TRAIN YOUR BRAIN to Think and Speak in English - 4 Methods

Hello, lovely students. And welcome back to English with Lucy. Have you

ever heard someone say that a child's mind is like a sponge?

Meaning that they can learn new skills and pick up languages

without even trying too hard? Well, it's actually true. Now, I'm going to

assume that most of you aren't 5 years old anymore, which

means that learning new skills takes a bit more effort.

But don't worry; you can actually trick your brain into learning more easily.

I'm going to share some hacks that could make your English

learning journey so much smoother and, hopefully, a lot more enjoyable.

I've also created a special free gift for you today. I have

created a PDF cheat sheet with all of my recommendations

that you can download and use to help you on your

English learning journey.

I have been learning languages and teaching languages for

years—longer than I'd like to admit—and all of my expertise is in this one document.

If you would like to download my 'Language Learning cheat sheet',

all you have to do is click on the link in the description box or

scan the QR code just there.

You enter your name and your email address,

choose your English level, and the PDF will arrive directly

in your inbox.

And after that, you've joined my free PDF club. You will automatically

receive my free weekly PDFs

alongside all of my news, course updates and offers. It's a free service.

You can unsubscribe at any time with just one click.

Okay, let's get into some of these brain hacks.

First one here: cultivate a growth mindset.

'I've never been good at learning English.' 'I'll never be

able to understand this advanced-level grammar so

what's the point in trying?'

If you've ever had thoughts like these before,

you might have more of a fixed mindset.

This is the idea that only people with natural talents and skills can

succeed in learning something well. Your ability is fixed—it can't develop.

You're basically saying—'I am who I am, and that's that.'

On the other hand, people with growth mindsets believe that

abilities can be developed through hard work, perseverance,

good study habits,

effective strategies for learning and so on.

So how can this help you with your language learning journey?

Well, you can try to hack your brain and reframe some of the

negative limiting beliefs that are holding you back.

Here are a few examples: Maybe you tell yourself—'My

vocabulary isn't good enough.'

If you catch yourself stuck on this negative thought, flip it to

something more positive, like—'I'm learning around 10 new

words a week and my vocabulary is growing steadily.'

Let's reframe another one—'I can't figure out when to use

different verb tenses in English—I give up!'

I know it can be frustrating. But again, we can reframe this.

We can say something like—'Okay, this way of learning

isn't working for me. What other strategies can I try to

learn this more effectively?'

Slowly but surely, you can trick your brain into adopting a more

positive approach to learning English.

Okay, let's move on to the next one: SMART goals.

So now that your head is in the right place, let's talk

about setting the right kind of goals.

SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable,

Relevant, and Time-bound.

Let's break this down with some specific examples. Number one: Specific.

Instead of saying—'I want to improve my English,' try—'I want to be

able to start conversations and understand people I meet when traveling.'

Number two: Measurable. Make it something you can track.

'I will learn 5 new phrases per week that I can use in common 

situations when I go traveling.'

Keep a record of your progress to give your motivation a boost,

and tick the phrases off when you've used them!

Three: Achievable. Be realistic! If you're a beginner, don't aim

to listen to an entire podcast within a week.

Break challenging goals down into manageable, bite-sized chunks.

Four: Relevant. Make sure your goal matters to you. If you love traveling,

focus on that. If you're hoping to build your business internationally,

focus on professional English.

And five: Time-bound. Set a deadline. 'I want to achieve this in

3 months.' For example,

putting it all together, a SMART goal might look like this—'For the next 3 months,

I will learn 5 new phrases per week that I can use while traveling, with the aim

of being able to chat comfortably with people I meet.'

Great goal!

The benefit of a SMART goal is that it's something you can write

down and track, and it's so important that you can track it.

I've included an exercise for building SMART goals in my

cheat sheet, so make sure you download that.

There is something so satisfying about crossing off another day of

studying, and that feeling is backed by science. When you accomplish a

task, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel happy.

Seeing that you're sticking to your plan and making progress

will trick your brain into wanting more and more.

Now, you might be thinking—'That's still a pretty big goal.'

And you're right. This is when we bring in our next trick:

the 2-minute rule.

James Clear, the author of 'Atomic Habits', a brilliant book, by the

way—suggests using the 2-minute rule.

Instead of committing to learning 5 new phrases, no matter how long it takes.

Instead commit to learning new vocabulary for just 2

minutes and see how you feel.

The logic here is similar to exercise. If you want to lift a 20-kilogram

dumbbell, you're probably going

to need to start with the 5-kilogram dumbbells and work your way up.

Your brain responds the same way.

You need to work up to bigger, more intense tasks.

Trying to achieve huge goals sets you up for failure: break tasks

down, start small, and build yourself up.

Now, imagine you want to start listening to podcasts in English. Let's try

the 2-minute rule. Pick an English podcast or video you've been meaning to watch.

Set a timer for 2 minutes and start listening. When the timer

goes off, ask yourself: How much of that did I understand? How interesting

is the content? Do I want to keep listening? Why or why not?

And the most important part of the practice is to celebrate

your small successes. Say something like—'Wow, I just understood a full

2 minutes of this podcast!'

Affirmations like this boost the happy chemicals in your brain, motivating you

to keep learning and practicing. And

the best thing is you can do this with everything: I'll just read

1 page of this book. I'm going to answer 5 of these grammar

questions. I'm going to spend 2 minutes reviewing the vocabulary

I learnt last week.

As you start to feel more comfortable, add more time: 3

minutes, 4 minutes, and so on, but make sure you celebrate your

wins every step of the way.

Okay, before we talk about my next hack, I want to remind you

of something I mentioned in the last section:

our brains work in a similar way to our muscles.

The more you exercise, the stronger you get. Your brain isn't a muscle,

but the more you do certain tasks, the more synapses

or—connections—your brain creates.

And one of the best ways to create these synapses and grow

your brain is regular exercise.

Now, you probably weren't expecting to hear this in a video

about learning English, but trust me, it's a game changer.

A part of the brain called the hippocampus is associated with

learning and memory. And research shows that exercise can grow this

part of your brain so that you can think more clearly

and retain what you learn!

It's amazing! Exercise also increases your attention. And in our world of TikToks

and reels, our ability to pay attention has gone way down.

I've noticed it in myself.

But to learn a new skill and to make English come naturally,

you need to give it your full attention.

Even just 2 minutes of exercise can boost your attention significantly!

And if that's not a study hack, I don't know what is!

But if you want sustained attention and to get your brain in

tip-top shape for learning,

simple things like going for a walk, a bike ride, or dancing around

your room like a fool

can help improve your overall concentration.

So, put another way, any time you take the dog for a walk or

take the stairs instead of the lift,

you're increasing your capacity to learn!

After exercise, take a few minutes to focus on English. You could write in your

journal about your day or practise speaking about what you

saw during your walk.

The key is to do this without any distractions.

Put your phone away, turn off the TV, and give your full attention

to English for just a few minutes.

By doing this, you're taking advantage of your increased

focus from exercise and reinforcing your English skills at the same time.

It doesn't have to be a long study session.

Even 5 to 10 minutes of concentrated effort can make a big difference.

Okay, I think that's enough brain hacking for today. But remember,

the key to all these tips is consistency!

Keep at it, and you'll find English becoming more and more

natural to you every day.

And don't forget to download that free cheat sheet for even more

tips and tricks. I put my heart and soul into it. Just click on the link

below to download that.

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson and I will see you in another video.

Muah!