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Think In English With Me | Episode 1: Motivation — Transcript

by Speak English With Tiffani · 3,560 words · 605 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Welcome to episode number one of think
0:03in English with me, Teacher Tiffany. In
0:06this series, you are going to learn how
0:08to think in English like a native
0:10English speaker using five specific
0:13sections. Are you ready? Well then,
0:16let's jump right in. Our episode is all
0:19about motivation. Section number one is
0:23the gap you [music] can hear. You see,
0:26we're going to look at three real-life
0:28situations, each shown two ways. How a
0:32learner, an English learner, would
0:35handle it and how a native, a native
0:38English speaker, would handle it. No
0:41teaching yet, no breakdown, no analysis.
0:44I just want you to listen to recognize
0:47the difference. The gap between the two
0:50versions is the whole point. Once you
0:53hear it clearly, you can't unhear it.
0:56So, we're going to look at three
0:57real-life situations. Here is situation
1:01number one. At the gym. Now, an English
1:04learner would have a conversation like
1:07this.
1:08How do you stay motivated to come here
1:10every day?
1:12I just try. It's hard, but I do it.
1:16That's good.
1:18Yeah, you can do it, too. Now, that's a
1:22good dialogue. That's a good
1:24conversation, but it's also a
1:26conversation that an English learner
1:28would have. Now, let's listen to a
1:31conversation about the same topic that
1:34native English speakers would have.
1:37How do you stay motivated to come here
1:39every day? I'm honestly struggling
1:42lately.
1:43Honestly, I stopped relying on
1:45motivation. I just stick to the same
1:48time, 6:00 a.m., no negotiation. My
1:51bag's packed the night before, my shoes
1:53are by the door, my pre-workout is
1:56already measured out. By the time I'm
1:58thinking about it, whether I want to go,
2:01I'm already halfway out the door.
2:04That's smart. I keep waiting to feel
2:08like it.
2:09Yeah, that's the trap. Feeling like it
2:12almost never shows up. The system shows
2:17up for you.
2:18Now, you can hear the difference between
2:21these two conversations. Again, the
2:24learner conversation and the native
2:26English speaker conversation. Check out
2:29this situation, another example. We're
2:32talking about now a conversation between
2:35two co-workers. This is how the
2:37conversation starts for a learner.
2:40Do you think motivation is important?
2:43Yes, motivation is very important.
2:46Without it, you can't do anything.
2:49I agree. It's important.
2:52Yes. Now,
2:54that was a good conversation. It was
2:57clear what are your thoughts on
2:59motivation. However, it represented a
3:01conversation that a learner, an English
3:04learner, would have. Now, listen to the
3:06difference when you hear a native
3:09English speaker have the same
3:10conversation with another native English
3:12speaker.
3:14Do you think motivation or discipline
3:16matters more for getting things done?
3:19Respond.
3:20Discipline. It's not even close,
3:23honestly. Motivation comes and goes.
3:25It's a feeling, and feelings are
3:27unreliable, especially when you're tired
3:30or stressed or just having a bad day.
3:33Discipline doesn't care how you feel, it
3:35just does the work.
3:38Hmm.
3:39Interesting take. So, you're saying
3:41motivation is overrated?
3:44Not overrated. It's just a starting
3:47point. It gets you in the door.
3:49Discipline keeps you in the room. Notice
3:53the difference. Both dialogues, both
3:57conversations, each individual said
3:59grammatically correct statements.
4:01However, you noticed the difference.
4:05What about this situation?
4:07Two friends are speaking.
4:09This is what an English learner would
4:12say in a conversation.
4:14Have you ever lost motivation?
4:17Yes, many times. It's normal.
4:21What did you do?
4:23I continued. It's important to continue.
4:28You said your thought, you stated your
4:30point, and it was grammatically correct.
4:33>> [music]
4:33>> Now, listen to the difference. Again,
4:35we're recognizing this gap, the gap you
4:39hear. A native speaker.
4:42Have you ever totally lost motivation in
4:44the middle of something big?
4:47Oh, big time. When I was writing my
4:50thesis, I hit a wall around month four.
4:53I couldn't even open the document. I'd
4:55sit at my desk, stare at the screen, and
4:57find any excuse to not work. Clean my
5:00apartment, reorganize my bookshelf, you
5:02name it. I was convinced I'd picked the
5:05wrong topic. Eventually, my advisor told
5:08me to just write the worst possible
5:11version. Junk, garbage, anything.
