27073679 How to Learn English Like a Native Speaker

How To Learn English Like A Native Speaker by A.J. Hoge, MA TESOL

How To Use This Book To Improve Your English and a dictionary dictionary,, for difficult difficult 1. Read the articles. Use the word list, and words. difficult words in a 2. Read each article many times. Review difficult relaxed way. way. Don’t try hard to memorize or study study.. Listen to the the audio audio while while reading. reading. Do this this many many times for each each 3. Listen article. Listen to each articl article e many many times times,, without without readin reading. g. Overl Overlearn! earn! 4. Listen Listen until the article feels easy. book to friends friends who are learning learning English. English. Share Share the 5. Send this book information :)

www.effortlessenglish.com

Effortless English “So You Want To Improve Your English" How To Learn English Like a Native Speaker program: n. system, course, by A.J. Hoge, Director of The Effortless English Program school

students learn English English so easily -- while you try everyeveryWhy do some students thing and learn slowly? What if there was a way you could learn 15%, 25% -- even 50% faster, how would your life change? article: n. newspaper or magazine story; university research report. way: n. method, how something is done method: n. how something is done, way scores: n. results, numbers native: adj. original, born in a certain place/country

If you could read just one article or book about how to learn English like a native speaker, speaker, this is it. Read all of this E-book and change the way you study English.

"Fantastic, absolutely amazing! A.J., your teaching method is great. The results are great ... my test scores impr improve oved d fast faster er than than anyone else in my class." -- Karin, student in San Francisco, California

If you are learning English to...

raise: v. increase i ncrease *communicate *communi cate with native speakers iBT: n. Internet-based Test (Test of English as a Foreign *raise your iBT TO TOEFL EFL sco score re Language) English-speaking: adj. able to speak English about to: adv. soon truth: n. fact effective: adj. successful; works well method: n. way of doing something definitely: adv. 100% surely; absolutely native English speakers: n. people born in an English speaking country

*understand English books and articles *understand English TV and movies *make new English-speaking friends ... you are about to learn the most important truth about how to make an effective English study plan. What is the most important method for English learning? If you asked what would give you more English than any other method, I would tell you, definitely -- it's the ability to understand native English speakers. That's because the most important part of learning English is.... listening.


closely: adv. carefully

skill: n. ability; something you can do well

Listen closely. You could spend a lot of money on English schools, textbooks, CDs, and websites -- but all that study isn't going to help if you can't understand English, because you won't be able to use anything you learn. In the next 5 minutes, I'll show you how to easily learn the skill of listening to increase your English skill 20%, 30%, or even 50%. Here are a few things you'll learn when you read this E-book:

break rules: v. don’t follow rules; don’t obey does not work: v. is not successful

* Why 99.9% of English schools fail -- how they break rules of English learning -- and so fail to teach their students successfully. * Why grammar study does not work -- and why it can kill your speaking ability. * How to increase your vocabulary -- and remember it after you study.

automatically: adv. without trying, without effort

* How to understand more -- and then speak English automatically. There is a science to learning English. And there are rules about how to best learn the language. When these rules are followed, anyone can be successful.

opportunity: n. chance; possibility explain: v. teach, talk about iBT: n. internet Based Test

course: n. class; teaching program

This is an incredible opportunity for you to learn a better way -- but only if you take it. Your first step is to read all of this E-book. Please read carefully -- I don't want you to miss a word-- because when I explain English learning for you, you cannot fail. You will improve your listening, vocabulary, speaking, grammar, and iBT TOEFL scores.

"A.J. is a wonderful teacher. My English ability is much better after following his course. My vocabulary is growing, I understand more, and I'm actually enjoying English!" -- Nom, Korean student, San Francisco. The True Power of Language Learning

the key: n. the most important idea

textbooks: n. school books

Interesting and understandable English is the key to learning English. Real and interesting English gives you power to learn -- and real, understandable English has the power to completely change your English. The best English learners are children, of course. Why? Because they don't study grammar and they don't learn from textbooks. They learn


first from listening-- then later from listening and reading.

methods: n. ways; how something is done native: adj. original, from (born in) a country or place

The most powerful English learners are children and the older students who copy children's methods. They speak like native speakers. They have excellent pronunciation. They learn vocabulary quickly and easily. They understand grammar automatically.

Why Most Students Fail

You would think that because there are so many books about learning English, most students must have great English skill. This isn't true.

myth: n. lie; a story or belief that is not true. surprise: n. something not expected; something shocking confuse: v. make you feel stupid; make your thoughts unclear prevent: v. stop fluent: adj. speaking fast and easily confusing: adj. causes your thoughts to be unclear; causes you to feel stupid confuse: v. make you feel stupid; make your thoughts unclear

There are many students who know grammar rules, but very few students can actually use English. MYTH: The best way to learn English is to study grammar. Wrong!

