Intro
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| Becky: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Becky and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Becky: In this Inner Circle, we're talking about Analysis Paralysis in Language Learning... |
| Peter: ..and How To Beat It |
| Becky: You'll find out why people get caught up in it... |
| Peter: ...Why you should stop focusing on details and perfection... |
| Becky: ...And how to avoid analysis paralysis... |
| Peter: All so you can master your target language and reach your goals! |
| Body |
| Becky: Listeners, welcome back to the Inner Circle. |
| Peter: Last time, you learned why your worst days.. |
| Becky: ...are actually the best days to learn a language. |
| Peter: You learned about why they happen, and why they're when you'll get your best work done. |
| Becky: And how your habit of learning only gets stronger if you muscle through. |
| Peter: This time, listeners, we're talking about the enemy of language learning, |
| Becky: Analysis paralysis. |
| Peter: When you're so focused on the tiny little details of a language... |
| Becky: ...and you're so focused on reaching perfection... |
| Peter: ...that you actually stop your language progress from growing. You paralyze it. |
| Becky: That sounds rough, Peter. So, how'd you come to this topic today? |
| Peter: Great question Becky. Well. it's July. The year's more than half over. So I started doing a mid-year review. |
| Becky: That's smart. |
| Peter: Actually, a mid-year review would be a GREAT topic for the next Inner Circle. |
| Becky: Yeah, I think so! Like looking back and seeing how far you've come! |
| Peter: We'll definitely do that. So, I was reviewing this year's progress and I remembered when I was studying Chinese two years ago. |
| Becky: Right, I remember that. |
| Peter: ...And I had a tutor who was incredibly focused on pronunciation. And that's pretty important for Chinese. |
| Becky: Right, with the different tones and all. |
| Peter: But, we were so focused on pronunciation above everything else. I wasn't reaching my conversation goals. I wasn't learning basic phrases. And I wasn't learning the characters. |
| Becky: And your pronunciation? Didn't that work out well? |
| Peter: It got to the point where it was counterproductive. What is good pronunciation anyway... |
| Becky: ...if you're not speaking at all in the first place? |
| Peter: Exactly. |
| Becky: Definitely sounds like you were stuck on perfecting the details. |
| Peter: So listeners, today, we're talking about... |
| Becky: ...Analysis Paralysis in Language Learning and How To Beat It. |
| Peter: And in this Inner Circle, you're going to learn... |
| Becky: One – Why Language Learners Get Caught Up in it |
| Peter: Two – Why You Should Stop Focusing on Details and Perfection |
| Becky: And Three... |
| Peter: How To Avoid Getting Stuck In Analysis Paralysis. |
| Becky: So Peter, we said that analysis paralysis typically comes from aiming for perfection.. |
| Peter: That's right. |
| Becky: Wouldn't you agree that aiming for perfection is a good thing? Isn't it better to get your language right? Nobody likes making mistakes. |
| Peter: That's a very good point Becky. Most people don't like making mistakes. But... |
| Becky: But? |
| Peter: I can't agree with you. Aiming for perfection is not always a good thing. It sounds great though, doesn't it? Your accent will be perfect. You'll be speaking flawlessly. You'll never make a mistake. |
| Becky: Yeah! That does sound great! |
| Peter: Becky... This is the fastest and easiest way to get stuck. |
| Becky: And because most people aim for perfection.... |
| Peter: Tons of learners experience this in one form or another. They get stuck. |
| Becky: They stop making real language progress. |
| Peter: And it's as if they're paralyzed. |
| Becky: So why do learners get stuck? |
| Peter: Let's get into the first point: |
| Becky: Why Language Learners Get Caught Up in Analysis Paralysis |
| Peter: When I was learning Chinese, I was stuck drilling pronunciation... |
| Becky: ...instead of actually having conversations? |
| Peter: Right. Which was my overall goal. To maximize my speaking time. |
| Becky: Ah, and by focusing on 1 aspect of the language... you were ignoring the overall goal and the big picture. |
| Peter: Exactly. In that case, my teacher was so focused on it. And at first, I was impressed and excited. I'd have perfect pronunciation. |
| Becky: Who doesn't want that? |
| Peter: And again, it's important for Chinese, but... |
| Becky: ...you weren't speaking at all? |
| Peter: Just drilling tones and learning how to say words. Becky, I was stuck. |
| Becky: But why do learners get analysis paralysis? |
| Peter: A few reasons. The first and the biggest reason, like we said, is... |
| Becky: Perfection. |
| Peter: Everyone wants to speak perfectly. They want to read perfectly... |
| Becky: ...And have perfect pronunciation. |
| Peter: You know, Becky. I don't even know why they aim for perfection. |
| Becky: Hmm. High expectations? Big goals? They don't want to make mistakes? |
