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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 Innovative Language... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Becky: Welcome to the New Year. In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about new language goals... |
| Peter: ..and how your “Why”... |
| Becky: ...or the reason “why" you’re learning a language”... |
| Peter: ...Can boost your motivation, and guarantee the success of your language goal. |
| Becky: And we'll talk about how you can boost your motivation, no matter what your “why" is! |
| Body |
| Becky: Listeners, welcome to the Inner Circle. |
| Peter: This is exclusively for those of you who took our 2015 Challenge. |
| Becky: And this is the monthly, no-holds barred newsletter giving you tried and tested learning methods... |
| Peter: ...to help you reach your language goals this year. |
| Becky: Now, I don’t know how many of you were around, but last year, Peter took on the challenge of learning Italian... |
| Peter: That’s right. Listeners, you can access last year’s Inner Circle. There’s a link inside your Inner Circle e-mail newsletter to the 2014 Inner Circle lessons. |
| Becky: Be sure to check it out! |
| Peter: And Becky, Actually, I was not just learning Italian. Remember? We’re doing “small, measurable monthly goals with a deadline” that lead into a yearly goal. |
| Becky: Oh yeah, ones that should also be measurable and have a deadline. |
| Peter: So my yearly goal was to be able to speak a total of 30 minutes of Italian by December 31st, 2014. |
| Becky: 30 minutes was small and realistic for the year. It was also measurable. |
| Peter: Right, and it had a strict deadline. So I knew whether I was hitting my goal or not. |
| Becky: And you broke it up into smaller monthly goals. Your January 2014 goal was 3 minutes first... |
| Peter: Right, then I aimed at 5 minutes in February and kept aiming higher ‘til I reached 30 minutes. |
| Becky: So listeners, be sure to set up your small, measurable goals with deadlines. One for the year, and monthly ones that build up into it. |
| Peter: You can learn all about this in last year’s Inner Circle January lesson. But now, since it’s a brand new year... |
| Becky: ...I'm guessing you have a brand new Italian goal for 2015, right Peter? |
| Peter: Well, I do have a goal. But it's not speaking more Italian, Becky. I’m taking on a brand new language...Spanish. |
| Becky: Oh wow! So far you've got Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. Spanish will make it your fourth language. |
| Peter: Actually, you forgot about English. |
| Becky: Oh yeah, your English is pretty good, Peter. We’ll take that. |
| Peter: Okay, so, this is going to be an interesting one. |
| Becky: Why Spanish, Peter? Do you have some secret obsession with Spanish soap operas? |
| Peter: (laughs) What are they called? Telenovas? |
| Becky: Telenovelas. |
| Peter: Becky, I wish. This one is going to be a real challenge. Unlike with my previous language learning experience, this one isn’t emotionally driven. Nor is it really practically driven as I’m not using Spanish everyday. So my motivation for this is a little bit low. But this is what this Inner Circle’s all about, right? |
| Becky: Right. Listeners, this is the topic of this Inner Circle... |
| Peter: ....”How your why... |
| Becky: ...or your reason why you’re learning the language... |
| Peter: ...Can boost your motivation, and guarantee your language learning success |
| Becky: And in this Inner Circle, we’re going to cover 3 points: |
| Peter: number 1 - How your reason for learning is crucial to your motivation |
| Becky: number 2 - How you can increase or deepen your motivation to guarantee success |
| Peter: and number 3 - How you can apply these tactics for your own language goal, or any goal in life. |
| Becky: So, let’s get into the first point. |
| Peter: Which is how your reason for learning is crucial to your motivation. |
| Becky: Listeners, what's your why? Why did you choose the language you’re learning now? |
| Peter: The reason we ask is because your reason is directly related to your motivation. |
| Becky: And the greater your motivation, the better your results, and the more likely you’ll succeed. |
| Peter: So the reason plays a big part in mastering a language. |
| Becky: Many people learn a language because of a loved one... |
