This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2001.
The number one reason your English classes are not working.
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In today's episode, Lindsay shares how she ended up in a vicious cycle with her Arabic learning and how she can turn it into a virtuous cycle, and how you can turn this insight into power when it comes to learning English.
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Hey there, Michelle.
How you doing?
Hey guys, coming off of episode 2000, which was amazing.
Oh my gosh.
That was great.
So great hearing from our listeners.
Guys, if you haven't checked out 2000 yet, definitely listen to that.
I can't believe now we're on our second 2000.
We are starting that.
I know, Michelle.
It's insane.
We're going to be podcasting until we're old ladies.
I mean it's crazy, we just love it so much, so we just keep going, you know, i mean that's right.
Why stop?
Yeah, i love it so good.
Well michelle, i have a question to start off today's episode for you.
Are you ready?
All right, let's hear it.
So what do you think is the number one reason that students like our listeners, for example, don't improve their english?
They're having problems, they're not seeing improvement.
What is it?
What's that number one reason?
I would say that it's fear of failure and therefore not I would say not putting in the work as far as applying English to the daily life.
So I would say, if somebody I mean frequently I've spoken to students, oh that they Oh, how do you practice English outside of the classroom, outside of whatever?
And they say, oh, that they don't really.
And that they, maybe they live with um roommates of who are also learning english and they don't speak english with them.
And i understand to a certain extent.
Like you, you're tired, you don't want to speak english all the time and yeah, it is exhausting and you just want to relax at home um, but i would say, like putting in that 10 minutes, just 10 minutes.
You know, having certain goals like that outside of the classroom, putting you got to put in the work outside of class yeah, so that's really the number one thing is not?
I think i think you're right, i think it's.
It manifests differently for intermediate advanced students what they should be doing versus what beginner students should be doing.
Right, i think intermediate advanced, outside of the class, they should actually be using the language.
Maybe we're reading an english newspaper, we're starting a conversation, but beginner it's the same thing, it's just that maybe we're working on flash cards, Like I have my Quizlet app here for my Arabic.
The reason I'm bringing this up is Michelle, I am hitting a wall with my Arabic studies.
Oh yeah.
This episode I think is coming out after I come back.
So we'll see how I did.
But right now it's before and I've hit a wall and I realized there's one single reason why I've hit a wall.
It comes down to one thing.
I'm not putting in the time outside of class.
So we've had students come to us.
I remember one of our students, one of our loyal students, amazing students and listeners asked me in one of our live group classes about six months ago.
He said you know, I come to all these classes.
Why am I not getting better?
And I said, it's because I said, how much are you doing outside of the class?
Because the reality is guys, your live classes are not the time in which you're improving.
That's kind of like the test.
Let's use that word.
It's the checking.
It's the check of what you have learned outside of the class, Michelle.
You know?
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
That's kind of like setting you off.
Like, here we go.
Like, fly, fly, birdie, fly.
Right.
You know, you can't, you know, it's just like... lighting the match basically letting them match it's a chance for you to get a reward and we are we are we're animals in the end we need rewards dopamine hits and there is a reward when my arabic teacher asked me a question and i can answer that i know exactly what he asked me and i can answer it back in arabic that is so rewarding so today we're talking about the difference between a virtuous cycle and a vicious cycle right i mean what do you think this is cool Yeah.
What do you think is the difference when it comes to learning?
What could be what would a virtuous cycle look like in your mind, Michelle?
Well, gosh, I'm trying to think.
I mean, a vicious cycle, I'm thinking would be something that just like doesn't get any better.
You you like you get yourself into this.
Yeah.
Just like way of like you're not doing work.
You're not improving.
You get upset not doing work, you're not improving, so you get it.
So you don't do the work, you don't improve and you get it.
It's like yeah, and that's where that i have been experiencing a little bit of that, to be honest, because what's been happening is i'm booking a lot of lessons, so i get that dopamine hit.
When i book my lesson, i say okay, next wednesday, friday and sunday i'm gonna book 30 minute lessons.
I'm doing the work.
Actually, i'm not doing the work.
Just booking those lessons and showing up is not the work.
The work is my Quizlet app.
I'm using Quizlet as my key study tool.
And I haven't been doing that as much as I should because that's where I prepare for the show.
The show is the class, right?
The show is the class.
The show is where I get tested on what I've learned.
And so that means I come away from the class feeling a little bad, a little scared of the language, a little bit like ooh, maybe I can't do this.
And then I feel less motivated to study versus what would a virtuous cycle look like?
What if I actually spent more time prepping?
Right.
You spend more time you get.
I think I guess it's like you get the ball rolling and more positive things keep on happening and then you just keep improving.
Exactly.
Exactly.
That's it.
So Michelle, how much time I'm going a little bit of out of order in our notes here.
But how much time do you think that, what do we recommend?
You know, I've realized that there is a metric that I think we can recommend to our students.
How much actual time should we spend outside of class preparing for that class?
Like what would be a ratio, you know, class time to study time?
Okay, well, I'm looking in our notes.
Oh yeah, I would say two to three times the time to study outside of class right exactly yeah, I I really think.
You know, maybe before I would have thought oh, that sounds like a lot, but now that I'm, especially as a beginner, you really need to.
You know, I don't think too many of our listeners are beginners, but maybe some of you guys are intermediate, lower intermediate.
You need a lot of time And we need to also involve a lot of senses.
I'm not doing enough listening, but I also, if I do a 30 minute class.
After that class I should spend 60 to 90 minutes studying what I practiced in class or the new things that were introduced to me in class.
Cause, especially if I learn new things in that class.
If I don't spend that time, there's no way I can come back next time.
And I know my teacher's gonna ask me the question.
