tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71844138982434627102023-11-16T03:42:54.509-08:00Effortless English Club BlogThe Official Blog of the Effortless English ClubAJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-84699003375975436202009-08-09T10:10:00.000-07:002009-08-09T10:12:54.094-07:00Effortless English TorrentsDownload <a href="http://effortlessenglish.com/torrent-downloads">Effortless English Torrent Downloads</a>-- full files. Your favorite effortless english lesson torrent downloads.<br /><br />Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-25315365219887201822009-06-20T09:54:00.000-07:002009-06-20T10:04:05.727-07:00Speak English Fluently And Easily<strong>Speak English fluently</strong>. You can do when you change the way you study English. <a href="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/" target="_blank">Speak English</a> like a native speaker, without translating, without thinking about grammar. You will speak English fluently in 6 months or less using the methods in my email course "7 Rules For Excellent English Speaking".<br /><br />I'm A.J Hoge and I will teach you 7 rules for speaking Excellent English.<br /><br />In my <strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">FREE</span></strong> <strong>email course</strong> you learn how to :<br /><ul><br /> <li><strong>Learn Vocabulary</strong> Quickly And Remember It Forever</li><br /> <li><strong>Speak English Fas</strong>t By Thinking In English</li><br /> <li><strong>Learn Grammar</strong> Like A Child, Not By Studying Grammar Rules</li><br /> <li><strong>Learn 3-5 Times Faster</strong> Using New Learning Techniques</li><br /> <li><strong>And More</strong>....</li><br /></ul><br /><object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/HZ31DY78LRs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="202" width="250"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HZ31DY78LRs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></object><br /><br /><strong>Enter your email and name</strong> below and click "submit" to join my <strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">FREE</span></strong> email course.<br /><form action="http://www.aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl" method="post"> <input name="meta_web_form_id" value="1978021446" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_split_id" type="hidden"> <input name="unit" value="englishclub" type="hidden"> <input id="redirect_0452eee1de0b9117f9fba07668f3e5bb" name="redirect" value="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/thanks-you-are-registered" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_redirect_onlist" value="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/thanks-you-are-registered" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_adtracking" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_message" value="1" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_required" value="from" type="hidden"> <input name="meta_forward_vars" value="0" type="hidden"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(163, 2, 10);font-size:small;" ><strong>Learn The 7 Rules For Excellent English </strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:x-small;"><strong>Email:</strong></span><br /><input name="from" size="20" type="text"><br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglishclub.com/7-rules-to-speak-excellent-english" target="_blank"><br /></a><br /><input name="submit" value="Submit" type="submit"><br /></form><br /><h3>The Best System!</h3><br />“Let me congratulate you. I have tried your method for a week and I feel this is the best English learning system I have found!”<br />--Laszlo Tolladi, Hungary<br /><img src="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/wp-content/themes/bluebusiness/images/20whiteline.gif" alt="" border="0" height="6" width="400" /><br /><br /><h1>Speak English Fluently and Automatically</h1><br />To speak English fluently, you must have speed. That is the main difference between written and spoken English. Spoken English is fast-- very fast. To be fluent, you must understand native speakers instantly. You don't have time to think or translate. To be fluent, you must speak automatically- no thinking about grammar rules, no translating, no pausing.<br /><br />Fluent speech require confidence, speed, and effortless understanding.<br /><br />In school, you learned written English. Now you are going to learn how to speak English fluently. Just join my free email course now and speak fluent English in 6 months or less.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-23064041476304722832009-05-25T08:31:00.000-07:002009-05-25T08:32:54.772-07:00Fluent English Squidoo PageWe have a new Squidoo page called <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/speak-english-fluently">Speak English Fluently</a>. It's a brief introduction to our 7 Rules email course and includes a couple of videos. <br /><br />You can link to it at: http://www.squidoo.com/speak-english-fluently<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-80520488675265007742009-05-24T14:28:00.001-07:002009-05-24T14:31:19.788-07:00Speaking English FastI'm now making a series of videos about how to <a href="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/speak-english-fluently">speak English fluently</a>. Each video gives a new suggestion about how to study in order to speak fluent English. <br /><br />Of course, the number one key to English fluency is speed. That's the main difficulty of spoken English-- it's fast. With reading and writing you can relax and go slowly. In school, you learned how to read and write. That's why you feel more comfortable reading English than listening to it and speaking it. <br /><br />But if your goal is fluent speech, it's time to change how you study English. Watch my new video series to learn a new way to learn English-- and learn how to speak fluent English!<br /><br />Enjoy and take care.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-69647740850312861052009-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:002009-05-12T09:50:41.065-07:00Effortless English QuestionsHi everyone. <br /><br />I just want to clear some confusion. Sometimes our members/customers will leave a comment on the blog when they have a problem or question. <br /><br />If you have bought our lessons and need any kind of help, please <span style="font-weight:bold;">email</span> us. For example, if you are having trouble downloading we need to know the details: what kind of computer do you have, what kind of connection, etc... This will help us solve your problem. <br /><br />Also, this blog is an old one that we do not check often. <br /><br />Our new, current blog is at: <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com</a><br /><br />See you there!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-69342790170910637742009-04-14T19:42:00.000-07:002009-04-14T20:02:37.061-07:00Learn English Tip<a href="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/learn-english-mastery-formula">Learn English Conversation</a> using a very simple formula called the Mastery Formula. Really, the mastery formula is a system-- a way of learning anything thoroughly and completely. <br /><br />The learn English mastery formula is described completely on the Effortless English main page- in a blog post titled "learn English mastery formula". <br /><br />Here I will discuss just the first step in the mastery formula: get an outstanding teacher. <br /><br />This seems obvious but in fact most students fail to do this first step. They key word here is "outstanding". You need an "outstanding" teacher-- not an average one, not a "good" one, not a "qualified" one. To truly master English, you need to find a completely remarkable teacher, mentor, role model, or coach. <br /><br />So how do you choose a teacher? What is important and what is not important? <br /><br />First, degrees and education are NOT important. A TEFL certificate or a Masters degree or a Phd. mean absolutely nothing when it comes to teaching ability. Sadly, most schools fool students with this nonsense. Schools absolutely love to talk about certificates and degrees-- because that is their game and their industry. <br /><br />However, the truth is that the more "educated" a teacher is, the more likely they are to be a bad teacher. A Phd. doesn't guarantee that a teacher will be horrible,.. but it increases the odds. <br /><br />So what is important? The most important thing to look for in a teacher is leadership ability. In other words, a great teacher will have a vision and they will inspire you. Do you get excited when you talk to the teacher? Do they make you excited about learning English? Do they make you want to try harder, study more, and succeed faster? If they don't, it means they have poor leadership skills and you don't want them. <br /><br />Next, look for a teacher who also has a clear and powerful teaching system-- not just a collection of textbooks and exercises. Most teachers, sadly, rely on textbooks and have no real system at all. If a teacher is focused on textbooks, it's a bad sign and you should look for another teacher. Furthermore, the teacher should explain their system to you clearly-- and they should be able to discuss some basic research that supports their system. <br /><br />Next, watch a class. Is the class highly energetic? Is it interesting? Do the students seem super-enthusiastic and alert? If yes, that's a good sign. On the other hand, if the students seem bored, tired, or distracted it means the teacher lacks leadership skills-- find another teacher. <br /><br />Finally, ask the teacher for testimonials and references. An outstanding teacher will be able to refer you to many students who have succeeded in their class. Great teachers have a lot of very enthusiastic and very successful past and present students. If the teacher does not have student references, or seems annoyed or surprised by your request-- find another teacher. When you talk to the references, ask them directly-- did their speaking improve as a result of the teacher's lessons? They should tell you "YES!" directly and powerfully. <br /><br />Remember, you the student are the customer. You are the one spending money. You have a right to DEMAND incredible results. Don't waste your money on average or "good" schools. Don't waste your time with average or "good" teachers. Shop carefully, ask a lot of questions, observe,.. and then choose a truly outstanding teacher!