As the title suggests, this seminar is focused on creating an English speaking breakthrough.  You’ll learn the complete Effortless English system, experience a full lesson live, and learn how to continue using the system at home.   Our goal is to help you breakthrough to English fluency in just 6 months!

We’re targeting next Saturday, January 8th, for our first “Beta Test”– it’ll be a free one day demonstration seminar in Bangkok, Thailand.   We’ll be doing a few of these “Test” seminars in order to practice and improve the process.  After each one, we’ll meet and discuss ways to improve the lessons, the material, and the presentation.

Our aim is to create the most incredible English learning experience you have ever had!   (I believe in BIG goals!!!)

I’m happy to report that our good friends Noi & Nid will be helping us find a conference room for the seminars, and will also be helping us promote them.  I expect the first free “Beta Test” demonstrations to be small.  This is fine, as it will give us a chance to perfect the process and create something truly outstanding!  I’ll be running the first few seminars myself… then Tomoe will be joining me at the end of January to give me some much needed help!!

We’ll soon be announcing dates and locations for these first seminars in Bangkok.

As a bonus, all seminar participants will gain Forum membership (for life).. so attending a seminar is a great way to join The Effortless English Club family.

We’ll be continuing the seminars in San Francisco, when we go back home in May.  Once the “English Speaking Breakthrough” process is perfected, we’ll be charging for admission– but I’m not sure how much yet.

I hope to bring the fully developed seminar to Japan this summer (Osaka)– and possibly elsewhere later in the year.

Eventually, possibly next year, we’ll do a “World Tour”!   We also may videotape some seminars and sell the DVDs.

But all that is “down the road” (in the future).   Right now, we’re focused on developing the best English speaking seminar ever– right here in Bangkok, Thailand!

I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand a couple of days ago and immediately started to plan the seminar.

My idea is to provide a complete overview of our system.  But I don’t want to merely lecture or talk about theory.  I also want to give participants a powerful learning experience–  so that they directly experience the power of Effortless English.

I also want to go beyond what’s possible with our recorded lessons.  A live seminar makes it possible to have highly energetic & interactive lessons.

In each seminar, I’ll start by explaining the key principles of Effortless English.  I’ll briefly review some of the research that supports our method, and I’ll also talk about my personal teaching experiences.

But the fun part will be the demonstration–  I’ll do a live Mini-Story lesson with the participants and then a live Point of View (POV) lesson with them.   Live Mini-Stories are quite fun, because the learner’s can help me create the story details.   Whenever I ask a question that has an unknown answer, participants shout out guesses…  I typically choose the guess that is the strangest or funniest.

Gradually, we create a very fun, crazy story together….  with plenty of deep learning and interaction.

Another feature of seminars is that they are physical.  When I teach- I move!  I pour my energy into the class…  and I demand energetic responses from them.

This is nothing like the English classes you experienced in school.  You’ll be shouting, jumping, laughing, dancing, and moving!

We do this for two reasons:  First, research by Dr. James Asher (and others) shows that we learn much more deeply when we involve our bodies.   It turns out that moving while learning is a great strategy– which causes you to remember what you have learned much longer– and helps you use your knowledge more easily.

The second reason is that it’s fun!  And guess what– fun also creates more powerful learning!  Happy students, it has been shown, learn much faster and remember more of what they have learned (compared to bored, tired, or anxious students).

All seminar participants will be given lifetime membership on our Effortless English Forums– so soon you’ll be able to hear about the seminars directly from learners like yourself!

Of course, I’ll be using their comments to continually improve our seminars.  My long-term goal is to create a series of seminars, including a 4-7 day intensive English learning experience.

But it all starts now, in Thailand, with our first “English Speaking Breakthrough” seminar.  If you live in Thailand, I hope to see you there.  We’ll be announcing dates and locations soon!

A new year is beginning and it’s time to make a serious commitment.   This is the year you will master English.  This is the year you finally speak fluent English.

