New Year Resolutions

Welcome to Ashwini’s Journey, a new Language Snaps podcast on language learning and teaching. In this episode, Ashwini and Monica discuss the importance of setting language learning goals, how to study passively and actively, and why it is important to stay motivated. Ashwini reflects on the progress he made in 2020, makes a study plan for 2021, and reveals his dream of becoming an English teacher.

Annotated Transcript

[Monica] Hi everyone, I am Monica, I am an English teacher and I’m also working on learning languages this year. I’m focusing on French and Swiss German.

[Ashwini] And I’m Ashwini, and I’m from India and I’ve been studying English for like three years. And the reason why I want to like learn English is to become an English teacher. And whatever I’ve learned so far is all by myself and go out and just like express [yourself].

[M] I think it is so awesome that you’ve learned so much English on your own. And I think today, hopefully you can let me know some secrets for goal setting in terms of languages this year.

[A] Okay.

M (01:05):
So we wrote a snap all about having these monthly goals with language learning, which I think is so important because if you just say, I’m going to learn English in 2021, but you don’t have any smaller goals It’s probably not going to happen for you. So I was thinking first, we can talk about kind of how 2020 went in terms of our language learning journeys. So for you, how do you think you spent 2020 in terms of studying? Do you think you did well, you kept yourself accountable or is there something you still want to work on?

M (01:53):
I think I would say like, you know, we all know that it had been a hell of a ride for all of us, but I think it was a blessing in disguise for me, because I had a chance to stay at home and work from home. And so I was having a lot of time to improve my English. So I was like practicing my speaking skills, watching TV series and watching movies and looking at like using these studies to look up the new vocabulary. And I was just using my free time to improve my English. So I think that was that was quite helpful for me to improve my level of staying at home. And so I had a lot of time to do all these things. Like if I were working away from home, that would be quite difficult for me to just keep at it. So I think that was a great time for me and for me, instead of in terms of improving my English.

M (02:55):
That’s awesome. I think a blessing in disguise is the perfect idiom to describe that like the extra time you put to good use. So the next question I have is what type of acadmic activities do you recommend for learning English? So what are your favorites like? Is it just watching TV, passively not taking notes or anything, or do you prefer reading books and taking notes? What activities do you like?

M (03:26):
I think the first activity, which I really admire and I haven’t experienced by myself is singing out loud. I think that really helps you to speak very naturally. And you, you like, you just, you know, get to pick up the connect to the speech and like connect to the speech and the conflictions naturally. So you don’t have to find all these things in the dictionary or on the internet. You just pick it up naturally. Like if I say, if I sing a song, so it just comes naturally, I don’t naturally put me, like, I just, I would connect one, two, two, one, and go through to go down. So that, that happens naturally if you sing out loud. So that’s the, what I, that’s the first thing I’d prefer. And I would like, I would like to recommend this to everyone who really wants to speak naturally and want to speak like an native. So the first thing you should do just to like sing out loud, like you can just pick out your favorite song, like one song per week, and it starts singing out loud whenever you have time. So that will help you to speak like a native, not if you don’t want to like, say like, like native, but it will help you to speak naturally.

M (04:34):
I’m so glad you talked about singing because that is the one thing I’ve been doing consistently with French. I have an app that has the lyrics of the song is going, and you can find these on YouTube everywhere. And I just sing the songs in French and it helps so much because yeah, French has so many connections between words and it helps your pronunciation so much, especially when a song is fast. So I think that is really good advice.