| Peter: Or because they're interested in the culture or want to visit... |
| Becky: Or they have a boyfriend or girlfriend from that country. That’s a pretty strong reason. |
| Peter: And reason matters. In my case, Japanese was the first language I learned. And I learned it because I was moving to Japan. That’s pretty strong motivation. |
| Becky: Yeah, definitely. |
| Peter: And because I couldn’t understand anything, I was extremely motivated to learn. |
| Becky: So you actually needed it to live! That’s like a 10 out of 10 on the motivational scale. |
| Peter: That is the highest, probably.. I like the sound of that, motivational scale! |
| Becky: How about Chinese and Italian? |
| Peter: Well, with Chinese, my wife is Chinese. So that means half of my family is Chinese. |
| Becky: And you needed to communicate with them, right? |
| Peter: Exactly. So that’s another strong reason. I would say about an 8 out of 10 to learn the language. |
| Becky: And Italian? You didn’t really “need” Italian. |
| Peter: True, but that one I did it out of spite. |
| Becky: That's always a good reason! Where does spite fall on the motivational scale? |
| Peter: Spite is pretty high. Probably about a 6 or 7. |
| Becky: 6 or 7, okay. So you were kind of getting back at your old language teacher? |
| Peter: Exactly. That is exactly what I was doing! See, I didn’t do very well in talian back in middle school so I wanted to prove that I could learn it. And also, I gave myself a reason to learn Italian because I booked a trip to Italy in 2014. |
| Becky: And Spanish? |
| Peter: Well, this is where it gets tricky, Becky. I have no one in the family that speaks Spanish. |
| Becky: And you’re not planning to move to Mexico. |
| Peter: I’m not. So before this, I had no strong reason or motivation to learn. |
| Becky: How about... that it’s the second most spoken language in the United States and there are over 500 million speakers world-wide! Isn’t that convincing? |
| Peter: Actually, that is very convincing. And you swung me Becky. And is that actually the main reason why I chose Spanish because I had to pick a language to study this year. That is the main reason I chose it. But you can see how compared to living in a country, and having family members who speak that language, you could see where this may fall on the motivational scale comparatively. |
| Becky: Is it below spite? |
| Peter: Way below spite! |
| Becky: Oh, okay. I can see that though. Your motivation to learn this has to be quite low. |
| Peter: Exactly, and now, can you see how important your reason for learning a language can be to your motivation. |
| Becky: I definitely can. |
| Peter: And this is where we get into the second point. |
| Becky: How you can increase your motivation to guarantee success. |
| Peter: So because I realized how important a language, Spanish, is, I actually have a Spanish tutor for the kids. So the kids are learning Spanish too. |
| Becky: Well, that’s not quite a strong reason. |
| Peter: Very true, but this point 2. We’re going to slowly increase my investment, increase my relationship with the language and this will increase my motivation. |
| Becky: Even if you don’t have a highly motivational reason to learn? Like living in that country? |
| Peter: That’s right. And what we’re going to do in this lesson is we’re going to take a lower score on the motivational scale and increase it up to a higher motivational scale, which will give you a better chance of reaching your language learning goal. |
| Becky: How can we do that Peter? |
| Peter: How? The answer is simple. There are ways to increase and deepen your motivation. |
| Becky: You create connections or investments with that language. |
| Peter: So, in the case of Spanish, I created 5 connections. One long-term and four short-term ones. |
| Becky: Can you give us some examples? |
| Peter: Sure. Here's what I did. The first connection is that I set a long-term goal to visit Cuba now that it’s opening to American citizens. |
| Becky: Okay. You’ll definitely need some conversational Spanish for that! |
| Peter: That’s right. So now I have a long term goal of when I can use my Spanish and why it’d be useful. Now in the short term, there are 4 things I’m doing. One Increase Personal Connections.: there’s a Spanish coworker in the office. We’re friendly, but we haven’t spent much time together. So, I invited her to lunch to get to know her better and asked if she want to would do a language exchange, where she teaches me some Spanish and I teach her some English. |