In the US, we have the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions.  A resolution is a strong decision to do something or accomplish something.

Unfortunately, most people forget their resolutions.  They quickly become distracted and lose their commitment.

So I want you to make your resolution with great emotional power.

I want you to say, strongly, with tremendous emotion and energy, “This year I will speak English fluently”

Say it out loud– with a very strong voice.

Then do it again.  Use all of your body when you say this resolution.  Move your arms powerfully.  Stand firm. Take a deep breath and with a loud powerful voice say again, “This year I will speak English fluently!”

As you say this, imagine yourself speaking fluent English.  See yourself speaking to a native speaker.  Imagine the words coming out of your mouth effortlessly.  See yourself smiling and laughing as you talk.  You are now a fluent speaker of English!

With this image in your mind, yell again, “This year I will speak English fluently!”

Finally, to make this resolution real, take a strong action.  Do something immediately to show your commitment to mastering English.  Buy some lessons, hire a tutor, contact a native speaker, buy an English novel….  do something to show yourself that you are serious.

This is the year.  No more excuses.  No more delays.  No more complaining. No more doubts.

This is the year you speak English fluently!

One of the easiest ways to gain more power and motivation is to choose bigger goals.  Most learners have impotent, vague goals.   They say things such as:   “I want to improve my English”,  “I want a good score on the TOEFL”, “I want a better job”.

These are emotionally weak goals and will not give you the energy you need for rapid success.

Goals must excite you.   You should feel giddy and energized just thinking about your goal.

This is a topic I have already written about– and yet, I realized that I too am sometimes guilty of having weak goals.

For example, I’ll be doing demonstrations and presentations in Thailand soon.   My goal was to “Teach people about the Effortless English system”  and to “Connect with more people”.

These are certainly positive goals– but they have no power.  They don’t excite me.  They don’t ignite my passion.

So I thought more deeply.  I asked myself, “Why do I want to teach people about the Effortless English system?  Why do I want to connect with more people?  What do I want to contribute?  What do I want to accomplish?”

Better goals immediately came to my mind…  answers such as:

“I want to inspire people and transform their lives!”

“I want to awaken people’s passion and love of learning.  I want to fire their imaginations!”

“I want to totally transform the way people learn English.. I want to help people achieve their dreams using English as a tool!”

“I want to build an international family of wildly enthusiastic learners!”

“I want to give people incredibly positive & powerful emotional experiences!  I want to give them happiness, laughter, passion, and an unshakeable confidence in themselves.”

“I want to free people from doubt, from insecurity, from boredom, from hesitancy. I want to free them to achieve their dreams!

Now these are exciting goals!  These goals immediately give me energy.  They make me want to jump out of bed and immediately get to work!  They make me want to do a fantastic job as a teacher.  They inspire me to learn and grow better, and better, and better as a teacher.

They make me want to create an amazing demonstration– not just some boring lecture.

Now I’m inspired!

Now I’m energized!

Now I have a mission!

Choose big, audacious, powerful goals– and ignite your passion too!

So, how can you improve your English pronunciation?

I recommend the following steps:

1. Identify A Very Specific Result That You Want

To improve, you must have a very clear goal.  General goals such as “I want to have better English pronunciation” have no power.  You need a much more specific goal.

For example, pick your favorite American actor or actress and decide to speak like them.  Your goal might be, “I will speak exactly like George Cloony”.    This goal is much more powerful because it is very specific.

2. Choose A Deadline

Goals are powerless without a timeline.  You must choose a specific date when you will accomplish your pronunciation goal.   Your goal, therefore, might be:  “I will speak exactly like George Cloony by June 4, 2009″.

3. Find A Lot of Compelling Reasons For Your Goal

As Anthony Robbins says, “if you can find enough ‘why’s’, you will easily find the how’s”.  In other words, if you are very motivated, you will find a way to succeed.  Motivation (psychology) is more important than method.

