Day 9: Put it all together

OK, Let's review.

• You need to study every day, even if it's just a little.
• You need to review what you've learned.
• You shouldn't learn vocabulary lists and grammar rules. Instead, you should memorize natural sentences.
• You need a wide variety of sentences, and they need to be natural.
• You can memorize sentences faster by listening to them, having an emotional connection to them, and repeating them piece by piece.
• You should listen carefully to the sounds of English sentences, not just the words.
•  

If you like these ideas and you want to learn English faster without spending a lot of extra time,

Day 8: How to listen

One of the big challenges when it comes to learning English is listening. Even if you've studied English for many years, you might find it hard to understand real, full-speed English conversation.

How do you get better at understanding natural English speech?

Listen to the sounds, not to the words!

The problem is that you were probably taught to pronounce and understand English words. But when we speak naturally, we don't speak in single words. We speak in sentences.

Words change when they're in sentences in several ways:

• English has stressed and unstressed words. Unstressed words become very quiet. A lot of the vowels change to an "uh" sound.
• Some letters change their sound depending on whether you're pronouncing them normally or carefully. For example, a lot of people say the "t" in "city" as a "d" sound.
• Words blend together. We may start pronouncing the next word before we're completely finished with the one before.

It's all very complicated. You can't keep track of all the rules. But there's a part of your brain that's very good at figuring this stuff out.

When you practice listening to English, don't try to match what you hear with your expectations. Don't let your brain correct the words that you hear. Just listen to the sounds like you're listening to music, or listening to a bird's song. Repeat what you hear, but repeat the sounds, not the words.

When I started to offer audio recordings of my lessons on PhraseMix, I had to make a decision. Should I hire voice actors who would read really slowly and clearly? Or should I have them read at normal speed and with normal, sloppy pronunciation? It really wasn't a hard decision. I chose to make the recordings as natural as possible, so that my students could hear what English really sounds like.

Tomorrow I'll finish up by reviewing the ideas that I've taught you. I'll also share a few more quick suggestions for how to learn more quickly.

Until then,
Aaron Knight
PhraseMix creator

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Day 7: Which sentences should you learn?

Now you know why it's important to learn English sentences, and you know how to study them.

The next question is, which sentences should you study?

If you want to learn English well, you've got to use the real stuff.  

By "real", I mean stuff that English speakers actually say to other English speakers.

Have you taken a look at an English textbook written for people trying to learn English? When I lived in Japan, I used to go to the language section of the bookstore and laugh at the English textbooks. They were mostly written in Japanese, the example sentences were strange and unnatural, and a lot of the advice in them was incorrect. 

Here are some things to think about when you're choosing sentences to learn:

• Mistakes are good. Learning the kinds of mistakes that English speakers make teaches you how we think.
• You need to learn English for a variety of different functions. Just learning sentences from a single source, like a newspaper, isn't enough. You need to learn examples from debates, discussions, negotiations, introductions, meetings, arguments, announcements, etc.
• You need to understand the sentence - not just the meaning of the words, but the intent of the speaker.
• Don't worry about the "level". Practice simple sentences as well as more complicated ones, no matter what your ability level. If a sentence seems too complicated for you, just break it down into short pieces.

These are some of the ideas that I keep in mind when I collect sentences to teach on PhraseMix. I work hard to make sure that I am teaching a variety of different natural sentences. I carry a notebook around with me all the time and write down sentences I hear at work, at parties, on the street, in restaurants. From my list, I pick the most useful sentences and think of a common situation in which you might use each sentence.

OK, tomorrow we'll review what you've learned here and I'll give you a few more tips.

Thanks,
Aaron Knight
The PhraseMix guy

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Our postal address: 118 W. 72nd St., New York, NY 10023

Day 6: 5 tips for remembering sentences

Hi! It's Aaron from PhraseMix again.

Have I convinced you that memorizing example sentences is a great way to learn English?

If so, you probably want to know how you can memorize better. Some sentences are long and complicated. How can you possibly remember them?

Here are some ideas:

1. Listen!
   Have you ever heard a song that was so catchy that you couldn't forget it? Sentences can be like that too. It's a lot easier to remember the sound of a sentence than to remember each individual word in order.
2. Close your eyes and imagine.
   You remember things better when you have feelings about them. Don't think of English sentences as information. Really imagine what you might think and feel as you say the words. 
3. Memorize backwards.
   Instead of reading the sentence through from the beginning, try picking a few words at the end, repeating them, and then adding more words, bit by bit. I describe this technique in detail in this article: http://www.phrasemix.com/blog/a-cool-trick-for-memorizing-sentences
4. Say it out loud.
   Remember, you're not just teaching your brain to speak English. You're teaching your mouth too. When you practice sentences, repeat them out loud. If you're in public and you can't speak out loud, then mouth the words silently.
5. Repeat, many times.
   You can't learn a sentence by repeating it 5 or 6 times. You will probably need to repeat it 20 or more times to get it. You'll also need to review it again in a day or two.

