M E M B E R S O N LY

2016

APRIL 04
INNER CIRCLE
THIS MONTH

TECHNOLOGY MEETS TECHNIQUE:

THE 7 TESTED, TIMELESS WAYS TO
LEARN LANGUAGE
 Welcome back to the Inner
Circle, listeners.
•••••••••••••••••••••••• Last time, you learned how to
expand and develop your routine
Today, we’re
with a routine reminder checklist.
A big 25-action-item list of all the
going into
ways you can start learning
Japanese right now. That was
quantity. Today, we’re going into
quality over
quality over quantity. A list of 7
tools at JapanesePod101 and the
timeless, tested learning
quantity.
techniques you can apply.
So, in this Inner Circle lesson,
you’ll learn:
••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. The 7 Premium and Premium
PLUS Study Tools You Should
Use Right Now
2. How I Apply These To My
Study Routine
Let’s catch up first.
I failed my 6-minute goal of
German conversation. And it
happens. The most important
thing though is to keep going.
This month, I’m doing things a bit
differently. See, the checklist
served as a great starting point
– I could try out new learning
methods, add some to my routine,
subtract some. And, after
experimenting...and failing, I
settled on just a few.
That’s what I mean about quality
over quantity.
I want to share how exactly you
can apply our technology and
learn fast with timeless and tested
techniques.
Let’s get into that first part.
 PART I

The 7 Premium and Premium PLUS

Study Tools You Should
Use Right Now
Listeners, the first thing you need to know is – you already have
access to all of this technology. So, here are the 7 study tools
you must take advantage of.
 The learning technique you can apply here,
listeners, is shadowing. This simply means
repeating the lines out loud as you hear
them. So as you listen to the dialogue, you
can read along and read out loud and
shadow the native speaker. This is one

1
proven technique that will seriously improve
your speaking.

But that’s not all. There are other ways you

can learn with the Line-by-Line.

THE TECHNOLOGY:
You can also...

Line-by-Line Audio Perfect your reading and comprehension

skills. Read along as you take a lesson and
understand everything.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Perfect your listening skills by listening to
lines of the dialog again and again.

Perfect your pronunciation by recording

yourself and comparing with a native
speaker.

So, shadowing, pronunciation, listening,

reading and comprehension – all important
skills that you can improve with this proven
tool.
The technique here is...having more talking
points. The problem most beginners have is
that they run out of things to say. Their
vocabulary is limited. They can’t talk about
the things they’re interested in and they can’t
last very long in a conversation.

Building a list of talking points will not only

help you speak MORE of the language, but
2
you’ll also have a list of words and phrases
for topics you’re truly interested in.
THE TECHNOLOGY:

The Vocabulary Lists

The Vocab Lists give you all of the relevant
words and phrases for specific topics that
you’d otherwise have to look up in a
dictionary. You get it all up front.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
But it gets better.

You can send your lists to the Word Bank or

your Flashcards. These are two powerful
study tools that we’ll get into next.
 The learning technique here is...building your
own language profile.

Let’s recap: the Word Bank is your personal

collection of words. Any new word you learn
or you’re interested in, you can save it there.

3 And just as we mentioned talking points

before, you can send the Vocab Lists to the
Word Bank. You then have a collection of
words and phrases that match your interests
THE TECHNOLOGY: and lifestyle – your language profile.

The Word Bank If you remember, we talked about this in a

previous Inner Circle.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Your language learning profile is your

personal list of words and phrases that are
most relevant to you. Everyone’s is different.
The topics a 40-year-old wants to talk about
– their kids, their work, their busy day,
vacations – will be totally different from what
a 20-year-old wants to talk about. The
20-year-olds will probably want to know
slang and talk about going out.

With the Word Bank, you can create your

very own language learning profile.
The technique here? It’s spaced repetition
learning.

Spaced repetition? Let’s explain what that

means!

4
Picture this: You’re sitting in front of a teacher.
They show you cards with vocabulary on
them, one by one. The answer is on the back.
Either you know it or you don’t.

If you don’t know a word or a phrase, your

THE TECHNOLOGY:
teacher will make sure to show you that card

Smart Flashcards
more often, until you master the meaning.
And the easy ones? You’ll see them a lot less,
but enough to keep them in your memory.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Essentially, your teacher sorts the words based
on your needs. You study the words. And the
ones you struggle with, you’ll see much more
often.

This is a super effective method for

memorizing new vocab.

And the Flashcard system will sort it all for

you. In fact, you can use this next tool with
our Flashcards.
 This is a list of the 2,000 must-know
words and phrases.

The technique? Curated words that you

absolutely need for fluency.

5
Listeners, the fact is that there are tons of
words out there that you don’t need to know.
That’s why this is so important. Here, you get
carefully selected words and phrases broken
down by category, and they’re a must for
THE TECHNOLOGY: everyday life.

The Core Word Lists Now, even 2,000 is a bit overwhelming,

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
right? However, each category has around
100 to 500 words. And even these can be
broken down by subcategories (such as
Everyday Words: Adjectives, Questions,
Numbers and Common Actions) to make
learning easier.