Just because someone knows grammar, doesn't mean they are good at English. Here's a surprise: Students who know a lot of grammar are usually worse at English than those who don't study grammar. That's because grammar rules confuse them. Grammar rules prevent them from being fluent. Children don't learn English by studying grammar- you shouldn't either. What most people don't know is that grammar "rules" are not really rules. The rules you learn in textbooks are confusing, too difficult, or even wrong. They confuse you. Therefore, learning more grammar will not improve your English. Simply studying vocabulary words won't help either. "Did you know that grammar study can actually kill your English ability?"

proven: adj. 100%; definite; has evidence not effective: adj. not successful; doesn’t work translate: v. to think in your language and then change it to English (and vice versa)

Why? Because grammar study slows your brain. It confuses you. It makes you think about English, instead of speaking automatically. This is a proven fact. Grammar study and textbooks are not effective. They cause you to think about English. They make you translate English-- what you want to do is use English easily, without thinking. Therefore, to learn English like a native speaker, you need something else.


Secrets of an English Teacher

My name is A.J Hoge. I started teaching English 10 years ago when I worked in Korea, teaching children. Over the past 10 years, I've taught: v. teach (past tense) taught both children and adults. I've taught at Universities in The adults: n. people over 18 United States (Lanier Technical College & IIC-SF), Thailand years old (Thammasat University), and Japan (Hirodai University). I have a Masters Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). When teaching in Japan, I saw that most students learn slowly. After 5 years of English, they could not speak English. They could not communicate. They could not understand me. But I also saw a few different students. These few learned quickly. They understood me. They talked to me easily. They enjoyed English. Their grammar was better, their vocabulary was better, their test scores were better.

improved: v. got better

an instructor: n. a teacher (usually at a college or university) ESL: n. English as a Second Language capable: adj. good, skillful, effective, successful interviewed: v. to ask people a lot of questions research: n.(adj.) scientific study knowledge: n. information

I asked myself, "Why are these few students so much better? What are they doing differently?" I asked all of my students questions too. I asked them how they studied. I asked them what they studied. I learned why some students improved easily and quickly, but most failed.

"During the time that he was an instructor in Lanier Technical College’s Adult ESL program, A.J. proved himself to be most capable and effective. " -- Flo Smith, Director, Lanier Technical College After Japan, I studied students more carefully. I interviewed hundreds of students. I read research articles. I talked to people who spoke 3, 4,-- even 9 languages. I wanted to find the secret to learning English. At the end of 2006, I knew I had the answer. I finally had enough knowledge and experience. I knew why a few students succeeded, but most others failed.

program: n. system, school, course In August 2006, I started my own English teaching program. I wanted to teach English successfully. I wanted to help students truly learn English. enthusiastic: adj. excited and positive

"A.J. is an enthusiastic and energetic teacher. I highly recommend A.J. " --Dr. Brenda Murphy


The Birth of Effortless English

I started my English teaching program because most schools fail. There are too many students who do not learn English-- because they are using bad textbooks and going to bad schools. millions: n. 1,000,000s

I wanted to help the millions of English students who want to learn English faster -- and better. I used all of my teaching and research experience and made ... effortless: adj. (very) easy

... Effortless English -- a special English teaching class that uses only real English articles, movies, books, and audio (sound). work: v. to be successful, to be effective

Effortless English uses English teaching secrets that work . The First Classes Were Full!

join: v. become a member (of a group), work with, sign up with

I finally started in August 2006. Only a few students could join, and my classes were full immediately! In fact, so many students wanted to join, I had to say "no" to many.

lessons: n. classes

Here's what I gave:

proficiency: n. skill, ability storytelling: n. telling stories ;) technique: n. way, method; how something is done lessons: n. classes research: n. scientific study more effective than: adj. better than; more successful than overlearning: n. learning “too much”; learning more than seems necessary

* The incredible Way to Learn Vocabulary and Grammar Without Hard Work-- TPRS. TPRS is "Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling". It is a simple but amazing technique for teaching English. Story lessons teach grammar and vocabulary quickly and easily. Research shows that this technique is more effective than normal textbooks or classes.

* The "Overlearning" method that helps students use English automatically. Most schools make the same mistake-- they don't repeat and review enough. Their students never really learn the lesson.

* How to use real English to increase vocabulary, understanding, and grammar-- without trying to study! relaxing: adj. no-stress; easy and comfortable

* How to learn English in a relaxing way by enjoying interesting articles about interesting topics. No stress, no worry.


* How my best students learn, how they study -- and how they learn English faster and better than other students. to avoid: v. to stay away from; to not do naturally: adj. effortlessly; following nature

* How to avoid grammar study and instead learn grammar like children-- naturally.

