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Watch the Video for Lesson 3
Yesterday we gave you an active listening lesson about Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison – both incredible teachers that we can learn a lot from. Michael Jordan, one of the best athletes of all time. Thomas Edison, one of the top scientists and inventors of all time. Both of these two men got to these high level of sports and science not by being perfect but actually, by failing a lot.
Michael Jordan said, “I have failed over and over and over again, and that is why I succeed.” He didn’t win all his games. He didn’t make all his shots. He didn’t try to be perfect. He didn’t worry about his mistakes and that was the key to his success. Thomas Edison, same story, most famous for creating the light bulb. He tried many different materials for the filament of that light bulb, and it was failure after failure after failure but he didn’t give up. He didn’t focus on the mistake. He just kept going.
So both Thomas Edison and Michael Jordan reached the top levels of their careers in sports and in science by focusing on success. And that means not worrying about mistakes and not trying to be perfect. So that’s what we want you to do, is focus on success and focus on consistency.
Today I want you to make a goal to practice your English for something easy. Make it 10 minutes a day. You want to make it so easy that you cannot fail because the first step every day, the first step is always the hardest. If you can get over that first step, then you will naturally want to do more on some days. So make your goal 10 minutes only and focus on success and consistency.
Today we are going to give you two types of lessons: Active Speaking and Fluency Booster. Yesterday we gave you an Active Listening lesson. This Active Speaking lesson is going to be the same story but this time it will have questions mixed in for you to answer. So you’ll hear the story, a question and then a space. In that space do your best to give your answer in a loud and clear voice. Don’t worry about giving your answer perfectly. The point is to freely give your answer and to work on your fluency. That means not worrying about making mistakes. So that’s Active Speaking lessons. The other type of lesson is the Fluency Booster lesson that’s very similar to the Active Speaking lesson. It’s a story-question-space format. Except for this time, there is going to be more questions so it’s going to raise the challenge and push you to speak even more. Because that’s the key point that we want you to take away from today, is to have consistency and to speak a lot every day.
Let’s get started. Download the Active Speaking lesson and the Fluency Booster lesson. And remember, don’t worry about mistakes. Consistency and regular practice is the key to success. So speak in a loud voice, speak quickly, speak clearly and have fun.
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Practice Listening Fluency
Who was one of the greatest athletes of all time? Michael Jordan was one of the greatest athletes of all time. Did he always win? No, he didn’t always win. He failed regularly.
Watching Michael Jordan play basketball was like watching a man fly. His grace and talent were unmatched. Clearly he had a lifetime of training and incredible natural talent, but these weren’t the only things that made him great. He also had a healthy relationship with failure. Like many greats in sports and business, he wasn’t discouraged by failure. The shots he missed and the games that he lost didn’t make him give up. He knew that failure was just another chance for him to improve.
What did Michael Jordan think about failure? He thought that failure was just another chance for him to improve.
Many highly successful people in the world of sports and business have this healthy relationship with failure.
What kind of relationship do many successful people have with failure? Many successful people have a healthy relationship with failure.
One of the world’s most famous inventors, Thomas Edison made thousands of attempts at creating a light bulb. He tried hundreds of materials for the light bulb filament, but there was always a problem. Some would burn out. Others would explode. Some would melt the glass. There were always problems, but he never gave up and he never saw his failure as a failure. He just saw it as a step towards success.
How did Edison see failure? He saw failure as a step towards success.
Edison once said, “I have not failed. I have merely found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This attitude of seeing failure as a learning experience helped him persevere. This way of thinking eventually led him to Japan, where he found a kind of bamboo, which was the perfect material for his light bulb invention.
Where did he find the perfect material for the light bulb filament? He found the perfect material for the light bulb filament in Japan.
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Practice Speaking Fluency
How many shots did he miss? He missed 9,000 shots.
“I’ve lost almost 300 games.”
How many games did he lose? He lost almost 300 games.
“26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot...and missed.”
How many times did he miss the game winning shot? He missed the game winning shot 26 times.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life...and that is why I succeed.”
Did he fail one time in his life? No, he didn’t fail one time in his life. He failed over and over again in his life.
Michael Jordan was one of the greatest athletes of all time, but like all great people, he also failed regularly.
Who was one of the greatest athletes of all time? Michael Jordan was one of the greatest athletes of all time. Did he always win? No, he didn’t always win. He failed regularly.
Watching Michael Jordan play basketball was like watching a man fly.
How can you describe watching Michael Jordan playing basketball? Watching Michael Jordan play basketball was like watching a man fly.
His grace and talent were unmatched. Clearly he had a lifetime of training and incredible natural talent, but these weren’t the only things that made him great.
Did Michael Jordan have a lot of training? Yes he had a lifetime of training. Did he have natural talent? Yes, he had incredible natural talent.
He also had a healthy relationship with failure.
Did he have a healthy relationship with failure? Yes, he had a healthy relationship with failure.
Like many greats in sports and business, he wasn’t discouraged by failure. The shots he missed and the games that he lost didn’t make him give up.
Did he give up? No, he didn’t give up.
He knew that failure was just another chance for him to improve.
What did Michael Jordan think about failure? He thought that failure was just another chance for him to improve.
Many highly successful people in the world of sports and business have this healthy relationship with failure.
What kind of relationship do many successful people have with failure? Many successful people have a healthy relationship with failure.
One of the world’s most famous inventors, Thomas Edison made thousands of attempts at creating a light bulb.
How many attempts did Thomas Edison make at creating a light bulb? Thomas Edison made thousands of attempts at creating a light bulb.
He tried hundreds of materials for the light bulb filament, but there was always a problem.
How many materials did he try for the light bulb filament? He tried hundreds of materials for the light bulb filament.
Some would burn out. Others would explode. Some would melt the glass.
What happened to the materials? Some would burn out. Others would explode. Some would melt the glass.
There were always problems, but he never gave up and he never saw his failure as a failure. He just saw it as a step towards success.
How did Edison see failure? He saw failure as a step towards success.
Edison once said, “I have not failed. I have merely found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
What did Edison say? Edison said, “I have not failed. I have merely found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
This attitude of seeing failure as a learning experience helped him persevere.
What helped him persevere? The attitude of seeing failure as a learning experience helped him persevere.
This way of thinking eventually led him to Japan, where he found a kind of bamboo, which was the perfect material for his light bulb invention.
Where did he find the perfect material for the light bulb filament? He found the perfect material for the light bulb filament in Japan.
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Optional - Download the Speaking Fluency Lesson Pack
Download the Above Lesson Pack for Offline Viewing1. Download them to your computer and then transfer them to your device.
2. Use a separate app on your device to download.
Computer to iPad or iPhone: This is the easiest way. Download these files to your computer. Go to iTunes and add the PDF files to your iTunes books section. Add the Mp3 audio files to your iTunes music. Sync your iPad.
Computer to Android: Download these files to your computer, connect your device to your computer using a cable connector, and copy the files to your Android's storage.
iPad or iPhone App: There are also some free apps on the app store for downloading files to your iPad. These apps are always changing so we cannot guarantee that they will work. Here's one you could try: "Documents by Readdle.” You can use this app to visit our website, download the files, read the text files and listen to the audio files. "Documents by Readdle" is one of many apps that do this.
Android App: There are also some free apps on the Google Play Store for downloading files to your Android. These apps are always changing so we cannot guarantee that they will work. You could try "Download Manager" or "AndroZip."
What did you think of today's lesson? Let us know in the comments below.