| Peter: You got it. And that's the second reason too. They don't want to make mistakes. |
| Becky: Hmm. I can definitely blame school for that. No mistakes allowed! |
| Peter: You can. But avoiding mistakes is a mistake in itself. And you'll find out why soon. |
| Becky: Alright, what's next. |
| Peter: Another reason is not looking at the big picture. This is very easy to do. |
| Becky: Right. If you're studying words and you get used to that routine... |
| Peter: ...Or if you spend most of your time on grammar rules or pronunciation... |
| Becky: ...instead of stepping back – and looking at the big picture... |
| Peter: ...Are you REALLY speaking more of the language? Or are you just stuck? |
| Becky: I've definitely had that with Japanese. I studied grammar rules, but my speaking... forget about it. Probably because I wasn't trying to speak at all. |
| Peter: That's probably why, Becky. And It can also be the learner's personality. |
| Becky: I think another reason is that there could be too many options to choose from. |
| Peter: Good one! Like... too many resources to use. Books. Apps. |
| Becky: Or should you study words first? Or grammar? Or reading? |
| Peter: Right! Getting hung up on what resources to use or what areas to study. |
| Becky: Listeners, you may have your own reasons too. |
| Peter: Do you get analysis paralysis? |
| Becky: Why do you think it happens? |
| Peter: Be sure to let us know! |
| Becky: Alright. So now we know why most learners get caught up in perfection... |
| Peter: ...and analysis paralysis. |
| Becky: But why is it better to settle for less? Why should learners avoid perfection, Peter? |
| Peter: Let's get into the second point. |
| Becky: Why You Should Stop Focusing on Details and Perfection. |
| Peter: This is a tough topic. People love perfection, Becky. |
| Becky: It's the best, Peter. |
| Peter: Haha.. Well, only when you can afford to start smoothing out the details. |
| Becky: Right. And that's when you're a lot more experienced. |
| Peter: Exactly. But it's a recipe for disaster for beginners. And here's why – let's take my example. |
| Becky: You focused on pronunciation. |
| Peter: Becky, after 2 months, I had less than a MINUTE of conversation. The teacher would stop me at every mistake. |
| Becky: Wow, at 2 months, I'd imagine you could have reached 5 minutes. |
| Peter: The big lesson is – focusing on details stops your progress dead in its tracks. |
| Becky: Right. If your goal is to speak 3 minutes this month... |
| Peter: ...but you're so focused on remembering proper verb conjugation... |
| Becky: ...you'll never reach your goal. |
| Peter: Next, language is a tool for effective communication. |
| Becky: That doesn't mean it has to be perfect or SHOULD be perfect. |
| Peter: And you CAN argue that there's no perfect pronunciation. And this is especially the case with American accents. |
| Becky: There's the southern accent, western accent, your New York accent, Peter. |
| Peter: Do I have an accent? |
| Becky: You do, Peter. |
| Peter: It's funny, one time, when I was younger, I was visiting another state and was talking to a store clerk. And I said to the store clerk, “ Wow, you have an interesting accent.” |
| Becky: Uh oh. I can't imagine you had a nice response to that. |
| Peter: Haha.. Yeah, it went something like this. “This isn't New York. You're the one with the accent.” |
| Becky: He has a point though! |
| Peter: Well I didn't hold it against him that he didn't speak New York English. But he did have a point. Pronunciation doesn't imply your language is bad. Making yourself understood is the heart of language and the key to communication. |
| Becky: Yeah, you two understood each other just fine. |
| Peter: Oh yes, Becky. His message was understood, loud and clear. But another example is grammar. Learners spend a ton of time on grammar... |
| Becky: ...but there's more than one way to express your point, keep the conversation going… |
| Peter: ...and maximize your speaking time. If you can't say “where is the bathroom” in your target language... |
| Becky: ...you can simply ask “Bathroom?” It might sound odd... |
| Peter: ...But if a native listener understands what you need and it's effective, that's good enough, right? |
| Becky: Right. You can perfect it afterwards. |
| Peter: And if you have a good teacher, like my Premium PLUS teacher, they will correct your mistakes. |
| Becky: So it's OK to aim for good enough, instead of perfect. |
| Peter: Exactly, Becky. Another reason that it's not good to aim for perfection is... you need to make mistakes! |
| Becky: It seems counterintuitive, but it's the fastest way to learn. |
| Peter: There's a great example from a book called “Art and Fear.” There was a ceramics class where the teacher divided the class into 2 groups. One would be graded on quantity of work. They needed to make 50 pots to get an A. |
| Becky: And the other? |
| Peter: The other was graded on quality. So the quality group needed to make 1 pot. But, it had to be perfect. |
| Becky: Oh, wow. So how'd the groups do? |
| Peter: Becky, the quantity group had the highest-quality pots at the end. Simply because they made more pots. They made more mistakes and they learned from them... |
