0:00:05.342,0:00:09.300 The polyglot gathering is brought to you[br]by Italki. 0:00:09.300,0:00:11.751 Become fluent in any language. 0:00:11.790,0:00:13.714 Today, I'm going to be talking 0:00:13.714,0:00:15.971 to you about a slightly different topic 0:00:16.228,0:00:18.051 which is something to do[br]with teaching 0:00:18.051,0:00:19.471 something to do[br]with learning 0:00:19.471,0:00:21.542 definitely something to do[br]with languages. 0:00:22.114,0:00:26.114 And I would like to start[br]by thanking you all, 0:00:26.485,0:00:31.171 dear polyglots, [br]because you helped me get over 0:00:31.171,0:00:35.057 a huge feeling of frustration[br]that I had had for many years. 0:00:35.457,0:00:36.428 I'm serious now. 0:00:37.400,0:00:40.971 You know, I've taught English[br]in many different settings. 0:00:41.285,0:00:46.528 I started well since I was[br]a little bit better than my classmates 0:00:46.528,0:00:47.928 I started teaching them, 0:00:48.342,0:00:51.085 then I taught in primary,[br]secondary schools and 0:00:51.085,0:00:54.485 language schools, companies, and now 0:00:54.485,0:00:57.742 I teach at the University and I always 0:00:57.742,0:01:00.428 felt really frustrated.[br]Do you know why? 0:01:01.200,0:01:06.371 Because I always knew how I learn [br]languages effectively and how it works 0:01:06.371,0:01:08.457 and that it can actually be 0:01:08.457,0:01:11.191 pretty fast, that it can [br]work very well, but 0:01:11.191,0:01:13.457 I could never transfer[br]that "know-how" on 0:01:13.457,0:01:15.714 to my students, [br]I could never see the 0:01:15.714,0:01:17.857 progress with my students[br]whatever I did 0:01:17.857,0:01:20.571 However, I tried. [br]However many lessons 0:01:20.571,0:01:22.342 I had with them. 0:01:22.514,0:01:24.600 I felt really really frustrated[br]with that. 0:01:24.600,0:01:26.742 It's like: "Okay how can I make them 0:01:26.742,0:01:29.128 get what the language learning is about"? 0:01:29.428,0:01:32.600 You basically helped me [br]to figure it out, 0:01:32.828,0:01:35.771 because, this is from last year[br]some of you 0:01:35.771,0:01:38.822 might recognize yourselves in the picture. 0:01:38.935,0:01:41.285 This is where I came with[br]for the first time 0:01:41.285,0:01:43.485 into the Polyglot gathering[br]and I was 0:01:43.485,0:01:45.571 completely new[br]to the polyglot community. 0:01:45.571,0:01:46.914 I didn't know anyone. 0:01:46.954,0:01:49.400 I actually remember sitting[br]in one of these rows 0:01:49.400,0:01:52.228 talking to someone, [br]one of the guys 0:01:52.228,0:01:54.114 and he said: "Have you heard? 0:01:54.114,0:01:56.085 Luca Lampariello is not going to come. 0:01:56.314,0:01:59.820 He had to cancel." [br]And I was like, Luca who? 0:01:59.828,0:02:03.587 What? You haven't heard[br]about Luca Lampariello? 0:02:03.742,0:02:06.347 But you have heard [br]about Richard Simcott, right? 0:02:06.542,0:02:11.864 Well, sorry Richard, I hadn't[br]up to the last year's Gathering. 0:02:11.864,0:02:14.436 I didn't follow[br]any blogs or anything else. 0:02:14.436,0:02:17.806 I was just learning languages by myself,[br]in my own ways. 0:02:17.971,0:02:20.142 And then,[br]it was really really 0:02:20.142,0:02:21.714 inspiring to meet all of you, 0:02:21.714,0:02:23.857 to talk to 300 polyglots 0:02:23.857,0:02:25.681 who learn languages[br]in different ways 0:02:25.685,0:02:28.857 and to figure out[br]how you learn languages. 0:02:29.400,0:02:31.738 And I found out,[br]that there are so many methods 0:02:31.738,0:02:33.847 and they seem to be all working! 0:02:34.142,0:02:37.848 So for example, [br]Benny speaks from day one. 0:02:37.857,0:02:41.622 But Steve Kaufman says:[br]"I better 0:02:41.622,0:02:45.471 first build up my vocabulary,[br]I read a lot and listen a lot 0:02:45.471,0:02:47.090 and then I start speaking." 0:02:47.090,0:02:49.497 Two different methods[br]but they seem to be working. 0:02:49.497,0:02:52.478 Not just for them, but for[br]many people that are following them. 0:02:52.478,0:02:53.637 That's just one example. 0:02:53.742,0:02:56.971 Maria de Vera at the first[br]Polyglot Gathering 0:02:56.971,0:02:59.150 said: "I am a grammar nerd." 0:02:59.171,0:03:01.857 I start learning a language[br]by taking a grammar book 0:03:01.857,0:03:03.485 just going through it all 0:03:03.485,0:03:06.062 just to know[br]what the grammar is about. 0:03:06.142,0:03:09.971 And Emanuele Marini [br]basically starts with a dictionary. 0:03:10.342,0:03:13.257 He starts using the language[br]using a dictionary 0:03:13.257,0:03:15.422 so if he doesn't know a word, [br]he looks it up, 0:03:15.422,0:03:16.570 uses it in conversation. 0:03:16.770,0:03:18.857 So that's a different approach again. 0:03:19.314,0:03:21.800 Another example is Gabriel Wyner 0:03:22.057,0:03:24.800 who really is a big fan of flashcards. 0:03:24.800,0:03:29.485 Maybe you heard about him.[br]And Luca Lampariello, whom I now 0:03:29.485,0:03:33.542 do know, says he couldn't care less[br]about flashcards. 0:03:33.542,0:03:38.285 So I realized by meeting you[br]and by following 0:03:38.285,0:03:40.971 all your blogs and videos [br]after the conference 0:03:41.314,0:03:45.168 that there are just so many ways[br]how we can learn a language. 0:03:45.342,0:03:49.342 And it's not limited[br]to one particular method, 0:03:49.828,0:03:51.542 and that got me thinking. 0:03:51.828,0:03:55.771 I started thinking, what is the difference[br]between how the polyglots 0:03:55.771,0:03:59.800 learn languages[br]and how people learn languages 0:03:59.942,0:04:02.772 out there[br]outside of the polyglot community? 0:04:02.772,0:04:04.505 I'm talking mostly[br]about people who 0:04:04.505,0:04:07.180 take language courses[br]and go to schools, etc... 0:04:07.180,0:04:10.000 What is the difference there? 0:04:10.000,0:04:12.714 After studying all these polyglots[br]and reading about them, 0:04:12.771,0:04:16.857 talking to them, I think the secret is 0:04:17.000,0:04:20.600 that polyglotes do learn languages 0:04:20.857,0:04:23.457 and they are not taught languages. 0:04:24.200,0:04:27.314 I think this is really[br]the main difference. 0:04:27.514,0:04:31.587 It's about the responsibility[br]that you take for your own learning. 0:04:31.891,0:04:34.800 Because we just don't go[br]to a course. 0:04:34.800,0:04:37.288 I never met anyone here[br]who would say: 0:04:37.288,0:04:38.862 "You know what?[br]I happen to speak 0:04:38.862,0:04:40.800 five languages,[br]because I had an amazing 0:04:40.800,0:04:42.371 teacher he taught me all that" 0:04:42.885,0:04:45.342 We all have a lot of methods[br]that we use, 0:04:45.371,0:04:49.032 but it means a lot of work [br]that we put in ourselves. 0:04:49.057,0:04:51.485 To put it in more detail, 0:04:51.485,0:04:56.057 for me personally[br]learning a language is based 0:04:56.057,0:04:58.657 on four main pillars[br]and this is something 0:04:58.657,0:05:00.628 that I realized after the gathering, 0:05:00.628,0:05:04.428 and after looking[br]at many different polyglots 0:05:04.428,0:05:06.142 and how they learn languages. 0:05:06.542,0:05:08.114 I think first of all, 0:05:08.114,0:05:11.397 whatever we do[br]must be fun. 0:05:11.800,0:05:14.017 Do you agree[br]that learning languages is fun? 0:05:14.057,0:05:16.371 Absolutely! We just love it! 0:05:16.371,0:05:18.457 You know,[br]five minutes a day you take out 0:05:18.457,0:05:19.485 your AnkiDroid 0:05:19.485,0:05:21.140 and you [br]go through the vocabulary 0:05:21.140,0:05:22.575 or you take[br]a grammar book and 0:05:22.575,0:05:24.110 you do some exercises, right? 0:05:24.110,0:05:27.400 Well it can be fun, but it also means[br]that you use materials 0:05:27.400,0:05:30.804 that are interesting to you,[br]so you don't just take a book 0:05:30.804,0:05:33.901 that someone told you, this is [br]the best book ever for learning. 0:05:33.901,0:05:36.690 French or whatever.[br]You pick a book that you like, right? 0:05:36.690,0:05:38.400 It has to be a book[br]that smells good 0:05:38.400,0:05:40.400 that you like [br]holding in your hands 0:05:40.400,0:05:42.542 that has a nice picture, etc... 0:05:42.542,0:05:45.000 So, we need to have[br]a positive attitude 0:05:45.000,0:05:47.428 towards learning languages[br]and I think 0:05:47.428,0:05:52.494 this is so important, because it all[br]happens a lot in language courses 0:05:52.494,0:05:56.714 and in language schools for example, [br]that there's just one book and 0:05:56.714,0:05:59.527 people work with just that one book. 0:05:59.857,0:06:02.800 But, you know,[br]sometimes I'm not interested in 0:06:02.800,0:06:05.645 reading about the history of[br]Thanksgiving, for example. 