* Why you should never study grammar rules -- and how it can hurt your speaking. context: n. situation switching: v. changing place: n. source; location

memorize: v. remember (exactly) articles: n. stories (in newspapers, magazines, and research journals)

* How to use " Context-switching" to learn vocabulary faster. "Context-switching" means learning the same word from more than one place.

* Why you should never study vocabulary books, or try to memorize long lists of vocabulary words. True vocabulary learning must be from real, interesting stories, conversations, movies, and articles.

step: n. action

* How to use writing to remember vocabulary better-- writing is the final step in learning vocabulary. raise: v. increase; get bigger/more

*How to raise your iBT TOEFL score 20%, 30%, --or even 40% comprehensible: adj. understandable; can be understood input: n. something that comes in (to your brain) methods: ways; techniques

* What research shows is the most effective way to learn English-“Comprehensible Input”. Methods that use "Comprehensible Input", such as Effortless English, are 20-50% more effective than normal programs.

audio: n. sound (recordings)

* Why it is best to learn from real English books, articles, audio, and movies-- textbooks and English classes do not use real English. program: n. system, school, course price: n. cost; amount you So you see, I used everything I've learned to make the Effortless pay English program. Honestly, there isn't another program that can increase your English faster.


course: n. class confidence: n. strong (powerful) feeling; feeling you can be successful confident: adj. feeling strong and successful

"A.J., thanks so much. Before taking your course, my English was terrible. I had no confidence. I didn't think I could learn English, ever. Now I'm learning fast. I feel confident and I love English. Compared to my classmates at school, I'm learning much faster than them." -–Atsuko, student in Hiroshima, Japan

Learn English Whenever and Wherever You Want -- and at a lower cost!

The internet has made it possible to learn English, anytime and anywhere-- without spending a lot of money. You can find conversation partners, text & audio articles, and English lessons very easily. Obviously, you don’t need expensive schools and textbooks anymore to learn English. Use the internet! For example, I've made an Effortless English Internet Club so..... * members can learn at their speed, whenever they want; *members can learn anywhere, wherever they want;

benefit: v. be helped; get good results

* members don't need to spend a lot of money on classes or textbooks; ...but members still benefit from my Effortless English program.

an hour: adv. per hour; each 60 minutes MP3s: n. sound files, audio files (play with iTunes or MP3 player)

Yes, the program on The Effortless English Club site is the same I use in my classes. My classes are expensive, they must be. Students pay $300 a month for my classes here in San Francisco. But learning with the internet is more convenient and less expensive.

Here's What Members Won't Be Getting

Now that you've seen what membersl get from The Effortless English Club , here's what members won't get: * You won't learn boring and difficult grammar rules. You won't be confused. * You won't do boring activities. You won't study textbook English. * You won't listen to fake (not natural) conversations. No one uses the English in textbooks. No one.


How Much Do You Really Need To Pay?

The truth is, English schools are too expensive. Yes, my students are willing to pay $300 a month-- $3600 a year, or more, to learn with me. They are happy to pay instead of going to boring schools that don't work. But its not necessary to pay that much. purse: n. money holder; money investment: n. money you "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away pay to get more money later from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interinterest: n. percent increase est." -- Benjamin Franklin your price is only $57: you pay only $57 discount: n. special lower price Beta Test: n. a new websitenot open to everyone yet develop: v. to improve, to make, to create investigate: v. learn about; research waste: v. to spend money but get nothing

Beta Test: n. a new website that is not open to the public yet

You don't have to pay $3,600 for The Effortless English Club or for any other internet program. The Effortless EnglishClub is only $57 a year-- for example. This is a special Beta Test price, but the final price will still be only $87-117 a year. But my site isn’t the only one. There are many good English teaching systems on the internet. For example, The Linguist is an excellent system that is very successfu, and they charge only $480 a year. You can find language partners on KanTalk.com for free. And there are more. Investigate them. The internet is the future of English learning.

"I spent years going to English schools. I wasted so much money and time. I'm so happy I found A.J." --Tip, student, Bangkok Thailand

Everyone Cannot Join But ...

