Learn how to make reading easy
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Intro |
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| Chigusa: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Chigusa and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Chigusa: In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about… |
| Peter: How to Read the Fast and Easy Way with Extensive Reading |
| Chigusa: You’ll Learn… |
| Peter: One, The 2 Things You Need to Make Reading Easy |
| Chigusa: Two, Peter’s Process |
| Peter: And Three, 6 Ways to Practice Reading with Our Program |
| Chigusa: All so you can master your target language and reach your goals! |
| Body |
| Chigusa: Listeners, welcome back to the Inner Circle. |
| Peter: Last time, you learned how to boost your speaking time... |
| Chigusa: ...with the help of our Can Do Lessons. |
| Peter: And how I used those lessons to hit my 3-minute speaking goal. |
| Chigusa: Alright, Peter, What about this month? You promised 6 minutes. |
| Peter: So... I am at 5 minutes, Chigusa. |
| Chigusa: What, you missed your goal? |
| Peter: You can say it like that, Chigusa, if you like. But it wasn’t by much. I went from 3 to 5 minutes. So, there’s progress. |
| Chigusa: Well, Peter 5 is not 6, so, what happened? |
| Peter: Okay, 5 is not 6, I’m trying to see the glass half full, Chigusa. I was away for a week and a half earlier this month. |
| Chigusa: No time? |
| Peter: No time. I couldn’t get a lesson with my Skype teacher then, and now we’re on vacation in Japan for Golden Week. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, it’s a week long holiday, here in Japan… everyone’s off. |
| Peter: Except for us! So, long story short. The timing didn’t work out. Again, Chigusa, that’s what we always say: that's what's challenging about reaching goals. Life gets in the way. I only had 2 Skype lessons this month. One was last week, and that’s where I hit 5 minutes. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, I think all language learners can relate. No time. You get busy. Something pops up… |
| Peter: ...and for most people, this can ruin your whole language learning routine. |
| Chigusa: Yes, you stop completely because you can’t focus on language. Is that what happened? |
| Peter: You know, I’ve been learning languages for a while now. In my experience, when you stop, that’s when you waste time and you lose progress. |
| Chigusa: So, Peter, if something stressful pops up - like, you have a tight deadline at work - and you don’t have time for language, what then? |
| Peter: Chigusa, I used to just stop everything and put language on pause. Now, I know how to adjust. I do something easier, so I can keep going. |
| Chigusa: Hmmm, I see. |
| Peter: So, I already knew I wouldn’t get much speaking done this month. This month, I focused on reading. So, let’s get into this Inner Circle. |
| Chigusa: How to Read the Fast and Easy Way with Extensive Reading |
| Peter: And let’s jump into part 1: |
| Chigusa: Part 1: The 2 Things You Need to Make Reading Easy. Peter, I have to ask first, why reading specifically? |
| Peter: Well, a few reasons. I wanted to do a more holistic learning approach this year. Not just focus on speaking. |
| Chigusa: Ah, I see. |
| Peter: And reading spills into other areas as well. Like speaking, if you’re reading a book with a lot of dialog. |
| Chigusa: Right, you also pick up a lot of words and grammar rules. |
| Peter: And, Chigusa it’s something you can do without a teacher. It’s easy to do on your own time and on your own terms. |
| Chigusa: Hmmm, I never found reading to be easy. When I was learning Italian, I bought a book about Italian landmarks, because I also like traveling. So I thought I could learn with it... |
| Peter: Really? What happened? |
| Chigusa: I had to put it down. There were so many words I didn’t know. I had to stop and look each one up. I didn’t get far at all. |
| Peter: Ah, I agree. If you’re stopping to look up words every second… you won’t get far. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, so reading for me is not an easy skill to practice. |
| Peter: So, there are 2 tricks to making reading… easier. |
| Chigusa: Ok, I want to hear this. |
| Peter: First, Chigusa, you need level-appropriate reading material. The book you were reading, or the book you chose, sounds like it was probably for natives Italian speakers. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, if I had something for my level.. |
| Peter: ...You wouldn’t need a dictionary every 5 seconds. |
