
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| Becky: Well, that’s going to do it for this special Inner Circle lesson! |
| Peter: Bye everyone! |
| Becky: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
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