0:06:05.657,0:06:08.085 And yet, we're spending[br]two lessons with that 0:06:08.085,0:06:10.085 talking about it[br]over and over again 0:06:10.085,0:06:12.085 I'm just not interested, okay? 0:06:12.085,0:06:14.085 I would rather[br]watch an episode of Friends 0:06:14.080,0:06:16.857 where I see[br]how Thanksgiving works in the U.S. 0:06:16.857,0:06:19.057 in practice,[br]and that's my way of learning 0:06:19.057,0:06:21.197 that's how I prefer to learn, right? 0:06:21.197,0:06:23.714 So, I think that[br]it's extremely important 0:06:23.714,0:06:26.828 that we do stuff that we like, [br]that we enjoy, 0:06:26.828,0:06:28.285 that we kind of... 0:06:28.285,0:06:31.342 pick up our own methods[br]how to learn 0:06:31.342,0:06:32.771 and our own materials. 0:06:32.771,0:06:36.644 Do you agree? Is that important?[br]Definitely. 0:06:36.657,0:06:39.085 Now the second thing,[br]and I think this is 0:06:39.085,0:06:41.542 probably the greatest difference[br]between polyglots 0:06:41.542,0:06:44.342 and unsuccessful language learners 0:06:44.342,0:06:46.897 who are struggling with the language[br]for a long time. 0:06:46.897,0:06:49.057 That is quantity. 0:06:49.057,0:06:51.971 It's the huge amount of hours[br]that we put into 0:06:51.971,0:06:54.228 our language learning[br]and this is something 0:06:54.228,0:06:56.857 you know,[br]that people suppose that 0:06:56.857,0:06:58.242 if you speak a few languages 0:06:58.242,0:07:00.457 "Oh you're so talented you know. 0:07:00.457,0:07:01.767 It's just so easy for you, 0:07:01.767,0:07:04.200 you just learn another language [br]just like that". 0:07:04.200,0:07:07.114 I hate to hear that,[br]because there's a lot 0:07:07.114,0:07:08.742 of hours that I put into every one 0:07:08.742,0:07:11.485 of my languages and it's fun hours, 0:07:11.485,0:07:13.285 because I pick [br]the materials and the 0:07:13.285,0:07:16.371 methods myself,[br]but it still is a lot of hours 0:07:16.371,0:07:18.371 that we need to [br]put into that learning, 0:07:18.371,0:07:20.217 and we need to do it actively. 0:07:20.217,0:07:22.102 This is the responsibility[br]that we have 0:07:22.102,0:07:23.098 for our learning. 0:07:23.098,0:07:26.018 So I think,[br]this is another huge difference. 0:07:26.228,0:07:29.494 The third thing that I heard[br]with many many polyglots 0:07:29.494,0:07:31.524 is that you need to do something 0:07:31.524,0:07:33.694 not just a lot of it,[br]but also to do 0:07:33.694,0:07:35.865 a little bit every day, right? 0:07:35.865,0:07:37.785 15 minutes here,[br]15 minutes there. 0:07:37.785,0:07:39.342 It's much more effective 0:07:39.342,0:07:41.628 than learning for three[br]or four hours 0:07:41.628,0:07:43.742 on a Sunday for example, right? 0:07:43.885,0:07:47.894 So, it's really really important to do it[br]on a frequent basis. 0:07:48.215,0:07:53.010 And finally, I think learning a language[br]is really much easier 0:07:53.010,0:07:55.428 If you have a system,[br]if you have a plan 0:07:55.428,0:07:57.514 how to start doing it, [br]how to end, 0:07:57.514,0:07:59.164 what do you want to achieve? 0:07:59.164,0:08:01.049 How to set your goals? [br]Etc... 0:08:01.770,0:08:06.041 So this is basically [br]my language learning philosophy 0:08:06.041,0:08:09.041 that I figured out[br]after the Polyglot gathering 0:08:09.041,0:08:12.212 and as I told you,[br]my great frustration 0:08:12.212,0:08:15.161 was: How to put this in practise? 0:08:15.491,0:08:18.597 How to make other people[br]learn languages like that? 0:08:19.360,0:08:22.314 And that's why 0:08:22.314,0:08:24.971 I came up with an idea[br]and I think 0:08:25.257,0:08:27.800 it's best illustrated with this picture. 0:08:27.800,0:08:29.014 An island. 0:08:29.014,0:08:32.294 and it's actually a metaphor,[br]that Alex also used yesterday 0:08:32.294,0:08:34.247 which is interesting. 0:08:34.247,0:08:37.107 When you don't speak [br]a language, you're basically 0:08:37.107,0:08:40.352 on the island, [br]on an isolated island right? 0:08:40.352,0:08:42.437 And you have[br]very limited possibilities, 0:08:42.437,0:08:44.446 you cannot communicate[br]with so many people, 0:08:44.446,0:08:46.371 so you're kind of stuck there. 0:08:46.371,0:08:49.485 Now when you want to get out[br]to the beautiful ocean 0:08:49.480,0:08:55.600 which is full of possibilities,[br]you need to get across the waves. 0:08:55.885,0:08:58.605 But as you can see[br]the waves are just around the island, 0:08:58.605,0:09:00.950 They're not everywhere[br]on the ocean, right? 0:09:00.950,0:09:03.876 So what you need to do [br]if you want to learn a language well? 0:09:03.876,0:09:05.979 is to take your boat 0:09:05.979,0:09:09.887 from the island [br]and row your way through the waves. 0:09:10.314,0:09:13.400 And I think this is something[br]that people don't 0:09:13.400,0:09:17.942 normally do very well,[br]because they row a little bit, you know 0:09:17.942,0:09:20.400 like have a lesson on Monday[br]in a language school 0:09:20.714,0:09:22.550 and then row a little bit[br]on the right 0:09:22.550,0:09:24.600 have a lesson on Wednesday[br]and then 0:09:24.600,0:09:27.057 they just wait.[br]They don't learn every day 0:09:27.057,0:09:29.112 they don't put in[br]all the work that we do 0:09:29.257,0:09:32.571 and so, the waves carry them[br]back to the island a little bit. 0:09:32.571,0:09:34.857 So they kind of move forward,[br]but then 0:09:34.857,0:09:37.771 they're dragged back[br]towards the island. 0:09:38.057,0:09:42.542 The thing is they never get across[br]these last waves 0:09:42.542,0:09:45.275 which are the biggest ones, [br]the biggest struggles 0:09:45.275,0:09:50.388 and I think personally,[br]that's the B-2 level for me. 0:09:50.388,0:09:53.188 I don't know about you,[br]but when I managed to achieve 0:09:53.188,0:09:54.816 a B2 level in a language 0:09:54.816,0:09:56.572 when I don't have to think about it, 0:09:56.572,0:09:59.616 I use it naturally [br]and that's why I don't have to worry 0:09:59.616,0:10:01.412 about the language learning so much. 0:10:01.412,0:10:04.812 I just enjoy the beautiful ocean[br]swimming in there 0:10:04.828,0:10:08.341 and using the language[br]in all possible situations. 0:10:08.341,0:10:12.024 But I don't have to row so much every day. 0:10:12.024,0:10:15.589 I think in order to get there[br]I need to row quite a lot 0:10:15.589,0:10:18.624 to get across the big waves. 0:10:18.750,0:10:21.775 So this is just an explanation[br]of how I see language learning 0:10:21.775,0:10:24.573 and I'm telling you this,[br]because I want to tell you now 0:10:24.573,0:10:27.850 about a few experiments[br]that I've done with my students 0:10:27.850,0:10:31.087 where I was testing this idea in practise. 0:10:31.200,0:10:33.685 I wanted to see, [br]if I tell people about this 0:10:33.685,0:10:36.828 and if I make them realize that 0:10:36.828,0:10:39.104 if they want to [br]speak a language, 0:10:39.104,0:10:40.971 if they want to know[br]the language well, 0:10:40.971,0:10:45.004 they need to start learning it[br]and not just wait to be taught. 0:10:45.004,0:10:50.051 I wanted to see what happens and[br]the results were actually quite amazing. 0:10:50.051,0:10:53.495 So this is something, that[br]I decided to call Language Mentoring. 0:10:53.495,0:10:57.320 I decided not to teach any lessons[br]ever in my life again, 0:10:57.320,0:11:01.737 because I am not sure,[br]if it's really possible 0:11:01.737,0:11:03.342 to teach someone a language. 0:11:03.342,0:11:05.971 That's again something [br]that Kirsten mentioned yesterday 0:11:05.971,0:11:07.971 and we heard it[br]in some other talks too. 0:11:07.971,0:11:11.104 Is there such thing[br]as teaching someone a language? 0:11:11.104,0:11:12.946 Well I call it "Language Mentoring" 0:11:12.946,0:11:15.532 and I'm going to explain to you[br]what's the difference 0:11:15.532,0:11:17.435 and how I go about doing it. 0:11:17.435,0:11:22.215 So I did my first experiment[br]at the Comenius University in Bratislava 0:11:22.215,0:11:26.786 where I'm currently finishing my PhD,[br]and as such I teach some classes. 0:11:26.786,0:11:29.386 I normally teach interpreting classes,[br]but sometimes 0:11:29.386,0:11:32.821 they ask me to teach something like[br]"the introduction to English studies" 0:11:32.821,0:11:36.484 I had 100 students [br]in four groups, 0:11:36.484,0:11:39.411 and I was supposed to do[br]two things with them in one semester. 0:11:39.411,0:11:44.498 I was supposed to improve their[br]presentation skills, so how to present 0:11:44.498,0:11:48.571 in the public and to improve[br]their practical English skills. 0:11:48.571,0:11:51.628 There are students on a B-2, [br]maybe C-1 level 0:11:51.628,0:11:55.575 but mostly B-2 and they need to[br]practice their English quite a lot 0:11:55.575,0:11:58.983 and you know how difficult it is[br]on the more advanced levels 0:11:58.983,0:12:03.338 to actually practice[br]in a systematic way, 0:12:03.338,0:12:04.958 so I said: "okay, let's do it!" 0:12:04.958,0:12:09.238 But I only had [br]45 minutes a week. 0:12:09.238,0:12:14.638 Can you imagine a class of 25 students[br]45 minutes a week and you're supposed to 0:12:14.638,0:12:19.572 make them learn or practice their [br]presentation skills and also 0:12:19.572,0:12:20.802 improve their English? 