Right now, Effortless English is in “ Beta Test”. We are full and I’m not accepting more new members. However, you can still find other good internet programs or you can still make your own Effortless English study plan. The best English learners follow their own plan and use real English materials-- not textbooks. Effortless: adj. easy; doesn’t require hard work

"I'm happy I joined A.J.’s program. Its great to see it growing so quickly. I hope more people will learn English the Effortless Way! --Gabriel, student, Gainesville, Georgia


You Can Expect Immediate Results When You Change Methods

Remember: When you use the Effortless English way, you will immenative speaker: n. someone diately start learning English like a native speaker. born in a country where the language is spoken You’re tired of struggling with English, aren’t you? struggling: v. trying very hard; fighting Most English students spend years going to school, studying gramproof: n. evidence, known mar, memorizing vocabulary-- but still can't use English. If you are fact reading this, you want to really learn and use English- like a native isn’t it?: (tag question) you speaker. agree?, don’t you agree? memorizing: v. rememberWhen you decide that you want to change the way you learn, don't ing (exactly) wait. Take action. Find an internet program that uses an Effortless English method. Or make your own Effortless English study plan. chance: n. opportunity, possibility Don't miss this chance. The important thing is don’t continue to use old study methods. Change the way you learn, and change the results. Learn English like a native speaker. I wish you success and happiness in your English learning,

A.J. Hoge, MS TESOL Director, Effortless English

Learn More

The Effortless English Club http://www.effortlessenglish.com The Linguist http://www.thelinguist.com KanTalk http://www.kantalk.com


Effortless English Why Grammar Is Bad Podcast Date: November 16, 2006 harmful: something that hurts or damages ability: skill communicating: using and understanding; giving information after years of study: after studying for many years; after studying a long time

hesitant: not sure; stops and starts often; pauses and thinks often broken: incomplete; slow with many mistakes stressed: worried; feeling a lot of stress useless: not helpful confident: strong and sure convinced that: sure that the key to: the solution to; the best way to memorizing: to study and remember exactly fail to: do not (do) something fluent: speak without stopping a lot; quick and natural speech recommend: give advice; suggest definition: meaning insanity: craziness

All Sound Files Available At: http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com

Grammar study is harmful. Grammar study will hurt your English ability. Do not study grammar. If you have problems communicating in English, after years of study, its probably because you study grammar. If you have problems understanding English, after years of study, its probably because you study grammar. If your English is hesitant, broken, and slow, its probably because you study grammar. If you are nervous and stressed by English, its probably because you study grammar. If you hate English, English teachers, and English class, its probably because you study grammar. Stop studying grammar. Grammar is not only useless- it is actually harmful. Grammar study will cause you to learn more slowly, understand less quickly, and feel less confident. Most students, of course, believe the opposite. They are convinced that grammar is the key to learning English. They spend years memorizing grammar rules. They spend years listening to teachers explain grammar. They spend years reading grammar textbooks. Teachers, textbooks, and schools all tell the student the same thingyou need more grammar; you must study grammar. When their students fail to improve, fail to communicate, fail to use English, and fail to become fluent- the schools recommend more of the same- grammar, grammar, and more grammar. The famous definition of insanity is- "doing the same thing, but


expecting: thinking something will happen (in the future) insane: crazy provides: gives overwhelms: is too much for; does too much; defeats to analyze: to examine carefully (consciously) interferes with: prevents; stops; causes problems for illustrate: show harm: hurt; damage stranger: someone you don’t know will do: will be OK to pick: to choose classic: perfect; usual; traditional unconscious: not thinking about something directly; indirect thinking mental: thinking; mind detailed: careful picking: choosing out of a group: from a group consciously thinking: directly thinking about; thinking in words effortless: without trying instinctive: natural to explain it: talk about it separate: remove you from forces you: makes you interferes with: stops; prevents; causes problems for so much trouble: so much difficulty

expecting a different result". By this rule, most English schools and teachers are insane.

But why? Why is grammar study harmful? The answer is that grammar study provides too much unnecessary information. It overwhelms your brain's ability to learn the language. Grammar rules force you to analyze the language-- and that interferes with your brain's natural ability to learn and understand it- without effort. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink, gave the following example to illustrate the harm caused by too much unnecessary information: "Let me give you a very simple example of this. Picture, in your mind, the face of the person who sat next to you on the bus today. Any stranger whom you've seen recently will do. Now, if I were to ask you to pick that person out of a line of people, could you do it? I'm sure you could. Recognizing someone's face is a classic example of unconscious mental ability. We don't have to think about it. But imagine I were to ask you to take a pen and paper and write down a detailed description of what that person looks like. Describe their face. What color was their hair? What were they wearing? Believe it or not, you will now do a lot worse at picking that face out of a group. This is because the act of consciously thinking about and describing a face has the effect of hurting your normally effortless ability to recognize that face. We all have instinctive (natural) memory for faces. But by forcing you to analyze and describe that memory-- to explain it-- I separate you from your natural ability." Grammar study does the same thing that describing a face does-- it forces you to analyze and explain the language-- and therefore hurts your natural ability to learn the language effortlessly. The problem with grammar study is that it interferes with your natural language learning ability- an ability that is very powerful- but unconscious. By forcing you to EXPLAIN English, the teacher actually hurts your ability to LEARN English. This is why so many advanced students, after years of study, still have so much trouble understanding and using English. Every time they want to say something, they first think about it consciously. They may even think in their native language first, then translate to English, then analyze the sentence for grammar mistakes, and then-- finally-say it. Therefore, their speech is very slow, very hesitant, and very unnatural. Its even worse with listening. When listening, there is no time for conscious thinking and analyzing. You must be able to understand


instantly: immediately; very quickly; without taking time be lost: be confused

INSTANTLY. If you must think about the language; if you must analyze the grammar; if you must translate-- you will soon be lost. Your grammar study makes it impossible for your unconscious mind to do what it is supposed to do-- understand instantly and naturally.

