Indicadores de los programas

to reflect American culture, as youll see in the practice example at the end of this chapter.

Why do I do this? Well, research has shown that you will learn a language more quickly if you can begin to identify with the culture. For example, according to Dr. Stephen Krashen and contrary to popular belief, even people who learn English as an adult can develop a perfect accent. What holds them back is not some inability to make new sounds, but rather their connection to their home country and its culture. When a child comes to the U.S. and learns English, they really want to fit in, so they will do everything they can to be like other Americans. Adults, on the other hand, have more established identities and tend to stay more rooted to their native culture.

But there are ways to get around this. The best thing you can do if you’re trying to learn English is find some part of American culture that you really love (or British or Australian culture, if you ’re studying English there), and can immerse yourself in. It can be anything – music, movies, food, martial arts, whatever – as long as you find it interesting. It’s especially useful if you can find something that is unique to the culture, like American football, for example. Most important, you must connect to and share your interest with native English speakers who love the same thing.

Try it and see. This will not only help you speak more fluently, but it will also help your pronunciation as well.

Movement and Mini-Stories

I mentioned the importance of movement in earlier chapters. Dr. James Asher ’s total physical response (TPR) system emphasizes the link between movement and learning. Blaine Ray’s TPRS method (Total Physical Response using Storytelling) links movement to stories. Effortless English™ uses both systems.

When I do a live event, one of the first things I tell my students is that they need to make listening to a mini-story a whole body activity. Much of the power of (listen-and- answer) mini-stories comes from how powerful your responses are.

In any (listen-and-answer) mini story, you will hear only three types of sentences. You must respond to each type of sentence in a particular way. The first type of sentence is a statement. A statement is not a question, but you should still respond by saying “ahhhhhhhhh.” Remember, stronger movements and emotions are more powerful, so don’t just say “ahhhh,” shout it and move your body at the same time. Pretend the statement is the most interesting information you have ever heard! Nod your head and smile as you respond.

The second type of sentence is a question you know the answer to. When you hear this kind of sentence, you want to shout an answer as loud as you can, using a full body gesture that shows you’re really excited about it. Exaggerate. Throw your arms up as you shout, “Yes!”

The third and final type of sentence you will hear in a mini story is a question where you don’t know the answer. As I mentioned previously, in this case your job is to shout a guess as quickly as possible. As with the other sentence types, shout your guess loudly and use exaggerated gestures as you do so.

The combination of speed, shouting, and movement locks in the memory of the sentence. Instead of just sound, you’re getting sound and movement and emotions. You’ll need fewer repetitions to remember it. You ’ll also start to connect speaking English to that excited enthusiastic feeling because, at the same time, you are creating a positive anchor.

There’s no stress with mini-stories because anyone can say yes or no. That’s why the questions are designed to be super easy. It is not a memory exercise, it’s a response exercise. You bypass the whole analysis part and go straight into fast responses.

Another exercise we do at live events is story retelling. Once students have listened to a story and they know it well, they retell it to a friend. They stand up and use their whole body with big, strong gestures and tell the story in a loud, enthusiastic voice. The idea is to tell the story as quickly as possible, focusing on speed, not accuracy.

You will do this as well. After you have mastered the questions and answers, turn off the audio mini story. In a peak emotional state, retell the story out loud as fast as you can. Shout the story and use big gestures as you speak. Make it a game and aim for speed. It’s okay to make a mistake and it’s even okay to change the details of the story. Just practice speaking as fast as you possibly can.

The point is that the best learning happens when you are in a peak state, involved and active. My live lessons are like “English rock concerts” and everyone has tremendous

energy. To recreate this at home, put on your favorite music. Close the door so no one can see you. Now jump around just before you do the mini-story. Feeling energized, begin listening to the mini-story. As you’re doing the mini-story, get excited. Get crazy. Really shout out the answers. Finish with a fast retelling of the story. Remember, the more powerful your responses are and the more energy you use, the deeper your learning will go.

Practice Exercise

Here is a more advanced mini-story, without the questions. Note: the bolded words are the vocabulary I would teach my students in advance at a seminar. I’ve included part of the transcript to give you an idea.

For a full audio version of this lesson, including the questions, go to:

http://effortlessenglishclub.com/point-of-view-grammar

Listen and Answer Mini Story: The Race

It’s five o’clock and Allen is riding his motorcycle in San Francisco. He is riding down Van Ness Street and comes to a stop light.

A red Ferrari pulls up next to him. The driver’s wearing dark sun glasses. He looks over at Allen.

Allen looks at him and realizes that the driver is Tom!

Tom sneers at Allen. He says, “When the light turns green, let’s race.” Allen says, “All right, you’re on!”

Tom says, “I’m gonna smoke you!”

Allen says, “You wish. I’m gonna beat you and your sorry-ass car.” Allen and Tom wait at the light. They rev their engines.

Suddenly, the light turns green. Allen and Tom take off! They zoom down Van Ness at top speed.

Tom is winning.

But suddenly, blue and red lights appear behind Tom – it’s the police. They pull him over.

Allen zooms past Tom, laughing. He yells, “Better luck next time!” Allen is the winner!

Download the audio version of this story, including the questions. Listen and respond to the story every day for seven days or more (and remember, more is better because of deep learning). Each time you finish listening and responding, turn off the audio and retell the story as fast as possible. Notice as your speaking gets faster each day.

CHAPTER 16