0:12:20.802,0:12:22.332 How do you do that? 0:12:22.332,0:12:25.637 And that's how. [br]That's what I did. 0:12:25.637,0:12:28.861 I tried the language mentoring [br]in practice. 0:12:28.861,0:12:30.691 So basically I told them: [br] 0:12:30.691,0:12:32.971 "Okay guys, [br]I'm gonna tell you one thing. 0:12:32.971,0:12:36.970 This university is not going to[br]teach you English at all. 0:12:36.970,0:12:40.120 You're not going to improve[br]just by studying here. 0:12:40.120,0:12:42.427 They studied to be[br]translators and interpreters. 0:12:42.427,0:12:45.330 And I'm telling you that now,[br]so that you save some time. 0:12:45.330,0:12:48.559 So let's take the learning[br]into our own hands 0:12:48.559,0:12:50.290 and let's learn together actively. 0:12:50.290,0:12:53.140 I want you to do something[br]every day, 0:12:53.142,0:12:54.285 That's the frequency. 0:12:54.285,0:12:56.701 I want you to do a lot of it[br]and it doesn't matter 0:12:56.701,0:13:00.580 if it's watching series or reading books[br]or working on your vocabulary or grammar 0:13:00.580,0:13:01.844 or whatever you like. 0:13:01.844,0:13:04.942 We also have a system about it,[br]so we had a plan, 0:13:04.942,0:13:07.299 we had an accountability sheet,[br]etc... 0:13:07.299,0:13:10.057 so we put[br]some framework around it, 0:13:10.057,0:13:13.664 so that is not just, okay [br]I'm learning here, I'm learning there. 0:13:13.664,0:13:17.668 So this was the project,[br]the experiment 0:13:17.668,0:13:19.371 and some of the students[br]came up with 0:13:19.371,0:13:23.425 amazing ideas how to note it down,[br]how to monitor the progress. 0:13:23.425,0:13:27.000 For example one of the students[br]created a calendar like this 0:13:27.000,0:13:30.028 and every day she put in[br]the information what she did 0:13:30.028,0:13:34.900 like she watched some TED Talks, and [br]BBC learning and YouTube videos, etc... 0:13:34.900,0:13:37.244 and she put in the time [br]and then she counted it 0:13:37.244,0:13:40.914 how much time it was,[br]which was quite an interesting way. 0:13:40.914,0:13:44.818 She had it in front of her table,[br]so that she always sees it every day. 0:13:44.818,0:13:46.764 Now I'm gonna tell you 0:13:46.764,0:13:49.592 I'm gonna show you [br]what they actually weren't doing. 0:13:49.592,0:13:52.768 Because I asked them at the end[br]in a questionnaire all 100 of them 0:13:52.768,0:13:55.946 and it was interesting to see[br]that when you tell them: 0:13:55.946,0:13:59.342 "Ok guys, you need to learn [br]by yourselves, this is what happens." 0:13:59.342,0:14:02.028 They started listening to podcasts[br]quite a lot 0:14:02.028,0:14:05.885 93% of all the students, [br]they started watching TV series, 0:14:05.885,0:14:09.091 but not just you know TV series[br]with Slovak subtitles 0:14:09.091,0:14:13.057 as they would normally, but [br]English subtitles or no subtitles at all. 0:14:13.057,0:14:15.171 Which I think is much more effective. 0:14:15.171,0:14:17.621 They started using [br]AnkiDroid for the vocabulary 0:14:17.621,0:14:18.742 from other lessons, 0:14:18.742,0:14:20.657 they read books[br]and articles online 0:14:20.657,0:14:22.942 or watched some other[br]YouTube videos 0:14:22.942,0:14:25.771 or other videos [br]and they did grammar exercises. 0:14:25.771,0:14:28.211 15% of them, isn't that amazing? 0:14:28.211,0:14:32.177 I was quite happy[br]with that result 0:14:32.177,0:14:34.285 because I told them[br]you can pick yourselves. 0:14:34.285,0:14:37.988 We left it up to them, because[br]I said it needs to be something you want. 0:14:37.988,0:14:42.351 You know what you need to improve[br]so, make sure that you do it in a way 0:14:42.351,0:14:46.424 which is interesting to you[br]and so this is what they did. 0:14:46.424,0:14:49.210 and I asked them at the end:[br]"How did you like it? 0:14:49.210,0:14:51.400 "How was the learning program for you?" 0:14:51.400,0:14:55.474 Not the let's be taught, but let's learn. 0:14:55.474,0:14:58.521 And I was so glad to see, that[br]just seven percent of them said: 0:14:58.521,0:15:00.942 "Oh well, not really my cup of tea, 0:15:00.942,0:15:04.657 but the rest of them, you know,[br]said it was great 0:15:04.657,0:15:06.000 or it was quite interesting. 0:15:06.000,0:15:08.714 So they were really enthusiastic[br]about learning English. 0:15:08.714,0:15:13.542 Finally! I asked them: [br]"Has your English improved?" 0:15:13.542,0:15:17.941 Because I didn't have any objective ways[br]how to test it. 0:15:17.941,0:15:20.978 I didn't test them at the beginning[br]and at the end, I did it 0:15:20.978,0:15:23.781 with my second experiment which[br]I'm gonna to tell you about. 0:15:23.781,0:15:27.200 But these guys just said [br]by themselves like: 0:15:27.200,0:15:29.130 Do you think your English[br]has improved? 0:15:29.130,0:15:31.931 And we are talking about [br]two months here, okay? 0:15:31.931,0:15:34.188 Not a very long period,[br]just two months 0:15:34.188,0:15:38.892 October, November [br]and look at how many of them said: "yes" 0:15:38.892,0:15:42.900 at least a little[br]or even quite a lot in just two months. 0:15:42.900,0:15:45.671 And again, this was a lesson[br]of 45 minutes 0:15:45.671,0:15:50.414 where I didn't spend [br]any time actually teaching them. 0:15:50.414,0:15:54.133 We just presented with,[br]we just did presentations in the lesson, 0:15:54.133,0:15:57.947 but no learning was actually done[br]in the lesson itself. 0:15:57.947,0:16:00.817 It was all about them[br]spending time outside of the lessons 0:16:00.817,0:16:03.191 with English in a way [br]which they like. 0:16:03.202,0:16:06.264 I asked them if they would like to [br]continue in such a program 0:16:06.264,0:16:07.294 in another subject, 0:16:07.294,0:16:09.901 because, you know,[br]the introduction to English studies 0:16:09.901,0:16:12.485 actually had nothing to do[br]with learning English 0:16:12.485,0:16:16.000 or it was not the primary goal[br]and almost all of them said 0:16:16.000,0:16:18.781 "Yes, absolutely, let's do it, [br]it was good." 0:16:18.781,0:16:20.490 So they were happy about it, 0:16:21.142,0:16:22.315 they were satisfied. 0:16:22.342,0:16:23.857 Now when you look at the time, 0:16:23.857,0:16:27.457 how much time they spent, [br]Veronika was the most active student 0:16:27.457,0:16:31.314 and in two months she put in[br]81 hours of language learning 0:16:31.771,0:16:34.628 and I can tell you[br]these guys are extremely busy. 0:16:34.628,0:16:38.257 I studied the program myself,[br]they study two languages at the same time 0:16:38.257,0:16:41.335 plus they have some subjects about[br]translation and interpreting. 0:16:41.335,0:16:46.652 They often have as many as [br]12 or 13 subjects every week, okay? 0:16:46.652,0:16:49.912 And they need to prepare for all of them,[br]so they're extremely busy. 0:16:49.912,0:16:54.685 So when I saw that she could put in [br]81 hours of language learning, 0:16:54.685,0:16:56.014 just because she wanted to, 0:16:56.014,0:16:59.168 she wanted to improve,[br]I was really really happy to see that. 0:16:59.171,0:17:05.488 The other students were like [br]36-34 and on average it was 23 hours. 0:17:05.488,0:17:09.631 When you actually compare it to[br]what they would have 0:17:09.631,0:17:11.591 if I was teaching them [br]in the lesson, 0:17:11.591,0:17:15.481 we would have spent six hours[br]in two months all together, 0:17:15.481,0:17:18.200 because it was just 8 times [br]45 minutes 0:17:18.570,0:17:22.198 and now they've real learning time[br]which they spent by themselves, 0:17:22.198,0:17:25.958 not because they were taught, but[br]because they were learning by themselves 0:17:25.958,0:17:27.838 was 23 hours. 0:17:27.838,0:17:33.795 So when you compare that, it's almost [br]400% of increase in learning time. 0:17:33.795,0:17:36.795 Isn't that amazing? [br]And it's much more effective 0:17:36.795,0:17:41.439 and I think whatever I would do[br]with 25 students in a class 0:17:41.439,0:17:44.438 I could never find something[br]that interests all of them, 0:17:44.438,0:17:48.038 so whatever they were doing is [br]something that they picked themselves 0:17:48.038,0:17:50.452 and I think it was [br]much more effective for them. 0:17:50.452,0:17:52.642 Some of them worked on the grammar, [br]the 15 %, 0:17:52.642,0:17:54.971 some of them worked [br]on other areas, 0:17:54.971,0:17:57.914 that they needed [br]and everybody was enjoying it. 0:17:57.914,0:18:00.800 You know that fun,[br]it was a really nice atmosphere. 