| Chigusa: Okay, that makes sense. |
| Peter: The second trick is… you need to use text and audio at the same time. And it helps if the translations are in front of you. |
| Chigusa: So with text and audio…? |
| Peter: You can listen and follow along. You know how to pronounce every word. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, you get to hear it. |
| Peter: And on your second try, your second read-through, you could probably read it all without the audio… |
| Chigusa:... because you’ve already been exposed to all the words. Ok, so to make reading easier, you need… one: level appropriate material, |
| Peter: And two: audio and text to follow along with. |
| Chigusa: So, is this what you did? |
| Peter: Let’s get into the second part. |
| Chigusa: Part 2: Peter’s Process for Reading. |
| Peter: So, what do you need again? First, level appropriate material and… |
| Chigusa: ...a combination of text and audio. |
| Peter: Listeners, the good news is all of our reading lessons give you text, audio and translations... |
| Chigusa: ...and you get lessons for all levels. So level-appropriate material. |
| Peter: Now, in the case of reading, I used our Extensive Reading Book lessons on KoreanClass101. |
| Chigusa: Listeners, by the way, extensive reading is a learning strategy. |
| Peter: ...in which you read as many “Level appropriate books” as possible… |
| Chigusa: ...skip over words you don’t know, and keep on reading. |
| Peter: The goal here is quantity. You improve because of all of the books you go through. |
| Chigusa: And listeners, the books are super simple. |
| Peter: At the Beginner levels, just a line or two per page. At Intermediate and Advanced levels, they’re much more complex with stories and many words on the pages. |
| Chigusa: But, if you’re brand new, if you’ve just learned the alphabet… |
| Peter: ...then the Absolute Beginner ones are perfect for you. |
| Chigusa: So, we have Extensive Reading Books on all sites. |
| Peter: And for all levels: Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. |
| Chigusa: What level are you on, Peter? |
| Peter: You know, Chigusa, for someone who didn’t finish their Italian book, you’re really tough on me. Well, I’m doing both - Absolute Beginner and Beginner. I finished 6 out of the 15 books that we have for Absolute Beginner, and 3 Beginner level books. |
| Chigusa: Woah, that's a lot of books. |
| Peter: Well, is that positivity from you? I like that. So, Chigusa, they’re not like your travel book. They’re just a few words or lines per page, on the lower levels, so it’s easy to finish them. And a lot of have images and pictures to help you decipher what the word means or what the sentence means without using a dictionary. |
| Chigusa: Oh, ok, that makes sense. What was your process? |
| Peter: Step 1 is read the text and follow along with the audio. So, I printed out the PDFs. And we also have the line-by-line and the lesson audio for all of the extensive reading lessons. So, I played the audio and followed along. |
| Chigusa: Do you also repeat the lines out loud? |
| Peter: I did. It helps a lot. Now, step two is, you have to come back and re-read. Without audio this time. |
| Chigusa: Was it hard to re-read it without the audio? |
| Peter: It was a LOT easier because I already knew all the words. |
| Chigusa: What about time? How long does it take? |
| Peter: You can glide through one Absolute Beginner book in a few minutes actually, with audio. |
| Chigusa: Now, you said you come back to re-read the books. Why do that? |
| Peter: That’s the second step. And I do that because your 2nd or 3rd try is where you start seeing results. You read faster. You recognize the words faster. |
| Chigusa: You just have to remember to come back and re-read. |
| Peter: That’s the tricky part. You have to come back. And that’s why I print the books out, so I have them on hand. |
| Chigusa: What’s your favorite Extensive Reading Book so far? |
| Peter: There’s one called Super Animals. Basically, simple lines about the world’s fastest, biggest, and tallest animals. The lines are repetitive, and they’re that way on purpose because it helps the grammar patterns stick. After you’re done, you can describe things easily in your target language. Like, the so and so is the tallest, and So and so is the biggest. |
| Chigusa: Yeah, these are basic things you’d want to say in your target language. |
| Peter: Maybe, but practicing in context, immersing yourself in these books is really a powerful way to learn. |