The Core Word Lists give you just the words

and phrases you actually need to know.

Remember, to master them, send them

to your Flashcards.
 6
THE TECHNOLOGY:

The Daily Dose of Language App

The technique is timely, relevant and cultural lessons.
So, imagine today is a holiday in Japan, and you’re learning
Japanese. The truth is, most learners will never know about it.
But with the Daily Dose, you get timely lessons, holiday
lessons and cultural lessons. Why’s this so important?
Talking points.
The Daily Dose App gives you topics to talk about. If you can
talk to a native speaker about a holiday or a cultural point,
you’re making some serious language learning progress.
Remember, the reason most beginners do not advance is that,
vocabulary aside, their talking points are limited to greetings
and set phrases like “How are you?” and “Yes, I can eat that
food.”
Listeners, you already have full access to this new App and
with it, you get daily, bite-sized lessons.
Also, what makes this tool so powerful is that it keeps you on
track and motivated with daily reminders. Motivating yourself
can be tricky, but the Daily Dose does not quit on you,
listeners. You get daily reminders. You build consistency.
And consistency is extremely important for success in
language learning and anything else in life.
 7
THE TECHNOLOGY:

1-on-1 Learning with Your Premium PLUS Teacher

The learning technique? Getting instant feedback. Send language questions

Send casual exchanges for practice
Feedback from a native speaker is, by far, the fastest way to Ask for learning advice
improve. Send voice recordings of yourself
Send videos or images
Since a lot of our listeners don’t have immediate access to Receive personalized assignments
native teachers...or simply cannot attend classes, this serves as Be held accountable for your progress
the next best solution. It’s a solution that combines a massive
language learning system with a native speaker who knows Now, if you have the Innovative Language 101 App, you can
the ins and outs of the lessons you’re taking. get in touch and learn with your teacher anywhere, anytime.

You get direct, 1-on-1 access to your own teacher and this is, So, how do I use these?
without a doubt, the best language practice you can get. With Let’s get into the second part.
this you can:
 PART II

How Peter Applies These To His

Study Routine
If you need a bit of inspiration, feel free to steal these ideas
for yourself. Here are my exact routines.
8 a.m: Waking Up
Every morning, I get the Daily Dose of Language notification on my iPhone at 8 a.m.
In fact, this wakes me up.

So, while my mind is fresh in the morning, I check my German lesson. And remember, these
lessons are quick. I literally spend a minute learning new phrases. But, I do this every day
because consistency is important.

10 a.m: Commuting To Work

Next are my GermanPod101 lessons. I typically take one or two on my morning commute to
work. That takes about 30 minutes. I’ll watch a video lesson or listen to an audio lesson. And the
good thing is, the Line-by-Line Audio is on the App. While I listen to the lesson, I use it to read
along.

After the lesson is done, I’ll use the Line-by-Line to play each part of the dialogue again and
again. Just to make sure that I understand every...single...word. It’s easy to get the gist of a
sentence without knowing everything...but I want to understand it 100%. The Line-by-Line
really helps with that.
10 p.m: Studying At Home
I come home at around 7 p.m. but...I don’t start until 10 p.m. Can’t study until the kids are in bed!

So, at 10 p.m., I come back to the lessons I took in the morning, and I review the line-by-line and
the lesson vocab. Then I send the words to both the Word Bank and to the Flashcards.

With Flashcards, I like to make decks based on lesson series. Every time I finish a lesson in a series,
I add more words. You can create decks based on lessons alone if you want. Then I review and
drill for about 15 minutes.

I also have separate Flashcard decks for the Core Word Lists, broken down by category. If you
remember, I suggested creating decks based on categories and subcategories because studying
all 2,000 is too much!

Next, learning 1-on-1 with my GermanPod101 Premium PLUS teacher.

That’s the final part of my routine. Usually, either I’m submitting an assignment to her or receiving
feedback about a previous one. One mistake I tend to make often is using the wrong prepositions.
I get a lot of feedback from her and with that much help, I’m only getting better and better.

I spend about 30 minutes on this.

 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
That’s my daily routine in a nutshell.

Now, let’s talk goals. What’s my

goal for May? ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Which of these
I’m aiming for 8 minutes of German
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
conversation. The deadline is

Premium and Premium

May 31st, 2016.

You should make sure to set small,

PLUS tools have you

measurable monthly goals with a
deadline as well.

Also, let me know – which of these
Premium and Premium PLUS tools have
you been using? And which tested,
proven methods have you been ignoring?
been using?
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST STEPS? EMAIL ME AT:
INNER.CIRCLE@INNOVATIVELANGUAGE.COM
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Shoot me an email at
SHOOT ME AN EMAIL AT
inner.circle@innovativelanguage.com
INNER.CIRCLE@INNOVATIVELANGUAGE.COM

See you next month!

To your fluency,
Peter Galante
Founder, InnovativeLanguage.com