It’s not enough to have a goal.  You must make that goal emotionally powerful.  You must have very powerful reasons..  a long list.  So, you need to brainstorm.  Imagine all of the incredibe benefits that will come to you as a result of having excellent pronunciation.   Find powerful emotional reasons.  Also, imagine all of the terrible results of failing.

Your list might include:

I’ll get a fantastic job and make a lot of money because my English speech is so clear!

I’ll meet beautiful American girls, have a lot of dates, and find an amazing girlfriend because my spoken English is so fantastic!

The important thing to do is to find the reasons that are powerful for you.  Exaggerate them.  Imagine the best possible consequences!

4. Take Massive Action

You have a very specific English pronunciation goal.  You have a deadline.  You have a long list of emotionally compelling reasons.

Now it’s time for action.   Create a massive action plan.  Here’s what I recommend:

Buy a few movies that have your favorite actor or actress.

Each day, watch one scene of the movie.  Play the scene a few times with subtitles…  and listen carefully to the actor’s intonation (the rise, fall, and rhythm of his/her speech).

Next, rewind and play just one sentence.  Pause and copy the actor’s speech.  Copy it EXACTLY.  Copy the rhythm.  Copy the volume.  Copy the pauses.  Copy the emotion.

Also, copy the actor’s gestures.  Move your body exactly like they do.  Copy their facial expressions exactly.  Copy their posture.  Remember, your goal is to look, act, and speak exactly like them.

Follow this system for 20-30 minutes every day.

5. Measure & Celebrate

After a few months of using this system, it’s time to measure yourself.   Play a scene from a movie with your actor in it.  Then pause it–   copy the actor’s speech AND record yourself.  Record yourself speaking the same scene.

Next, rewind your recording and play it.  Then rewind the movie scene and play it.  Listen to both and decide– how close are you to the actor?  What is different about your speech and theirs?  What are you doing well?

Use this measurement to adjust your focus….  then continue using the system everyday.

Finally, when your deadline comes and you succeed– be sure to celebrate!  Have a party!  Go crazy!  Fill yourself with happy, excited, grateful emotions.   This will increase your motivation and will help you continue to improve as you move to your next goal.

In my opinion, this is how to learn English pronunciation most effectively, most enjoyably, and most efficiently.

Enjoy!

This is one of the reasons that so many students fail to master spoken English.

In school, you learned English analytically.  In fact, you never learned to speak English at all.  Rather, you learned to analyze English, talk about English, and translate English.

I have observed many English classes, in many different countries, and they are all the same.  For the most part, students in these classes learned with their eyes.

Traditional classes focus almost entirely on a textbook.  There may be short “communication exercises”, but the entire class is defined by and driven by a textbook.  If your goal is to get a degree in English from a University, this is a great way to study.

Spoken English Mastery

However, if your goal is to master spoken English, you will fail with traditional methods.

You must break with tradition.  You must forget everything you learned in school.  You must have the courage and intelligence to follow a different path.

The first and most obvious change you must make is to learn with your ears.  It’s obvious, isn’t it?  If you want to master spoken English, you need audio input… not text.

The dynamics of spoken English are completely different than the written language.   The grammar is different (we rarely speak in complete sentences).  The vocabulary is different (a lot more idioms and slang are used in speech).

And most importantly, the speed is different.  Speech is fast.  Super-fast.  So fast that you have no time to think about translations, or grammar rules, or textbook lessons.

There is no time.  Your conscious brain simply cannot analyze, translate, and organize real speech.  This is the reason your speech is so slow.  This is the reason you can’t understand two native speakers talking to each other.

To perform at real speaking speeds, you must turn off your conscious brain and let your subconscious do it’s job.   To do that, you must use methods which awaken your subconscious.  You must learn holistically, intuitively, and naturally.

Primarily, this means listening to lots of English speech…  and doing it repeatedly.   As you listen, you quiet your conscious mind and just allow your brain to understand the whole meaning of the words.  You don’t try to pick out individual words.  You don’t worry about the few words you don’t understand.