| Chigusa: And it sounds like a book for elementary school kids! |
| Peter: Wow, Chigusa put away the claws. But, Chigusa, that’s the point! That’s the current level of my Korean, Chigusa. |
| Chigusa: Now, what about our listeners? How can they practice reading the easy way? |
| Peter: Let’s get into the 3rd part. |
| Chigusa: Part 3: 6 Ways to Practice Reading with Our Program. |
| Peter: When most people think of reading in their target language… |
| Chigusa: ...the first thing they think of is looking up every word in the dictionary, |
| Peter: ...and that’s a painful process. |
| Chigusa: But there are easier ways to improve your reading. |
| Peter: Now that you’re in your 4th month of learning… |
| Chigusa: ...if you’re struggling with reading... |
| Peter: then here’s how you start improving fast. |
| Chigusa: Remember, you need two things. One: Level appropriate reading material and… |
| Peter: Two: A combination of text and audio so you can listen and follow along. |
| Chigusa: You get that with all of our lessons on the site, including our extensive reading books. |
| Peter: So the first way to improve your reading is, read the extensive reading books. |
| Chigusa: ...that are appropriate for your level. You’ll find them in your lesson library. |
| Peter: We have books for all levels: Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. |
| Chigusa: The goal of extensive reading is to read as much as possible… |
| Peter: ...remember, skip words you don’t know, and keep going. |
| Chigusa: To make it even easier, these books come with audio and line-by-line breakdown and translations. |
| Peter: So, you can follow along with the audio and never miss a word. |
| Chigusa: By the way, you can print these books out… |
| Peter: ...so you can keep them and review any time. |
| Chigusa: The second way to practice reading is… |
| Peter: Read the line-by-line dialogues for every lesson you take. |
| Chigusa: The line-by-line dialogue is just a breakdown of the lesson conversation, |
| Peter: ...where you get the translation, transliteration and audio for each of the lines of the conversation. |
| Chigusa: With this tool, you can just read the text… |
| Peter: Or, combine text and audio, and listen and follow along. |
| Chigusa: The third way is, print out the lesson notes… |
| Peter: And review the lesson dialogue. |
| Chigusa: Having the printed, physical material is a lot easier than logging in and looking for the notes for a certain lesson. |
| Peter: But, you can always read the lesson notes on the site, too. |
| Chigusa: The fourth way to practice reading is… |
| Peter: If you’re learning a language that requires romanization... |
| Chigusa: ...like Japanese, Hebrew, or Korean... |
| Peter: ...If you’re a lower level, read the romanized version. |
| Chigusa: Yes, it’s a bit of a crutch, BUT… |
| Peter: ...you can easily see how the words are written and pronounced. |
| Chigusa: Then, switch over to the target language and re-read. |
| Peter: You can do this with all of our lessons, with the Dialogue tool. |
| Chigusa: The fifth way: Ask your Premium PLUS teacher for reading assignments. And you’ll get these weekly. |
| Peter: One helpful trick is to record yourself reading out loud and send that to your teacher. |
| Chigusa: They will correct your pronunciation and provide feedback. |
| Peter: The sixth way, listeners, is the most important one...and will give you the biggest bang for your buck. |
| Chigusa: The sixth tactic is… re-read again and again. |
| Peter: Whether you’re using our Extensive Reading Books, the Dialogue or anything else… |
| Chigusa: ...reading once is not enough. |
| Peter: Coming back to re-read IS how you start reading faster. |
| Chigusa: It’s how you remember all those words for good. |
| Peter: ...and it’s how you start understanding everything at a glance. |
| Chigusa: So, be sure to re-read at least 2 more times at a later date. Alright Peter, let’s talk about your next small, measurable, monthly goal. |
| Peter. Okay, I’m at 5 minutes… just a little behind. This month? 8 Minutes. |
| Chigusa: Alright! Deadline? |
| Peter: May 31st. |
| Chigusa: Sounds good, Peter. And listeners, let us know what your small, measurable monthly goal is. |
| Peter: Email us at inner dot circle at innovative language dot com. |
| Chigusa: And stay tuned for the next Inner Circle. |
Outro |
| Chigusa: Well, that’s going to do it for this Inner Circle lesson! |
| Peter: Bye everyone! |
| Chigusa: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
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