<br /><br />Good luck!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-76697342250634797692009-03-23T01:13:00.000-07:002009-03-23T01:17:12.865-07:00Effortless Business EnglishHi everyone. I just wrote an article for Squidoo titled "<a href="http://www.squidoo.com/effortlessbusinessenglish">Learn Effortless Business English</a>". <br /><br />It's a nice summary page about how to learn business English, and also has a short video from me talking about Effortless business English lessons. <br /><br />One of the key points made in the article is that business English must come after general English. In other words, there's no point focusing on business English until your general speaking skills are excellent. Otherwise, you'll know a lot of business vocabulary, but you won't be able to use it. <br /><br />So focus first on learning English conversation, and once you have mastered that, then turn your attention to business English-- if that is your goal. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script>AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-69494607001888078632009-03-19T15:42:00.000-07:002009-03-19T15:49:47.623-07:00English ClubOne of the most powerful ways to learn English is to join an <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">English club</a>. A club is an informal group of people who share a common purpose. <br /><br />Because they are informal, English clubs are much more fun than school. You don't need to worry about tough teachers, or a lot of homework, or boring textbooks, or a rigid schedule. English clubs are a more fun and flexible way to meet other English learners. <br /><br />I highly recommend the Effortless English Club because membership in the club is exclusive. Most international online English clubs are open to everyone. That means a lot of immature, negative, insulting people join the club. If you look on the forums of most clubs, you find a lot of insults and a lot of arguing. <br /><br />What I love about the Effortless English Club is that everyone CANNOT join. The club is only open to people who first buy the Effortless English Club lessons. This means that only serious students, who are dedicated to improving their speaking, actually join the club. <br /><br />Another great thing about the club is that the forums are monitored very closely. Any member who is insulting or negative towards other members is immediately and permanently removed from the club. The result is a club full of tremendous people-- super-energetic, super-friendly English learners who are very happy to answer your questions, talk to you (on Skype), and help you in any way they can. <br /><br />I highly recommend getting the Effortless English lessons and joining this club. You will learn English much faster, and improve your speaking much faster, when you join the club. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script>AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-39160670000973241982009-03-12T08:54:00.000-07:002009-03-12T08:59:44.349-07:00Learn English With a MacI must say that I think Macs are vastly superior to Windows computers for use learning English. We always get a lot of computer questions from members about how to use audio files, how to open files, etc. <br /><br />These computer questions are ALWAYS from Windows users. The reason-- on a Mac, all of these things happen easily and automatically. English mp3 lessons go straight to iTunes and are easy to organize and use. Text guides are easily opened with TextEdit or Adobe Acrobat. And all Macs have an automatic zip file opener. <br /><br />Macs are intuitive and easy to use, so I always recommend Macs for students who learn English with a computer. <br /><br />Of course, Windows is still the most common operating system, and all our lessons work very well with Windows. I do recommend, however, that all Windows users download Apple's iTunes (for free at www.apple.com/itunes ) for Windows-- it will make organizing your mp3s very easy!<br /><br />Read more about learning English, and this topic: <a href="http://effortlessenglishclub.com/learn-english-mac">Learn English Mac</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script>AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-51881014450372052132009-01-30T02:19:00.000-08:002009-01-30T02:22:25.890-08:00How To Learn EnglishHow should you learn English? What's the best way to learn English-- especially spoken English? <br /><br />Most students have no idea. So, they continue to use the methods they learned in school. But those methods were failures. Most students, in most countries in the world, study English for at least 4 years. <br /><br />After 4 years, they can take tests, but they cannot speak English easily and fluently. Obviously, there's a problem. <br /><br />And luckily, there is a solution. But the solution requires very different methods of study. <br /><br />Learn more about these methods now and learn <a href="http://www.effortlessenglishclub.com/">How To Learn English</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-66521489080615109392009-01-27T03:55:00.000-08:002009-01-27T04:00:41.561-08:00Spoken English Seminar A Huge Success!The first Spoken English Seminar in Bangkok, Thailand was a huge success. We rocked the Royal Hotel for 5 straight hours. The students were fantastic! They jumped. They yelled. They gave all their heart, energy, and passion to learning English!<br /><br />This was our first "real" Effortless English Seminar. We'll be doing our next one at The Royal Hotel again, on March 29th, with registration starting at 10am and ending at 10:30am. The cost is 300 Baht. <br /><br />The March 29th Seminar will be longer-- starting at 10:45am and finishing at 18:30pm. There will be a lunch break this time!<br /><br />The seminar will focus specifically on how to learn spoken English quickly and easily. Participants will learn revolutionary new methods for studying spoken English in a way that accelerates their learning and multiplies their improvements. <br /><br />While the Effortless English Lessons are excellent, there is nothing like the power and intensity of a live seminar. <br /><br />If you live in SE Asia... come to Bangkok on March 29th and have the most powerful English learning experience you have ever had! <br /><br />We hope to see you at the next Learn Spoken English Seminar!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Learn Spoken English:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglishclub.com">Spoken English Lessons</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-78573312537606618822008-12-03T23:42:00.000-08:002008-12-03T23:44:04.894-08:00Spoken English<a href="http://EffortlessEnglishClub.com">Learn spoken English</a> at the Effortless English Club. <br /><br />Join our free 7 Rules to Excellent English course or use our lessons to speak English easily and fast. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script>AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-54581796682100180182007-10-16T11:14:00.000-07:002008-11-19T03:07:05.513-08:00Learn English With Movies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1Ji5YB8YH0Bm3CV6UCsl_Ujzd-6OG-D0ouLgNh51VYPKdBR7ZMTiEkDtY46MsPrLmz5PACzNwD9YUguQPgjfI2uysvorC56452WjEl5BQPVZTudDaGEeacCONldPb0QRNz3c8gkUs7g/s1600-h/0096.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1Ji5YB8YH0Bm3CV6UCsl_Ujzd-6OG-D0ouLgNh51VYPKdBR7ZMTiEkDtY46MsPrLmz5PACzNwD9YUguQPgjfI2uysvorC56452WjEl5BQPVZTudDaGEeacCONldPb0QRNz3c8gkUs7g/s320/0096.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122011674642495010" /></a><br />Members of <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">The Effortless English Club</a> have asked me, <br />"What do I do after I finish the lessons? My speaking is much better, but I want to continue learning. Do you have more lessons?"