Download the Text (.pdf) - Effortless English

t tWhy You Need an English CoachA Coach, Not a Teacher,Is the AnswerGet AudioClick HereNow, in most of theworld this sport iscalled football, but inthe Untied States we call it soccerbecause Americans like to be differentI guess and, also, football isa completely sport in the UnitedStates. Anyway, I’ll call it footballand I’ll call it soccer in today’sissue. So let’s think about this.by AJ HogeIn schools, in the traditional wayof learning in schools, we haveteachers and we have students,right? So what do teachers do ina school, traditionally, normally?Well, normally what teachers dois they lecture, first of all. Theylecture, meaning they stand infront of a classroom and they talkabout information and sometimesthey write notes and informationon the board, on the whiteboardor on the blackboard. This iscalled lecturing.Typically, teachers teachformulas, rules, things to bememorized; facts, right? Thisis the normal way, the old wayreally, but it’s still the normalway of teaching. That’s whatteachers do. Number one, theystand in front of a classroom andthey lecture. They talk and theytalk and they talk to the studentsand the students sit there andlisten, listen, listen. Numbertwo, the teacher typically teachesformulas and facts, formulas andfacts and they write these formulasand facts on the board for thestudents, of course, to memorize.What’s another thing thatteachers typically do, normallydo? Well, teachers normally givetests. Every week or every twoweeks, depends on the teacher,depends on the school, but thereare usually a lot of quizzes and alot of tests. So the teacher lectures,speaks about, a lot of factsand formulas. Then, later, theteacher tests the students to seeif they have remembered thesefacts and these formulas andthen, finally, at the end of theclass or the end of the course theteacher gives grades. The teachergrades each student. If you didvery well on the test you get anA and if you did less well you at tEffortl ss ENGLISH newsletter 2Contents copyright Effortless English LLC © 2012

t tAnother thing that a playerfocuses on, their ultimate jobis to totally master those fundamentalskills. Not to memorizethem, not to remember themand then take a test and thenforget, which is what studentsoften do, no. A great player, agreat soccer player, a great footballplayer, they will mastera skill totally and they will keepthat mastery. They don’t wantto lose it. They don’t want to forgetit, so they keep focusing onimproving, improving, improvinguntil they become masters of thefundamental skills.Here’s another very importantpoint. Players play with otherpeople. They play with other players.They play with their coaches.They play with others. See, thisdoes not happen very much inschools, right? In schools everyoneis at their own little desk andif you help someone else that’scalled cheating, especially if it’s atest, but in a football game, a soccergame, if you help your otherplayer on your team that’s calledteamwork and that’s what youwant. If you’re in a practice andyou help another player get better,well that makes you also a leader.That makes you a great player onyour team.So in sports it’s great to helpother people on your team. Youwant to help other people, but ina classroom it’s totally the opposite,right? The schools discouragethat. They don’t want you to helpThere’s such a big difference between the waysschools do things and the way sports do things.In schools students just memorize and takenotes, but in sport players practice.other students. It’s a competitionbetween each member of theclass. Everyone is a little lonelyindividual. That’s not how the realworld works, you play with others.Most importantly, in schoolstudents memorize and study,but in sports players do. They do.They take action. They’re doingthe skills all the time. They’re notlearning about them. They’re notwriting down and memorizingfacts about football. No, they’reactually playing football, practicingthe skills. They’re doing footballall the time.Can you see how importantthis is, this metaphor, the differencebetween the way sports arelearned and practiced and playedand the way academic schoolsubjects are? So you do not, donot, do not want to learn Englishin the way they taught you inschool. You don’t want to be astudent anymore. You don’t wantto be an English student. Youwant to be an English player.That’s why I often describe myselfas an English coach or an Englishmanager or an English leader.I think of myself as a leader ora coach, not as a teacher. I don’twant to teach you formulas andfacts. I’m certainly not going togive you a test and I’m not goingto grade you. My job is to demonstrateskills by giving you lots ofEnglish input and to train you andpush you, for example with ourmini-story lessons and our otherlessons. Train you so you canpractice these things at home.My job also is to motivate youand inspire you. That’s why Ifrequently talk about motivationaltopics, inspiring topics. That’swhy in our VIP Program everymonth I teach about the topicsof success, motivation and leadership,because I am not a teacher.I am a leader and a coach. I’man English leader. I’m an Englishcoach and I want you to be anEnglish player. Be an Englishplayer, don’t be an English studentanymore. Not a passiveEnglish student, be an Englishplayer. Don’t study English,practice it. Don’t memorize,t tEffortl ss ENGLISH newsletter 6Contents copyright Effortless English LLC © 2012