Read the News in English with THIS Simple Exercise!

Hello, my amazing students.

Today you're going to improve  your fluency in only 20 minutes,  

and we're going to do this by  reading a news article together.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course.

I'm Jennifer.

Now, let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline, The  Science of Peak Human Performance.

Let's say that these two  lines represent a mountain.

So this is a mountain.

What would you call this?

The very top of a mountain.

What is that called?

It's the peak.

The peak of the mountain.

So in that case, it's a noun.

The peak.

Oh, we climb to the peak, the very top.

So peak performance, peak human performance  is when you are operating at your very top.

So it's your most optimal,  best state of performance.

So it's how you definitely want to  spend your day peak performance.

Now I'm sure you want to learn the science of  peak performance, how to perform at your best,  

your highest level when it comes to improving  your English or any other area of your life.

So if that's you, put me, me, me, put me, me, me.

So I know you want to operate at your  best at your peak human performance.

Now don't worry about taking these notes because  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's read the article together.

Flow state is widely recognized as the pinnacle.

A peak performance pinnacle also  means the very top, the highest point.

You could also refer to it as the top of a  mountain we climb to the pinnacle, but I in  

my experience peak is more common whereas pinnacle  is more common in terms of success, achievement.

For example, giving a Ted talk, which is  a very prestigious public speaking event.

Giving a Ted talk was the pinnacle of my career.

Notice it's the pinnacle of You could think of it  as the best moment of the pinnacle of my career.

Now flow state, have you heard  about this before in English?

It's very common to say I  was in flow, I was in flow.

Have you heard someone say that before?

If someone says they were in flow to be in flow,  

it means they are operating  or working at their best.

So again, that peak state, maybe you've heard.

I was in the zone.

I was in the zone.

Oh, yesterday, I was in the zone.

It's the same thing.

I was operating at my best.

Everything was easy.

I watched one of J Force English lessons.

I did the quiz.

I got every question right.

I was in the zone.

I was in flow from athletes and  artists to entrepreneurs and designers.

The world's top performers are no  strangers to the optimal experience.

And the optimal experience means being  in flow state, being in the zone.

Because optimal is another way of saying the  best, the highest level, the most efficient.

Optimal.

I like this expression to be no stranger to so.

In this context, the world's top performers  

are because this is your verb to  be, so you need to conjugate it.

Here we have they, they are no strangers.

Now we have this S on strangers  because the subject is they.

If it was one person, then  it would be no stranger.

Without the S, there are  no strangers to something.

So this expression to be no stranger to  means you're familiar with something.

And why are you familiar with it?

Because you have done it many times.

You have experienced it many times.

Let's take moms, new moms with young children.

We could say moms are no  strangers to sleepless nights.

If you are currently a new mother or you once  were, I'm sure this sounds very true to you.

You're no stranger to sleepless nights.

You have a lot of experience  with sleepless nights.

Now the subject is they moms.

There's no article here  because it's a plural noun.

They are a verb to be and then you have that  S on strangers and then it's 2 something.

In this case, the something is sleepless nights.

Now if your subject is singular, she is no  stranger without the S2 sleepless nights.

So you have to change your conjugation of the verb  

to be and then make your noun  stranger singular or plural.

This expression will make more sense  if you know what a stranger is.

Hopefully you do.

A stranger is someone you don't know.

So because the example was about moms,  a common thing that moms and dads say  

to their kids is you shouldn't talk to strangers.

They say this to young children.

You shouldn't talk to people you don't know  strangers, so the expression is no stranger.

So if you make stranger negative,  it means it's someone you do know.

So that means you're familiar with that  person because you have experience with it.

So a great expression to have in your vocabulary.

Science shows that success and flow.

Remember, flow is talking about  being in that peak state where  

you are performing at your optimal level.

Success and flow go hand in hand.

So when two things go hand in  hand they complement each other.

So learning English and the J  for is English YouTube channel  

go hand in hand they that's why our  verb to go they go hand in hand.

So they complement each other.

They go well together.

If you agree that learning English and  the J for is English YouTube channel,  

Go hand in hand, then put hand in hand.

Put hand in hand because it  will help you remember this.

Put hand in hand in the comments.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finely Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

the movies, YouTube, and the news so you  can improve your listening skills of fast  

English, expand your vocabulary with natural  expressions, and learn advanced grammar easily.

Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.

You can look in the description  for the link to learn more,  

or you can go to my website and  click on Finally Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our  lesson with its myriad benefits.

Myriad.

This means large number of  Notice that pronunciation?

Myriad.

Myriad with its myriad benefits.

And now it's going to list some of those benefits  to show there are a large number of benefits.

Myriad benefits, so they are sustained  concentration, so you can sustain,  

keep your concentration for a long period of time.

Sustained concentration, unbridled productivity.

Unbridled means it's not  controlled, it's not limited.

So it's like saying unlimited  productivity, complete absorption.

When you're absorbed in a task, it means  you're not aware of things around you.

