Learn English Fluency Faster-The Power Of Self-Explanation Ep 699

Why Self-Explanation Technique Is A Must For Learning English Language

Study smarter and speed up learning to speak English fluently! Discover a groundbreaking technique that will transform your language learning journey. Are you ready to learn how 'Self-Explanation' can improve your English skills? Stay tuned to upgrade your learning experience!

💡 Reasons to Join the Lesson:

• 🌐 Global Perspective: Embrace English in the context of UK education and culture.
• 📈 Rapid Progress: Experience a steep learning curve with our study tips and methods.
• 💬 Active Speaking: Improve spoken English skills through practice and recall.
• 🧠 Enhanced Recall: Master the Self-Explanation technique for lasting language retention.
• 🔎 Focus on Fluency: Develop true fluency with tailored lessons for all levels.
• 🎧 Audio-Based Learning: Immerse yourself in English with our audio lessons.
• 👥 Community Support: Join a community of learners on the same journey as you.

Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.
⭐ Oprah Winfrey

✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/learn-english-language-self-explanation-technique-for-fluency/

Think of it like this: each time you use 'Self-Explanation', you’re building a bridge in your mind, making it easier to recall and use new English phrases and vocabulary.

It’s about making English a part of your thinking, not just a language you study. This method turns passive listening into an active, engaging process, helping you not only understand but also speak English more naturally.

The only source of knowledge is experience.
⭐ Albert Einstein

Join us as we explore practical techniques like retrieval, blurting, and critical thinking to enhance your English speaking skills. Every step on this journey brings you closer to fluency.

More About This Lesson

Welcome to an interesting English fluency lesson focusing on the 'Self-Explanation' technique! This study method is not just about listening and repeating; it involves actively recalling and discussing what you've learned to deeply embed the language in your thought processes. By understanding and speaking English more naturally, you'll transform the way you learn, making English a part of your thinking. Let's explore how this innovative technique can revolutionize your language learning journey.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
⭐ Nelson Mandela

In today's English fluency lesson you will learn how to:

1. Boosts Speaking Skills: Practising 'Self-Explanation' method improves your English speaking ability.
2. Enhances Vocabulary: Helps you remember and use new English words and phrases effortlessly.
3. Strengthens Memory: The 'Retrieval' step aids in recalling learned English content.
4. Promotes Active Learning: You engage deeply with the material, making learning active.
5. Develops Critical Thinking: Forming opinions and questioning content enhances critical thinking in English.
6. Builds Neural Connections: Creates new neural pathways in the brain for better language learning.
7. Encourages Real-Life Application: Prepares you for real English conversations through practical exercises.
8. Improves Understanding: You better understand English by summarizing content to others.
9. Fosters Self-Reflection: Reflecting on personal connections to the content deepens learning.
10. Enhances Study Skills: Teaches effective study methods, useful for all kinds of learning.

Benefits of our listen & learn approach to learning

This lesson will help you to understand and form opinions on complex topics, enhancing your overall language mastery.

• Effective Study Skills: Highlights the importance of good study habits and active learning techniques.
• Self-Explanation Method: Focuses on this method for better vocabulary recall and improved speaking abilities.
• Practical Application: Demonstrates how to apply this technique in real-life scenarios, like podcast listening.
• Scientifically Proven: Research shows that self-explanation aids in understanding complex material and problem-solving.
• Long-Term Memory Benefits: It’s proven to strengthen memory and knowledge retention.
• Brain Development: Learning a new language through this method can change your brain's structure and function, enhancing neuroplasticity.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
⭐ Helen Keller

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Discover the 'Self-Explanation' method on our podcast! It's a game-changer for your English. Listen now on Spotify, YouTube, and adeptenglish.com! #LearnEnglish #SelfExplanation

Frequently Asked Questions on 'Self-Explanation' Technique

Boosting your English fluency with the 'Self-Explanation' technique is like unlocking a secret garden of language. Each word and phrase becomes a key, opening new paths in the lush maze of English, where every turn reveals vibrant new expressions and ideas, waiting to be explored and made your own.