I can't do it.
I, well, there's no way I can do it.
I mean, I have no context for this language okay, so well.
Well, here's the question do you think that 60 to 90 minutes should be all at once or split up, or does it matter?
That's a great question.
I think it would be smart to split it up.
I think it depends on you how you study.
I know that i learn best by moving and taking in information, so i need podcasts.
I haven't found a great podcast yet, but how would you do it, michelle?
Mean, i would split it up as well.
Um, it depends on how much time you have, but i i mean we've talked a lot about uh on this show, about not overwhelming yourself, so like if you see oh, i should do 60 to 90 minutes outside of class after it's like that can sound a little bit overwhelming, but if you think about it as 10, 20 minutes a day, that's more manageable and you can break it down and kind of reinforce things in a better way and let your brain and let your brain adapt to what you're learning, rather than just doing it all at once and kind of flooding all your senses and getting overwhelmed.
Oh, yeah.
100% agree, Michelle.
It's really about how do we take our study tool and integrate it into our.
When we're waiting in the doctor's office, I can easily pull out my app and look at my flashcards.
I can play a matching game, right?
I can take a little test in my app when I am...
Walking my dog and the dogs playing with other dogs.
I could play with my play with the app and Quizlet.
Like what can it's?
It's a how do we let it bleed into our lives to remember, to pick that up and actually do that?
Right, right, right, exactly.
It can be anything.
Like you said, it can be Quizlet.
It can be you listen to a radio show for 10 minutes.
It can be you talk with a friend, but yeah, you have to put in that time in the way that's gonna be most effective for you.
Yeah, there's no substitute for the time.
And that was my answer to our student who said, why am I not getting better?
Yeah, you're coming to the classes, but these are 30 minute classes where you're learning new things.
This is not studying English.
This is kind of the performance moment where we see how much studying you've done.
That's the reality, right?
That is the balance between class and study, guys.
And you know that feeling Michelle, where I think a lot of our listeners struggle with this, where when they're learning a new language and if your teacher asks you a question in class, the first thing that comes to mind if you don't feel confident is that filter goes up and you say, oh my gosh, I don't know the answer.
You know what i mean.
It blocks your mind.
Yeah right so, right.
So part of what i've noticed, and why i think this is so important for our listeners to keep in mind of a study time, is that reduces that filter, that brings that down, so it actually makes you lead with.
I do know it, i think i know this, and now i have clarity of mind to find the word Right right, right.
And then when you go to the next class, uh, you won't, you won't be so nervous.
You will say, okay, no, I know this.
I've, I've worked for this.
Um, and I can do this.
Yeah.
I mean, I think it is so important to be in the right head space when you are, when it's time to perform with the language, and the thing that's going to get you there guys, is that practice.
So there's no substitute that you can hire.
You can hire a tutor for every day of the week.
But if you're not spending time outside of that class, it's not going to work, especially at the lower level.
Yeah.
And then you might and then you might like almost like blame.
You might start to place blame where it shouldn't be placed.
Like you might start to place blame on the teacher.
Like, oh, teacher isn't good.
And it's like, No, the teacher is giving you what you need to succeed.
It matters what you do with it.
I mean, two different students can get two completely different things out of the same class.
Oh, my gosh.
And we see this a lot with our IELTS course, of course, right?
Yeah.
Some students are in our basic plan for Three Keys IELTS.
In 30 days, they have gotten their seven and they are ready to immigrate.
They're moving on.
And then others don't necessarily put in the time on their own, which is totally required, that independence and they, they maybe don't quite get there right.
So it's yeah, it's.
There's so much of ourselves that's involved like self-driven learning as adults, because we're not sitting in a classroom as kids, so 90 of your work is outside of class.
That, i think, is the key takeaway for today.
Michelle, i think so too.
Yeah absolutely, just really.
You gotta put.
You gotta put in the work, you gotta put in the work, Yeah.
So guys, this is what I've learned through the last six or eight weeks of Arabic classes.
And, you know, my trip to Egypt will be the true test of how well it worked.
But I know how to get myself out of the vicious cycle.
Right.
So now you guys know what to do.
You know how to get yourself out of it.
You know how to get away from the affect effective filter coming up and saying, I don't know.
I don't know the panic.
You know how to get out of it.
So go and do it.
Right?
Yes.
I love it.
I love it, guys.
Yes, you you will be able to do it.
You got to get yourself in that healthy mindset.
Yeah, you got to put in the work.
And I think that you'll start to very quickly notice a difference in your motivation and your progress.
I think it's I think it's almost immediate, honestly.
Yeah, 100%, Michelle.
So good, so good.
So guys, we mentioned IELTS in this episode.
Michelle, where can our listeners go to get a taste of IELTS?
What podcast could they listen to?
Listen to the IELTS Energy Podcast with Jessica and Aubrey.
It is an amazing podcast.
You will learn, you will laugh, you will have fun, and you will feel prepared for the IELTS exam.
Yeah, I mean, it's amazing what we can learn when our brains relax.
It's kind of what we were just saying with that panic that we're trying to reduce by spending time studying outside of class.
When we relax, like when we consume IELTS Energy, Allers English, our brains come down and it's almost like I'm having fun here, right?
I'm having fun.
I'm laughing.
And we just learn and we don't know we're learning.
It's incredible.
So that's why we do it.
That's why we do it the way we do it.
You got it, Michelle.
Thanks for hanging out with me today and talking about this.
Such a key topic.
Thank you.
This is awesome, Lindsay.
And good luck with Arabic on your trip.
Oh, thank you.
It's test time, right?
We'll see what happens.
You can do it.
You got this.
All right.
Take care.
Talk soon.
All right.
Bye.
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