| Becky: So now you have a native-speaking friend! |
| Peter: Exactly. Personal connections are one of the most important reasons people are interested in the language and the culture. Number Two: There’s a tex-mex restaurant in my neighborhood. I just got to know the owner, who speaks Spanish. The staff does too, so I made a decision to go there once a week. And I’m getting to know them, and getting exposure to the language and building relationships. |
| Becky: That's a really good idea. And you got some nice food as well. |
| Peter: Exactly, Becky. Tex-mex is so good so this was a no brainer and this works out really nicely as I’m getting to know some dishes that didn’t know existed. |
| Becky: What’s number thre? |
| Peter: Number Three: Since I love soccer, I chose a Mexican Team to follow, Club Tijuana. Every week, I check their scores and stats now, and I’m get to know the players. |
| Becky: Why did you choose them? |
| Peter: Because they a lot of American players on their club. |
| Becky: Really? Okay! |
| Peter: So i knew some of the players so it made it very easy to pick this team. |
| Becky: Got it. And four? |
| Peter: I started watching a TV show about... Okay Becky, let me preface this a little. I’m very into crime shows. CSI and things like this. So when I was looking, I just happened to pick one about a drug cartel, called... |
| Becky: “El Señor De Los Cielos.” |
| Peter: Someone’s been studying Spanish, Becky! |
| Becky: 5 years. High school and college, Peter. I love Spanish. I approve of this plan, this year. But this actually, this title sounds like a telenovela. I think you do have a secret obsession for telenovelas. |
| Peter: I think you may be right. |
| Becky: This means “The Man of the Skies” or “the Heavens.” |
| Peter: Yeah, it’s about the, I believe, about the kingpin of the drug cartel. |
| Becky: That makes sense. The title makes sense. So you’re increasing connections with the language by making friends, developing interests... |
| Peter: Exactly Becky. So, Spanish is getting woven into my daily routine. |
| Becky: It’s like a spider web, almost. You’re creating all of these connections. Making friends, developing interests. |
| Peter: Exactly, and thats on the personal interests front. On the study side, I’ve started SpanishPod101 lessons and I’ve started looking but I have not found a tutor yet. |
| Becky: You know, I didn’t think you could deepen your motivation. I thought either you had or you didn't! |
| Peter: Exactly Becky, but it can be developed. If I had to estimate, I would say I probably went from a 2 on the motivational scale to probably about a 5 or 6 right now. |
| Becky: It’s good to know that this something that’s not set in stone. That it can be turned up, turned down... |
| Peter: And that’s what you have to be careful about. For this particular language, my motivation wasn’t high initially, so I spent the first the first several weeks of January not on memorizing vocabulary. Not on memorizing grammar. But, on building connections, like that spider web you mentioned and weaving Spanish into my daily routine. |
| Becky: Interesting. |
| Peter: It’s probably the most important point of this lesson. |
| Becky: People with strong connections have high motivation. And people that don’t |
| Peter: ...won’t have the motivation to actually reach their goals. |
| Becky: Exactly. I mean, I’m living in Japan... but Japanese isn’t too high on my list. |
| Peter: Is that true Becky? |
| Becky: Uh, unfortunately, at the moment, yes. |
| Peter: C’mon Becky! |
| Becky: Don’t worry, I’ll make connections, and I know people that have connections! |
| Peter: Again the takeaway there, listeners, this is it: create connections in the lanugage to boost your motivation. |
| Becky: And how can you do that? |
| Peter: Perfect transition Becky. Let’s get to the third point: How you can apply these tactics for your own language goal. |
| Becky: Alright, so the takeaway was to create connections, relationships and investments in the language. |
| Peter: And listeners you already made a very important one. |
| Becky: You signed up to our language learning program, you invested... |
