A.J. Hoge's Blog, page 52
May 3, 2016
Attitude Of Gratitude | The Effortless English Show
Sometimes when we learn a new skill we get frustrated and stressed when we are not better than other people who have been practicing that skill for a very long time. I know you experience that type of frustration when learning how to speak English. You want to speak English fluently without any mistakes. You want your English grammar to be better. Maybe you feel frustrated because you notice all your mistakes. I have had those type of experiences many times. Not with English speaking but with learning other skills. In this post, I share a fun story about my experience learning how to kite surf. Kite surfing is a type of surfing on the ocean with a big parachute tied to the board. It takes a lot of skill to be the type of kite surfer who does big flips in the air and can ride big waves. I’m not one of those kite surfers but once I took the time to appreciate my kite surfing skills and appreciate how much fun I was having, I stopped feeling frustrated! When we practice an attitude of gratitude we can appreciate how much progress we have made when learning a new skill be it kite boarding, surfing or even learning how to speak English fluently!
Click here to download a free PDF of the text transcript.
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Effortless English Show – Season 2, Episode 1: Attitude Of Gratitude
Sometimes when we learn a new skill we get frustrated and stressed when we are not better than other people who have been practicing that skill for a very long time. I know you experience that type of frustration when learning how to speak English. You want to speak English fluently without any mistakes. You want your English grammar to be better. Maybe you feel frustrated because you notice all your mistakes. I have had those type of experiences many times. Not with English speaking but with learning other skills. In this post, I share a fun story about my experience learning how to kite surf. Kite surfing is a type of surfing on the ocean with a big parachute tied to the board. It takes a lot of skill to be the type of kite surfer who does big flips in the air and can ride big waves. I’m not one of those kite surfers but once I took the time to appreciate my kite surfing skills and appreciate how much fun I was having, I stopped feeling frustrated! When we practice an attitude of gratitude we can appreciate how much progress we have made when learning a new skill be it kite boarding, surfing or even learning how to speak English fluently!
Click here to download a free PDF of the text transcript.
The post Effortless English Show – Season 2, Episode 1: Attitude Of Gratitude appeared first on Learn to Speak English Powerfully With Effortless English.
April 25, 2016
Effortless English Show – Season 2, Episode 1: Attitude Of Gratitude
Sometimes when we learn a new skill we get frustrated and stressed when we are not better than other people who have been practicing that skill for a very long time. I know you experience that type of frustration when learning how to speak English. You want to speak English fluently without any mistakes. You want your grammar to be better. Maybe you feel frustrated because you notice all your mistakes. I have had those type of experiences many times. Not with English speaking but with learning other skills. In this post, I share a fun story about my experience learning how to kite surf. Kite surfing is a type of surfing on the ocean with a big parachute tied to the board. It takes a lot of skill to be the type of kite surfer who does big flips in the air and can ride big waves. I’m not one of those kite surfers but once I took the time to appreciate my kite surfing skills and appreciate how much fun I was having, I stopped feeling frustrated! When we practice an attitude of gratitude we can appreciate how much progress we have made when learning a new skill be it kite boarding, surfing or even English speaking!
Click here to download a free PDF of the text transcript.
The post Effortless English Show – Season 2, Episode 1: Attitude Of Gratitude appeared first on Learn to Speak English Powerfully With Effortless English.
March 9, 2016
English Pronunciation and Public Speaking
English pronunciation is more important than grammar, especially when giving a speech or presentations in English. As a non-native speaker, no one expects your grammar to be perfect. People will “cut you slack” (be tolerant) if you make grammar mistakes.
The audience is interested in your ideas and your emotional energy. They don’t care about your grammar as long as they can understand your meaning. Far too many non-native English speakers worry excessively about their grammar when giving a speech. Some speakers actually write their entire speech, word for word, and then have it checked for grammar. Once the grammar is checked, they then memorize the entire speech.
This is a terrible method. Memorized speeches lack energy. Imagine a politician giving a speech– reading from a teleprompter. Most sound dull despite being highly trained. They lack energy and spontaneity.
Worse, when you try to memorize a speech word for word, you are likely to fail. When you give the speech, you will probably be nervous. You’ll feel stressed. You’ll worry that you’ll forget part of the speech. And you probably will! And if you do forget something, you’ll become even more stressed…. causing you to make even more mistakes.
The best speakers speak naturally. They plan their presentations but do not memorize them word for word. They speak in a conversational manner.