1. What is the 'Self-Explanation' Technique? The 'Self-Explanation' technique is a study method that helps in retaining new vocabulary and phrases in English. It involves three steps: Retrieval, Blurting, and Interviewing what you remember. This method is about practising and embedding new knowledge, helping you build neural pathways in your brain for better recall and usage of English.
2. How Does 'Self-Explanation' Improve English Speaking Skills? This technique enhances speaking skills by encouraging active recall and verbal expression. By summarizing and discussing podcast content in English, you practice forming sentences and using new vocabulary, thus improving fluency and confidence in spoken English.
3. Can 'Self-Explanation' be Used with Any English Podcast? Absolutely! While the technique is particularly effective with Adept English podcasts, it can be applied to any English podcast. After listening, try to recall the content, then talk about it in English, and finally, question and form opinions on the material. This method immerses you in the language, aiding fluency.
4. What are Some Tips for Effectively Using the 'Self-Explanation' Method? For effective use of this method, focus on active listening first, then pause and recall the content without referring to notes. Speak about what you remember in English, and finally, critically analyse the content, forming your own opinions. Repeat the process with different materials for varied learning experiences.
5. Why is 'Self-Explanation' a Recommended Technique for Learning English? 'Self-Explanation' is recommended because it goes beyond passive learning. It engages your brain in active learning, encourages critical thinking, and helps in forming connections in English. This method not only improves your understanding but also aids in speaking English fluently, making it a holistic approach to language learning.

Most Unusual Words:

• Self-Explanation: This means explaining something to yourself. It's a way to understand and remember new things better.
• Mock: In the context of exams, 'mock' means a practice test before the real one.
• Neural Pathways: These are like roads in your brain that help your thoughts travel. They are formed when you learn new things.
• Retrieval: This means remembering or getting back information from your memory.
• Blurt: To blurt means to say something suddenly without thinking first, often because you are excited or nervous.
• Neurotransmitters: These are chemicals in your brain that help send messages from one part of your brain to another.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): These are bad experiences in childhood that can affect a person's mental health as an adult.
• Elastoplast: This is a brand of bandages but is often used to mean a quick, temporary solution to a problem.
• Nutrition: This refers to the food and drink that you consume and how it affects your health.
• Mainstream Medical Model: This term refers to the common way that doctors and hospitals treat health problems.

Most Frequently Used Words:

Listen To The Audio Lesson Now

Transcript: Learn English Fluency Faster-The Power Of Self-Explanation

Good study skills skyrocket language learning!

Hi there. Today, let's enhance your English fluency by learning the really effective 'Self Explanation' technique, ' a powerful tool to improve your language recall and spoken English skills. One of the things which language learners don't always think about -

Good study skills make a huge difference to your ability to learn, especially over time. And perhaps we don't think enough about how we study and its effect.

Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.

I made a small graph here. Look at this.

This is the effect of study skills on your level of English. And you can see from that graph, good study skills make a huge difference over a period of time. Poor study skills, you're not going to progress as long. I've put time in years across the bottom there. And made it six years. If you're going to invest that amount of time in learning English, surely you want to make sure that you're using the best methods of learning. That's really important. And it makes you think. You'll want your learning to look like the red part of that graph, not the blue part.

And the method of studying that I'm talking about today will help you not only practise your understanding, but it helps you practise your spoken English skills as well. This is something which a lot of you struggle with. So here's something today to really help with that.

My poor son, doing his mock GCSEs!

Let's start today with a story from my own life. Currently, my son is sitting what we call in the UK 'mock GCSE exams'. The GCSEs are the exams which 16 year olds take next summer. And the mock GCSEs, MOCK, or 'mocks'? These are the practice exams.

So this is the first time that my son, age 15, is having to study, having to control his gaming habit and having to really focus on his learning. It's the first time he's experienced the inside of an exam room.

Learn English Fluency Faster-The Power Of Self-Explanation Ep 699 Article Image

📷

Collage of words floating around a head, showing the acquisition of vocabulary. Embed new words in your brain with easy recall methods.

©️ Adept English 2023

Study skills matter for English language learners

Observing him, I realise the importance of study skills. Effective study methods, not just for school exams, but for learning anything. And interestingly for learning English, of course. Highly relevant for us. So we've been talking about studying and learning methods, learning techniques. And that's the topic of today's podcast. A really effective technique for learning English.