You relax and you let the meaning wash over you.   Your mind is open and quiet.

And then, when you speak, you just let the words come out.  You don’t struggle.  You don’t analyze.  You don’t think about rules.  You don’t think about translations.

You just let the words pour out of your mouth effortlessly.

This is true fluency, and this is the only way to master spoken English.

In my opinion, our Point of View Stories are the very best way to learn English grammar intuitively.  They are easy.  They are fun.  They are very effective.

Point of View Stories were first developed by Blaine Ray, the creator of the TPRS learning system.  Blaine used the stories to teach Spanish to his High School students.

I immediately recognized the power of these stories, and decided to modify them for my own teaching system.  Point of View Stories are now a very important part of our Effortless English Club Lessons… and they will be included in my new Power English Lessons– coming soon!

As I explain in my 7 Rules email course, Point of View Stories NEVER discuss grammar rules.  You never even learn the names of grammar rules.  Rather, you absorb the grammar naturally by understanding the context of stories.

How does this work?  You start by listening to a main Mini-Story– usually told from the Past point of view.  In other words, the story is mostly about events that happened in the past.

Next, I tell the same story again and again…. each time changing the point of view.  So, for example, you might listen to the same story told from the Present point of view, another told about the future,… and still another that talks about past events that have continued to the present.

Each point of view story is basically the same, but the change in time creates changes in the language used… especially the verbs.

By listening repeatedly to these stories, you easily and naturally absorb the most common and most useful English grammar tenses.   Because you learn them subconsciously and intuitively, you will actually USE them correctly when you speak– and you won’t have to think about it!

At heart, Effortless English is a system for learning spoken English.  We always stress spoken English– and it is always our first goal to improve your English speech.  We want you to speak fluently, effortlessly, and quickly.

I know you will enjoy our Point of View stories.  Listen to them a few times every day.  You don’t need to analyze the grammar changes… just notice them and listen to them.  With time, you will absorb them intuitively.. and you will use them correctly without effort.

Many students are overwhelmed by too many English learning goals.   They want to learn spoken English. They want to read faster.  They want to write perfectly.  They want instant understanding.

All of those are great goals.  However, there is an ideal order to learning English.  Its best to take things step by step– mastering each step before moving to the next one.

For a guide, I believe it’s best to follow the natural order of language learning seen with small children.

That means, you should first focus on oral English before you worry too much about written English.

In other words, become a fluent speaker before you attempt to improve your writing skills.   Oral, spoken English will give you the foundation you need to improve quickly as a reader and writer.

Also, by focusing on spoken English first, you build a solid foundation of correct pronunciation.  Since spoken English is so fast, you will tend to learn it more subconsciously– and thus more deeply.  Text is too easy to analyze.    Students who focus on text usually take a very analytical, conscious, grammar-focused approach.  As a result, they never learn to speak well.

But students who master spoken English become great readers and writers.  They learn deeply.  They start with solid grammar and pronunciation.   Thus, reading becomes easy for them….   and writing too.

So master spoken English first.   It’s fine to read too, but most of your time and energy should be focused on listening to authentic English speech.  That is the most powerful and efficient way to learn.

But you can get sample lessons.  How?

By joining our free Advanced Newsletter.  When you join the Advanced Newsletter, you get more free e-books, free learning suggestions, and free sample English mp3 lessons.

The Advanced Newsletter builds upon what you learn in the 7 Rules email course.   It provides you with advanced tips and tools for improving your English speaking even faster.

So, if want a sample mp3 lesson, or just want to learn more about the Effortless English system, join our free Advanced Newsletter now!

When developing any skill, my philosophy is always the same– study the best.   As a singing student, I don’t study mediocre singers.  I study the best singers in my genre (rock) and try to learn their songs.  As a runner, I don’t study fat people…  I study the very best long distance endurance runners in the world– ultra-marathoners…  and I try to follow their methods.