0:18:00.800,0:18:05.515 We spent seriously just 5 minutes [br]every week talking about the learning, 0:18:05.515,0:18:09.068 I asked them if anyone had any problems,[br]it was kind of motivational 0:18:09.068,0:18:11.838 and it just worked amazingly. 0:18:11.838,0:18:15.200 They often came to me and said [br]"Wow, this was so good, 0:18:15.200,0:18:17.612 let's do it in other semesters too." 0:18:17.612,0:18:19.845 And it's just one simple idea[br]you tell them 0:18:19.845,0:18:24.411 "Guys don't wait to be taught,[br]start learning yourselves." 0:18:24.411,0:18:28.185 So then I asked them,[br]how the program has helped them 0:18:28.185,0:18:30.648 and I was really happy[br]to see their answers, because 0:18:30.648,0:18:34.930 you know these are students who[br]just learned English at school, 0:18:34.930,0:18:38.725 they don't have any experience learning[br]by themselves and now they said like: 0:18:38.725,0:18:42.609 "Wow, I have never worked on my English[br]as intensively as during this semester, 0:18:42.609,0:18:43.470 thank you!" 0:18:43.470,0:18:47.137 or then the last one: "I never liked[br]listening exercises at school too much, 0:18:47.137,0:18:48.929 but now I enjoy listening to English, 0:18:48.929,0:18:51.425 maybe because [br]I did it voluntarily in my free time. 0:18:51.425,0:18:52.941 Maybe, yes, 0:18:52.941,0:18:54.861 What a good idea. 0:18:54.861,0:18:56.101 Really nice discovery. 0:18:56.101,0:18:58.037 And it was beautiful[br]that they discovered 0:18:58.037,0:19:00.714 kinda for themselves,[br]I told them like you need to learn 0:19:00.714,0:19:03.085 and these are all the methods[br]that you can use 0:19:03.085,0:19:07.341 for learning a language, it was beautiful[br]to see how they actually agreed with it. 0:19:07.341,0:19:09.452 Like: "Yes, yes, this is[br]much more fun, 0:19:09.452,0:19:13.195 much more effective, [br]I see results. Let's do it again." 0:19:13.890,0:19:16.177 So, then I did my second experiment. 0:19:16.257,0:19:19.742 I moved it a little bit higher even,[br]it was again with a hundred students 0:19:19.742,0:19:22.771 but different ones, different classes 0:19:23.057,0:19:26.194 and the program was called[br]"Semester with Language Mentoring". 0:19:26.285,0:19:30.635 And we just finished it last week, so [br]I'm still processing the results of that. 0:19:30.914,0:19:35.428 And the amazing thing is that I work[br]with a group of a hundred students 0:19:35.428,0:19:38.992 with 13 different languages,[br]not just English. 0:19:38.992,0:19:42.372 And it's because that in our university[br]you can study as many 0:19:42.372,0:19:46.116 as probably 20 different languages[br]to be a translator and interpreter 0:19:46.116,0:19:48.054 and they are [br]in different combinations. 0:19:48.054,0:19:52.542 So we have students who study[br]French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, 0:19:52.542,0:19:57.571 Finnish, Croatian, you name it [br]and students with 13 different languages 0:19:57.571,0:20:01.142 came to that class. [br]It was actually not a class 0:20:01.142,0:20:02.365 because I just told them: 0:20:02.365,0:20:07.514 "Let's do it as our free time activity,[br]you're not going to get any ECTS points 0:20:07.514,0:20:10.628 any credits for that." [br]In fact they are, but I didn't tell them, 0:20:10.628,0:20:13.432 because I wanted them [br]to have a genuine motivation. 0:20:13.432,0:20:17.534 It's a surprise,[br]I'm going to tell them next week. 0:20:18.800,0:20:22.400 Just those that persevered until the end. [br]They didn't know that. 0:20:22.400,0:20:24.551 I told them learn,[br]because you want to learn, 0:20:24.551,0:20:26.228 you want to improve your languages 0:20:26.228,0:20:28.080 and not because someone asks you to 0:20:28.080,0:20:30.931 or because you're going to get [br]credits for that, right? 0:20:30.931,0:20:34.000 So basically what I did [br]at the beginning is 0:20:34.000,0:20:36.270 I gave them a lecture [br]where I explained to them 0:20:36.270,0:20:38.257 what I just told you 0:20:38.257,0:20:40.114 about my language learning philosophy. 0:20:40.514,0:20:45.530 And I actually started by using[br]all the languages that I speak 0:20:45.530,0:20:47.844 so that they they see[br]that it's possible, 0:20:47.844,0:20:51.302 that they can learn languages too[br]and they were really inspired by that. 0:20:51.302,0:20:54.272 It was like: "Oh, wow this is cool![br]I want to learn that too! 0:20:54.272,0:20:57.582 So, I told them: "Okay, now listen,[br]you need to put in a lot of hours 0:20:57.582,0:20:59.617 there is no shortcut[br]in language learning, 0:20:59.617,0:21:01.485 deal with it, okay?"[br]And I told them: 0:21:01.485,0:21:03.158 "You know, now I know [br]300 polyglots 0:21:03.158,0:21:07.272 and they say the same, so they trusted me [br]they took my word for it 0:21:07.885,0:21:10.888 So,I explained to them[br]what language learning is really about. 0:21:10.888,0:21:13.950 And I told them: [br]"Okay, let's create a plan 0:21:13.950,0:21:16.187 and let's learn according to that plan" 0:21:16.187,0:21:18.477 So, everybody created [br]their individual plan 0:21:18.477,0:21:21.145 and now we had regular weekly meetings 0:21:21.342,0:21:23.314 where I put them into groups[br]according to 0:21:23.314,0:21:25.285 the language that they were learning 0:21:25.285,0:21:28.971 and so this would be a Spanish group [br]and the French and German, etc... 0:21:29.428,0:21:32.288 And I told them to pick just [br]one language to do this with, 0:21:32.342,0:21:35.208 even though they study all of them[br]two languages, 0:21:35.208,0:21:37.000 because I think it's more effective 0:21:37.000,0:21:39.588 if you concentrate on [br]one language at a certain time. 0:21:39.588,0:21:43.777 So, we were meeting in three groups 0:21:43.777,0:21:46.127 once a week and [br]we were discussing the learning. 0:21:46.257,0:21:49.510 And the amazing thing was that I was[br]learning together with them. 0:21:49.510,0:21:52.440 I was working on my Russian[br]and we were all letting 0:21:52.440,0:21:54.400 each other know[br]how we're doing, and so 0:21:54.400,0:21:56.600 They could all see[br]what I did on my Russian, 0:21:56.600,0:21:59.000 so it was very motivating for me also. 0:21:59.000,0:22:01.742 Not to give up and[br]not to be lazy, 0:22:01.742,0:22:04.400 but to continue, because I was[br]the example for them. 0:22:05.171,0:22:07.542 So, that's how we met[br]and we discussed 0:22:07.542,0:22:11.057 all the learning problems[br]and there was 0:22:11.057,0:22:12.657 no learning done[br]in the meetings 0:22:12.657,0:22:15.914 it was all about learning[br]outside of the lessons. 0:22:16.171,0:22:17.914 And again it worked amazingly! 0:22:17.914,0:22:21.857 They spent a lot of time[br]for example watching TV series, 0:22:21.857,0:22:26.807 reading books, reading newspapers,[br]magazines, etc... 0:22:26.807,0:22:29.680 ...working with their Anki vocabulary, 0:22:29.680,0:22:31.428 writing the Goldlist method, etc... 0:22:31.428,0:22:33.340 I told them about [br]all possible methods 0:22:33.340,0:22:35.204 and they picked whatever they liked. 0:22:35.204,0:22:38.000 I think that's really amazing[br]to see how people 0:22:38.000,0:22:39.942 can get excited[br]about language learning 0:22:39.942,0:22:42.657 when they realize[br]that it's up to them 0:22:42.657,0:22:47.228 and it's in no one's hands.[br]And it was nice, 0:22:47.228,0:22:50.732 because I could tell they [br]believed that I knew what I was saying, 0:22:50.732,0:22:53.171 because I studied the same program[br]four years ago, 0:22:53.171,0:22:55.057 I finished at the same University 0:22:55.057,0:22:56.448 studying English and German 0:22:56.448,0:22:59.742 and I told them, [br]"Do you have the feeling like 0:22:59.742,0:23:01.591 you're in your third or fourth year 0:23:01.591,0:23:03.990 and you're studying, let's say, [br]English and German 0:23:04.000,0:23:06.258 but you're in fact kind of ashamed 0:23:06.258,0:23:08.358 to tell people that [br]you're studying German, 0:23:08.358,0:23:10.434 because your German[br]is not fluent enough?" 0:23:10.434,0:23:12.485 And they were like "Yes!". [br]I had that too, 0:23:12.485,0:23:15.331 and and I said "It's perfectly okay, 0:23:15.331,0:23:17.511 it's because you're not [br]doing anything about 0:23:17.511,0:23:19.171 your language[br]and this university is not 0:23:19.171,0:23:21.914 going to make you a perfect German 0:23:21.914,0:23:24.981 or English speaker. [br]You need to put in the work yourselves." 0:23:25.057,0:23:28.237 I think they understood that[br]and now they're approaching 0:23:28.237,0:23:30.608 language learning in a completely new way 0:23:30.608,0:23:32.411 and they're writing emails like this: 0:23:32.411,0:23:34.814 "This is so amazing,[br]I'm doing it for my other 0:23:34.814,0:23:38.094 languages too and I have a plan to work[br]in the summer on my Spanish, 0:23:38.094,0:23:41.462 which I want to take as a third language"[br]So, they got really motivated 0:23:41.462,0:23:42.947 about language learning. 