Good study skills start with the Seven Rules of Adept English

Now, if you're already familiar with the Seven Rules of Adept english you're a step ahead. This course revolutionises the way you learn English, making it much faster, more enjoyable and more intuitive. That's I N T U I T I V E. Haven't you tried it yet? I highly recommend you do. The Seven Rules of Adept English Course is available on our website at adeptenglish.com.

Boost Your Learning With Adept English

The 'Self-Explanation' Study Technique

So today we're focusing on a study method called 'Self Explanation'. This technique is a game-changer for retaining new vocabulary and phrases in English. It's all about practising and embedding that new knowledge into your brain. Think of it as 'building bridges in your brain' that help you recall and use new words effortlessly. This 'Self Explanation' method helps make those new brain connections, new neural pathways. That's N E U R A L.

So for English language learning, this 'Self Explanation' technique - you can use it with our podcasts.

I'll show you how, using our recent podcast number 697, Brain Chemistry and Your Mental Health, as an example. Here's how this method works.

Step One - 'Retrieval'

' Retrieval'. That's R E T R I E V A L. That's the first part of this method.

And it's the first thing you do after learning something or after listening to a podcast. Put all your study materials to one side. I guess for us that means turn off the podcast and stop looking at the transcript, the written words for it.

You then attempt to 'retrieve' what you've remembered, what you've heard. That's R E T R I E V E. And here it means ' to bring back from your memory as much as you can of what you just heard'.

With the podcast, ' What was the topic?', What was she saying? What new words did you hear? Were there any parts you didn't understand? This retrieval exercise helps you practise bringing things back from your memory. What did your memory store about this podcast? It checks how well you've understood and how much you've remembered.

It also highlights any gaps, any parts you've missed or not understood. And of course, you're doing all your thinking about this in English.

An example of Step One - 'Retrieval'

So as an example, using podcast 697, 'Brain Chemistry and your Mental Health', you might recall in English:-

"Oh, this podcast is about mental health. She talks first of all about how your childhood affects your mental health, particularly if you've had bad experiences. She then says something about context, people's circumstances, and whether or not they've experienced trauma. That has an effect as well.

She then talks about antidepressants. And my sense is broadly that she doesn't think they're that good a thing! She doesn't think they work that well. And there are some problems with them, but, hmm, I don't really recall what those were. Then I remember she talks about serotonin and dopamine. I've heard of those neurotransmitters. I think then she goes on to talk about nutrition and something about vitamin C. Or was it vitamin D? I don't quite remember the rest."

That's great if you can remember like that. At this point, it might be a good idea to go back again and listen to podcast 697, Brain Chemistry and Your Mental Health, perhaps a few more times.

Step Two - 'Blurting'

Then you can try the next part of this 'Self Explanation' study method. So next, we do 'blurting'. That's B L U R T I N G.

That means 'quickly recalling and saying out loud everything you remember' about this podcast episode - in English, of course!

'To blurt', B L U R T, or 'to blurt out' means 'to say something suddenly, without thinking very much about it, perhaps because you're nervous or excited'. But here you're 'blurting' purposefully!

So you say all the things you remember about what you just heard in the podcast. Imagine you're summarising it to a friend. Try to remember the content, the points made, the examples given, and say these all to yourself in English, out loud.

An example of Step Two - 'Blurting'

In the case of podcast 697, Brain Chemistry and Your Mental Health, it might sound like this.

"OK, now I understand it better. This podcast is about mental health. And first of all, she talks about how bad childhood experiences affect your mental health as an adult. The term used in English is ACEs or Adverse Childhood Experiences. She talks then about the way medical systems treat mental health problems. They believe that mental health problems are down to brain chemistry, and therefore taking pills like antidepressants is the solution. But it sounds like Hilary doesn't believe this. And she gives an example of a website, where people share problems about antidepressant use.

She says antidepressants are 'like an elastoplast'.

Then she talks about dopamine and serotonin. These are neurotransmitters. I know a bit about those. And she talks about what we eat. Our 'nutrition', I think was the word? And how that affects our neurotransmitters. And that taking extra vitamins can be helpful for our mental health.