I was so absorbed in this, let's say watch this  video that I didn't notice that someone was  

making lunch outside or my phone was beeping and  I didn't even notice it because I was so absorbed  

in this video And hopefully that describes  you complete absorption, authentic happiness.

So authentic means true or  real, just to name a few.

So this means, of course there are more  benefits, but these are a few of them.

And there's more because there's myriad benefits.

And again, these are all of the benefits,  

the myriad benefits of flow  being in flow being in the zone.

It's no wonder top performers are  chasing after the elusive flow state.

Elusive means it's difficult to define,  find or achieve depending on the context.

In this context, because we're talking about flow  state, it could be that it's difficult to define.

How do you define what that is?

But it could also be difficult to find or achieve.

So in this context, it could describe all of them.

The question is how does one get into flow states?

Most people are familiar with the basic effects  of flow, so these are the basic effects.

Before we talked about the benefits.

So these are the effects of flow.

What happens to you when you're in flow?

High concentration?

Sense of control?

Transformation of time.

But knowing this, how does one  actually achieve these states?

How do you find flow in this case  actually means really or truly?

How does one truly achieve these States  and states being states of being?

Because they were things that describe your  current state, Your current state of being having  

a sense of control, having high concentration, the  feeling of time transforming as a state of being.

So how do you truly achieve these?

How do you really achieve these?

How do you actually achieve these?

How does one?

How do you, How does one notice that here we have?

How does one Because one is  being conjugated as ** *** it,  

but it's using one because in English  there is no pronoun for both genders.

So instead of saying he or she, you can  just say one but it represents he or she,  

which is why we have does because  in the present simple you need to  

add that's or ES, but only for a ** *** subject.

But in this case with you, you don't.

So the auxiliary verb is do.

How do you find flow?

We have a fun expression in English  when someone asks a question like this.

It's like asking how do I become fluent?

How do I perform at my optimal  state every single day?

That's the $1,000,000 question.

So if someone asks you a  question, how do I become fluent?

And they don't know the answer, but they  want to acknowledge that it's a very  

important question and they wish they had the  answer because it would benefit them as well.

You can reply back and say, well,  that's the $1,000,000 question.

That's the most important question.

That's the question.

If I knew the answer to it, I  would probably be a millionaire.

That's the $1,000,000 question.

Notice here $1,000,000 there's no's  on dollars because it's an adjective.

That's the question.

What type of question?

The most important question, and we're  just saying $1,000,000 instead of most  

important is a very fun expression and I  think you can get a lot of use out of it.

Beyond the basics.

So beyond going further than beyond the basics.

Flow is a poorly understood concept  because it lacks detailed explanation.

So people know the basics of flow.

They in English speakers, because we  know what flow means to be in flow.

Oh, I was in flow.

I was in the zone.

We know it means that you're operating at  your best, but that's the basic Beyond that,  

going farther than that, it  lacks detailed explanation.

A fully developed how to guide a finding flow has  

to begin by examining the  processes that underlie it.

And notice here we have our preposition by.

And that's why examining is in the verb  ING, because you always use the verb ING  

after a preposition by examining  the processes that underlie it.

Flow is so unlike most of our ordinary  day-to-day cognitions and behaviors.

Let's look at day-to-day.

Now.

Here they have cognitions, which just means  your mental process and behaviors, your actions.

Now, day-to-day.

Another word for that is every day, but as one  word, because there are two uses of every day.

As 2 words.

It's a time reference.

It's an adverbial phrase and  it means seven days per week.

I wear this sweater.

This isn't a sweater, it's a T-shirt.

But I wear this sweater every day.

Hopefully I don't wear this sweater every day.

But maybe, maybe you do.

This is an everyday sweater, so notice it comes  before the noun because it's an adjective.

It tells you about the noun and  it's saying it's a day-to-day.

It's a ordinary commonplace.

There's nothing special about it.

It's just an every day sweater.

Don't worry about spilling anything on it.

It's just an everyday  sweater, a day-to-day normal.

So don't make this spelling mistake  because it can be confusing.

So just remember as a time  reference, I do this every day.

It's 2 words, and as an  adjective comes before the noun.

It's one word.

Pronunciation is the same.

So here, day by day, this would be  every day, every day, cognitions,  

every day, Behaviors, things you do every day.

They're routine, they're normal in a word.

You can think of the mental mechanics of flow  as the congruent merging of opposite states.

That's kind of funny because they said  in all word, but then they use many  

words to describe it, so they should  have said in a sentence in a phrase.

If I'm being very picky in a word, the  congruent merging of opposite states,  

what exactly is the congruent  merging of opposite states?

When two things merge, it  means they come together.

This is a driving  

vocabulary, so if you need to merge onto a road,  it means the two roads will come together as one.

So you have to come into that road safely.

Because there are already other cars on the  road, you need to merge, come into it as one.

So that's merging, coming together.

When something is congruent, it means  that two things are in agreement.

There's no conflicts between them.