Now you know how to learn sentences. The next question is, which sentences should you learn? Tomorrow, I'll teach you how to pick the best sentences.

Or, if you want to get started now, you can join PhraseMix Premium and learn the English sentences that I've picked for you. I've done the hard work, so you can just sit back and learn!

Until tomorrow,
Aaron

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Day 5 : This is the best study method I know

Hello again! Aaron from PhraseMix here.

In the last two emails, I told you not to study vocabulary or grammar.

So you may be wondering, what should you study?

In my opinion, the best way to become more fluent in English is to...

Memorize sentences.

Take a natural English sentence that you understand pretty well. Let's try this sentence, which you say when you hear a song that's easy to remember:

"It's pretty catchy."

Repeat it again and again until you remember it. Wait a little while, then try to remember it again. Do the same thing for the next two days.

After you do all of that, you will have memorized that sentence. Now the fun part begins!

As you use English in different situations, you'll start to hear parts of that sentence. You'll hear the word "catchy". You'll hear "pretty (something)".

And if you ever find yourself listening to a simple, easy-to-remember song, you'll know exactly what to say!

Sentences teach you both vocabulary and grammar at the same time. You learn what the words mean, as well as how to use them. But to get the biggest benefit, you have to not just understand the sentences; you have to remember them!

If you want to try memorizing sentences, PhraseMix Premium makes it easy. I built an audio player which keeps track of which sentences you've listened to. It reminds you to review sentences that you've listened to recently, so you'll remember for a lot longer.

OK, I've explained why you should memorize sentences. But how? Tomorrow I'll give you some pointers.

Until tomorrow,

Aaron

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Our postal address: 118 W. 72nd St., New York, NY 10023

Day 4: Something else you shouldn't do when learning English

Yesterday I told you not to study vocabulary.

Today I'm going to share another controversial opinion about learning English.

You see, in my opinion...

You shouldn't study grammar, either!

Here are a few reasons why:

• The part of your brain that learns information and the part that controls your speech are completely different. Just because you learn some rules doesn't mean that your speaking will improve.
• There are too many grammar rules, and they're too complicated. Every rule has exceptions. A book describing English grammar fully would need to be thousands of pages long.
• Even if you learn all of the grammar rules, it takes too long to remember them. You sometimes have to figure out what to say in less than a second. That's too short a time to recall all of the rules from your grammar textbook.
• Most grammar rules only describe formal English. Formal English is important, but you need to learn casual spoken English too.

For all of these reasons, I recommend that you not spend a lot of time on studying grammar.

But if you shouldn't study vocabulary or grammar, what should you study? I'll answer that question in tomorrow's email. This is the big one. You don't want to miss it!

Aaron

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Day 3: Avoid this common mistake that English learners make

It's me, Aaron. I have some more thoughts about learning English for you.

Most learners make one big mistake when they study English. They make this mistake because of how language is taught in most schools.

I'm going to give you one piece of advice so that you can avoid making this common mistake:

Don't study vocabulary lists.

Huh? What's wrong with learning vocabulary?

Vocabulary isn't wrong. You need it. The problem is the traditional way of thinking about vocabulary.

Most people are taught to study lists of words by themselves: apple, surrender, enormous. But when you learn words by themselves, a few things happen:

• You learn what the words mean, but you don't learn how they're used. You don't learn what other words they fit together with.
• The words get saved in your brain one by one. So when it's time to make a sentence, you have to pull them out again one by one. That makes it slow.
• You don't get a real connection to the words. They're just boring words in a list, so it's easy to forget them.

Instead of teaching words, PhraseMix teaches phrases: eat an apple, surrender to (someone), an enormous mistake. This gives you better understanding of how words are used, not just what they mean.

So here's a new rule: Never learn a word by itself. Always learn two or more words together in a phrase.

Tomorrow, I'll share an even better way to learn that will make you more fluent than ever.

Thanks for reading!
Aaron Knight

P.S. If you'd like to get started with mastering English through phrases, you don't have to wait for the rest of this course to do it; check out PhraseMix Premium: phrasemix.com/getpremium.

