Phrases speak louder than words!
Learning how to speak English can be a difficult undertaking for people. In fact, there was a 20% decrease in students at school taking language courses in 2020. Even if children do take these courses, many will give up after the age of 14 for classes with more tangible results. There is a direct correlation between enthusiasm in the classroom and being able to see the fruits of your labour. But what if we could find a way to show you these results? In this blog, we will take a deep dive into our signature learning module – Lilly’s Gold – and show you how to walk the talk.
The main reason students get off-track with learning to speak English is that they want to reach expert levels right away. It can be hard to find the right techniques to help you fast-track this seemingly never-ending process. This can be attributed to several factors, with the main reasons being:
- Overstatements and promised shortcuts. Learning a language should never be fast-tracked. Accept that it’s going to take time and enjoy the process! Additionally, accept that you’re going to make lots of errors during this marathon as well.
- Over-saturation of Apps that provide shallow service – with hefty promises (ie. learn one word a day – be fluent in 30 days!). They clutter up your bookmarks and often don’t offer a well-rounded approach. They are often forgotten after a month of use and replaced by the next gimmick tool to appear in the app store.
- Overestimating the results! When a students’ expectations are high, it can feel discouraging to not feel progression. Especially when you’ve been following directions for months and can barely string a sentence together. This is the point when most people throw in towel. We want to help you avoid this.
Where Do You Start?
With all of this being said, there is a great majority of people who start learning to speak English and don’t stop until they know it inside and out. All of these people have one thing in common, they all had a free tool working tirelessly for them in the background. This tool was piecing together the essential information while they ate, worked, and slept. In fact, you have it working for you right now, say hello to your Long Term Memory.
Long Term Memory
Long-term memories can be recalled into our working memory whenever we need them. They are often involuntarily made through daily interactions – solidified when we go to sleep at night. This is a form of implicit activity. Our brains take in short-term memory during the day, and these are siphoned off without us knowing what we will retain and what we will discard. But we can harness this relationship and have memories purposefully stored away. This is where memory exercises come in.
When memories are accessed, again and again, they become more solidified in our minds. The amount of times a memory is accessed by a person directly correlates with the strength it has. We can use this to our advantage in language learning. By recalling information again and again until it is solidified into our memory. However, this must be organized in a way that we can be sure no rock has been left unturned.
Since long-term memory is strengthened through callback, it’s important to organize what you want to remember. Having something to record what you have learned is the only way to call it back later.
The Goldlist Method, developed by Professor David James incorporates your long-term memory into the learning process with the following methodology:
- Write 25 phrases down in your desired language, taking your time as you go so you can truly absorb the material.
- If needed, make a separate list for translations of the phrases.
- Repeat this method with different lists as many times you want, as long as they are on different days.
- Walk away, and revisit the list 2 weeks later. This is to ensure your long-term and short-term memory have fully distinguished themselves from each other.
- Take note of what you have remembered in that time. This could be up to 8 of the 25 words.
- Carry the remaining phrases you could not remember onto a new list and repeat the process until your long-term memory has absorbed all 25 of the phrases.
Many people swear by this method for its effectiveness and accessibility. All you need is a notebook, commitment, and time.
However, it should be noted that this method is only meant to be used as one of the many tools in your kit. For some learners, the low-tech aspects (pen and paper only) can be stifling and inconvenient. Not everyone wants to carry around a large notebook when our lives have become so digitally integrated. This method also doesn’t incorporate more popular learning methods such as reading aloud. Which has been proven to increase our word recognition 17% more than silently reading.
Welcome to Lilly’s Gold!
Lilly puts the power of the pen in your hands and provides a golden opportunity to transform your English-speaking voice! When learning a new language, common sense dictates that we should focus our learning on the phrases that we regularly say in our daily personal lives. Because when it’s personal, it’s powerful. We naturally engage and embrace the types of phrases that are directly linked to our personal lives and interests, and that’s different for everyone!
If you think about it, common phrases are not necessarily so common. We don’t all work at the same jobs, we don’t buy the same things, we don’t all play the same sports, we don’t interact with the same people, and the list goes on.
Lilly’s Gold is the world’s first Artificial Intelligent guided learning software that encourages you to design, write, speak, practice, and retain the words and phrases that are important to you. Lilly’s Gold supercharges your engagement and ability to start speaking in English to the people in your life, without sounding like someone else.
Lilly’s Learning Methodology uses your short and long-term memory and combines a plethora of proven learning strategies including; writing, spelling, pronunciation, reading, listening, bi-directional training, deliberate and spaced repetition practice….wow, to use an English idiom….that was a mouthful!
Strike English Gold with Lilly!
Overview
Lilly’s Gold is simple and easy to use, and Lilly is there to guide you on your journey to speaking English.
You can complete Lilly’s Gold in approximately 15-20 minutes.
Your goal is to write 10 short conversational phrases that are personal or situational to your life. We are to give each list a name, and once that list has a name, it would also be known as a Headlist. We encourage you to write 10 phrases every day for as many consecutive days as you can.
You can write your phrases in English, or in your native language, and Lilly will convert your phrases into English for practice. Just think about all the different types of daily conversations you have with the people in your life or the different situations you encounter on a regular basis. What do you say, and then, what does the person you are talking to you say back, and you’re off and running. It’s that simple, and that easy!