supposed to do: should do

So what can you do? If you have spent years learning grammar, but still have trouble with real spoken English, is it possible to improve? Is it possible to communicate naturally? Is it possible to free your effortlessly: without trying hard; easily; in a relaxed way unconscious brain and learn to understand, and speak, effortlessly? The answer is yes. But it will take time. The first step is to stop studying grammar- immediately. No more textbooks. No more grammar classes. method: way of doing something massive: a lot; a huge amount of authentic: real; natural designed for: created for; made for

The next step is to follow a method of massive authentic input. "Authentic" means real, and by input I mean listening and reading. In other words, you must listen to and read as much real, interesting English as possible. By real English I mean real articles, books, movies, essays, podcasts and conversations. Authentic English is not made for English students- its designed for fluent English speakers.

learning guides: study guide; study material material: books, movies, etc. Ideally: In a perfect situation; the best thing to do

If you want to understand and speak real English with real English speakers-- you must get real English input-- not textbook English, not teacher English. Its OK to use dictionaries and learning guides to understand the material-- as long as its real material. Ideally, you should spend at least one hour every day listening to and reading real English material. You should choose material that is interesting to you. You should enjoy it-- and feel relaxed while you listen and read.

After many months of authentic input, you can add the final step: communicate with interesting, real people. When you communicate, step: action expressing: saying, commu- you should focus on expressing ideas, opinions, and feelings-- not nicating on following "rules". Your speech and understanding will naturally focus on: concentrate on; improve over time. Just focus on communicating. think about In fact, if you follow the Effortless Way, your grammar will also Way: method; how to do improve- naturally. But you must not study grammar and you must something not think about it. Do not overload your brain with too much unnecessary information. overload your brain: give your brain too much informa- Follow an effortless approach, and let your brain do what it does besttion - learn naturally. If you have been studying grammar a long time, it may take some time for you to improve. But you will improve.


eventually: sometime; at some time in the future

And, if you continue with an effortless learning method, you will eventually learn to communicate easily and naturally in English. You will also have a lot more fun.

Learn More:

Automatic Language Growth http://www.algworld.com Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-ThinkingWithout/dp/0316010669/sr=8-2/qid=1163716068/ref=pd_bbs_2/1020413950-9037745?ie=UTF8&s=books Second Language Acquisition, by Dr. Stephen Krashen http://www.sdkrashen.com/SL_Acquisition_and_Learning/index.html The Focal Skills Language Learning Approach http://www.su.edu/icfs/essenfeat/feature.2.htm


Effortless English frustrate: anger (caused by failure) communicate: speak and understand well: good knew: know (past tense) industry: business; field huge: very very big international: for many countries; crossing many countries publishing: book making; printing chain: a company with many stores independent: separate; only one; not owned by others abroad: in another country necessary: very important; must be done system: way of doing something guarantee: promise (100%) hope: wishes; good expectations native: someone born in a country abroad: in another country Venezuelan: a person from Venezuela (in South America) intensive: powerful; concentrated; a lot in a short time intensive English school: school that teaches English 20+ hours a week way: method; how to do something blames: accuses; says someone is wrong

The Failure of the English Industry Publish Date: December 31, 2006 More Sound (Audio) Archives Available At: http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com

Does it frustrate you that you still can’t communicate with English well? Does it make you angry that you could be learning much faster-- if you knew how? The English industry is a huge international business. It includes publishing companies, big chain schools, independent schools, study abroad programs, high schools, and universities. English is big business. Its also a business that grows from failure. In America, in Japan, in Taiwan, in all the world-- most English schools fail their students. Students spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on books and classes. They are told the cost is necessary. They are told that the class has a “special” system that will guarantee success. All over the world, good students spend huge amounts of moneyhoping the English industry is right. They start class full of hope. They want to learn English. They hope to speak to native speakers someday. They may hope to study abroad. They may hope to get a better job. They may hope to make new friends. They may hope to live in America or Canada and make a new life. But what usually happens? A Venezuelan student told me that English schools are “killers of hope”. He studied at an intensive English school for one year. At the end of the year he still “couldn’t understand or use any English”. Luckily, he found a better way. But many students never do. The English industry never blames itself. Schools never say their teaching methods are failures. They blame you, the student; and maybe you blame yourself. Schools say you didn’t work hard