<br /><br />Unfortunately, I don't yet-- however, Kristin and I are working on new lessons right now. These lessons use an American movie to teach you real English. <br /><br />Every scene of the movie has a lesson set that includes: Text of the script, a Vocabulary Lesson, 2 or more Mini-Story Lessons (including some Point of View Lessons), and Audio from the scene. Some scenes also have Commentaries. <br /><br />By using all the lessons, you understand <span style="font-weight:bold;">all</span> of an American movie. Also, you learn a lot of <span style="font-weight:bold;">slang & idioms</span> from the movie-- the kind used everyday by Americans. <br /><br />But you don't have to wait for our lessons. You can use this same method yourself, with any movie. Movies are a great way to learn-- but <span style="font-weight:bold;">you must use them correctly</span>. <br /><br />Most English students don't use movies correctly. They rent a lot of American movies, watch them, return them, and then rent more. They may understand the basic story of each movie, but they don't improve their English. <br /><br />Here's a better method for learning with movies: <br /><br />1. Rent or buy ONE movie <br /><br />2. Watch all of it, with subtitles in your own language<br /><br />3. Next, watch only one scene of the movie (a scene is usually 2-4 minutes long). Use ENGLISH subtitles. <br /><br />4. Rewind. Watch the same scene again. This time, pause for every sentence. Write down phrases/words you don't understand. <br /><br />5. Use your dictionary to learn these new words. Search the internet for strange phrases (probably slang or idioms). <br /><br />6. Watch the scene again at normal speed-- 2-3 times. Turn the subtitles OFF. Try to hear and understand the new phrases.<br /><br />7. Watch the scene again-- 2-3 times. Pause after every sentence, then say the sentence yourself. Don't just "say" it. Copy the actor! Try to sound and move exactly like them. Copy their emotion. Copy their face movements. Copy their voice. This will improve your pronunciation. <br /><br />Using this method, you can probably learn 1-3 scenes per week. Don't go too fast. Learn deeply. Repeat steps 3-7 everyday. If a scene is difficult, you can do this again and again for several days. Its important to learn every scene very deeply. <br /><br />It may feel slow, but when you finally finish a whole movie, your English is <span style="font-weight:bold;">fantastically better</span>! Use this method, it is very powerful.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-64199255658502523742007-11-06T16:17:00.001-08:002008-11-19T03:07:04.918-08:00A Typical Language School<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcmILCBdj-cPBk6hAJTrq2PhR2ooPM-CIa4FNCV7xvY2gSgnejMht7r7rnO9G3p2cEJct2N1nbzDG_s4anOp8cNjtgqgt3mgKSduLZNxBoXHudRrcO5_9kBXAVFyZvl0-oWOxiRjbn0I/s1600-h/AJ+bored.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcmILCBdj-cPBk6hAJTrq2PhR2ooPM-CIa4FNCV7xvY2gSgnejMht7r7rnO9G3p2cEJct2N1nbzDG_s4anOp8cNjtgqgt3mgKSduLZNxBoXHudRrcO5_9kBXAVFyZvl0-oWOxiRjbn0I/s320/AJ+bored.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129886033831254210" /></a><br />I arrive at Casa Xelaju (the Spanish school) at 8am. I come into class and sit down. I'm very enthusiastic about learning Spanish. Last night, I did all of my homework, plus I studied extra. <br /><br />The teacher says, "hola". She doesn't smile. She already looks bored. She wastes about 10 minutes going through papers while I wait. I'm the only student in the class, so I have no one to talk to. Finally, she asks for my homework. She reads the essay I wrote and corrects it. This is useful, I'm happy to get feedback on my writing. <br /><br />Next, she asks me to talk a little about what I did yesterday. I start talking, but she gets a call on her cell phone. She takes the call and starts chatting! She hangs up and then says, "I need to get some coffee, I'll be right back". Ten minutes later she comes back. I suspect she was actually talking on the phone. <br /><br />She asks me to start talking again. She looks totally bored... no smile, no interest in what I'm trying to say. <br /><br />Next, she gives me a picture and tells me to describe it. I do my best while she sits in the corner looking bored. Occasionally she corrects my mistakes. <br /><br />After this, she tells me to read a paragraph. Then I have to do a worksheet and fill in the missing words. Then I do another worksheet, writing answers to short questions. While I write, she stands and looks out the window. She leaves the room several times. <br /><br />Finally, we have a 30 minute break. I started today with lots of enthusiasm, but now Im bored and annoyed. I'm happy to have a break. <br /><br />When I come back from the break, she gives me a Word Search and a Crossword Puzzle. A Word Search and a Crossword Puzzle! I can't believe it. I have been teaching for over ten years, and I know that this is a total waste of time. Its a useless way for the teacher to do nothing while the student wastes time looking for words in a block of letters. <br /><br />Now I know for sure-- my teacher doesn't care at all. She is bored with her job. She has no motivation, no energy, no enthusiasm, and no method. <br /><br />At the end of the day I must admit that this school is mostly a waste of time. The one good point is that I get to talk in Spanish for the last 45 minutes... which helps boost my confidence and motivation and enthusiasm again. <br /><br />As I walk home, I'm reminded of Steve Kaufman's words-- you cannot depend on schools to teach you. Learning is your responsibility. <br /><br />And so it is. I won't let this school destroy my motivation. I know, in fact, that this school is a very normal and typical language school. I have seen these same behaviours at many English schools I've worked at. Of course, I know that every teacher gets tired sometimes. But even on a bad day, I tried to at least have energy and enthusiasm. <br /><br />After this experience, I finally understand the majority of comments I get from my students. Many people write me and thank me for <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">the lessons</a>. They like my teaching method. The improve their English speaking. <br /><br />But the most common comment I get is something like, "Thanks so much for your energy and enthusiasm. I love listening to your voice. You make me excited to study English. You make English fun." They like the lessons, but what they really LOVE is the energy and enthusiasm. <br /><br />After today, I totally understand. Today, I didn't care about teaching methods-- I just wanted her to show some interest in me. I wanted her to enjoy teaching me, and enjoy helping me learn Spanish. Instead, she almost destroyed my excitement for the language. <br /><br />But this is not the end. I will focus on the few good points of the class (an opportunity to talk in Spanish)... and I will spend my free time listening to interesting Spanish, reading interesting Spanish, and writing Spanish. <br /><br />I will enjoy the language, and learn it myself!<br /><br />And finally, I will remember this experience-- to motivate myself to continue improving as a teacher... and to always LOVE teaching <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">English</a>. <br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-35058586590212622007-11-12T16:34:00.000-08:002008-11-19T03:07:04.397-08:00Passion is Important<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSynUpcV1QRZm9-VRsUqnnMu9kK5tFW172M0n71E4dwM83TXF4yVzZoZashEctqnDaXulFvc4kf4baLA0swXvzjlHzCP822Yx79DsHe_UylogQOODM0hvPFrc0NFiLTMPi5zJJmwIQfRg/s1600-h/IMGP0893.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSynUpcV1QRZm9-VRsUqnnMu9kK5tFW172M0n71E4dwM83TXF4yVzZoZashEctqnDaXulFvc4kf4baLA0swXvzjlHzCP822Yx79DsHe_UylogQOODM0hvPFrc0NFiLTMPi5zJJmwIQfRg/s320/IMGP0893.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132121091133431714" /></a><br /><br />This week I have a new teacher at the Casa Xelaju Spanish school. She is much better. <br /><br />Last week, my old teacher never smiled. She had no passion for teaching. But my new teacher smiles often. She enjoys talking. She enjoys communicating. When I talk, she looks at me. She listens. It seems like she likes her job. <br /><br />At <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">Effortless English</a>, we talk a lot about methods. Teaching methods are very important. We use the best learning methods. We use the most successful methods. We always choose methods based on independent research, so you <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">learn easily</a> and quickly. <br /><br />However, method is not the only important thing. Passion and enthusiasm are equally important. The teacher must LOVE teaching. The teacher must have passion. The teacher must be interested in teaching. <br /><br />If the teacher does not have passion, the student will feel it. The student will quickly become bored and tired. The student will lose motivation. This happened to me last week. After only one week with a bored teacher, I was ready to quit the school. On the other hand, after only one day with a good teacher, I feel motivated and happy about learning Spanish. <br /><br />Our attitudes are very important-- both as teachers and students. We must be passionate, positive, and enthusiastic. As students, we must find teachers who LOVE teaching. We must find materials that are interesting to us. We must take care of our emotions and motivations. <br /><br />That's why I try to be enthusiastic and excited in <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">my lessons</a>. Sometimes I even shout! Feel my energy! Become more excited about English! Enjoy the stories and ideas and don't focus on grammar! <br /><br />This is probably the most important "method" of <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">Effortless English</a>: Passion! <br /><br /><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-88255142153009250992008-01-05T13:00:00.001-08:002008-11-19T03:07:04.043-08:00A Mobile Company<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-le7Wza0fv5A9NcDr95eSDsEpuLmkIshkOH65tRKBNZI94hK_5rZjUrhKDtlpKa2FYjk_oY0oF7HsL4pi02S74zvGR3D2_PVtGuBjLa-c7KvzXTYh11ffGyoag6QbBMZVj8DSKoBKqY/s1600-h/AJ+in+coffee+shop+.