You can either write your own phrases or you can select a group of conversational phrases from Lilly’s Phrase Library – there are over 3,500+ English conversational phrases to learn and master! You can search your preferences by choosing the genre of phrases, whether it be common expressions or something more specific.
Learn more about Lilly’s Phrase Library!
Learning Phrases with Lilly!
1. Writing – Spelling
Lilly starts off by asking you to write your first phrase (either in English or your native language) or remember you can take advantage of Lilly’s Phrase Library. If you decide to write your phrase in your native language, Lilly will translate your phrase and then have you write it in English. Studies have shown that writing and spelling sentences and words drastically increases autonomy. It also provides the learner with ongoing tangible victories. Starting with small successes such as these encourage and builds confidence quickly.
2. Pronunciation
Pronunciation is a cornerstone of learning to speak English. Once you have written your phrase, Lilly will test your pronunciation and ask you to repeat the phrase aloud. Repetition creates long-term memory by enacting strong chemical interactions at the synapse of your neuron (where neurons connect to other neurons). Repetition creates the strongest learning—and most learning—both implicit (like tying your shoes) and explicit (multiplication tables) relies on repetition.
LillyPad encourages you to speak and repeat not only in this module but across the board and throughout the application.
3. Bi-Directional Training
You can write your phrases in English or in your native language! If you write your phrases in English or have used one of the 3,500 English phrases from Lilly’s Phrase Library, Lilly will ask you to translate them into your native language.
If you wrote your phrase in your native language, Lilly will ask you to write the phrase in English – she will also help with the translation of the phrase if needed. Bi-directional training is an awesome way to learn as it forces you to think inside and outside of the box as your mind begins to create links. It is also a great way to accurately mark and understand your progress. Don’t worry if you initially get things wrong – there are a plethora of practice methodologies coming up and Lilly is there to guide you!
4. Deliberate Practice
Once you have completed writing your 10 phrases, Lilly will take you through a summary pronunciation exercise. Lilly will ask you to repeat each phrase after her, as she listens for your pronunciation accuracy of each phrase.
After the completion of the summary exercise, Lilly will ask you if you want to repeat it. You are encouraged to do extra practice as it is part of your deliberate learning, as it contributes to your long-term memorization of these phrases.
Remember….repetition is the mother of skill.
If you say no, Lilly will then offer you to practice a bonus round.
5. Bonus Rounds
The bonus round is your opportunity to learn additional random phrases that are drawn from either your current lists or from Lilly’s Phrase Library. At the end of each bonus exercise, Lilly will once again ask if you want to practice your pronunciation of each of your phrases. Take advantage of this deliberate practice opportunity! You can practice the pronunciation of your phrases as many times as you would like.
If you say no, Lilly will then ask if you would like to continue doing bonus phrases. If you say yes, Lilly will present you with 10 new conversational phrases, and the exercise will repeat itself as many times as you would like.
If you say no, Lilly will then open your calendar and offer you the opportunity to continue to explore and practice the lists that you have already created.
6. Calendar
So, we have said “no”, to continue with our bonus rounds, Lilly will now open your calendar and will offer you the opportunity to continue to speak English, with either your favourites or historic Headlists. All your lists can be found in the calendar, you can mark all your favourites, and can practice any list on demand. You can also print out your lists which include both the English phrases and the corresponding native translations.
7. Distillations and Spaced Repetition
Distillations – Automatic Practice & Long-term Memory
This is the final piece of the practice puzzle and where the rubber meets the road for your long-term memory So, what are distillations? Distillations are automatically scheduled practice sessions.
Every Headlist we create automatically enables three practice sessions scheduled two weeks apart, with the final testing rotation being delivered in the 6th week. Remember, you can also practice any list on demand through your calendar.
By design, the process is endless – all you need to do? Keep writing phrases or take advantage of Lilly’s Phrase Library!
On a special note. If you miss or skip days, no worries, everything will work the same way with respect to creation, delivery, and rotation – only the dates will shift.
Let’s Recap.
Your goal is to write 10 short conversational phrases that are personal or situational to your life. We are to give each list a name, and once that list has a name, it would also be known as a Headlist.
We encourage you to write 10 phrases every day for as many consecutive days as you can, or you have the option of using Lilly’s Phrase Library.
To take full advantage of the value of Lilly’s Gold, our strong recommendation is that you commit to writing your 10 conversational phrases every day, for a minimum of 14 consecutive days. At the end of 14 days, you will have 140 English phrases in your personal phrase library. Many members continuously write Headlists, and thereby build an arsenal of English phrases to practice.
Now, let’s talk a little about long-term memory. Long-term memory is the final stage in the processing of memory. Some things easily become part of your long-term memory, while others may need continuous practice to be stored. It also varies from person to person. Some people can remember complex things with little or no difficulty, while others may need to practice.
Our conscious mind may not be aware of the information stored in our long-term memory, but sometimes this information can be recalled with ease and accuracy. An example of long-term memory is the recollection of an important personal event in the past.
Because when it’s personal, it’s powerful!
Remember, with Lilly’s Gold, ideally, you are writing your own personal conversational phrases that are directly related to your life, thereby providing an enhanced opportunity to speak English – and for your long-term memory to play a role.
Lilly’s Gold – Author Your Success
For people with purpose, passion, and perseverance.
Do you want to improve your English? Visit www.lillypad.ai.
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