5:14Once I gave myself permission to write
5:16badly, I finished the draft in 3 weeks.
5:20Wow.
5:21So, the perfectionism was the real
5:23problem.
5:25Exactly. [music]
5:26The motivation wasn't gone, it was just
5:29buried under all the pressure I was
5:31putting on myself.
5:34You see the gap between an English
5:37learner and a native English speaker.
5:39This is section one, again, teaching you
5:41how to think in English with me.
5:45Now, let's move to section number two.
5:47You recognize the gap. Now, it's time to
5:49look at the word you don't have yet. You
5:54see, inside each native speaker dialogue
5:58is a word or phrase that an English
6:01learner wouldn't think to use. Not
6:04because it's complicated, but because
6:06nobody ever taught it as active
6:09vocabulary. We'll put We pull one term
6:13out of each dialogue. That's what we're
6:15going to do. We're going to pull one
6:16term out of each dialogue. Three terms
6:19total for this section. Real words. The
6:22kind that shift how you sound the moment
6:26they enter your speech. So, we're going
6:27to go back to the situations, now
6:29section two, and pick out a word from
6:32each dialogue. So, situation number one,
6:35again, looking at situation number one,
6:39still talking about motivation.
6:41In the conversation,
6:43no negotiation was said. This is how it
6:46was said. This is where it lives in the
6:48dialogue.
6:50I just stick to the same time, 6:00
6:54a.m., no negotiation. Now, this is from
6:58the native English speakers dialogue.
7:00This expression, no negotiation. So,
7:05what does it mean in real use?
7:07A non-negotiable
7:09commitment. A line you've already drawn
7:12that the daily version of you doesn't
7:14get to argue with. No negotiation. Now,
7:17why would you as an English learner not
7:20have this? You see, an English learner
7:23would say, "I never miss it." or "It's
7:25important to me."
7:27Both of these, while grammatically
7:29correct, are are kind of flat. However,
7:32no negotiation carries the entire
7:35mindset in only two words.
7:39Now, let's check the portability of this
7:41expression.
7:43Bedtime is 10:00 p.m. No negotiation.
7:47Sundays are family days. No negotiation.
7:51I don't take meetings before 9:00. No
7:54negotiation. And I'll give you another
7:56example. This is a real one for me as
7:58your English teacher.
8:00I don't work on Saturdays. No
8:03negotiation. I don't help people. I
8:06don't work on anything on Sabbath, on
8:10Saturday. I'm a Sabbath keeper. No
8:13negotiation. So, you see how you can use
8:15it in real life. Again, we're picking
8:17out one word or one expression from
8:20section one, the conversation.
8:22Here is situation number two. Situation
8:25number two, now we had a very unique
8:28expression. We had the expression comes
8:32and goes. This is how it was used, where
8:34it lived in the dialogue. Motivation
8:36comes and goes. It's a feeling.
8:41Motivation comes and goes. It's a
8:43feeling. Now, let's go just a bit
8:45deeper. So, let's see the poor what what
8:48it means in real use. You see, comes and
8:51goes is
8:53something that arrives and leaves on its
8:55own, unreliably, and it's outside of
8:59your control.
9:01Now, why would you not have this
9:03initially? You see, an English learner
9:06would say, "Motivation is not always
9:08there." Or, "Sometimes I have it,
9:12sometimes I don't." But these two ways
9:14of saying this or expressing this
9:16thought, they're clunky and long.
9:19But comes and goes handles it in three
9:22words and sounds native. So, let's do a
9:26portability check, how you can use this
9:27in real life.
9:29The pain comes and goes. My focus comes
9:33and goes throughout the day.
9:36Friends come and go.
9:38Family stays.
9:41You see now this expression comes and
9:44goes from section one from the native
9:46English speaker dialogue, we pulled it
9:48out from situation number two. Now check
9:51out situation number three. Again, we're
9:54looking at this example and in our
9:57dialogue, it was said, "Hit a wall."
10:02This is how it was said.
10:03I hit a wall around month four.
10:07>> [music]
10:07>> I hit a wall around month four. So we've
10:10pulled this out of the dialogue. Now, I
10:13hit a wall. What does it mean? It's a
10:15sudden total inability to continue
10:19forward, usually emotional, mental, or
10:21energetic. Not a slow slow down, an
10:26actual wall. So why wouldn't you already
10:29have this? You see, an English learner
10:30would say, "I became very tired." Or "I
10:34couldn't continue." [music]
10:35These are accurate statements, but
10:37they're lifeless.