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-le7Wza0fv5A9NcDr95eSDsEpuLmkIshkOH65tRKBNZI94hK_5rZjUrhKDtlpKa2FYjk_oY0oF7HsL4pi02S74zvGR3D2_PVtGuBjLa-c7KvzXTYh11ffGyoag6QbBMZVj8DSKoBKqY/s320/AJ+in+coffee+shop+.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152100573727983058" /></a><br /><br />This is a picture of me in my "office". In fact, I run Effortless English , Inc.... the whole company, from a mobile office. Effortless English is not a normal company-- we are filled with nomadic people who love to travel. <br /><br />Because of this, and because Im the most enthusiastic traveler of all-- I decided to structure our company as a nomadic unit. In other words, Effortless English does not have an office building. Each of us (Tomoe, Chris, Kristin, and I) works from a laptop computer, a professional microphone, and an internet connection. <br /><br />These tools allow us to work almost anywhere in the world. So, in November, my office was in Guatemala, and later moved to Honduras. The above picture was taken in a Guatemalan coffee shop. Now I'm in San Francisco, and next week my "office" will be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. <br /><br />Tomoe is currently in Osaka, Japan-- but continues to work on her Japanese language blog and continues to translate our emails and web pages into Japanese. <br /><br />Tomorrow I fly to North Carolina (in the Southeast part of the United States) to visit Chris. We will be working together on a new album of lessons. <br /><br />Being a mobile company has many advantages. First, it allows us to meet members around the world. Also, travel exposes us to new people and new ideas. Instead of being stuck in a boring office, we are constantly visiting new places and meeting new people. I believe this makes us more interesting as individuals and as a company. <br /><br />Another advantage to having a mobile company is that it makes us sensitive to you, our members. When we travel, we are often forced to use other languages. For example, in November I had to use Spanish everyday. My Spanish is terrible, but the experience reminded me what its like to learn and use a foreign language. This helps me to understand you and your experience with English. <br /><br />Our mobile company is also fun. Its much more fun to work in a coffee shop, or in another country, or even in our own apartments. Because we are having more fun, we have more energy and enthusiasm. We love what we are doing-- and hopefully you can hear that in our <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">mp3 english lessons</a>! <br /><br />Finally, creating a mobile company has allowed me to choose only the very best people. Because I don't care where people live, I can focus on recruiting only the best possible people. We communicate with each other using email, and Skype conferences. Of course, I visit everyone in person too. <br /><br />For us, international travel and communication is a lifestyle-- it is a lifestyle that everyone in the company lives... and its a lifestyle that is built into the essential structure of Effortless English, Inc. <br /><br /><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-11718350861113556222008-02-02T12:28:00.000-08:002008-11-19T03:07:03.210-08:00Conversation: AJ & Chris, Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5xbztcHW7jBqv3GRXpin6HvdicjqM30wWHeOB7ggKbaAoFOn9el8KzWClEsCFVJMPpT5RYoDynI8XvGAi53eTPxO_AV9CRHbayo64ed1Wc8WiApmbqRyhdV5b93lcqhhaVUt83YHlT8/s1600-h/Sep23023.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5xbztcHW7jBqv3GRXpin6HvdicjqM30wWHeOB7ggKbaAoFOn9el8KzWClEsCFVJMPpT5RYoDynI8XvGAi53eTPxO_AV9CRHbayo64ed1Wc8WiApmbqRyhdV5b93lcqhhaVUt83YHlT8/s320/Sep23023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162506773645404642" /></a><br /><br /><br />AJ: No problem.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah, go.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah looking forward to it.<br /><br />Chris: Awesome man, well I think it’s been I don't know how many years has it been since we got together?<br /><br />AJ: Good God –<br /><br />Chris: Three or four huh?<br /><br />AJ: Yeah. Yeah I guess it woulda been before I went to Thailand right? I think just before I went to Thailand –<br /><br />Chris: I think so yeah.<br /><br />AJ: Didn’t I – I drove up and yeah I think I – yeah so its been about three and a half years, almost four? Yeah. It’s been awhile.<br /><br />Chris: About freekin time.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah. Yeah and you know we’ll get this going and hopefully it won’t be a problem any more. <br /><br />(Laughter)<br /><br />AJ: You can – but we’ll both just be nomads.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah man, sounds great. Well I appreciate it, it’s gonna be great to see you and I’m glad you’re carvin out some time to come hang out with me, it’s gonna make a big difference me getting these things done too so –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, I – you know I think it is the best way to do it if you can – especially you have someone to kinda – you keep each other on task but just try to do it in an intense burst you know really work hard for a couple weeks and – I’m hoping we can really, yeah get the whole thing done. You know at least the bulk of the recording done and –<br /><br />Chris: Yeah I mean let’s shoot – I mean let’s definitely shoot for that then and you know we can sit down and try to even sort of figure out to sort of meet you know what goals you think we need to meet for a complete lesson set, you know how many we need to get done by here and here –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah.<br /><br />Chris: And I think I was sort of you know I’ve sorta been thinking geez I wish I could have carved out a little more time for your visit but at least having those 3-day weekends I think –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, we could get a lot of work on those days, that’s true.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah, I think even if we’re not making the kind of progress we hope to during the week or maybe not quite making it then at least we’ll have you know, have nice 3-day sort of periods to do some of that so –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah and you’ve got Audacity, right, on your computer?<br /><br />Chris: I do. I’ve got that on my – I actually put it on both my work laptop as well as my desktop.<br /><br />AJ: Okay good and you've got a good mic? Good microphone?<br /><br />Chris: I don’t – I wouldn’t necessarily say that.<br /><br />AJ: Okay, okay. Well I’m gonna bring mine with me.<br /><br />Chris: Okay. I think you said you were and I just use the headset that I had to record that other and you probably noticed there was a little hiss in it.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah we can use mine, I’ll bring it. It’s really good and – cause I – in the beginning I used to use a headset and yeah, it’s actually quite a big difference. So yeah, that’s cool.<br /><br />Chris: And I can get, you know I'll certainly get one at some point if it makes you know, it probably will make sense for me you know to get one at some point too so – I think you said you’ve got one you really like so –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah it’s really nice, I know – do you have a – is there an Apple store in Chapel Hill?<br /><br />Chris: There is. Well it’s not right in Chapel Hill but it’s just – it’s you know it’s like 12 minutes down the road.<br /><br />AJ: Oh okay.<br /><br />Chris: Sort of on the – sort of right into Durham.<br /><br />AJ: Oh okay, cool, cool, great, there’s – yeah that’s where I got mine and it’s really nice. It just plugs in the USB.<br /><br />Chris: So maybe they might even have them there huh?<br /><br />AJ: Oh yeah, yeah, cause in fact I just bought one for Kristin to use so – and yeah, I’ll buy it, don’t worry about that. So maybe we can go by there and then – yeah we have two microphones, maybe at some point we can be in different rooms you know cranking out –<br /><br />Chris: Yep.<br /><br />AJ: Cranking out lessons at the same time.