| Peter: Not just your time. But your hard earned money. And believe it or not, that’s one of the most important commitments and relationships you can make. You have a financial investment. Throughout the year, these Inner Circle lessons will give you the tips and tools you need to stay motivated and reach your goal. |
| Becky: And Peter, will you be learning alongside the listeners? |
| Peter: That is right. I’ve already made the connections we’ve spoke about. I started my SpanishPod101 lessons and I’m currently looking for a Spanish Skype tutor. Once I get that, that’ll be one more connection. |
| Becky: Okay. Is there anything else that our listeners can do? |
| Peter: Listeners, create more connections. Start watching TV shows or movies in your target language... |
| Becky: Look for music in that language that you enjoy. YouTube is a great resource. |
| Peter: Our next level is Premium PLUS. You get access to your own language teacher who gives you assignments, corrects your language, and checks your work. If you’re interested in trying this, send us an email. |
| Becky: Will you be using that, Peter? |
| Peter: I used it last year and I’ll be using it this year. |
| Becky: So listeners, the more connections you make to the language... |
| Peter: ...the stronger your motivation will be to actually master it. |
| Becky: Alright, Peter. What’s your monthly goal for February? |
| Peter: For February, my goal is to find a Spanish skype tutor, write a 1-page self-introduction, and reach 3 minutes of Spanish conversation. I’ll be using SpanishPod101 lessons Absolute Beginner, and especially the Top 25 Question Series and Premium PLUS MyTutor. |
| Becky: And listeners, here’s what we want you to do. |
| Peter: What is your reason for learning your language? And how motivated are you right now? |
| Becky: Write down at least 3 reasons why you’re learning your chosen language. |
| Peter: And write down your approximate level of motivation. 10 being the highest, like, you need it for daily life. |
| Becky: 5 being fairly neutral. And 1 being the lowest. |
| Peter: Inside this Inner Circle, we’ve included a PDF worksheet. |
| Becky: On the last page, write down your reasons for learning your language. |
| Peter: Write down at least 3. But remember, the more you have, and the more connections you make.. |
| Becky: ...the more you’ll be motivated to master your language. |
| Peter: Remember, when I chose Spanish, I started with a motivational score of about 2. But through building my connections in January, I reached about a 5 or a 6. Write down your score and write down how you can improve it. Also be sure to set a small language related monthly goal for the deadline for February. |
| Becky: If you want to know how to set successful goals, check out our 2014 Inner Circle Lessons. |
| Peter: You’ll find the link to the 2014 Inner Circle inside the e-mail for this lesson. |
| Becky: And we’ll see you next time! |
| Peter: And last thing, a little bit of bonus before we go. Becky, last year, I learned Italian. |
| Becky: Yes you did Peter. |
| Peter: This year, I’m going to learn Spanish. So, I demand that this year you learn... |
| Becky: ...Japanese! Better than I do now. |
| Peter: How motivated would you say you are, on the motivational scale? |
| Becky: Well, I should say 10, but I’m probably at a 6. However, just yesterday, I had a friend ask me again, “ how is your Japanese lately,” and I felt bad that I couldn't say it’s really improving. So, That may have increased my motivational thrust. |
| Peter: So, your goal last year was to run a marathon this year, right? |
| Becky: Yeah, my marathon goal is in May. I’m going to run my first marathon. |
| Peter: So, now that that goal is already in the bag, it’s time to learn Japanese. |
| Becky: But learning Japanese is so much harder than running a marathon, I think. No, no, I think you’re right Peter. I can do this. |
| Peter: So this year, Becky is going to learn Japanese. |
| Becky: Yes. |
| Peter: And I’m going to learn Spanish. |
| Becky: Alright. You can’t see this listeners, but we’re going to shake hands on it. |
| Peter: So tell us your goal, write it down in the PDF, complete it and send it back. We’ll be waiting. |
| Becky: Bye everyone. |
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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