She talks about the symptoms for deficiency in vitamin D. And how they look very much like the symptoms for depression. And she ends by saying that if you have depression, it might be worth trying vitamin D to see if you feel any happier.

If you do, great. And if it doesn't make much difference to you, you might decide whether to take it depending on how much sunshine you get. That's how our body makes its own vitamin D. She makes the point that in places like the UK, they don't get enough vitamin D because apparently it's quite dark there in the winter!"

I think if you could remember and say all of that about Podcast 697, you'd be quite pleased with your learning. And the point is that you're exercising

what you've learned

you're remembering it and you're using the words you heard, to talk about it. This is particularly valuable for language learning because it gets you speaking. It builds those neural pathways, the ones that connect up understanding the words with speaking the words.

As you know with the Adept English method, the most important thing is to improve your understanding, your understanding of English through listening.

Step Three - 'Interviewing What You Remember'

But actually there's another step that your brain has to make. So if you talk to yourself about what you heard in the podcast, you'll be building those new neural connections, practising what you've learned, and improving your English speaking. Isn't your brain wonderful that it does that?

The final step in this 'Self-Explanation' technique? 'Interview What You Remember'.

By 'interview', I mean 'question the content, form your own opinions, express them in English'. This critical thinking exercise not only deepens your understanding, but also prepares you for real-life conversation. In other words, it's more advanced. Here, you question what you remember, you question the facts and the arguments given, you think about your own opinion, and you challenge what I've said in podcast 697, ' Brain Chemistry and Your Mental Health'.

Imagine hearing yourself say what I said in podcast 697 and now another part of you is questioning all of it.

An example of Step Three - 'Interviewing What You Remember'

Again, you might want another couple of listens before you try to make sense of it and make comment on it. But it might sound like this. This is 'Interview What You Remember'.

"Do I agree with Hilary when she says that bad childhood experiences affect our mental health in adult life? Do I think that this is true for me and people I know? Probably I do agree with her there. And what about where she talks about people's current circumstances affecting their mental health?

Well, that's pretty clear to me. It probably does. I can think of several examples of this in my own life. And what about that mainstream model of mental health where someone who's depressed is given pills? Hmm, actually, my uncle found antidepressants really helpful, so I'm not sure I entirely agree with Hilary there.

Maybe I'll take a look at that website. What was it called? survivingantidepressants.org.

Hmm. And the last part of the podcast, she's putting forward the idea that nutrition and what was it called? ' Nutritional supplements' can affect our mental health. And that things like vitamin D have a positive effect on our neurotransmitters. This is a new idea for me. I've not heard that before. Maybe that's something to try. Hmmm.

And in the last bit she suggests that we're all different. Our brains work differently. So what helps one person may not help another. And perhaps it's worth experimenting with different nutritional supplements to see if it makes a difference. Um, I quite like that idea. It might give me some sense of control over my mental health to experiment with nutritional supplements."

Listening Lessons

Try to 'Self-Explanation' Study Technique with our podcasts

OK, that's the final step, 'Interviewing What You Remember', in this 'Self Explanation' study technique. ' By following these steps, you're not just learning English, you're immersing yourself in it. You're training your brain to think and express yourself in English. And this is so crucial for fluency.

Effective learning is active learning. It's engaging, questioning and talking about it.. So again, to recap, what were the three steps in this 'Self Explanation' study technique?

Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript

Recap on the 'Self-Explanation' Study Technique

They were 'Retrieval' - practice remembering what you heard. 'Blurting' - just blurt out in English, out loud, what you remember of the podcast. And step three - 'Interview What You Remember'. Recall it, say it, challenge it, ask questions, make comments, give your opinion on it, say how it applies to you - or doesn't!

Goodbye

So I've given you this recognised 'Self Explanation' study technique. I encourage you to try it. You could do it for Podcast 697 or choose a different one if you prefer. But please do let us know how you get on!

Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com

Links

• Surviving antidepressants website
• GCSE's in the UK
• The graph on YouTube
• Podcast 697 - Study Example
• Self Explanation Method
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