10:39On the other hand, hit a wall carries
10:42the suddenness and the helplessness in
10:44three words. So how can you use it in
10:46real life?
10:48I hit a wall around mile 20.
10:51>> [music]
10:51>> We hit a wall in the negotiation.
10:54I hit a wall halfway through the book.
10:58You see now how it is used in real life.
11:04This is why it is so
11:07powerful. Now we move on to section
11:10number three.
11:12How they build their sentences. So, this
11:15is where we're going to dive deeper into
11:17understanding how native speakers build
11:18their sentences. The same three
11:20dialogues, but now we look underneath.
11:23Native speakers don't just use better
11:25words. They, we, build our answers on
11:29hidden patterns. Three patterns to
11:32recognize. Answering with the details,
11:35defending an opinion with reasons, and
11:38walking someone through a personal
11:40experience. You see, once you start to
11:43see these patterns, you'll start hearing
11:46them everywhere. So, let's jump into,
11:49again, our first situation to see how
11:52this will play out. So, our first
11:55situation, this is what a learner would
11:59say.
12:00The learner would say,
12:02"I just try." But, there are zero
12:05details. The viewer learns nothing about
12:08how. We're just hearing you say, "I try
12:12when I'm trying to be motivated."
12:14However, when we dive deeper into a
12:17native speaker's response and the
12:19details,
12:21native speakers stack specific, concrete
12:27details. Here's what it looks like.
12:29Watch closely.
12:31The time,
12:336:00 a.m.
12:34The bag, packed the night before.
12:37The shoes, by the door. And the
12:40pre-workout, already measured out.
12:42Remember, these were details that were
12:44included in the first dialogue, the
12:46first situation. You see, here's the
12:49pattern that you want to notice. Native
12:51speakers answer how questions with
12:55things you can see, not abstractions,
12:58not "I just stay consistent." Specific
13:02objects, specific times, and specific
13:06actions. Now, let's look at the second
13:09situation. Our second situation, and
13:11again, remember how the English learner
13:14would have responded, would have
13:16answered in the situation. So, an
13:18English learner, again, would say, "Yes,
13:21motivation is important." That's stating
13:24a a
13:25but not giving any reasons. Then, an
13:29English learner would just agree with
13:30whatever is said next. But, remember,
13:33we're trying to go deeper. We want to
13:35see how a native speaker would respond
13:38and break down that structure, which is
13:40actually giving an opinion and adding
13:43reasons.
13:45Native speakers state a clear position.
13:49They state their position and then
13:51defend it.
13:53What's the position?
13:55Discipline. It's not even close. Reason
13:58number one mentioned. Motivation comes
14:00and goes. It's a feeling. Reason number
14:03two. Feelings are unreliable, especially
14:06when you're tired or stressed. And
14:08reason number three. Discipline doesn't
14:11care how you feel. It just does the
14:14work. You see, here's the pattern to
14:16notice.
14:17Native speakers don't soften their
14:19opinions into mush. They take a clear
14:22side, then back it with three reasons
14:25stacked one after another. The
14:27conviction is in the structure. Opinion
14:31plus reasons. So, we have the detail
14:33structure. Then, we had the opinion and
14:35reasons. Now, we move to number three.
14:40Personal experience. Now, a learner
14:43would respond, and we read the response
14:44of the learner,
14:46says, "Yes." Many times. Admitting the
14:49experience exists, but not entering into
14:53it. Not giving the listener any more
14:55information about the personal
14:57experience.
14:58Now, with the native,
15:01we are walking through the actual scene.
15:05Thinking about the dialogue. The when.
15:08When I was writing my thesis. Breakdown
15:11moment. Month four, couldn't open the
15:13document. Different behaviors. Clean my
15:16apartment, reorganize my bookshelf. The
15:18turning point. My advisor told me to
15:21write the worst possible version and the
15:23resolution. Finished the draft in 3
15:27weeks. Here's the pattern to notice.
15:29Native speakers don't summarize their
15:32experiences. They place the listener
15:35inside them with a beginning, a worst
15:38moment, a turn, and a result. This is
15:43how we build sentences and how you
15:46should do the same. Again, details,
15:48opinions, and reasons, personal
15:50experiences, which leads us to section
15:53number four.