grammar-analysis: careful study of separate grammar rules; focus on memorizing grammar rules memorize: to remember (exactly) complicated: not simple; very difficult and complex translated: changed from one language to another language unnatural: not natural; not simple research: careful study; academic study; experiments work: are successful; function method: way of doing something results: effects; outcome; what happen input: something that comes in (ex. listening and reading) input method: way of learning that uses mostly listening and reading adolescent: 12-14 year old children comic books: books with pictures and words articles: short information stories novels: story books (usually long) relaxed: no stress focus on: concentrate on; think about fake: not real improve: get better increase: become more; get higher

enough. They say you need to continue with classes. Eventually, you might think “English is impossible”. You, however, are not the problem. The school is the problem. The textbooks are the problem. Most schools say they teach “natural English”, but actually they do not. Most schools use a grammaranalysis way of teaching. They teach students to memorize complicated grammar rules. They teach students to memorize long lists of translated vocabulary. They use unnatural conversations and boring activities. They use tests. Research shows that these ways of teaching are failures. They do not work . They are not successful for most students. It is not the student that is failing, it is the school and the textbook.

The good news is that you CAN learn English like a native speaker. You can succeed. You can learn to understand native speakers. You can learn to talk with them. You can get a high TOEFL or TOEIC score. You can really learn English. You can succeed- you only need to change the way you learn. Change your study method to change your results. What way should you use? What does research say is best? What is actually successful? The research says an input method is best. This means you should listen to and read real English. It means you should focus on input, reading and listening, that you understand. You should listen one hour, or more, to English everyday. You should also read every day, but not textbooks. You should read fun and interesting things. You should read real English-- children’s books, adolescent novels, comic books, articles, magazines, and novels. You should get things that seem just a little bit easy. If you do this every day, in a relaxed way, you will succeed. If you focus on real English input, not fake textbook English, you will succeed. You will improve faster. You will enjoy English more. You will increase your test scores. And you will do this without spending a lot of money. Learn More:

Language Learning Research http://sdkrashen.com


Effortless English Listening & Pronunciation native: first; where you were Listening is the most important part of learning a new language. Listening is how babies first learn their native language. Listening is born where speaking ability comes from. Listening is (mostly) how you ability: skill learn the new language. improve: get better input: what comes in (to the Yes, we all want to speak. But speaking will improve from input-reading and listening. brain) download: get from the internet podcasts: sound (MP3) shows; internet radio shows; internet radio articles; internet sound lessons audio articles: sound stories audio: sound repetitive: repeated unknown words: words you don’t understand rapidly: quickly; fast magical: amazing; incredible; wonderful phrases: groups of words; more than one word stick: stay; don’t leave effort: trying; hard work notice: hear or see; be aware of; recognize adds up to: makes; is a total of replaces: is instead of; in place of texts: written words review: look at again, read again, study again

Therefore, I always tell my students to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN a lot. I tell them to download podcasts, audio articles, and audio books. I tell them to buy the DVD of a TV show and watch it again and again and again. When I say "listening" I mean repetitive listening. You need to listen to the same thing many times. The first time you listen to something, you may not understand much. But if you read the same thing and find the meaning of unknown words... then listen to it many times everyday- you will rapidly begin to understand it. Then something else magical happens. A few of the phrases stick in your brain... with no effort. Steve Kaufman, who speaks 9 languages, says this about listening: "All kinds of listening will help you improve your listening ability. However, it is best to listen to the same thing many times. This way the new words and phrases will become a part of you. If you are also studying new words and phrases, you will notice them while listening. Soon you will be able to use them. They will become a part of you. If you do a little bit at a time, you will be surprised how quickly it adds up to an hour. Remember that the time listening replaces time in a classroom. You have more freedom if you take your listening with you. This is more useful than a lot of classroom study. Listen often to things that you basically understand. Read the texts from time to time. Also make sure that you review the words and phrases that you have saved. Then listen again."


Effortless English The Effortless Way Just how can you improve English without difficult study? How can you improve vocabulary, listening, grammar, and speaking without using textbooks or expensive schools?

difficult: hard

I hear these questions from many people. Of course, the basic question is, “How does The Effortless Way work?”

phrases: more than one word; a group of words simple: easy; not hard; not complicated accidently: by chance; without trying cheers: yells (to celebrate); encourage

The Effortless English system comes from a lot of research. The idea is-- language is learned from comprehensible input. Comprehensible means understandable- can be understood. Input, in this case, means listening and reading. So, we learn a language by understanding phrases in that language. Its simple, right? This happens to all babies. Our mom says, “mama, mama, mama” while smiling and holding us. Every day she says, “mama, mama, mama”. One day, when we accidently say something like “mama”, our mom laughs, cheers, and smiles. She is very happy. Eventually we understand that “mama” is the sound for our mother.