As an English learner, you should do the same.  Study the very best English learners in the world– the people who succeed at the highest level.  Those people are young children.

How To Learn English Like A Child

Everyone who joins my free email Newsletter gets an e-book titled “Learn Languages Like Children”.   The book discusses several of the secrets that children naturally use– that adults, unfortunately, forget.

However, there is one key secret that is not included in the e-book– and it is, perhaps, the most important secret of children:   Connect & Have Fun!

I don’t know any young children who study English grammar rules– whether they are native speakers or non-native speakers.  In fact, I don’t know any young children who “study” English at all.

Children don’t study.  They are not so damn serious.  Children communicate and children play.  Their number one focus is always to have fun!

As a result, children are totally relaxed when learning a language.  They don’t stress about mistakes.  They don’t stress about their progress.  They don’t constantly measure themselves with tests.

They just have fun… and in the process they absorb English easily and quickly.

Unfortunately, many adults seem to have trouble with this.   Most adults are depressingly serious all the time.  They are constantly worrying.  They are constantly stressed.  They are constantly measuring their own progress.   They almost never seem to laugh or play or enjoy the process of learning.

No wonder adults are such slow learners!

Every day I get emails from stressed, worried adults.  They are stressed because they “aren’t learning fast enough”.  They are stressed because they “make too many mistakes when speaking”.  They are stressed because they failed a test or got a bad grade.   These people are absolutely miserable while learning English.

Here’s a scientific, research-based fact:  miserable stressed people learn much more slowly.  Specifically, they remember less of what they study, they learn grammar more slowly, they learn vocabulary more slowly, and they improve their pronunciation more slowly.   Research shows that miserable stressed serious people also develop fluency much more slowly.   Stress and misery are bad for your brain!

Of course, all adults are guilty of this at times.  With my own language learning, I have often become too serious.  I stressed.  I became worried about my progress.  As a result, I linked negative emotions to language learning and destroyed my own motivation.

So its time for all of us adults to lighten up,  laugh, play, and have some damn fun with English!

This is the reason my Mini-Story lessons are so crazy.  This is the reason I jump and shout and laugh and act like an idiot when I’m teaching.  I’m using all of my energy to break the stress and seriousness of my adult students.  I’m getting you to laugh.

My goal is to help you become children again, for just a little while…. because I know if you do, you will learn much faster.. and just as importantly, you will feel great while you are learning.

Have a great day, and remember to smile and laugh while learning English!

However, I often get emails asking me for beginner lessons.  Many of our members have friends who are beginners.  Many also have older children who are just starting to learn English.   How can they learn?  Can I teach them?

Well, I can teach them.  There are excellent Effortless techniques for teaching beginners…  and I have often thought of creating video lessons for total beginners.  However, at this time I have decided not to do this.  Our current focus is on intermediate adult learners.   I want to serve you all better, and this requires focus.

I can give you some advice though.. which I hope you’ll pass on to your beginner-level friends and family:

1.  Use English Textbooks & CDs Selectively

I’m just starting to study Thai… here in SF.  I don’t have a Thai teacher here, and there are no “Effortless Thai” lessons that I know of.  So at the moment I’m stuck using traditional books and CDs.

However, I am using these creatively.  I totally ignore all boring drills and exercises.  I skip all English language explanations and audio.

I use only the Thai language audio conversations…  the transcripts of those conversations… and the most basic vocabulary explanations.    My focus is totally and completely on getting a lot of Thai input.  I ignore all analysis of the language.

Tell your friends and family to do the same with English.. ignore all grammar explanations, all drills, all worksheets… just focus on getting a lot of English input… and focus only on understanding the vocabulary.

2.  Listen, Listen, Listen To English

Its our most important Effortless English “rule”.   Listening is especially important for beginners.  Beginners should spend 95% of their study time listening to English.  Listen to the audio dialogues on the textbook CDs.  Listen to the easiest English podcasts.   Listen, listen, and listen some more.