M (05:06):
Yes. And the second thing, I would say, like when you watch [a] TV series, you don’t have, like, you should take notes and not saying like, okay, you just take every single step, like every single vocabulary or expression you see. But I will say like, whenever you find whenever you’re not able to figure out the meaning from the context, when you were watching a TV show or a movie, then you should write it down and you can look look that word up in the dictionary, even though you’re gonna, you will have time. So like you don’t, you just don’t have to have that reveal or movie or TV show. You can do it later whenever you have time. So just keep watching that movie and just jotting down the phrasal verb or expressions you are getting it through. So that’s the thing. And you can

M (05:58):
And do that also when you’re listening to music, I mean, it sounds so, like, I don’t want to, you know, I want to watch TV to relax. I don’t want to take notes, but there’s a time if you want to basically use like watching TV and listening to music to help your English, then it’s good to do these like active activities, like writing down phrasal, verbs, you don’t know and vocabulary, you don’t know. And I really love all the points that you’ve brought up for 2020 and how you studied. And we also have a snap that kind of helps you make your January goals for how you want to start studying. So do you want to continue listening to music and studying that way? So I will tell you all of the options that we have this coming year, what’s your preference. So when it comes to reading, do you prefer books, articles or newspapers?

M (07:01):
All right, now I prefer articles because I am [too] lazy to read books, but I have, this is my new year resolution to read at least five books this year. So you see, I would be focusing more on reading books rather than reading articles.

M (07:15):
Awesome. So reading books for this year, and then when it comes to listening practice, do you prefer music podcasts or the radio?

M (07:26):
But I would pick first preference would be music. And second I have one or two, like a listening podcast. The first one is […] English. It is from USA and second one I would recomed is TED talks.

M (07:43):
Yeah. TED talks are great. I also listen to them all the time. Cool.

M (07:50): Yeah, that’s great.

M (07:50):
So the next thing is, what do you like to watch? Do you like to watch TV shows, movies or the news?

M (07:57): Oh, well, I love to watch TV series and movies.

M (08:01):
Yeah. That’s kind of how I feel too. I think I choose maybe movies and then TV shows. Cool. And then the last or second to last is, do you prefer kind of journal writing or writing with a pen pal? So do you know what a pen pal is?

M (08:22): Yes. Yeah. Your friend, like you are my pen pal, right?

M (08:26):
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So back in the day before the internet, people would have pen pals and write like letters. So I would write to you in India would be like ‘Hey Ashwini, what what are your goals for 2021?

M (08:40):
Yes. So I would prefer pen-pal writing, not journal writing.

M (08:46):
Cool. And then would you prefer to use social media? So things like Instagram and Youtube or practice with friends?

M (08:58):
I think I would prefer to use Instagram and YouTube because I have learned a lot through these apps.

M (09:04):
Awesome. And then would you prefer to join a class or practice with friends?

M (09:12): I think I would join a class.

M (09:14):
Cool. And will you visit Language Snaps this year to help your English learning journey?

M (09:21): Yeah, I will, definitely.

M (09:23):
Good. Cool. Awesome. So we have your preferences and now these questions shift towards reflection. So first question is to help you find your, why. I always tell my students that your, why keeps you so motivated. It’s your personal reason, your personal connection to English. So Ashwini why are you studying English?

M (09:50):
Hmm, that’s [an] interesting question. Well, first when I started learning English, like,uthere was just more for me to like speak fluently because I wanted to take interviews for the job. So that was the main motive at that time. But as I, I like… All the time. I became so passionate about English. So I thought like, okay, because I thought like, okay, let’s be an English teacher because I want to travel across the world. And I think this is something which is quite helpful for me to make money out of it if I… So that’s how like, that, that became more motive now. Like I want to be an English teacher. That’s why am learning English.

M (10:33):
That’s awesome. And then the next question is all about kind of your fluency and how you feel so it’s out of five. So for example, the first one is I can talk about any topic. Right now, how do you feel? Do you feel like three out of five is maybe I can talk about some topics, but not all five out of five is any topic whatsoever.

M (10:59): I think I would say four out of five.

M (10:59): Four out of five.

M (11:09):
Yes. I speak with confidence. No matter who am I speaking to. So I would say like 4.8 out of five.

M (11:17):
We’ll round it to five. Cool. And then the next one is I have an easy time with pronunciation.

M (11:26):
Yes. I would say a 4.5 because I know how to pronounce words, but sometimes like, which I have never come across before, or maybe in pronouncing those words, I will have a hard time, but I still, that I managed to pronounce it correctly. All the words whenever I come across. So I would say like 4.5 out of five.