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah that’s – that and that’s entirely possible and you know we’ll set up – I think you remember, you probably remember how my place is set up. I figure – I think you slept in the – that sort of study, spare room I have last time? <br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.<br /><br />Chris: You can do that again. I been trying to clean out some of my junk in there but that’s – you know that’s – I’ve got a couple sort of desks and tables in there so we can you know set up one studio up there if we want, we can set up one downstairs, I can clean my kitchen table off, you know whatever – whatever works for us so –<br /><br />AJ: That sounds good, okay great. And so maybe we can or I could just get directions, I could do it while you’re at work, run by the Apple store and pick up another one. <br /><br />Chris: Yeah, I mean I don’t – you know I don’t really expect you to buy that for me but you know if –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, no worries, no worries.<br /><br />Chris: You’re comfortable do it.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, especially after this week man, no, no problem.<br /><br />(Laughter)<br /><br />Chris: Cool.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah I’ll do that then and at least have, I guess probably during the week one will be enough but I’ll try to get it at least before the weekend so that we’ll have two on the weekend when you maybe you know –<br /><br />Chris: That probably does make sense, yeah. Then we can be doing some simultaneous stuff.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah. Exciting, cool!<br /><br />Chris: Yeah. I think I’ve got – and I’ll let you – I’m not sure that I did send you – I think I sent you a second draft of the first part of that lesson I did but I’m not sure I sent you the second part of it cause basically I had like – I probably have like almost I don't know maybe a 20 – if you combine the two parts together, almost a 25 minute lesson.<br /><br />AJ: Oh perfect, perfect.<br /><br />Chris: So the other thing you might – yeah, if you don’t mind doing when you get here is listen through the both parts of that and decide if we should combine em or if you think I should do some more work on a particular section.<br /><br />AJ: Okay, that sounds good.<br /><br />Chris: But at least you know at least we might have at least one lesson to begin with so –<br /><br />AJ: Oh good.<br /><br />Chris: That’s 5% less work for us to do I figure.<br /><br />AJ: Absolutely. <br /><br />Chris: I did finish that book you had recommended to me, the – I guess it was Blaine Ray and Contee Seely?<br /><br />AJ: Oh yeah, yeah the TPRS book?<br /><br />Chris: Yeah, I finally – cause I had read maybe a third of it but I hadn’t finished it but I also worked my – the rest of the way through that and – over Christmas break so –<br /><br />AJ: Oh good, good, so that gives you a nice overview of the storytelling technique and –<br /><br />Chris: It does.<br /><br />AJ: Kind of the rationale behind it.<br /><br />Chris: Yep. Yeah it all looks good, it makes a lot of sense to me so I think it’s a great model.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, it’s fantastic, it’s the best I’ve found which is why I use it. Yeah, really nice. Cool, cool. And what was the – what other book did I send you – the marketing book was the Permission Marketing right?<br /><br />Chris: Yes.<br /><br />AJ: Stuff go – yeah that’s good stuff too.<br /><br />Chris: And I’ll get to that.<br /><br />AJ: Excellent.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah man and I got plenty of DVD’s here so if you get bored during the day or whatever you’ll – I don’t have cable but I don’t suspect you’re a big cable television person anyways.<br /><br />AJ: Nah. Yeah, DVD’s will be great. Cool. Yeah actually I gotta load up my ipod too with some videos for the flight. I’ve got like a 9 hour, 9 ½ hours.<br /><br />Chris: Nine – so you have – is like – is that just like a big layover they have for you or –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah there’s a – well there’s a 3-hour layover in Chicago, three, three and a half maybe in Chicago.<br /><br />Chris: Now do you – do you – it’s so funny that you say that because I didn’t have an ipod until I saw the video ipod’s come out and it’s – for me it’s such a drag to hang out in airports twiddling my thumbs and one of the reasons I got it was so I could put videos on there and be entertained in the airport.<br /><br />AJ: Exactly, that’s why I did it too cause I had –<br /><br />Chris: But I don’t know anybody – I don’t know anybody else who’s got one for that reason.<br /><br />(Laughter)<br /><br />AJ: Yeah. No that’s exactly why I did it – I already had a little like old nano, one of the little ones you know, I used it with some Spanish stuff and a little bit of music and you know really that was fine for my normal use, I don’t need a big one but then as we started traveling more it’s like oh – this is – it’s just a pain in the ass, you know the – none of the American Airlines show movies any more or very rarely do they and you know yeah all the long layovers, I’m like it would be nice to have a, just download some you know, couple little movies or something and some you know. And I did that when we went to Indiana and it was, it was really nice so –<br /><br />Chris: Cool. Have you – did you discover the – I can’t remember what it’s called, it’s not the Lego podcast but they were like these movies, these sort of movies they make with you know stop-action Legos?<br /><br />AJ: Oh no I haven’t seen that. I think I’ve heard of it but I haven’t seen it.<br /><br />Chris: Well you might wanna, you might wanna download one but they’re – some of them are pretty fun, especially the Star Wars one, you might check that one out sort of –<br /><br />AJ: Oh okay, cool. <br /><br />Chris: Yeah they’re sorta funny.<br /><br />(Laughter)<br /><br />Chris: Anyways. Get you all full up on your ipod.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah.<br /><br />Chris: But yeah there’s a Apple store’s around the corner and I’ll show you, the other thing I should do is show you around the area a little bit. So and there a couple restaurants right around here, you know for breakfast and lunch and that kind of thing and –<br /><br />AJ: Oh nice. Yeah I remember I think your – the last time I was there I think it had just been built right? Your house and that area around it, I think it all seemed really new at that point. <br /><br />Chris: Yup, you’ll have your car but you’ll certainly be able to find a lot of the basics just by walking around the neighborhood, the grocery store’s open 24 hours a day and –<br /><br />AJ: Oh nice, that’s great.<br /><br />Chris: So yeah, yeah we’ll try to make you as comfortable as you can be. Home away from home. Nomad man.<br /><br />AJ: Awesome. Well I guess maybe if you go ahead and email just some basic directions from the airport and I’ll get on you know, print out a map or something too, I mean I’m sure it’ll be fine and I’ll call – if I get lost.<br /><br />Chris: It will and I’ll – you’ll have my number and you’ll have your cell phone.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah.<br /><br />Chris: So I can always coach you into the last part of it. The other big thing is once you sort of turn into Meadowmont, the grocery store is there and you’ll – in our.... all these, you know the 32 units are right here so it’s almost gonna be impossible to miss actually.<br /><br />AJ: Okay, great. Hey you know, I was just thinking, I’ll bring my video camera, maybe we can make some videos and put em on the blog, you know like introducing you –<br /><br />Chris: Yeah man, yeah, let’s do that.<br /><br />AJ: Introduce you and you know hey, this is Chris. The new teacher, da-ta-dah!<br /><br />Chris: Yeah that sounds great. That’d be fun.<br /><br />AJ: All right cool, great. Well all rightie then, I’ll give you a call you know once I’ve landed and in the car and –<br /><br />Chris: Okay.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah so see you tomorrow night.<br /><br />Chris: Sounds great. Anything you want to plan to grab a bite when you get here or –<br /><br />AJ: Yeah.<br /><br />Chris: Well I guess we can figure that out.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, I imagine I may be hungry after a bunch of bad airline snacks and – they don’t – actually they don’t feed you at all actually now so yeah, actually that – I’ll probably be hungry.<br /><br />Chris: Yeah I've been, I mean when I flew up over the holidays, they like the one flight they didn’t even give a drink so yeah.<br /><br />AJ: Damn, not even a drink?<br /><br />Chris: I know.<br /><br />AJ: Stingy bastards. That’s why – the Asian airlines are so much better, God. That’s another one that Tomoe is always going on about, service, customer service and things like that. “I can’t believe it.” Like yes, it’s not Japan where they – they you know an army of people is running to serve you everywhere you go.<br /><br />Chris: Do you have any – do you have like any video of her or anything?<br /><br />AJ: Trying to think, do I have any video of Tomoe? I shot, she’s so, like kind – she’s a little camera shy.<br /><br />Chris: Is she.