0:23:43.285,0:23:47.984 I did the group of this methodology, [br]this language learning experiment 0:23:47.984,0:23:49.080 also in small groups. 0:23:49.080,0:23:51.688 These are five my friends 0:23:51.688,0:23:57.402 who are learning English and Spanish[br]on an A2-B1 level. 0:23:57.402,0:24:00.945 And again, we met every week[br]at my place, 0:24:00.945,0:24:02.889 and and we had[br]a nice talk about that. 0:24:02.889,0:24:04.868 And I just wanted to see[br]how that works 0:24:04.868,0:24:06.822 and it seemed to be working[br]really well, 0:24:06.822,0:24:09.171 because they really are[br]achieving great results. 0:24:09.171,0:24:11.296 Or another group of people[br]who are actually 0:24:11.296,0:24:14.382 starting to learn a language[br]so, I am kind of testing the idea 0:24:14.382,0:24:17.171 on different groups of people 0:24:17.171,0:24:21.993 and now I started to organize[br]seminars even for the public 0:24:22.000,0:24:24.257 where I tell people[br]it's all about the learning 0:24:24.257,0:24:26.371 it's not about[br]being taught and it's mostly 0:24:26.600,0:24:30.200 you know, these people that go[br]to the courses are people 0:24:30.200,0:24:35.130 who would normally just take a lesson[br]in a language school but that's all 0:24:35.130,0:24:37.748 it takes for them to learn a language. 0:24:37.748,0:24:41.171 You know actually, when I was[br]here at the Polyglot Gathering, 0:24:41.170,0:24:44.140 I bought Judith's book [br]"Fluent Chinese" 0:24:44.140,0:24:46.938 I think it's called [br]and I probably put a lot of interest 0:24:46.938,0:24:49.084 even though I'm not interested[br]in Chinese 0:24:49.084,0:24:53.534 and I really enjoy the book[br]and then my friend from Serbia 0:24:53.571,0:24:57.090 wrote to me and he said: "Lydia,[br]I'm going to teach English in China". 0:24:57.090,0:24:59.101 I said: "Yeah, that's cool, good for you. 0:24:59.101,0:25:01.060 and he says:[br]"And you know what's amazing? 0:25:01.060,0:25:04.852 they're going to give me a private teacher[br]so I'm even going to speak Chinese". 0:25:05.142,0:25:08.400 And by the way how he said it[br]he looked to me 0:25:08.400,0:25:11.285 like he thinks: Okay, "tick" that's done. 0:25:11.428,0:25:14.628 You know, Chinese is another benefit[br]of the work for free. 0:25:14.628,0:25:18.142 You know, that's okay, so[br]I just sent him the book right away 0:25:18.142,0:25:20.958 I was like "Read this. [br]You better work on your Chinese 0:25:20.958,0:25:23.842 as Judith says, because she knows[br]what she's talking about." 0:25:24.200,0:25:29.628 And you know I think this really is [br]something that people believe in general. 0:25:29.885,0:25:34.658 Like all you need is a good teacher[br]and he will do the work for you. 0:25:34.658,0:25:38.820 You know and then these people go and look[br]for the best teacher who can give them 0:25:38.857,0:25:44.171 the the best know-how or the best[br]language knowledge 0:25:44.171,0:25:47.400 or something, but[br]I don't really think it exists. 0:25:47.400,0:25:51.028 I'm thinking teachers were always[br]to make the students learn 0:25:51.028,0:25:54.114 and I think the teachers[br]are very important 0:25:54.114,0:25:56.999 but the teacher should always stress 0:25:57.085,0:25:59.990 how important is [br]that students work on their languages 0:25:59.990,0:26:02.690 by themselves outside of the lessons. 0:26:02.831,0:26:06.911 So these are the seminars that I'm[br]organizing right now, testing the idea. 0:26:06.911,0:26:12.707 I'm gonna see what it brings me.[br]I took it as my private mission to tell 0:26:12.707,0:26:15.142 all the world that[br]this is what polyglots do. 0:26:15.142,0:26:17.270 You know, they actually[br]learn the language, 0:26:17.270,0:26:21.458 they don't wait to just be taught. 0:26:21.485,0:26:25.038 And as I said this is all based[br]on the four things 0:26:25.038,0:26:27.087 which I think are[br]the most important thing 0:26:27.087,0:26:30.611 in language learning and it'll be really [br]interesting to hear your opinion 0:26:30.611,0:26:34.058 whether you agree with it, whether maybe[br]you would like to add something 0:26:34.058,0:26:37.122 and now we actually have some time[br]for the discussion 0:26:37.122,0:26:40.942 so that would be that would be all[br]Are there any questions? 0:26:50.942,0:26:52.155 If you agree, 0:26:52.155,0:26:56.085 I will ask my question sir[br]then give it to you after 0:26:58.020,0:27:04.485 Lydia I think it is not a teaching,[br]but a learning revolution 0:27:04.485,0:27:08.404 you are pointing out[br]is really wonderful. 0:27:08.404,0:27:14.327 And one thing, with the first group[br]you showed to us 0:27:14.327,0:27:18.485 there were three percent[br]of people who 0:27:18.485,0:27:22.542 we're not amused with this, 0:27:22.542,0:27:25.628 I go to complain to the direction 0:27:25.628,0:27:33.874 I mean you are not a director[br]of your school, are you? 0:27:33.874,0:27:38.207 So, how the direction reacted to that? 0:27:38.207,0:27:41.371 Yes, this is one thing,[br]I'm very glad you ask 0:27:41.371,0:27:43.751 thanks for the question.[br]And this is something that 0:27:43.751,0:27:46.200 I was thinking a lot [br]about how to actually do it, 0:27:46.200,0:27:51.252 because it's a formal education, you know[br]I need to actually assess them now. 0:27:51.252,0:27:53.668 How do you assess[br]learning in their free time? 0:27:53.668,0:27:56.857 I asked them how much time,[br]we actually had a chart 0:27:56.857,0:28:00.521 and they filled in how much time they [br]spent but if I had told them you know, 0:28:00.521,0:28:03.657 those of you who will spend more than,[br]I don't know, 20 hours 0:28:03.657,0:28:07.485 altogether will get an A,[br]then I wouldn't believe what they say, 0:28:07.485,0:28:09.438 because they would just put in anything 0:28:09.438,0:28:13.400 So I told them, look guys,[br]officially I'm going to asses you 0:28:13.400,0:28:16.640 just based on the presentations [br]and we did a few more activities, 0:28:16.640,0:28:18.338 like vocabulary tests, etc... 0:28:18.338,0:28:22.281 but the most important thing[br]in this subject is the learning part. 0:28:22.281,0:28:25.228 it's the most important one,[br]but I cannot assess it formally. 0:28:25.228,0:28:27.700 So, let's just agree[br]that we are going to do it. 0:28:27.700,0:28:30.028 if you really don't want to, [br]you don't have to. 0:28:30.028,0:28:34.098 There is no way for me[br]how to find that out 0:28:34.098,0:28:35.594 and it's totally up to you. 0:28:35.594,0:28:39.672 But I'm telling you, this is your once in [br]a lifetime opportunity, you better use it, 0:28:39.672,0:28:42.902 because no other teachers are probably[br]going to tell you to do that, 0:28:42.902,0:28:44.155 so let's do it together, 0:28:44.155,0:28:46.517 so, I tried to motivate them[br]in a positive way. 0:28:46.517,0:28:49.605 And if they didn't, you know,[br]if they didn't like it or something 0:28:49.605,0:28:54.162 if they didn't put in all the hours[br]it's like okay, that's your problem. 0:28:54.162,0:28:57.228 When they were doing it, [br]they came back to you for questions 0:28:57.228,0:28:58.870 on particular points? 0:28:59.257,0:29:03.810 Yes, during the last moments[br]five minutes at the end, yes to discuss 0:29:03.810,0:29:06.201 whatever they want to discuss [br]about the learning. 0:29:06.201,0:29:07.691 Thank you.[br]You are welcome. 0:29:11.942,0:29:15.885 Thanks, you use the term "Gold list", 0:29:16.371,0:29:22.057 Can you briefly explain what that is[br]for those who don't know? 0:29:22.057,0:29:24.911 Oh no, I think I may not be[br]the best person to explain that. 0:29:24.911,0:29:27.627 David James, the author of the method[br]is here among us... 0:29:27.627,0:29:33.868 And the "Gold list" is a basically method[br]of rewriting vocabulary lists 0:29:33.868,0:29:37.957 at least two weeks after writing[br]the first list, so you go 0:29:37.957,0:29:42.763 you basically distill the vocabulary[br]and you rewrite 70% of the words 0:29:42.763,0:29:46.557 that were most difficult for you[br]every two weeks or more. 0:29:46.557,0:29:48.783 And it's learning[br]into your long-term memory 0:29:48.783,0:29:54.140 without actually wanting to learn,[br]without forcing your brain to learn. 0:29:54.142,0:29:56.815 I think you could talk to David James[br]about the method. 0:29:56.815,0:29:59.830 I think it's a really interesting one,[br]I'm using it myself. 0:30:00.057,0:30:03.771 How about senses learning tools 0:30:03.771,0:30:06.714 that can teach a student in order to continue his studies 0:30:06.714,0:30:10.057 to see one level after he finished his 0:30:10.057,0:30:12.057 intermediate and beginner? 