M (11:46):
Nice. And I’ll just add that I, English is my first language. And when I come across a name or a term I’ve never heard, sometimes I have no idea how to pronounce it either.

M (11:56): It’s difficult.

A (11:58): It’s hard.

M (11:59):
Yeah. So the next one is ‘I always understand what I hear.’

M (12:04):
Well, it depends if I’m listening to, I mean, I’m, I wouldn’t be getting like a hundred percent, so yeah, if I’m like watching news and listening to music, it depends like if I’m listening to an American accent or British accent, it would be hard for me to get a hundred percent as you would agree. Like, you’d, you wouldn’t be getting like a hundred percent. If you listen to some, you know, if you listen to some songs or watch movies in your language and English, you wouldn’t get a hundred percent defend. If I watch a movie in my own native language, I wouldn’t be getting from that person. So I would say like I got 85% when I watch movies, like in a neutral accent or in American accent, because for me, because his accent is quite difficult for me to understand, but there’s still, somehow I managed to understand, but I would say like I get 80 to 85% out of a hundred percent.

M (12:59):
Cool. So we can say four stars maybe. And yeah. Familiarity is key. [With] Dialects that I’m not familiar with yet sometimes my comprehension also lowers. Okay. And the last question out of five stars, what would you say for, I write really well.

M (13:20):
Oh, I think I write well, but sometimes like I have problem in conjunctions in linking basics. So that’s why I decided to take a course on that. Yeah. But I think I’m good at grammar. I don’t make mistakes, but when I write anything and you wouldn’t find a mistake about grammar structures and tests, but yeah. I have some problems in linking basics and coordinating conjunctions specifically. So I think I’m better. I would say like I would give 4 or 4.5 out of five.

M (13:54):
Nice. Awesome. So these stars and prompts I think are so good to look back on maybe in December 2021, and then you can see what has changed. Cool. And then before we finish, if I tell you this year, “I will master English..” By what are maybe two or three concrete things that you want to do this year?

M (14:21):
Hmm. Okay. Like [the] first thing I would like to do this year, like I would go in, I wouldn’t, you know, I would go deep dive. I would go deep into the pronunciation part because I think that’s very important to understand as a teacher, because it can be helpful for you to make your student understand what the pronunciation is and how the vowels and the continents on and how the words go together and all these things. So like work out on speech and that kind of thing. So the first thing I’m going to focus on is [the] pronunciation part. And the second in the second goal, I always like to understand all the assets nuances of like writing, like linking basics. And I have totally about conjunctions and syntax and all these things like factors, which affect writing. So just to make it matter, I think like include ir.

M (15:20):
Like understand the more technical aspects of writing maybe.

M (15:24):
Yes, yes, you’re right.

M (15:25):
Cool. Awesome. And then the last question is to meet my goals, “I will practice…” Are you planning on practicing daily, weekly, monthly, or something else? How often?

M (15:41):
I think.. I think I don’t practice daily, but on the weekends I practice, I do practice, but honestly speaking, I always trying to learn everything whenever I’m not working. I’m just trying to read an article or watch TV series or just going into Instagram and trying to find some new expression. So actually whenever I’m free, I’m always learning. So I cannot decide a time that then I’m not learning English and trying to improve my time on what I’m doing [it all the time]. So I cannot tell you the specific time that I tried to practice [because I practice all the time and I try to improve.

M (16:25):
That’s awesome. That is the motivation that I need. That’s perfect. So whenever you have free time, you studying English and try to improve.

M (16:36):
Yes, whenever I’m not working [or in the office] I’m literatully trying to improve my English.

M (16:36):
That’s awesome! Well, thank you so much for completing your January goals and for giving us inspiration and motivation to complete our January.

M:
Thank you so much for listening to episode one of Ashwini’s Journey by Language Snaps, you can take the quiz and read the transcript at languagesnaps.com and let us know what your language learning goals are this year. Keep learning and keep enjoying this journey. We’ll see you next time.