| Becky: ...while the other sat around thinking about the best way to make a perfect pot. |
| Peter: That's it. So as you can see, mistakes are an absolute must. |
| Becky: If you're learning with a teacher... |
| Peter: ...like my Premium PLUS teacher, you'll get corrections and improve faster. Becky, I think the best example is... how do kids learn? |
| Becky: Yeah, they make a lot of mistakes and their parents correct them. |
| Peter: And that's why it's okay to mistakes and it's important to make mistakes. |
| Becky: Alright, Peter. What can our listeners do to avoid this trap? |
| Peter: Let's get into the third point. |
| Becky: How To Avoid Getting Stuck In Analysis Paralysis. |
| Peter: In other words, here's how you beat analysis paralysis. |
| Becky: The first way is simple. |
| Peter: Listeners, don't seek perfection. |
| Becky: Aim for “good enough.” Remember, language is ultimately a tool for communication... |
| Peter: ...and if someone understands you despite the mistakes you make, then you've done the job. |
| Becky: The second way is... Make mistakes! |
| Peter: Actually if you WANT to reach perfection, making mistakes is the fastest way. |
| Becky: When you make a mistake, you'll get corrected... |
| Peter: ...you'll know what to say next time instead of wasting time trying to figure it out. |
| Becky: If you make 10 mistakes a day, that's 10 ways you've improved in 1 day. |
| Peter: Becky, that's a great tactic. Make a certain number of mistakes a day. I'd aim for 100! |
| Becky: Yeah, I thought of that after your ceramics class story. |
| Peter: Because they made a ton of mistakes. |
| Becky: The third way is to always refer to the big picture. |
| Peter: This can be your yearly goal or ultimate goal. For me, my yearly goal is 30 minutes of conversation. And in general, I want to speak comfortably. |
| Becky: Then, ask yourself, are you hitting your monthly goals? |
| Peter: ... are you truly progressing with your ultimate goal? If not... |
| Becky; ...take a look at where your time has been going. It might be going into the little details. |
| Peter: And you'll know to cut those out of your routine. |
| Becky: The fourth way is easy. You should be doing it already. |
| Peter: Listeners, since the beginning... |
| Becky: ...we've asked you to create small, measurable goals... |
| Peter: ...with a deadline. These goals, by design, keep you focused on what's important. |
| Becky: If your goal is to speak 5 minutes of conversation this month.... |
| Peter: Chances are, you'll be practicing speaking more than anything else. |
| Becky: If your goal is to master 100 words. Well, you'll be more focused on the words... |
| Peter: ...than any other detail. |
| Becky: This method, by design, eliminates the analysis paralysis of choosing resources or what area of a language to study. |
| Peter: Right. If you want to practice listening and speaking, you know to focus on listening and speaking. |
| Becky: And you don't need to think about what resources to use. |
| Peter: You don't need a textbook for that. Just use our audio and video lessons. |
| Becky: The 5th way is to maximize your time around your goal as much as possible. |
| Peter: This is so that you don't getting lost in the details when you make a mistake. |
| Becky: Like when your teacher stopped you after every pronunciation mistake. |
| Peter: Exactly. We'd break the conversation and focus on details. And I couldn't maximize my speaking time. |
| Becky: Listeners, to maximize your time, try to keep going, even if you make mistakes. |
| Peter: That's right. So here's what I do. With my Premium PLUS teacher and my Skype tutor... If I ever make a mistake, they know to parrot back the corrected version. They don't stop me. |
| Becky: Ah. What about words you don't know in Spanish? |
| Peter: I'll just say the word in English inside my Spanish sentence... |
| Becky: ...And the teacher tells you the Spanish word? |
| Peter: That's it. And we keep going with the conversation. I maximize my speaking time. I hit my goals. |
| Becky: That's great. Yeah, all you really need is a quick correction. |
| Peter: This is the most effective technique for improving and I did this too when I taught English. For example, a student would say... “I go there on Saturday.” And I'd ask “oh, you went there on Saturday?” And they'd instantly correct themselves! No break in conversation. |
| Becky: That's a great tip. Alright Peter. Wait, I never asked. How was your monthly goal? |
| Peter: Still going strong, Becky. I hit 15 minutes of Spanish conversation. 17 minutes is the goal for August. |
| Becky: Sounds great! Listeners, be sure to set your monthly goals as well. |
| Peter:... and email us at inner dot circle at innovativelanguage dot com. |
| Becky: We want to know if you've ever gotten a case of analysis paralysis! |
Outro
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| Becky: Well, that's going to do it for this special Inner Circle lesson! |
| Peter: Bye everyone! |
| Becky: Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time. |
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