15:55Sound exactly like them. We've heard the
15:58gap, recognized the difference. We've
16:01recognized the words that were used by
16:03native speakers. Now, we're going to
16:05after we already kind of broke down the
16:07structure, now we're going to sound
16:10exactly like them. You see, here's where
16:12the two layers come together. The
16:14structure from section three
16:16plus the term from section two working
16:19in one response. This is what it
16:22actually sounds like when a native
16:25speaker handles the situation and what
16:28it could sound like coming out of your
16:31mouth. So, let's break it down, the
16:33first situation again. Now, looking at
16:36the learner. So, a learner's response,
16:39again for contrast, it was, "I just try.
16:43It's hard, but I do it." But, we want to
16:47have details plus the term no
16:50negotiation. Remember, we learned that,
16:52all right? So, now look at how a native
16:55would respond. This is the response.
16:58Fully emulated native response. "I
17:00stopped relying on motivation. I just
17:02stick to the same time. 6:00 a.m., no
17:05negotiation. My bag's packed the night
17:08before, my shoes are by the door, my
17:10pre-workout is already measured out."
17:13What do you notice?
17:15The structure, specific details plus the
17:18term, which is no negotiation, together
17:21create the native sound. Neither one
17:24alone is enough. Details without the
17:27term sounds organized but
17:30learner-flavored.
17:32The term without details sounds like a
17:34quote with nothing behind it. Again,
17:38details plus our new term, no
17:41negotiation.
17:42Look at this second example. Again, the
17:44second situation that we had for our
17:46lesson today. Reminding you, the learner
17:49responds. Yes, motivation is very
17:52important. Without it, you can't do
17:55anything.
17:56Now, we're going to listen to the native
17:59response again. Opinion, reason, and the
18:02term or expression comes and goes.
18:05Listen closely. Again, we heard this in
18:07our dialogue. Fully emulated native
18:10response.
18:11Discipline, it's not even close.
18:13Motivation comes and goes. It's a
18:16feeling, and feelings are unreliable,
18:19especially when you're tired or
18:20stressed. Discipline doesn't care how
18:23you feel, it just does the work. So,
18:26what are we noticing? The opinion,
18:28discipline is greater or more important
18:30than motivation. This opinion is held up
18:33by three reasons, and the term comes and
18:36goes is what gives the reason number one
18:40its bite. Without it, the sentence would
18:42be, "Motivation is not always there."
18:45Same idea, but it sounds like a response
18:49that a learner would give, not a native
18:51speaker.
18:52Here's the third situation. Remember,
18:55we're looking first at how an English
18:57learner would respond.
18:59Yes, many times it's normal.
19:03But when we look at the native response,
19:06here's what it would be. Again,
19:08personal experience plus our term hit
19:10the wall.
19:12Big time. When I was writing my thesis,
19:14I hit a wall around month four. I
19:17couldn't even open the document. I'd sit
19:19at my desk, stare at the screen, and
19:20find any excuse not to work. Eventually,
19:24my advisor told me to just write the
19:26worst possible version. Once I gave
19:28myself permission to write badly, I
19:30finished the draft in 3 weeks. So,
19:34personal experience plus our expression,
19:36hit the wall. But, what are we noticing?
19:40We're noticing the experience structure:
19:44when, breakdown, behaviors, turning
19:46point, result. This carries the story,
19:49and our expression, hit the wall, is the
19:52term that locates the breakdown moment
19:55with native precision. This is why it's
19:59so important. Again, section four,
20:01sounding exactly like them. You're using
20:03the structure we got from the dialogue,
20:06and then we're adding the word, the
20:07expression we learned in section number
20:10two.
20:11This leads us to section number five.
20:14Your turn to think in English. Now,
20:17fresh questions, not dialogues. The kind
20:20of discussion questions you could be
20:22asked in a real conversation tomorrow.
20:25Each one comes with the flat learner
20:28response. How a regular English learner
20:31would respond. Not you, because you've
20:33learned now. And it also will show you
20:35three native responses. One built on
20:38each pattern. Remember the details, or
20:40opinions and reasons, or personal
20:42experience.
20:43The point isn't just to memorize any of
20:46them. The point is to notice that what
20:49changes when you stop answering like a
20:52learner and start thinking like a native
20:54speaker will help you improve your
20:56English fluency. So, here's our first
20:59situation.
21:00Our first situation, here's the
21:02question.