0:30:15.400,0:30:18.485 I will not now talk about all the methods 0:30:18.485,0:30:21.000 I basically gave my students a two-hour lecture 0:30:21.000,0:30:25.228 about the possible methods I think it takes a lot of contact with the language 0:30:25.428,0:30:28.485 and it depends on you know what level. 0:30:28.485,0:30:31.228 If you'll be frosting about the upper 0:30:31.228,0:30:34.142 intermediate advance then I suppose that 0:30:34.142,0:30:36.142 people should work with native materials 0:30:36.140,0:30:38.800 and work with the vocabulary a lot and just listen, 0:30:38.800,0:30:40.171 listen a lot and read. 0:30:40.171,0:30:41.942 Because this is something that our students 0:30:41.942,0:30:44.857 just don't do enough of listening to start one thing 0:30:44.850,0:30:47.514 that at least in Slovakia is really underestimated. 0:30:47.514,0:30:51.742 Can we give the microphone to exactly that person 0:30:51.742,0:30:53.085 I thought you were the person. 0:30:53.085,0:30:56.142 I don't think James is here. 0:31:00.542,0:31:01.685 What a question? 0:31:01.914,0:31:04.942 I fully believe in what you're doing, 0:31:05.114,0:31:08.428 but how do you make it that we go out of our comfort zone? 0:31:08.857,0:31:12.457 Because I mean personally, I like reading or writing 0:31:12.457,0:31:14.428 this is where I'm going to do all the time 0:31:14.428,0:31:18.857 when I kind of don't go to the oral part because it's my tougher part 0:31:18.857,0:31:21.342 and I say okay I prefer taking a book that looking at a video, 0:31:21.771,0:31:25.114 so how do you push your student to go out of the comfort zone. 0:31:25.114,0:31:26.342 Very good question thank you 0:31:26.685,0:31:28.714 and the first thing I did with them 0:31:28.714,0:31:31.914 is for them to realize what are their three priorities 0:31:31.914,0:31:33.285 that they need to concentrate on 0:31:33.628,0:31:36.285 and I made them write it down before I continued. 0:31:36.285,0:31:38.771 So I said okay now think about it what do you need 0:31:38.771,0:31:40.400 to work on most? 0:31:40.742,0:31:43.771 For 93% of them speaking is number one 0:31:44.057,0:31:45.400 and vocabulary is number two 0:31:45.942,0:31:48.228 and then you know listening, writing, 0:31:48.228,0:31:49.428 whatever it is, whatever they chose 0:31:49.657,0:31:51.628 and I said okay, let's spend these two months 0:31:51.628,0:31:56.314 concentrating on your priorities and if you put in speaking 0:31:56.800,0:31:58.600 now I want you to actually write down 0:31:58.600,0:32:00.885 exactly how you're going to improve your speaking 0:32:01.114,0:32:02.971 and I gave them a range of possibilities 0:32:02.971,0:32:05.571 even including things like talking to yourself. 0:32:05.571,0:32:08.600 Self-talk which is an amazing way for introverts for example, 0:32:08.600,0:32:09.771 I think it's a good method, 0:32:09.771,0:32:11.914 so I told them various possible ways like 0:32:11.914,0:32:13.400 you can go to language cafes 0:32:13.714,0:32:15.914 you know you can use several websites 0:32:15.914,0:32:18.028 actually meet foreigners in Bratislava, 0:32:18.314,0:32:20.400 you can use italkie for online teachers, 0:32:20.628,0:32:21.971 you have a tandem we have Erasmus students 0:32:21.971,0:32:25.114 in Bratislava, so there's best possibilities 0:32:25.114,0:32:26.685 and I told them now pick one and 0:32:26.685,0:32:28.342 write down what you're going to do 0:32:28.714,0:32:30.885 and then we did a challenge and I told them 0:32:30.885,0:32:33.914 okay guys some of you said your priority is speaking 0:32:34.171,0:32:35.885 but I see in the chart that you still 0:32:35.885,0:32:37.400 haven't been to any language cafe 0:32:37.400,0:32:38.342 you haven't talked to anyone, 0:32:38.342,0:32:40.342 so how are you going to improve your speaking 0:32:40.542,0:32:42.714 and then I always tell them 0:32:43.028,0:32:46.485 it's very comfortable to do the things that we like 0:32:46.485,0:32:48.714 like you're reading and listening 0:32:48.714,0:32:50.771 where we are not also outside of our comfort zone 0:32:51.028,0:32:53.685 but you're speaking will never improve without speaking. 0:32:53.685,0:32:58.114 So I said okay before next week I mean this week 0:32:58.285,0:33:00.571 everybody needs to do something about 0:33:00.571,0:33:02.600 the priority that they haven't still done 0:33:02.600,0:33:05.257 anything about and you're going to report to me 0:33:05.628,0:33:07.542 next week and then I would ask them in front of the other people 0:33:07.828,0:33:09.571 so, what about your language cafe did you go? 0:33:09.571,0:33:12.771 and they're like yeah you know um 0:33:12.771,0:33:14.771 I already have an italkie session 0:33:14.914,0:33:15.942 booked for tomorrow. 0:33:15.942,0:33:16.657 It's like okay good, 0:33:16.657,0:33:18.657 So this basically motivation like that 0:33:19.457,0:33:21.200 I have for the mic back here 0:33:21.200,0:33:24.257 send it up front after one more person. 0:33:24.257,0:33:27.114 Here I normally don't plug things 0:33:27.114,0:33:29.685 but I recently took a course from sensible Chinese 0:33:29.685,0:33:33.400 for learning Chinese characters and I was extremely impressed 0:33:33.400,0:33:36.028 by the systematic approach that it's. 0:33:36.028,0:33:39.057 It wasn't specifically to teach me Chinese characters themselves 0:33:39.057,0:33:42.028 but how to go about doing that in a very regular 0:33:42.028,0:33:45.600 easy-to-understand way if anyone's interested good 0:33:49.400,0:33:51.571 Hi thank you so much for that presentation 0:33:51.971,0:33:54.485 you sort of answered my question 0:33:54.485,0:33:56.028 but I just want to know if there's anything else 0:33:56.028,0:33:59.200 so to ask it directly you had the puzzle pieces 0:33:59.200,0:34:01.714 there and one of them was system so you 0:34:01.714,0:34:03.771 discovered about you know, they make the goals 0:34:03.771,0:34:05.600 and then they work on their priorities and all of that 0:34:05.600,0:34:08.428 was there anything else as part of that system 0:34:08.428,0:34:09.628 that you haven't already mentioned? 0:34:09.828,0:34:14.313 Yes it's also the accountability sheet or count account 0:34:14.456,0:34:18.257 making sure that they are held accountable for their learning 0:34:18.571,0:34:20.742 which is something that I took 0:34:20.742,0:34:23.400 inspiration from the add1challenge you know the Google spreadsheet 0:34:23.400,0:34:26.027 where people write what date. 0:34:26.027,0:34:28.714 I think it's a really good way of making sure 0:34:28.714,0:34:30.485 that it's public everybody sees it 0:34:30.485,0:34:32.828 It's not just something they would report to me by email 0:34:32.828,0:34:35.456 that would be a lot too much work anyway to process 0:34:35.456,0:34:37.942 that so this is how I did it 0:34:37.942,0:34:42.456 we basically also make sure the accountability was there 0:34:42.456,0:34:44.571 I think that's an important part of the system. 0:34:47.800,0:34:50.170 Well first of all well done 0:34:50.170,0:34:53.828 guess what I agree, I said half of the things 0:34:53.828,0:34:55.400 that you said yesterday in your presentation 0:34:55.400,0:34:57.885 right yeah but better amazing work.. 0:34:57.885,0:34:58.942 really really great. 0:34:58.942,0:35:02.514 One thing I was wondering is your group are all busy 0:35:02.514,0:35:04.942 taking and interpreting and translating degree 0:35:05.285,0:35:06.914 they're all foreign language students 0:35:06.914,0:35:10.914 you've got like a big self-selecting group of language nerds 0:35:10.914,0:35:14.057 to a certain extent maybe not as nerdy as nerdfest. 0:35:17.228,0:35:20.400 However you did then say that you know you were 0:35:20.400,0:35:21.857 working on it with your friends you've worked on it 0:35:21.857,0:35:23.371 with sort of even zero beginners 0:35:23.371,0:35:24.600 I think that's really interesting 0:35:24.600,0:35:25.857 because I'm looking at it's good 0:35:25.857,0:35:27.857 I'll do this in my town this is great 0:35:27.914,0:35:31.514 but I would never find you know like people 0:35:31.514,0:35:34.028 who are self selected language people 0:35:34.028,0:35:35.828 so I wonder if did you notice any differences? 