3. Deep Learning Is Even More Important

Beginners need even more repetition than intermediate and advanced level learners.   As a beginner, I need to listen to each Thai dialogue 100 times or more.  And every time I must listen attentively– with energy and total concentration.

Deep learning is absolutely vital for beginners.  Encourage your beginner friends to go more slowly.  Encourage them to study less vocabulary and fewer chapters.. but to totally master what they do study.  In the longterm, this approach is actually much faster.

4. Laugh, Smile, Play

Its tough to be a beginner.  You feel incompetent.  You can’t do anything.  Therefore, its very very important for beginners to thoroughly enjoy the process of learning.  You must make it fun!

Most beginner fail simply because they quit.  They lose hope.  They become bored.

In fact, emotion is far more important for beginners than the amount of language they learn.  Its vital to link positive emotions to English when beginning.   Its vital to link fun, excitement, laughter, curiosity, and passion to the learning process.  By doing that, you guarantee a lifetime of English learning.

Without those emotions, most students will quit long before they advance to higher levels.

So please, encourage your beginner friends to enjoy their learning.  And always compliment them.  Never correct their mistakes!  Never!  Do the opposite–  compliment them frequently.  Tell them what they are doing RIGHT.  Tell them they are amazing!  Congratulate them.  Build up their passion and enthusiasm for the language!

Do that, and soon you will have a new English conversation partner to talk to!

And don’t forget to always enjoy your own learning… and to always learn with passion and enthusiasm!

So what can we do?  How can we protect our careers?  How can we ensure that we continue to protect ourselves and our families financially?

In my opinion, learning is the best protection.  Learning is the best guarantee of continued career success.  Learning is the best guarantee for economic success.

Those that learn- thrive.  Those who don’t, sink.

Learning is not something you do in school.  In my opinion, schools are usually mediocre places to learn.  Most learning happens after school or outside of school.

To succeed and thrive, we must be lifelong learners.  We must develop an intense passion for learning.   We must awaken our natural curiosity.   We must constantly be learning new skills, new information, new ideas.

And when I talk about lifelong learning, I’m not just talking about English.  Of course, English will make you much more competitive in the job market.  English opens the door to many jobs and careers.

But don’t just learn English.  Learn anything and everything that interests you and excites you.  The more knowledge and skills you have, the more career opportunities you will have.  Make yourself indispensable to your company.   Constantly learn and make yourself a remarkable person.

Remarkable people are always in demand.  Remarkable people can always find jobs.   Remarkable people will have security and financial opportunties, even during tough economic times.

Don’t become fearful.  Don’t surrender to worry or pessimism.   Instead, focus all of your passion and energy on learning.  Learn.  Grow. Thrive.

Well, I resisted doing this for a long time,… but I finally created a Twitter account.  My profile is:

http://twitter.com/ajhoge

But I still have a problem.   I don’t know how to use Twitter in a useful and interesting way.  Most of the twitter updates I have seen from other people are boring and kind of stupid, to be honest.

So please help me.   Give me suggestions.  Give me your ideas.

Answer the question:  How can I use Twitter in a way that is interesting and useful for Effortless English subscribers and member?   What kind of short dialy updates would be interesting or helpful to you?

If you want to follow me on Twitter, you can do it several ways (first create a Twitter account at twitter.com, then.. ) :

1. Follow Online
Get a Twitter Account– then go to my profile page and click “Follow”. My Twitter profile is: http://twitter.com/ajhoge

2. Follow With Your Mobile Device
Get a Twitter Account,… then go to my profile page and click follow: My Mobile profile page is at: m.twitter.com/ajhoge

3. Follow With SMS Text (for US & Canada Only):
Send to 40404 this text message : “follow Ajhoge1″

I hope you can think of an interesting use for this service–  because right now, I have no idea!  Help!!