<br /><br />AJ: Let me think if I – I may actually have, I’ll bring my video from, I think there’s a little bit, like a couple tiny little snippets from our vacation on – in Honduras so I’ll –<br /><br />Chris: Yeah bring some along, I’d like to – of course you said maybe a picture or two but that’d be interesting to see what she’s like.<br /><br />AJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah I’ll do that.<br /><br />Chris: Okay, cool. Well I’m looking forward to it man, it’ll be a good time and yeah give me a call when you get in and we’ll start figuring it out.<br /><br />AJ: All rightie then, see you tomorrow night.<br /><br />Chris: Okay.<br /><br />AJ: Okay.<br /><br />Chris: Okay great.<br /><br />AJ: Okay.<br /><br />Chris: Bye.<br /><br />AJ: Bye.<br /><br /><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span>AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-14154934448094526482008-02-08T23:47:00.000-08:002008-11-19T03:07:02.865-08:00Todd's Motorcycle Accident<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS3_wEvpQpcCPUPzb407U9g1xerAx9BOgyZ8wyCUcE-G_mKMmF7eEuaBtKPhDB1G95g1borQ5Tq4MouiHp6wUG17JQ1PmTQ8BQSRD6K5HhZzWQvCj3EGzG8QaOI5ymU5b5TKlwM9oCcc/s1600-h/Todd+Leg.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS3_wEvpQpcCPUPzb407U9g1xerAx9BOgyZ8wyCUcE-G_mKMmF7eEuaBtKPhDB1G95g1borQ5Tq4MouiHp6wUG17JQ1PmTQ8BQSRD6K5HhZzWQvCj3EGzG8QaOI5ymU5b5TKlwM9oCcc/s320/Todd+Leg.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165545413316706690" /></a>Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the effortless English podcast. Now, today is going to be a spontaneous podcast, another spontaneous podcast. That means I will talk not read at all. I will just be talking and talking then I’ll send this to a company and they will transcribe it so you can read the text, but I think this is a more natural way for you to practice English. You can listen to my podcast and read my blog and hear a lot more kind of spontaneous English, which of course is exactly the kind of English we use in normal conversations. <br /><br />In normal conversations we don’t write down what we are going to say first and then read it. We just talk. We all do this in our native languages. And the thing is that this spontaneous speech, spontaneous language is quite different than the language we find in text books. It’s the same in Spanish. I struggle with Spanish because most of the Spanish I find unfortunately is not spontaneous; it’s not really actual conversational Spanish. Most of the Spanish I can find is either from books, audio books for example, or audio articles, so someone has written an article first, then they’re reading it. So I do get to hear the Spanish and certainly it helps me, but it’s not really a natural conversational style of Spanish. So when I go to Mexico or Honduras or Guatemala, I am overwhelmed and I can’t really quite understand what people are saying.<br /><br />Another problem I have is maybe it’s just me, maybe just my personal problem, but I get bored with the more formal kinds of Spanish, these articles I’ve listened to, for example, from a magazine. And in the beginning, this audio magazine, I liked it. It was interesting enough, it was okay, but I’ve gotten bored with it. I’m kind of sick of it. I want something new and different. I’d like something a little more funny, something more like our mini stories in fact. But so far I can’t find any recorded mini stories in Spanish. They’re hard to find. Maybe they don’t exist. As far as I know, they don’t exist, and that’s unfortunate because I would like to use the effortless system with Spanish. But oh well. <br /><br />So, my... best thing I can do then is just try to help you all, my students. I’ll try to help you at least learn spontaneous, real, fluent, conversational English both with my lessons, mini story lessons especially, and also with this podcast and the blog text. So today, what am I going to talk about? Today I want to talk about motorcycles, in fact I want to talk about a scary experience I had yesterday, a pretty terrible experience. Just this week, the beginning of this week, my friend and I, Todd is my friend's name, we bought motorcycles. I’ve been wanting a motorcycle for a long time. When I lived in Thailand in Bangkok I actually had a motorcycle and I drove around Bangkok. I learned to ride the motorcycle in Bangkok, which is kind of a crazy place to learn because Bangkok has just horrible traffic and anyone who’s been to Bangkok knows what I’m talking about. Well anyway, I moved here to San Francisco. I just walk. I don’t have a car here. I just walk everywhere, but I decided I’d like to get a motorcycle again. I really enjoyed it when I was in Thailand, and it would be helpful and useful here in the city. I don’t want a car. It’s too hard to park the car and too expensive. <br /><br />So anyway, I finally decided to get a Suzuki SV650 which is a kind of a middle sized motorcycle in the United States. Well my friend Todd, he drove me to go get a motorcycle, he went with me, and he decided to also get a motorcycle, in fact he also got a Suzuki SV650. Now, the problem is Todd and I are quite different in personality. When he bought a motorcycle, actually, I was a little worried because Todd’s personality and his driving style are not so safe, in fact we kind of joke, his friends, my friends, all of us, we kind of joke about Todd’s driving. When he drives his car he’s always stopping suddenly and sometimes he misses a red light and he’ll be not paying attention. He doesn’t see things. So he’s kind of a dangerous driver to be honest. When you’re in a car, that’s not good, but you are protected in a car. But on a motorcycle it’s very, very dangerous because you have no protection at all. Motorcycles are dangerous for everybody. They make me nervous. I’m a little nervous every time I ride on my motorcycle. <br /><br />But anyway, yesterday, this is the story, the sort of scary bad story. Yesterday Todd and I were going to go for a ride on our motorcycles. It was a sunny day, finally. In San Francisco we’ve had a lot of terrible rain lately and today again rainy and cloudy. So I’ve been kind of depressed. It’s horrible. I hate it. So anyway we finally had a nice sunny day yesterday. I drove out on my motorcycle, rode out to Todd’s house and he lives in the Sunset which is kind of the western section of San Francisco kind of near the ocean. And I went there and we got ready to get on our motorcycles and I got on my motorcycle, had my helmet on, was getting ready to start my motorcycle, and Todd was on his. Well suddenly I hear this vroom. I heard this loud sound and I look over and Todd is on the ground lying down and his motorcycle is down. This is just in the driveway, so we’re not even on the street yet. Todd jumped up very quickly and it looked like he was okay. He was kind of hopping on one leg, he hurt one leg a little, but he hopped on his one leg and he ran upstairs in to his house.<br /><br />Now another friend of mine named Wat, Thai by the way, he was there and Wat and I lifted his motorcycle, Todd’s motorcycle and got it back up again and I thought “Okay, everything is fine.” His motorcycle was damaged a little bit but I thought “No problem.” Well suddenly I hear Todd yelling “AJ! AJ!” So I run up in to his house. It was terrible. I look and he shows me his leg and the back of his leg, the back of his right leg on his calf, the calf muscle which is the lower leg, there is a huge deep cut, not even a cut really, we would say a gash. A gash is like a really big cut. So it’s like it was cut and then pulled apart. I could see a piece of his muscle hanging out and there was blood everywhere. It was horrible. It looked terrible. So my eyes became really big and I went “Oh my God.” So we had to run. I had to kind of help carry him, got him in to his car and drove very fast to the emergency room at the nearest hospital, and he was in a lot of pain, very, very painful. It was really terrible, deep and wide open really terrible cut. I don’t even want to say cut. It was a big wound, a large wound as big as my hand. That’s how big it was. So it was maybe six or seven inches long, and it was open maybe three inches, four inches open, and like I said it cut deep all the way in to the muscle. <br /><br />So anyway we got to the ER and they took him in immediately, but he had to wait a long time. The nurse looked at it first and he had to wait a long time and then finally they gave him some pain medication, they gave him some morphine and he started to calm down and feel a little better. Slowly one person would come in, a nurse would come in and look at it, then the doctor finally came and eventually they gave him more pain medication. They also gave him shots; they gave him little shots around the wound in order to numb it. They had to numb his leg. After they numbed his leg so he couldn’t feel his leg at all, a woman came in and had to wash out the wound with water, saline. Then finally the doctor, actually a doctor and a student came in and they sewed up the wound, they stitched it up. All of this took, man, like six hours. <br /><br />This is once again another example of the terrible healthcare in the United States. It took six hours