So don’t worry about your grammar when giving a speech.
What you must focus on is your English pronunciation. The audience will forgive your grammar mistakes– but they cannot tolerate terrible pronunciation. Why not? Because they simply will not understand you if your pronunciation is bad. If they don’t understand you, they will quickly become bored and annoyed.
While you don’t need a perfect American accent, you do need to have clear and understandable English pronunciation.
As you plan your speech, identify any words that are particularly difficult to pronounce. Find audios for the correct pronunciation of each word. Then listen to the audios daily and try to imitate the correct pronunciation.
Another good technique is to listen to speeches by native speakers. Ideally, choose speeches related to your speech topic. Listen to the speeches every day.
Effortless English Pronunciation Tracking Technique
Then practice the “tracking” technique:
Play one sentence of the speech audio. Pause. Imitate the speaker exactly. Then repeat for each sentence.
The next day, “track” the speaker. Listen to the speaker AND imitate the speaker (speaking aloud with a loud voice) AT THE SAME TIME. This will feel difficult. Do the best you can. Do this several times a day with the same audio. It will get easier each time you do it.
After you have mastered steps #1 and #2 above, practice your speech out loud. Record yourself. Then listen to the recording and notice any problems with pronunciation. Work more on those problem words and phrases.
When the time comes to give your speech, forget about grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Just focus on your ideas and emotional energy and do the best you can!
Keep practicing. Join a group such as international Toastmasters— where you can practice giving presentations and speeches in English.
With practice and clear pronunciation, you will become a successful public speaker.
Enjoy!
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March 6, 2016
Culture and English Speaking Webinar
Join this webinar. Learn why you must understand culture to speak English fluently and correctly. In this webinar, AJ teaches you how to learn English and how to learn American culture at the same time. This is a powerful method that is also more enjoyable.
In this webinar you learn the powerful Effortless English movie technique. You also learn other highly successful ways to improve your fluency while having fun! Enjoy!
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January 9, 2016
How To Speak English Fluently
How to speak English fluently? AJ Hoge is the “World’s #1 English Teacher”. He answers student questions about learning English faster, improving pronunciation, becoming a fluent speaker, improving writing, and more. AJ also discusses the upcoming new Effortless English Pronunciation Course (for American pronunciation). He talks about his upcoming new book about making great Presentations and Speeches in English too.
Finally, AJ discusses the Effortless English VIP program— his top English learning program.
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October 24, 2015
Learn English Over 50
Learn English Over 50!
Technical Problems: Audio Coming Soon!
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August 26, 2015
Learn English With Movies Using This Movie Technique
Speak English like a native by learning with movies. Movies can teach you to speak real English naturally. However, to learn with movies you must use the correct technique. Many teachers and students try to learn by simply watching movies and TV shows. Just watching movies is ineffective because you won’t understand most of what you hear and you will not learn deeply.
The Effortless English movie technique, as described in AJ’s book, is a powerful method for completely mastering the vocabulary, phrases, grammar, and pronunciation you hear in movies. Using this method, you study and practice each scene of a movie– learning it deeply before moving on to the next scene. The goal of the movie technique is to learn deeply, so you never forget what you have learned.
In this show, AJ explains the movie technique step by step. Use this technique with all of your favorite movies and TV shows.
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August 20, 2015
English Classes, Communities, Groups, and Partners
Choosing an English class is a very important decision. A great class will help you achieve success. A bad class can destroy your motivation, kill your speaking confidence, and damage your English learning for years.
In this Show, AJ teaches you “contagion” effect and how ideas, beliefs, emotions and attitudes can all be contagious. He tells you why this is so important for your English learning and how to use the contagion effect to achieve faster results with your English speaking.
As always, AJ also answers your Twitter questions about learning, including a discussion about the best method for remembering vocabulary forever, including phrasal verbs.
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August 13, 2015
Your Learning Purpose and The Way
AJ Hoge shares videos of his Camino de Santiago journey. Returning from a break, AJ discusses his trip. He also shares lessons that will help you with your English learning.
Learning English is also a long journey. You will have challenges. You will have difficult days. You will also have wonderful days in which you love English.
The important point is to have a meaningful purpose and to keep moving forward. A deep purpose gives you the power to constantly improve.
You also need a positive community to share your English journey. This is why we have created the international Effortless English family. Our members share their challenges and victories together as they learn to speak English fluently.
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