So let's say I say yes, but I shake my head yes,  

Yes, you would be confused because my  words say yes, but my action says no.

So right there, what I did, those  two actions were incongruent.

They didn't go together.

They weren't in agreement.

There were conflicts.

So a lot of times we use this when your  your words and your actions don't match.

They are not in agreement.

They're incongruent.

So the congruent merging of opposite  states is where action means awareness.

So these are examples of opposite states.

So there's awareness, being aware  of something, but then action.

Doing action means awareness,  Cognition means behavior.

Intention means application.

Conscious means unconscious.

For flow, there needs to be congruence between  the two, so they need to be in agreement.

For example, it's the intention  to perform better on a task,  

plus the application of behaviors that  actually improves your performance.

We already saw actually, this means that  really or truly improves your performance.

Now here a lot of times pay  attention because students will say,  

oh, Jennifer, I really need to become fluent.

But then their behavior doesn't match that.

It's not congruent with their words  because they don't spend the time,  

they don't take any action,  they don't take it seriously.

They enroll in a course,  but they don't do the work.

So their intention and their  behaviors are incongruent.

So they need to be congruent.

You need to say I need to improve  my English and then actually  

spend the time do the work  involved, and then it's congruent.

On the other hand, so already I  know that before I read what's next,  

there's going to be a contrast to what was just  said, because that's how we use on the other hand.

So here, probably the last thing they talked  about is an example of being congruent.

So on the other hand, I assume they'll  share an example of being incongruent.

So let's see on the other hand, an  incongruence, ah, or a failed merging of states.

So a student says I want to become fluent but they  don't spend anytime trying to achieve that goal.

Leads to rumination, distraction and worry.

States of anti flow.

Using transition words like on the one hand,  

on the other hand can help you sound  very advanced and very professional.

Now this one you don't need  to use on the one hand,  

on the other hand you can  just use on the other hand.

Like this example, there was number on the one  hand, it just simply went into the contrast.

So you can have a contrast being  first you talk about the positives,  

the benefits of something, and  then you say on the other hand,  

and then you mention the negatives, the  drawbacks, the disadvantages of something.

But you can absolutely do it the reverse.

First, you can talk about the negatives, the  disadvantages of something, on the other hand.

And then talk about the positives,  the advantages of that one thing.

So you could say hiring a marketing  manager will help us improve our sales.

Now you can go on and list the reason why or  more advantages, but this is a positive thing.

So then you can say on the other hand, and  then you can list some negative things.

Or you can reverse the order.

And remember, you don't  have to use on the one hand,  

but you can to introduce the first  part of the contrast on the other hand.

An incongruence or a failed merging of states  leads to OK, so the here are the negative things.

Rumination, distraction and worry.

I'm sure you know what distraction means.

It's when you're watching this video, but  you're not truly watching it because you're  

checking your phone, you're making A to do list  for your groceries, you're making a cup of tea.

You're doing all these things at the same time.

Distraction, worry, rumination.

This is when you think of something,  and it's usually negative, repeatedly.

So if you have a job interview tomorrow and or  in a week from now and you keep thinking about  

that job interview but negatively,  oh I'm going to do a terrible job.

What if I forget what I wanted to say?

What if I don't get the job and you  do it over and over and over again?

That's rumination.

You're ruminating about the job interview.

So these are states of anti flow.

So that's the end of our article.

What I'll do now is I'll read the article  from start to finish, and this time you  

can focus on my pronunciation, the  science of peak human performance.

Flow state is widely recognized as  the pinnacle of peak performance.

From athletes and artists to  entrepreneurs and designers,  

the world's top performers are no  strangers to the optimal experience.

Science shows that success and flow go  hand in hand with its myriad benefits,  

sustained concentration, unbridled productivity,  

complete absorption, authentic  happiness, just to name a few.

It's no wonder top performers are  chasing after the elusive flow state.

The question is, how does one get into flow state?

Most people are familiar with the basic  effects of flow, high concentration,  

sense of control, transformation of time.

But knowing this, how does one  actually achieve these states?

How do you find flow beyond the basics?

Flow is a poorly understood concept  because it lacks detailed explanation.

A fully developed how to guide of finding flow has  

to begin by examining the  processes that underlie it.

Flow is so unlike most of our ordinary  day-to-day cognitions and behaviors.

In a word, you can think of  the mental mechanics of flow  

as the congruent merging of opposite states.

It's where action means awareness,  

cognition means behaviour, intention means  application, Conscious means unconscious.

For flow, there needs to be  congruence between the two.

For example, it's the intention  to perform better on a task plus  

the application of behaviours that  actually improves your performance.

On the other hand, an incongruence or a  failed merging of states leads to rumination,  

distraction and worry states of anti flow.

So did you like this lesson?

Do you want me to make more  lessons just like this?

If you do, then put more, more more more more  more, put more, more, more in the comments.

And of course make sure you like this video,  

share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And I have another lesson to help you get fluent  fast, so make sure you watch it right now.