We quickly go from these simple messages to understanding senmessages: communications tences. For example, when mom says, “come to mama”-- if we move towards mom, everybody laughs, cheers, and smiles. Now we understand that this sentence means “move towards mom”. Once we learn a lot of this simple language, we are ready for more difficult ideas. We begin to read- and that’s when our vocabulary and grammar grow very quickly. We learn thousands of words every year. We don’t “study” most of these words. We never try to memorize context: situation them. We learn them by reading. We understand their meaning from repetition: doing the same context-- from the situation in the story. We understand them from thing many times; again and repetition. By listening and reading to things we mostly understand, again we can learn the parts we don’t know. We learn most of our language this way. system: way of doing something This is how you will learn at Effortless English. My system has both fairly: somewhat; a little easy and fairly difficult articles, but I use several methods to make methods: way of doing them understandable. something; system; way


First, I give the text for an article. By reading first, you can go slowly text: written words and learn new words gradually. I have a word list with the textgradually: step by step; little which gives simple English meanings for the most difficult words and by little; not suddenly phrases. By reading the article many times and using the word list, you learn most of the new vocabulary without stress. stress: worry Next, you listen and read at the same time. This teaches you the correct pronunciation of all words. It also starts to improve you listening skill in a low-stress way. audio: sound discussion: conversation The next step is an audio vocabulary discussion. I explain some of explain: teach the difficult words and phrases. You listen to these lessons many lessons: teachings; classes times- which helps you learn the new vocabulary more deeply. I deeply: thoroughly; comalways encourage students to relax, listen, and enjoy. pletely; totally Next are the mini-stories. The mini-story is, perhaps, the most mini: small; short; little important lesson. This lesson helps you get a strong understanding of perhaps: maybe the vocabulary, and how to use it. For the mini-story, I choose 8 to choose: pick 10 words from the article. I then make a little story using these words. re-tell: tell again; say again I tell the story three times. When I re-tell the story, I ask a lot of questions. I ask you to repeat the story after me, using the new vocabulary. I ask you to listen to the mini-story many times. original: first

The final step is for you to listen to the original article many times. Now you can understand a lot of it. You put it on you iPod and listen to it during the day. You listen to it many times and learn vocabulary and grammar naturally.

relaxed: enjoyable; no stress; no worry improve: get better

Each step in the system is important. By following all the steps, you learn English in a relaxed way. You improve your vocabulary, your listening, your grammar, and your speaking. You improve faster than students who use textbooks and normal schools.

input: what comes in (listening and reading) system: way of doing something

To really learn English like a native speaker, you need to use an input system. You need to use a system like the Effortless Way. You don’t need to join Effortless English, but you do need to read and listen to real English. You need to do this a lot. Throw away your textbooks. Save your money. Relax, use an effortless method, and improve faster.


Effortless English A Normal Day textbook: n. school book sip coffee: drink coffee slowly login: v. to enter a website; to type your user name and password iPod: n. MP3 player (made by Apple) lesson: class

article: n. story in a magazine, newspaper, or research journal review: v. to study again; to look at (or listen to) again realize: v. to know, to understand

automatic: adj. happens without trying; effortless fluent: adj. easy and fast (speaking) confident: adj. strong and successful feeling

Its 7 A.M. in the morning on Monday. You don’t feel like studying another English textbook or going to another English class; so you turn on your computer. While you sip coffee, you login to Effortless English and listen to a vocabulary discussion. You play it two times. It’s now 7:30, and you’re feeling great because you understand a lot of the vocabulary. You have energy. You are ready for more. Next, you leave home-- going to work. You have your iPod, and are you are listening to the mini-story lesson now. It’s easy and fun. You are really understanding the new vocabulary. You are understanding without trying. The story is funny and the lesson is easy to do. You repeat it quietly-- you are surprised that you remember so much. You smile. On the way to work, you repeat the lesson three times. You get to work and do your job-- but during lunch you read the article. You already know some of the new words. You are relaxed as you read and review the word list. The article is interesting, and you realize you are actually enjoying English. On the way home, you listen to the article on your iPod. Sometimes you read and listen at the same time, sometimes you only listen. The article is short, so you listen to it 5 or 6 times. You understand more each time. You think, “If I do this everyday, English will become easy and automatic. I’ll be fluent.” You feel confident. You know you are learning English like a native speaker. Could this really happen to you? Don’t be surprised when it does.