for this. It’s ridiculous. I have worked in an emergency room actually and in the past I was a social worker in an emergency room. They’re all similar. You have to wait a long time. The other problem, this is going to cost Todd a lot of money, which is terrible to have to think about money and have to worry about money when you’re hurt like this. I’m guessing, I don’t know exactly, but I’m guessing it will cost him $8,000.00, yesterday’s trip to the emergency room, which is absolutely horrible. If you want to learn more about the horrible American healthcare system, rent Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko. Watch Sicko, Michael Moore’s movie. It’s a pretty funny example of our terrible healthcare system. So anyway after about six hours finally they sewed up his leg and then, now he has this boot, this big boot thing he has to wear over his lower right leg and he can’t walk on it at all. So he has to use crutches when he walks. So we got him home last night. <br /><br />I talked to him today. He’s doing okay. He’s taking pain medication of course and he’s also taking antibiotics. The doctor said his skin will probably heal in a couple weeks. He’ll have a scar of course, but the muscle, the deeper wound, probably won’t heal until two months, probably two months until he can walk normally again. So yesterday was a pretty stressful, difficult day for me, especially Todd. For me too. Coming home then last night from Todd’s house, I was really nervous on my motorcycle because Todd’s crash was not so terrible. Really, he was going very slowly. It was in his driveway so he just started his motorcycle and he lost control. He put on the gas and it zoomed suddenly and he lost control and hit a parked car. So it hit his leg against the car, that’s why it cut his leg open. Then he fell down. It happened very quickly and the speed was not fast, and still he got a very big injury. <br /><br />It made me really nervous thinking how dangerous motorcycles can be and how terrible an injury can be if you were going faster, or if you were hit by a car. In the emergency room one of the nurses told us a story about a woman who had been in a motorcycle accident. She was just driving her motorcycle and somebody opened a car door suddenly. The car was parked on the side of the road and they suddenly opened the door and the door hit her knee and just tore open her knee and, ugh. Anyway, another scary motorcycle story. So now I’m quite nervous about riding my motorcycle, so I’m ordering more protective clothing and equipment. I already have a very good helmet and I have a pretty good jacket. The jacket is very nice and a tough jacket. It’s a motorcycle jacket and it had pads in the elbows and the shoulders and the back. So if you fall down it protects you. <br /><br />But now I need to get some protection for my lower body so I’m going to order some motorcycle pants that also have pads in the hip, on the knee, the shin. I also have already, I just bought, it just arrived today, these Kevlar pant liners. Pant liners mean it’s kind of like long underwear. You wear them underneath your jeans for example. And Kevlar is bullet-proof material. It’s this very strong material. Supposedly if you fall down on the motorcycle and you slide normally your skin will be torn off, but supposedly these Kevlar pant liners will protect your skin. <br /><br />So anyway, that’s my kind of scary story for today for the podcast. Spontaneous English about kind of a bad event that happened yesterday. I’ll let you know more about my motorcycle and hopefully I will be riding safely for a long time and will not need all this protective equipment. But anyway, I’m going to get it regardless if I need it or not. I’m going to get it because I’m quite nervous now. Alright, that’s it for today’s podcast. I’ve got a little bit of medical vocabulary in there. Just like with my lessons when you get these podcasts, listen to the podcast several times if you want to learn it deeply and of course you can use my blog to read the text and use a dictionary if you don’t know some of the words. Alright. I’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.<br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-8994851214205573062008-04-07T07:29:00.000-07:002008-11-19T03:07:02.130-08:00Fun In Osaka<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszxtJbSJis4J-wdv4ZCl1d2r2xUkXQzer3mxKJFinTigssq1_ObbFgxmy5S8enMz5TMDWHw07eJhVOXRMt60nW2x0eNV9l3x-aeutiG7c4E1Rju5yQPM3SSW4lymnx_Ul6-wqXN_iYfA/s1600-h/IMGP0783.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszxtJbSJis4J-wdv4ZCl1d2r2xUkXQzer3mxKJFinTigssq1_ObbFgxmy5S8enMz5TMDWHw07eJhVOXRMt60nW2x0eNV9l3x-aeutiG7c4E1Rju5yQPM3SSW4lymnx_Ul6-wqXN_iYfA/s320/IMGP0783.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187596723322995090" /></a><br />The Osaka demonstration was great fun. I particularly enjoyed meeting some of our Effortless English members in Japan! My only regret is that I didn’t have time to talk to everyone longer. Next time, we’ll schedule more time to just sit and chat. <br /><br />Since the Osaka demonstration went well, we’ll be doing more workshops and seminars in the future. <br /><br />My plan is to develop two kinds of seminars-- one for English teachers, and one for English learners. <br /><br />There is a huge need for teacher training- as most English teachers either have no training at all, or they are trained in grammar-analysis-practice methods (in other words, they are only trained to use textbooks). <br /><br />Likewise, I believe there is a need for student training. Most students don’t know about the research. They don’t know there are other ways to learn English. They only know what they have experienced in school-- usually boring, grammar-based, textbook teaching. My goal for student seminars is to teach students a new way to learn—independently. <br /><br />The Osaka seminar was my first one. It went well, but I felt it was a bit rough and needs improvement. When I get back to San Francisco, I will start doing regular seminars in the city. In this way, I can practice and improve both versions of the seminar. Once I’m satisfied with the quality, we will go “on tour” and do seminars in different cities around the world. <br /><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglish.libsyn.com">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-56393624627053381902008-07-16T17:42:00.000-07:002008-08-29T20:42:46.260-07:00New Home For The BlogOK... we finally have a new home for the blog & podcast-- on our main Effortless English Club website!<br /><br />The new Blog address is: <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com</a><br /><br />New blog posts and new podcasts are on the right sidebar. <br /><br />I add new ones almost every week :)AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-35748747878122595432008-07-15T22:17:00.000-07:002008-07-15T22:22:38.774-07:00Why So Quiet On The Blog & Podcast?Why have I been so quiet? <br /><br />Why so few blog and podcast posts recently?<br /><br />Well, I'm currently working to move the blog (again!!)-- this time to the EffortlessEnglishClub.com URL. <br /><br />So I uploaded Wordpress and am trying to learn how to use it. Another system to learn-- ugh :( <br /><br />But I think Wordpress will have advantages long term. Ill be able to do a lot more with the site... and be able to integrate the lesson pages, the blog posts, and the podcast. <br /><br />Wordpress also makes it easy to create special "members-only" pages-- pages that require a password. So I may add more bonus material, such as bonus lessons, short videos, etc. for members-only. <br /><br />Meanwhile, its a lot of work to learn the new system, and all the various plug-ins I need. <br /><br />I'm also working to put many of our main web pages on Wordpress. <br /><br />Hopefully, you'll like the result once I'm finished. <br /><br />Oh.. and I haven't forgotten about the Transcript Contest. <br /><br />I have started to read some of the entries-- a winner will be chosen soon :P <br /><br />Really ;)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-28838567081198053142008-07-07T23:12:00.000-07:002008-07-07T23:14:14.732-07:00The TranscriptHere's the transcript for the contest, I'll choose a winner soon:<br /><br />----------------------------------------<br /><br />Hello, this is AJ and today we have a special podcast. Today we have a contest. This is a transcription contest so I’m going to speak about a subject and you need to listen and write down what I say and then you need to send me your transcripts. Send me the text from this podcast. Send it as a personal message to my forum. So send it to me in the Effortless English forums and send it as a personal message. So this is obviously for members. So here we go. I’m just going to talk for probably about five minutes spontaneously. You need to write down the text of what I say.