CHAPTER 5 - English Is A Physical Sport One
of the greatest errors of the hidden curriculum
is that schools teach English as an academic
subject. In school you study English. You
learn about English. You analyze the parts
of the language (grammar, vocabulary, etc.).
You take tests about this knowledge. The problem
is, English is not a subject to be studied.
English is a skill to be performed or “played.”
Speaking is something you do, not something
you analyze and think about. Perhaps you can
see the problem. Real English conversations
are very fast and they are unpredictable.
The other person speaks quickly and you never
know exactly what they will say. You must
be able to listen, understand, and respond
almost instantly. There simply is no time
to think about grammar, translations, or anything
else you learned in English class. English
conversation is more like playing soccer (football).
A soccer player must act and react almost
instantly. The player must play the game intuitively.
Soccer players do not study physics formulas
in order to play well. They learn by doing.
They “play” soccer, they don’t “study”
it. Studying grammar rules to speak English
is much like a soccer player studying physics
to play soccer. It might be interesting (or
not!), but it certainly won’t help performance.
Your job, therefore, is to stop “studying”
English and start “playing” it! Remember
that your fuel is an important part, perhaps
the most important part, of your Effortless
English™ engine. Learning to play English,
rather than study it, is a powerful way to
develop strong psychology and go much faster
on the road to fluency. When we first discussed
fuel, we learned how to use our bodies to
change our emotions. It turns out the body
is, in fact, a very important (and neglected)
key to learning English. By using physical
actions while learning, it is possible to
learn faster, remember more, remember longer
and speak better. Dr. James Asher, a psychologist
and professor emeritus at San José State
University, found that using physical actions
in language class actually helps students
learn vocabulary better. Dr. Asher became
curious about the link between language and
movement after watching how young children
learned to speak. He noticed that when parents
said something, their children typically would
respond with a word and some sort of action.
He also noticed that parents frequently used
actions and gestures while speaking to their
babies. Based on his research and observations,
Asher developed the Total Physical Response
system of language teaching in which students
respond to teacher commands in the new language
with whole body actions. These actions strengthen
the meaning of the phrase and make it easier
to remember. Dr. Asher believes that students
can learn 12 to 36 words in an hour using
this method. I’ve had similar success using
a version of it in my lessons and seminars.
Of course, this is the complete opposite of
what happens in most English classes. In school,
you are told to sit still in your chair. You
sit for an hour or more. Naturally, the longer
you sit, the more your energy drops. As your
energy drops, your concentration drops, too.
And as your concentration drops, you learn
less and forget more. Of course, this lower
energy frequently leads to feelings of boredom.
Less movement, less energy, lower concentration,
and boredom naturally produce worse results,
no matter what the method is, and so we have
another downward spiral. While everyone benefits
from physical learning, some people absolutely
need it. These people are called “kinesthetic
learners.” They learn best when they connect
learning to physical movement. This kind of
learner tends to struggle in traditional classrooms,
where they are required to sit motionless
for hours. Schools and teachers often label
these people as being “learning disabled”
or as having “attention deficit disorder.”
The problem, however, is not that “kinesthetic
learners” are disabled. Rather, the problem
is a teaching disability — the failure of
schools to teach active learners in an effective
way. My Effortless English™ seminars and
classes are quite different. Many have described
them as “English rock concerts.” In an
Effortless English™ seminar, we frequently
jump, dance, shout, laugh, and move. In fact,
it is rare for learners to sit for more than
15 minutes in one of my seminars. I want them
moving. I want them energized. Because I know
that active and energized people learn faster,
learn more, remember longer and perform better!
Remember, English is a performance skill,
not a subject you study. The more you use
your body while learning, the more success
you will achieve. One way to use movement
while learning English is to use the Action
Vocabulary method. In this method, you connect
a unique physical movement to a new vocabulary
word. You shout the word (or phrase) and perform
the movement. The movement should remind you
of the meaning of the word. By doing this
repeatedly, you connect the word, its meaning,
and the unique physical action. This combination
creates a stronger and deeper memory, resulting
in faster and deeper vocabulary learning.
This is far more effective than simply trying
to memorize long lists of words. Another simple
way to use your body is to walk while learning
English. With a smart phone you can make your
learning mobile! Instead of sitting on your
butt, slowly losing energy, put on your headphones
and go for a walk while listening to English.
As you walk, your heart will pump and your
brain will get more blood. You’ll feel more
energy and thus you will concentrate better.
You’ll probably enjoy learning more, too.
There is no reason to be limited by the old
school methods. You do not need to sit motionless
in a chair while you learn. You do not need
to remain silent. You do not need to be bored
and tired. As an independent learner, you
are free to learn in the way that is most
effective and most enjoyable for you. You
are the master of your own learning. Enjoy
it! Remember the peak emotion exercise you
learned? This is another excellent way to
use your body while learning English. Take
a short “energy break.” Play your favorite
energetic music. Jump, shout, smile, cheer
and dance for a couple of minutes. Fully energize
your body and create peak emotions. Then continue
learning English. Take these energy breaks
every 20-30 minutes every time you learn English.
I guarantee you will get better results. Watch
children when they are playing. They are happy,
energetic and active. Children learn best
while playing. They bring an attitude of play
to everything they do. Small children don’t
need much effort or discipline. They are energized
by curiosity. They learn actively. They learn
by playing and play while learning. It is
time for you to rediscover these natural qualities.
As an adult, you still learn best in this
way. You, too, benefit from being active and
energized while learning. You, too, benefit
from physical movement and an attitude of
play. As you use the techniques and methods
in this book, always do so with a fun and
playful attitude! There are two major parts
to the Effortless English™ system: the psychology
and the method. You know that psychology is
the fuel that makes the engine go. You must
develop that fuel to create higher and higher
energy for learning. You have learned how
to use peak emotion anchoring, beliefs, and
physical movement to create that fuel. You
have learned the importance of an active,
playful attitude. In the next chapter, you
will learn another psychological technique
for creating the most powerful fuel possible
for English learning.