Effortless English No Pain No Gain Publish Date: December 27, 2006 are killing me: hurting a lot marathon: 26 miles [42km] training: practicing (for a sport or activity) cut back: reduce; do less gradually: little by little; step by step; slowly breathing hard: breathing fast and with difficulty to push myself: to make myself work hard Yikes!: something we say when we are surprised sprint: a short fast (running) race breathing heavily: breathing fast and with difficulty effortlessly: without trying hard; without effort build up: increase take my advice: follow my suggestion gain: improvement; benefit; increase philosophy: a strong group of ideas, belief, and/or values forced to quit: made to quit; had to quit (had no choice) steady: gradual, step by step injuries: hurts (to body) whatsoever: at all arduous: very difficult and not fun; tough and not pleasant

All Sound (Audio) Archives Available At: http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com

"My knees are killing me. I'm only running 9 miles [15km], I don't think I'll be able to ever do a marathon. What should I do?", Mike asked. "How long have you been training?", I asked "One month" "Only one month? And you're trying to run 9 miles already! You should cut back . Only increase your mileage by 1 mile per week. Build up gradually." I said. "What about your speed, how do you feel when you run... are you breathing hard?", I asked. "Yeah. I try to push myself and go as fast as possible" Mike said. "Yikes! Don't do that. You're training for a marathon, not a sprint. You should run slowly most of the time. You shouldn't be breathing heavily when you run. In fact, you should be able to chat while you're running. My advice is to run slower and run shorter- you will then automatically and effortlessly build up to running a marathon.", I said. Unfortunately, Mike didn't take my advice. He believed in a "no pain, no gain" philosophy. Running slowly and easily didn't feel like work to him- so he thought it couldn't help. Instead, he kept trying to run farther and faster as soon as possible. His knee problems became worse. Finally, he was forced to quit. He never did run a marathon. I, on the other hand, used my slow, steady, easy approach to complete 2 marathons. I never had knee problems, or foot problems, or any injuries whatsoever. I never felt the training was painful or arduous. I enjoyed my training runs. Most of them felt easy and effortless.


Invariably: (almost) always; without exception to question: do not believe; ask questions about; doubt belief: strong idea strive: try very hard suffer: feel pain comprehensible: understandable; able to be understood approach: way; method frustrated: anger caused by failure to do what you want to do unfair: not fair, not good rewarded: got/received something good because you did something good resent: to feel anger about something that happened in the past ineffective: not effective; does not work get it: understand switch: change (to another choice) bitter: negative feeling (strong negative feeling)usually about a failure to train: to practice for process: action; how something is done system: organized way of doing something guarantee: to promise insist: strongly want to do; feel/say something must be done traditional methods: normal ways of doing; usual way

I often think of Mike when I talk to my English students. Invariably there are students who question my effortless approach. They too have a "no pain, no gain" belief. They think they cannot learn English unless they strive and suffer. So they spend long hours memorizing grammar textbooks. They spend long hours doing TOEFL practice tests and textbook exercises. I tell them to relax. I tell them to stop these activities and focus on interesting, comprehensible listening and reading. But many don't listen. They continue with the painful approach. They become increasingly frustrated. Some even become angry-- especially when they see the "effortless approach" students improving much faster. They feel its unfair that their pain is not rewarded. They resent that their painful efforts are so slow and ineffective. Some eventually do get it, and switch to an effortless approach. But some never do. They just keep doing the same thing. They grow more bitter and frustrated-- just like Mike when he tried to train for a marathon. Many finally quit. Don't be like Mike. "No pain, no gain" is a lie. If you enjoy the process of learning English you will, in fact, gain more and gain faster. If you use an effortless approach, your grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing will all improve faster than if you use a painful textbook approach. Put away the grammar books. Put away all textbooks. Find interesting and understandable English material. Listen, listen, listen to it every day. Read, read, read for fun every day. Join an effortless system, such as Effortless English or The Linguist. If you do, I guarantee you will enjoy English more-- and you will learn faster and more easily than those who insist on following the traditional methods. No pain-- big gains! Learn More:

Jeff Galloway’s Marathon Training http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html/ Automatic Language Growth http://www.algworld.com Dr. StephenKrashen’s Language Research Site http://sdkrashen.com


Effortless English About The Author A.J. Hoge has a Masters degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and has over 10 years of teaching experience. He is the creator of Effortless English (www.effortlessenglish.com) and also publishes a teaching website called Effortless Language Acquisition. He currently lives and teaches in San Francisco, California.

You can email A.J. at [email protected]

Please Share This E-book If you like this book, please share it with other English learners . You may send, copy, or forward it. You may also print it and use it for any purpose, but please do not change it.

Recommended Web Sites

Effortless English http://www.effortlessenglish.com The Linguist http://www.thelinguist.com Dr. Stephen Krashen http://sdkrashen.com Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling http://www.blaineraytprs.com/explanationpage.htm Automatic Language Growth http://www.algworld.com/ Kantalk http://www.kantalk.com


27073679 How to Learn English Like a Native Speaker

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