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Day 2: How to keep what you've learned

Hi! This is Aaron from PhraseMix again.

Yesterday I shared my #1 English learning secret with you. Do you remember what it was?

If not, you should go back to yesterday's email and review it.

And that's my next tip:

You must review!

Our brains are lazy. They quickly forget anything that they don't need.

If you learn something once and don't review, you'll probably forget it in a day or two. By the end of the week, it's totally gone.

You're probably busy, so you have to use your time smartly. You can't practice something completely different every day. You have to spend some of your time reviewing what you learned before.

Do this, starting today:

1. Get a small notebook. Keep it with you all the time.
2. Every time you do something in English, write down a few notes about it.
3. Look at your notes once or twice a day, every day.

Is that too much work for you? Then maybe you should try PhraseMix Premium, my tool for learning real English. I built it to keep track of what you've learned, and automatically schedule lessons for you to review. All you have to do is hit the "play" button.

However you do it, make sure to review what you've learned before. And do it every day, without skipping any days.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about a big mistake that most English learners make.

But if you're interested in improving your English skill, you don't have to wait for the rest of this course to get started; check out PhraseMix Premium: phrasemix.com/getpremium.

Until tomorrow,

Aaron

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Our postal address: 118 W. 72nd St., New York, NY 10023

"How to Speak English Fluently" Online Course Survey

Give us your opinion! I would like to invite you to take our survey, and help us create better materials, and lessons for you. Please go here to fill out the survey! Thank you very much in advance! Anastasia Koltai Copyright © 2014 Meetu Ltd., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to our free "How to speak English" online course at MyEnglishTeacher.eu website. Our mailing address is: Meetu Ltd. Lehel u.61 Százhalombatta, Pest 2440 Hungary Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

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7 Wonderful Websites That Will Help You Improve Your Pronunciation

Lesson 9: 7 Wonderful Websites That Will Help You Improve Your Pronunciation Today is your last lesson: 7 Wonderful Websites That Will Help You Improve Your Pronunciation It is very hard to reduce your native accent and improve your British or American Pronunciation. You need to both listen to the words, and pronounce them. We have already guided you on how to sound like a native speaker. Today I'm going to show you 7 websites you can use every day to improve your pronunciation. 1. MyEnglishTeacher.eu To become perfect in pronunciation, it is very important to not only listen to the words, but also to practise pronouncing them by yourself. In our Skype lessons, you first listen to the native teacher, and then pronounce the words yourself. You are memorizing the meanings of the words, how to use them in different situations/sentences, and learning how to pronounce them correctly at the same time. This way you will never forget a word you have already memorized. It is the most effective practice you can ever get. 2. Rachel's English This is my favorite website, because Rachel makes it so easy to understand how you should pronounce American words. She uses videos to show you, and explain how to sound like a native. 3. Anglo-Link Very similar to Rachel's English website, Minoo Short creates useful video lessons for you to improve your British pronunciation. 4. English Pronunciation Lab These videos created by Heather Hansen are very, very interesting to watch. She not only helps you improve your pronunciation, but also gives some great tips to overcome your English-speaking fears. 5. Saundz Saundz is an app that enables you to practice American English pronunciation. The English pronunciation lessons start from the simple sounds, and show you how you can combine them into words. The app is available for iOS and Windows. 6. English Fun Cast Our friend, Ron's really FUN cast will always bring some sunshine into your life, simply because Ron speaks with a really fun accent! Sorry Ron, but it is your trademark.  :) 7. EslPod Everyone's favorite podcast. The deal here is simple: if you listen to it a lot, you will hear the same words repeatedly, and after a while you will memorize how to pronounce them. You can find as many topics as you can think of here. I would like to thank you for having subscribed to our course. I hope you enjoyed it.  As you already know, the best way to practise speaking English is to talk to a native speaker or teacher. This is where MyEnglishTeacher.eu can definitely help you. We offer a 3-month course to become fluent in English. You can purchase the lessons here. If you are not ready for such an intensive course now, I would like to offer you our free English learning resources, so you can still continue learning on your own. Subscribe for them here. Feel free to contact me any time. I'm always here to help you. Simply reply to this email or send a new one to info@myenglishteacher.eu!     Anastasia Koltai     Founder of MyEnglishTeacher.eu     The World's Friendliest Online English Language School     for Smart People   Copyright © 2014 Meetu Ltd., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to our free "How to speak English" online course at MyEnglishTeacher.eu website. Our mailing address is: Meetu Ltd. Lehel u.61 Százhalombatta, Pest 2440 Hungary Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences