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The Seventh Rule:
Learn English With Compelling Stories
The primary purpose of Effortless English™ is to teach you to speak and
understand English quickly, correctly and automatically. That “automatic” part is
what separates this method from so many others, and automatic comes from
thinking in English.
When you think in English, you no longer translate. You no longer think about
grammar or pronunciation. The language has become a deep part of you, just like
your own native language.
At this stage, you have achieved effortless English. You understand instantly, with
no stress. Because you think in English, words flow out of your mouth quickly and
easily. You use correct grammar, yet never consider grammar rules. If someone
asks how you do it, you probably say, “I don’t know. I just know what sounds right.”
Speed is the most obvious change at this stage. You are able to instantly
understand and instantly respond. The hesitation is gone. The strain, the stress, the
doubt, the confusion – all gone. You are like the professional soccer player,
performing with power and grace.
At this point on the road to fluency, you have learned most of the Effortless
English™ system. You have just one more rule to learn and I have saved the best for
last.
Rule Seven is the method that trains speed. So what is it? Listen-and-answer
stories. That’s the seventh and final rule of Effortless English™.
Learn to think in
English with listen-and-answer stories.
What are listen-and-answer stories, or, as I sometimes call them, mini-stories?
Well, remember in the past when you went to English school? You probably were
taught with a lot of listen and repeat drills. You know, when the teacher would say,
“Repeat after me. Hi, how are you?” And everyone in the class would say in unison,
“Hi, how are you?” Then the teacher would continue, “I’m fine, and you?” Then all
of the class together said, “I’m fine, and you?” This is listen and repeat. It’s an old
way to learn English. But, it’s not powerful.
Why? When you listen and repeat, you don’t need to think in English. You don’t
need to think at all. You just repeat what the teacher said. You don’t even need to
understand what you are saying, but still you repeat. It’s a mindless exercise with
little benefit.
Now sometimes, after you’ve gotten used to listening and repeating in one of
these traditional classes, the teacher will start asking you questions so you can
answer with some of the responses you’ve learned. For example, instead of having
you repeat, she’ll ask: “How are you?” You’ll say, “I’m fine, and you?” This is a bit
better, since you’re at least answering questions and not just repeating phrases you
may or may not understand.
The problem is, these are scripted answers. When the teacher asks, “How are
you?” you always say, “I’m fine, and you?” You already know what the teacher is
going to say and you already know what you are going to say. Yet, real
conversations are unpredictable. You never know what is coming next. You have to
be ready for anything. Listen-and-answer stories are much more powerful.
Perhaps the first question we should ask is, “Why stories?” In Rule Five, I taught
you about point-of-view stories. In Rule Six, I encouraged you to read and listen to
authentic materials, especially stories. Now I’m telling you the key to automatic
English is listen-and-answer stories.
Stories are incredibly powerful, because they are an ideal way to deliver
information to the brain. Human beings have used stories to teach and learn for
thousands of years, since well before the invention of writing. What makes them
powerful?
Stories are emotional. We love the heroes and hate the villains, and that’s
important because emotions create stronger memories. This is why religions have
used stories for thousands of years to teach their principles. They could just teach
the principles directly, but they know that stories create a stronger and deeper
impression.
And when a story is designed to be strange, funny, or highly emotional, it is even
easier to remember. This is why listen-and-answer stories use strange characters
and exaggerated events. Which is easier to remember: a normal person with brown
hair, or a person who is only one meter tall with green hair? If you meet both
briefly at a party, which are you most likely to remember a year later? Usually it’s
the one that is not “normal.”
In addition to being strange, funny, or exaggerated, listen-and-answer stories use
a very specific technique called “asking a story.” Please note, I did not say
telling
a
story. I said
asking
a story. This is a technique developed by Blaine Ray. The teacher
creates the story by asking a lot of very simple and easy questions. Why?
Because the questions train you to understand and respond more quickly. A listen-
and-answer story is not a passive activity. You must constantly understand a barrage
of endless questions, and you must instantly respond to them. The teacher slowly
builds the story by adding more details.
An important aspect of these stories is that the questions are always easy and your
answers are always short. Most of the time, you will answer with only a couple of
words. The focus of these stories is speed, not length. Remember, to achieve the
highest levels of English speaking, you must be fast. You must understand and
respond instantly.
As you listen, sometimes the teacher will ask a question and you won’t know the
answer. When this happens, you are encouraged to immediately shout out a guess.
So the process is a non-stop series of questions and answers. Through this
process, you overwhelm your slow analytic brain. Because there are so many
questions and you must answer so quickly, there simply isn’t time to think about
grammar, vocabulary, or anything else. This is how listen-and-answer stories train
you for speed.
When you use these listen-and-answer stories, you teach yourself to understand
quickly and to respond quickly. You have to speak quickly and automatically,
without thinking, “What does that word mean?” That’s why these stories are so
powerful. You learn to think in English, and you learn to speak quickly without
translating.
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