21:03What helps you stay motivated when you
21:05don't feel like doing something? All
21:08right, this is our question. So, our
21:10learner response.
21:12I just try. It's hard, but I keep going.
21:16Now, this is the question.
21:18Here is the first response from a native
21:20speaker using the details structure.
21:23I set the smallest possible goal.
21:26Instead of work out, it's put on my
21:28shoes. Instead of write the report, it's
21:31open the document. Once I'm there, the
21:34rest usually follows. This is a response
21:37based on details. Now, let's look at a
21:40response to this question using the
21:41structure opinions plus reasons.
21:45Honestly, motivation isn't the answer.
21:48The answer is removing decisions. The
21:50fewer choices you give yourself in the
21:52moment, the more likely you are to
21:54actually do the thing. That's why people
21:57set out their clothes the night before.
22:00And finally, personal experience. Same
22:03question, but different structure for
22:05our answer.
22:06Personal experience would be this.
22:08There was a stretch last winter when I
22:11couldn't get myself to work out. What
22:13finally worked was telling a friend I'd
22:16meet her at 6:00 a.m. I couldn't bail on
22:19her, so I showed up. Three weeks later,
22:22it was a habit. So, you see again, this
22:25question, what helps you stay motivated
22:27when you don't feel like doing
22:28something? We have the comparison of our
22:30learner response to the native English
22:32response.
22:34What about this question? Question
22:36number two.
22:38Do you think motivation matters, or is
22:41it overrated?
22:43A learner would say this.
22:45Yes, I think motivation is important.
22:47That's not a bad response, but we want
22:50to see how a native speaker would
22:52respond. Again, we're thinking in
22:54English using these five sections.
22:57Here's how a native speaker would
22:58respond using the details structure.
23:01It matters at the start. The first day
23:04of a new job, the first run, the first
23:06chapter of a book, that's where
23:07motivation lights the fire.
23:10But after week two, it's gone and you
23:12need something else, giving [music]
23:13details.
23:15Now we have the second structure,
23:17opinions plus reasons.
23:19It's overrated. Everyone treats
23:21motivation like the answer, but it's the
23:23most unreliable feeling there is. It
23:26shows up when conditions are perfect and
23:28disappears the second things get hard.
23:30That's exactly when you need it most,
23:33which means motivation fails you at the
23:35worst possible moment.
23:38And finally, our third structure,
23:39personal experience.
23:42I used to think it mattered.
23:44Then I watched a coworker finish a
23:46marathon while clearly hating every step
23:49of the training.
23:50She wasn't motivated, she was committed.
23:53That's when I realized I'd been chasing
23:55the wrong thing for years. So you see
23:57the difference, right? We have three
23:59different structures to answer this
24:00question. An English learner without the
24:02structures would simply say, "Yes, I
24:04think motivation is important." But now
24:06you have the right structures. What
24:08about this question? Question number
24:11three.
24:12Tell me about a time you almost gave up
24:15on something important.
24:17Now a learner would say,
24:19"Yes, one time I almost gave up, but I
24:22continued." No details, no opinion, no
24:26experience.
24:27Now a native response starting with
24:29details to the question. Again, the
24:30question being, "Tell me about a time
24:33you almost gave up on something
24:35important." With detail structure.
24:38I was 3 months into learning Spanish.
24:40I'd been using an app every day, 20
24:42minutes minimum, and one night I just
24:44sat there staring at the screen.
24:46Nothing was sticking. The streaks meant
24:49nothing. I closed the app and didn't
24:51open it for 2 weeks.
24:54Next, we have opinion plus reasons.
24:58I almost quit my master's program in
25:01year two. I told myself it wasn't worth
25:03the debt and the stress, but I realized
25:06I was running from the work, not from
25:07the program. Once I named that, I
25:09couldn't justify quitting because the
25:12next thing would have
25:14the same problem. I'd experience
25:17the same thing.
25:18And finally, personal experience.
25:22Last year I almost walked away from a
25:23project I'd worked on for eight months.
25:26I called my mom in tears, told her I was
25:28done. She didn't argue, she just said,
25:30"Sleep on it. You can quit tomorrow."
25:33I woke up the next day and kept [music]
25:36going. That call saved the whole thing.
25:40You see, in this section, you are
25:43thinking in English. You are putting
25:45into practice what you learned during
25:47the previous four sections. I hope you
25:50enjoyed this lesson, and I'll talk to
25:51you in the next one.

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