0:35:36.885,0:35:41.114 Yes, surprisingly the students who study languages are not 0:35:41.114,0:35:43.885 such language enthusiasts you would probably expect 0:35:43.885,0:35:46.085 right and they often choose that 0:35:46.085,0:35:48.971 because they didn't get to medicine or whatever 0:35:51.371,0:35:55.000 But in Slovakia we have five universities 0:35:55.000,0:35:57.000 that prepare translators and interpreters 0:35:57.000,0:35:59.000 we have like 20 languages in there 0:35:59.000,0:36:00.428 so it's just you know you're studying 0:36:00.428,0:36:03.885 polish why well they open polish in m year 0:36:03.885,0:36:06.800 so you have students and students there 0:36:06.800,0:36:10.428 you know um however, I do work only with people 0:36:10.428,0:36:13.771 who do have a little bit of internal intrinsic motivation 0:36:14.200,0:36:16.514 I don't need to persuade anyone like if someone 0:36:16.514,0:36:21.657 wants to be taught and they are willing to pay a lot of money to be taught 0:36:21.857,0:36:23.742 I let them figure it out for themselves 0:36:23.742,0:36:25.514 because it's like I tell them about this 0:36:25.771,0:36:27.600 and it doesn't resonate with them 0:36:27.600,0:36:29.914 then too bad you know I decided to just work 0:36:29.914,0:36:31.400 with people who want to work because 0:36:31.485,0:36:34.085 I don't promise any miraculous methods 0:36:34.085,0:36:34.885 you know this is like 0:36:34.885,0:36:37.000 hey guys I'm going to help you learn a language 0:36:37.000,0:36:38.057 but you need to do the work 0:36:38.457,0:36:39.657 I'm just going to be the guide 0:36:39.657,0:36:41.371 I'm not going to give you the perfect method 0:36:41.371,0:36:43.114 which will teach you English in two weeks 0:36:43.114,0:36:47.428 So I guess this is this is the natural selection. 0:36:47.628,0:36:49.885 I tell people about it some people say like 0:36:49.885,0:36:51.885 well sounds like a lot of work 0:36:52.057,0:36:54.142 I'd better go to my to my language course 0:36:54.142,0:37:01.771 if others like the idea and we work together in the voluntary group. 0:37:01.771,0:37:05.571 Did you have anyone drop out like yes this went quiet on you? 0:37:05.571,0:37:07.371 Yes actually counted it yesterday 0:37:07.371,0:37:13.942 I think 76 people ended the course and were regularly going and doing this. 0:37:14.114,0:37:17.285 This is the things some of them broken you know like yeah you know... 0:37:17.285,0:37:21.571 I'm really busy this semester and one day I will do the amazing things that 0:37:21.571,0:37:25.657 you told us about and that's what for example Brian Tracy calls the one day. 0:37:25.771,0:37:28.485 You know people never get out of that. Thanks, 0:37:34.571,0:37:36.571 So I am a classical guitarist 0:37:36.885,0:37:39.285 and I completely agree with every single 0:37:39.285,0:37:41.857 point and when I'm hearing a lot from people here 0:37:42.400,0:37:46.971 is that people want to play an instrument but not practice 0:37:46.971,0:37:49.885 people want to speak something but not speak 0:37:50.285,0:37:58.314 and so that's so as a musician to language learner everything you said 0:37:58.314,0:38:03.285 is 100% true so if you have that comfort zone problem 0:38:03.428,0:38:05.457 to one day I'll whatever you want to call it 0:38:05.457,0:38:08.571 maybe both if you're an introvert can't do this because 0:38:08.571,0:38:10.285 you're setting up your own boundaries 0:38:10.628,0:38:12.200 and that is why you cannot advance 0:38:12.200,0:38:13.857 she cannot help you no matter how good 0:38:13.857,0:38:15.342 of a teacher she is if you are 0:38:15.342,0:38:17.942 not willing to step out so you get it. 0:38:18.428,0:38:21.800 I use this metaphor quite a lot 0:38:21.914,0:38:23.257 in my in my lectures on my students 0:38:23.257,0:38:25.657 I use the guitar and I show them a picture 0:38:25.657,0:38:27.800 of the guitar and I said if you like 0:38:27.800,0:38:29.571 to play the guitar.. how do you think you 0:38:29.571,0:38:30.542 will achieve that? 0:38:31.942,0:38:32.914 Do you think you could 0:38:32.914,0:38:35.228 watch some YouTube videos and practice 0:38:35.228,0:38:37.771 with on the imaginary guitar and then 0:38:37.771,0:38:40.428 once you know how to do it you take a 0:38:40.428,0:38:43.200 guitar and go and do a concert that's that word?. 0:38:43.628,0:38:45.228 I go like no, of course not... 0:38:45.228,0:38:46.542 You need to pick this along with the guitar 0:38:46.542,0:38:49.314 it's like okay what about speaking you 0:38:49.314,0:38:50.142 know you want to practice speaking and 0:38:50.142,0:38:52.142 you're accepting and somehow 0:38:52.142,0:38:53.028 by just reading something and listening to 0:38:53.028,0:38:55.085 something you suddenly start speaking in 0:38:55.085,0:38:57.342 a fluent way doesn't work 0:38:57.657,0:39:00.000 and it helps a lot when I tell them 0:39:00.000,0:39:02.000 if you know I've gone through this 0:39:02.000,0:39:04.000 process several times right now 0:39:04.000,0:39:05.428 I'm learning Russian and 0:39:05.428,0:39:09.200 I'm somewhere still in the wave zone you know still 0:39:09.200,0:39:10.628 struggling and still putting a lot of work 0:39:11.028,0:39:14.857 But you know even though I it's my eighth language right now 0:39:15.114,0:39:18.142 I still felt really frustrated at 0:39:18.142,0:39:21.400 the beginning it's like it is a painful process deal with it 0:39:21.400,0:39:23.342 okay you want to say something 0:39:23.342,0:39:25.457 you're talking to someone you could express it 0:39:25.457,0:39:26.485 in fact on the language ease 0:39:26.742,0:39:28.571 what you want to do it in Russian it's like 0:39:28.771,0:39:32.371 how do I say that you know it's really a painful process 0:39:32.371,0:39:34.457 but I tell them just keep growing 0:39:34.457,0:39:36.028 and it's going to pay off right 0:39:36.028,0:39:38.228 Going on with that it's like you want 0:39:38.228,0:39:39.600 to have a concert but you only want 0:39:39.600,0:39:40.828 to play the first piece in your program 0:39:40.971,0:39:42.314 you want to play a concert but 0:39:42.314,0:39:43.457 you're only going to practice scales 0:39:43.457,0:39:44.314 when you have other pieces 0:39:44.314,0:39:46.485 if you play scales cause I mean you can play arpeggios 0:39:46.485,0:39:47.514 if you play arpeggios 0:39:47.514,0:39:48.942 I mean you can play scales etc 0:39:48.942,0:39:51.057 so listen to her, excellent work. 0:40:00.885,0:40:07.228 ah I would have interest in your Google sheets that you set up 0:40:07.228,0:40:10.228 and I don't know it's like [br]because I did that too 0:40:10.228,0:40:14.657 do they have to do it every day 0:40:14.650,0:40:17.171 or every week and what what do they enter 0:40:17.171,0:40:20.057 because it can be too much it can be too less, 0:40:20.057,0:40:21.428 I don't know your balance 0:40:22.057,0:40:24.371 I'm experimenting with this again 0:40:24.371,0:40:25.742 I'm trying to work out the best way 0:40:25.828,0:40:28.200 with the first group we did it with colors 0:40:28.314,0:40:30.800 so we had a we had a sheet which was the 0:40:30.800,0:40:37.571 rows were this run from s 60 and the columns were individual students 0:40:37.657,0:40:40.771 in several sheets and they were basically 0:40:40.771,0:40:44.085 supposed to color the given cell for the day green 0:40:44.085,0:40:47.428 if they did well, yellow if it was like half the time 0:40:47.428,0:40:49.428 they were starting to they were planning 0:40:49.428,0:40:51.457 red if they failed that day. 0:40:51.657,0:40:56.057 and it was style of violet if it was a day off. 0:40:56.200,0:40:57.942 because I told them you don't need to study every single day 0:40:58.342,0:41:01.114 and so then you looked at the chart and you saw 0:41:01.114,0:41:04.000 exactly like a there's quite a lot of red cells in here 0:41:04.000,0:41:07.114 you know what's going on and then you could discuss it 0:41:07.114,0:41:09.085 with that student so that was my color method 0:41:09.085,0:41:12.571 and I even rewarded them like if you if you put it twice as much work 0:41:12.571,0:41:14.800 because you know students get really motivated at the beginning 0:41:15.057,0:41:16.514 and they start learning a lot 0:41:16.514,0:41:19.542 so I told them if it's a really active day 0:41:19.542,0:41:22.257 then make it a green cell and put in a smiley face 0:41:22.571,0:41:25.142 you know and then you can see like I have so many smiles 0:41:25.142,0:41:27.000 this week you know, they were very proud 0:41:27.000,0:41:30.057 to show the others, so that's my first method, right now 0:41:30.457,0:41:33.571 for making them actually write into the cells what exactly they're doing 0:41:33.771,0:41:35.371 how much time they're spending. 0:41:35.371,0:41:36.285 we're counting the minutes 0:41:36.285,0:41:38.971 and they're giving notes like what exact day 0:41:38.971,0:41:41.628 they were doing like 15 minutes of that 20 minutes of that 0:41:41.914,0:41:43.600 and then we count it together that's how 0:41:43.600,0:41:46.257 I could find out how much time did she spend doing 0:41:46.485,0:41:48.485 so it's even with numbers or with colors. 