<br /><br />What I’m going to talk about is an idea that Tomoe and I have been talking about and that is we are going to start a physical Effortless English club or actually, it won’t be an Effortless English club, it will be an Effortless Language club. So, excuse me, the idea is that we’re going to get a little room or a little building, some physical space, and we’re going to teach some language classes using the Effortless English method or the Effortless method. <br /><br />So I’m going to teach some English classes and she’s going to teach some Japanese classes. I’m also going to train some teachers, train some volunteers to teach them the method so that it doesn’t just depend on me. So it will be kind of be like a school but I don’t want to call it a school. I want it to be an interesting environment, a club in the sense of like a membership club or a social club or even a country club, but you know, not for rich people. <br /><br />Dammit, excuse me, got a cough. So anyway, I’m not sure what the name exactly will be but something probably like the San Francisco Effortless Language Club and of course we’ll have language programs as I just said but we’re also going to have social programs and motivational programs. <br /><br />I’ve often thought about having my own school and there are kind of some main points that I always think would be important for a physical school. One of course are the lessons or the teaching method and I already have that. That’s the Effortless English method. But there are other important parts and the second important part for a school is the atmosphere, the physical environment. I think schools are ugly, butt ugly in fact and I’ve always thought I wanted to create a space that had mojo, that had some special quality, an interesting atmosphere, an atmosphere that was kind of transcendent or transformational so that when you walk in to this school or club or room, instantly your feeling changes, you have some kind of shift in your emotional state. <br /><br />Maybe you were tired, maybe you were bored, maybe you were stressed before, but just by walking into this physical space, you change and get some more energy and you feel a little bit better. All of us can think of certain spaces like that. <br /><br />Sorry, I’ve had this cough for about two weeks, excuse me, and I can’t seem to get rid of it. So anyway we can all think of these sort of kind of spaces. For example, some temples or churches are like this. You walk in and there’s instantly some kind of magical quality. Even sometimes a coffee shop or a restaurant can have that quality. You walk in and just by going into this physical space because of the decorations, the colors, the sound and the way it’s painted, what’s hanging on the walls, all of that, even the smells, create a change in you. So that’s powerful and I think we should use it in education. I think we should make schools that are beautiful and inspiring. We don’t have much money so I’m going to have to do this on a small budget but that’s one of the requirements for me. <br /><br />Another requirement is a motivational curriculum and this is something that all schools neglect or almost all schools neglect. You know, they have their teaching method which is usually bad. They have their physical space which is usually ugly and then they totally neglect the whole idea of motivation. But I think that motivation, emotion, is equally important to teaching method because the biggest problem with language students, any language, any foreign language, is that they quit, right, because they get bored or they get discouraged and they give up. So we have to support, help, and teach learners how to manage their emotions, how to build their motivation, how to build their enthusiasm, how to support and build and increase their passion and energy for learning the language. So I want that to be a component of our club, our school, our program as well, helping our members increase and support their emotion, enthusiasm, and passion for learning the language. Those will be the three main parts of our new San Francisco Effortless Language Club and I’ll be talking more about that as we develop it. <br /><br />Alright, well get working. You’re going to have to listen to this many times and type or write this and I guess you’re going to have to type it because you have to send it to me in the forums as a personal message. I will check and the best transcript, the text that is the closest to what I actually said in my audio, you’ll be the winner and everybody will love you, yay! Ok, good luck. You have one week, you have seven days to finish your transcript and send it to me. Bye. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-21250923346982405002008-06-25T20:56:00.000-07:002008-06-25T21:12:10.848-07:00English ClassEnglish Class. How do we make it Remarkable? How do we create an incredible English Class? <br /><br />I'm asking myself that question everyday now, because we are starting a San Francisco Effortless Language Club-- An English conversation club. <br /><br />But not only English. We'll also teach Japanese. Hopefully, we'll soon add Spanish and maybe other languages too. <br /><br />But I don't want a normal English Class. Most English classes are boring and ineffective. Ours will be effective. I already know that because I'll be using the same Effortless English method I use in my <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">mp3 English Lessons</a>. <br /><br />But I think that a great teaching method is only part of being remarkable. A truly great class needs more. <br /><br />To be great, an English class needs to support students' emotions. It needs to inspire them, motivate them, energize them, and entertain them. <br /><br />A great English class must also be a true community-- a place of friendship, where meaningful connections are made between learners, and between teachers and learners. <br /><br />A great English class must be a beautiful place. The room must be decorated beautifully-- in a way that instantly and automatically makes learners feel both relaxed and alert.<br /><br />Of course, all of this will evolve. We're starting small... with a tiny office space and a couple of students. <br /><br />But our goal is big, and its absolutely not modest: Our goal is to have the Greatest English Class in the world! <br /><br />PS: A great side-benefit of the SF Effortless English Class is that we'll have more <a href="http://www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com">mp3 English lessons</a>. I will record myself teaching every class... and every few months we'll sell the new collection of lessons! <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-80180260889046658142008-06-08T22:30:00.000-07:002008-06-24T20:22:43.829-07:00Learn English With MP3 PlayersMP3s are great. MP3s are a revolution in English learning. That's why all of our audio lessons use MP3 files.<br /><br />With <a href="http://www.effortlessenglishclub.com/">MP3 English lessons</a>, you can take your English learning anywhere. You can learn English on the bus as you go to work and return home. You can learn English on the train. You can learn English while exercising or walking. You can learn English while shopping. You can learn English while sitting at a coffee shop.<br /><br />Its so easy. With Effortless English, all you need to do is listen. Just listen. Yes, its great if you can give short answers to the questions in the mini-story lessons. But its not necessary. Its perfectly fine to just listen silently.<br /><br />Remember, listening is the key to better English speaking. Effortless English is a Listen First method because Listen First methods are the most successful.<br /><br />You don't need to feel stress when you learn English. You can relax and listen to your iPod or MP3 player. <br /><br />You don't need textbooks. You don't need difficult and boring lessons. You can learn English quickly and easily, during your short free times every day.<br /><br />So, go get an MP3 player and start learning English the easy way!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184413898243462710.post-60924142419352676812008-06-20T07:30:00.001-07:002008-06-24T20:22:23.525-07:00New mp3 English Squidoo LensHi. I just created a Squidoo Lens for mp3 English speaking lessons. <br /><br />What is a Squidoo lens?<br /><br />Well, its a super-simple web page that's designed to summarize key information on a topic. <br /><br />My Squidoo lens, for example, summarizes all the mp3 English speaking lessons that I recommend. I have links to all of our lessons, our email course, and other great sources for English listening mp3s.<br /><br />By using all the mp3s that I recommend, you improve your English speaking very very fast. <br /><br />Look at my Squidoo Lens, and link to it, at:<br /><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/effortlessenglishclub">http://www.squidoo.com/effortlessenglishclub</a><br /><br />And then, why not create your own Squidoo lens. Make a list of YOUR favorite english speaking lessons, websites, podcasts, and books. Its super easy to make one!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign Up For My Free 7 Day Email Course. Enter Your Email Below, Now</span>:<script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1185246635.js"></script><br /><br />Listen To This Article at:<br /><a href="http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com/">The Effortless English Podcast</a>.AJ Hogehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182460969294472340noreply@blogger.com0