0:41:48.714,0:41:51.942 Actually I lectured two English teachers 0:41:51.942,0:41:53.942 in Slovakia about this and some of the 0:41:53.942,0:41:56.057 teachers were to be like I'm actually coming to try 0:41:56.057,0:41:58.600 these with my students and one of the teachers 0:41:58.600,0:42:01.285 worked with kids which are more like 10 years old 0:42:01.628,0:42:03.142 and she says it works perfectly 0:42:03.142,0:42:05.028 you know the kids are watching YouTube videos 0:42:05.028,0:42:06.714 and they're learning English 0:42:06.714,0:42:08.285 and it works well and she works 0:42:08.285,0:42:09.914 with the colors because they want 0:42:09.914,0:42:11.914 to have the green cells you know 0:42:12.000,0:42:14.314 and they even have a chart 0:42:14.314,0:42:17.285 in the classroom or color the things themselves 0:42:17.285,0:42:19.228 so seems to be working even for children. 0:42:22.857,0:42:25.285 Hi thank you very much back to my seat 0:42:25.285,0:42:27.828 thank you very much for your presentation. 0:42:27.828,0:42:32.000 My name is Johanna I created a kind of teach yourself method 0:42:32.000,0:42:35.742 language learning method some of my clients get private sessions with me 0:42:36.114,0:42:39.314 I'm thinking of one in particular he's a very busy businessman 0:42:39.628,0:42:43.028 I'm supposed to teach him or he's supposed to learn English 0:42:43.342,0:42:47.571 and I try to explain kind of the same thing you're saying 0:42:47.571,0:42:50.142 I give him a lot of resources with video he could watch 0:42:51.257,0:42:54.200 but I never tried the accountability option 0:42:54.457,0:42:56.914 what would you recommend for one-on-one sessions? 0:42:56.914,0:43:00.542 Because he has nobody else to to prove to 0:43:00.542,0:43:02.628 he cannot do a Google sheet with anybody else, 0:43:02.628,0:43:03.685 so what could you recommend? 0:43:03.885,0:43:05.685 Okay there's another thing that I tried 0:43:05.685,0:43:09.828 a mentor like that a friend of mine 0:43:10.142,0:43:14.028 with whom I said okay people are really 0:43:14.080,0:43:15.685 motivated by money you know people 0:43:15.685,0:43:18.000 want to have money and when they lose money 0:43:18.000,0:43:18.657 they feel bad about it. 0:43:18.657,0:43:20.800 So I think that's a good motivation too 0:43:21.085,0:43:23.685 so I told her okay you give me 50 euros 0:43:24.057,0:43:26.400 and you learning German, so I'm going to test you 0:43:26.400,0:43:30.428 in one month in 50 most frequent irregular verbs in German 0:43:30.542,0:43:33.600 If you fail the test, I'm keeping the money 0:43:35.085,0:43:38.000 I didn't see them but with my friends the two groups that I showed you 0:43:38.257,0:43:40.600 they gave me 100 euros and I told them 0:43:40.600,0:43:42.485 you need to stick it out till the under three months 0:43:42.914,0:43:45.714 otherwise I'm going to have a really good weekend 0:43:47.857,0:43:50.857 and so this or something like that seemed to work 0:43:50.857,0:43:52.314 for them too you know they don't want to 0:43:52.314,0:43:54.857 people are really really afraid to lose money 0:43:54.857,0:43:58.428 So I didn't want to take any money from them 0:43:58.428,0:43:59.428 because they're my friends 0:43:59.428,0:44:01.800 I was just testing the idea in this way 0:44:01.800,0:44:05.200 they were like you know I want to actually earn money by learning 0:44:05.657,0:44:07.800 look at that you know what an amazing approach 0:44:07.800,0:44:09.828 like if I learn a little bit more 0:44:09.828,0:44:12.200 I get a 100 euros the psychology of that 0:44:12.200,0:44:13.857 it seems to be working pretty well 0:44:13.857,0:44:15.857 if you haven't tried that. 0:44:18.457,0:44:21.228 Thank you so much that's really inspiring 0:44:21.228,0:44:23.085 because I would love to do some 0:44:23.080,0:44:24.342 of the thinking of mentoring methods 0:44:24.428,0:44:26.342 that you do and I was wondering 0:44:26.600,0:44:28.742 how you found different group sizes from 0:44:28.742,0:44:32.085 1 on 1 to 100 what have been the differences 0:44:32.085,0:44:34.200 pluses and minuses benefits of each one 0:44:34.200,0:44:35.885 and is there a size you would say 0:44:36.314,0:44:37.771 you would recommend not going past 0:44:39.314,0:44:41.714 I think this can be done with as many people as possible 0:44:41.714,0:44:44.628 and it also doesn't depend on the languages you know. 0:44:44.628,0:44:46.428 I help people improve their finish 0:44:46.800,0:44:48.314 I don't speak a word in Finnish 0:44:48.342,0:44:52.685 so it doesn't matter what languages there are even what level 0:44:52.685,0:44:55.057 I think it could be done with people on different levels as far 0:44:55.057,0:44:58.228 as everybody's learning on their own level 0:44:58.657,0:45:01.142 and there are some pluses and minuses 0:45:01.600,0:45:03.542 like I would say with this group of 100 students 0:45:03.542,0:45:06.800 it was extremely motivating that they met in person 0:45:06.800,0:45:08.771 that they actually weren't there together 0:45:09.142,0:45:11.771 and even when I did the lecture you know I'd propose 0:45:11.771,0:45:13.114 this all around the university 0:45:13.114,0:45:15.971 I said we're starting a new learning revolution here at the Faculty 0:45:15.971,0:45:18.885 make sure you kind of learn how pointless learn languages 0:45:18.885,0:45:21.542 and I had a whole roomful of people you know 0:45:21.542,0:45:24.171 and they were like it was amazing to see that this room 0:45:24.171,0:45:26.371 is actually full in one of the lectures you know 0:45:26.685,0:45:28.257 and that there are so many other people 0:45:28.257,0:45:30.685 who want to learn that was very inspiring for them 0:45:30.685,0:45:33.000 to see that their classmates are also doing it 0:45:33.000,0:45:35.742 and then I also put them into Facebook groups 0:45:35.742,0:45:39.714 where they could share resources for their individual languages 0:45:39.714,0:45:42.571 so we had a Russian group English German etc 0:45:42.971,0:45:49.857 and I kind of motivated them and I boosted the activity in the groups at the beginning 0:45:50.085,0:45:51.857 I even had assistants who actually 0:45:51.857,0:45:56.428 helped me with that and you know that they were motivated by other classmates 0:45:56.428,0:46:02.200 mentioning you know what they were doing for example with a will but 0:46:02.200,0:46:04.485 this thing the goal based method 0:46:04.742,0:46:07.771 I told them it's important to have a notebook 0:46:07.771,0:46:11.485 that you love you know you need to take a really beautiful notebook 0:46:11.800,0:46:14.200 and so one of one of the students in the Italian group 0:46:14.400,0:46:16.771 actually posted a picture of her notebook 0:46:16.771,0:46:19.342 as she said has anyone got a prettier 0:46:21.514,0:46:23.685 they were motivating themselves it's amazing 0:46:23.685,0:46:26.228 you just need to basically kindle the spark 0:46:26.228,0:46:28.485 and it seems to be working by itself 0:46:28.485,0:46:31.028 so I would say that's the greatest benefit of working with a group 0:46:31.171,0:46:36.685 and working with one on one it can be more adapted to the needs of the person 0:46:36.885,0:46:42.571 so for example I mentor a few people where I discuss their language learning 0:46:42.657,0:46:44.400 in the language so it is considered English 0:46:44.400,0:46:46.828 for example which for them is an additional practice 0:46:47.257,0:46:49.771 which they like I couldn't do it with the group 0:46:49.771,0:46:51.771 of a lot of students with different languages. 0:46:55.314,0:46:57.342 This is exactly what 0:46:57.342,0:47:00.714 I do in the finals 0:47:00.971,0:47:06.142 I said I'm a lazy polyglot and this is exactly, thank you 0:47:06.228,0:47:12.914 what I do I used all my time that I couldn't normally 0:47:13.000,0:47:17.800 use when I was at university queuing for the university restaurant 0:47:18.171,0:47:23.228 on eating with friends or washing dishes whatever 0:47:23.485,0:47:29.342 and I always have either YouTube or some friends to practice languages 0:47:30.028,0:47:32.200 with I think this is the secret, isn't it? 0:47:32.314,0:47:34.057 isn't it like people? people think like: oh you spent 0:47:34.057,0:47:35.257 two hours a day or three hours a day learning 0:47:35.457,0:47:37.000 and I was like no really no. 0:47:37.000,0:47:39.000 I mean I don't have that extra time 0:47:39.000,0:47:44.342 I'm quite easy so I just use I make sure I use the time when I need to. 0:47:44.828,0:47:47.000 Exactly those things, okay guys so just one more thing 0:47:47.000,0:47:48.285 if you if you want to find out more 0:47:48.485,0:47:50.714 I know the website right now in Slovakia 0:47:52.257,0:47:53.857 you'll probably not understand 0:47:54.057,0:47:56.200 You also have languagementoring.com 0:47:56.200,0:47:58.314 which I'm just starting right now so there is not much 0:47:58.571,0:48:02.771 but you can contact me there if you have any other questions or ideas. 0:48:03.028,0:48:05.485 Thank you very much.