| Hey everyone, welcome to the Monthly Review! |
| The monthly show on language learning. |
| Where you discover new learning strategies, motivational tips, study tools, and resources. |
| By the way, all the lessons and bonuses you’re about to see can be downloaded for free on our website. |
| So, click the link in the description right now to sign up for your free lifetime account. |
| Okay, today’s topic is: |
| The Power of Textbooks &Digital Detox |
| In this digital age where we’re all using apps and smartphones to learn languages, you might not think of a textbook as the first resource to turn to, right? But, if you’re avoiding textbooks, then you’re missing out on some powerful language learning benefits. So, today, you’ll learn: |
| - Why Textbooks Are Still a Powerful Resource in the Digital Age |
| - Why Some (but not all) Digital Resources Might Hurt Your Ability to Learn, |
| - and How to do a Digital Detox and Learn Off-screen with our Program |
| And, we’re giving away a brand new conversation cheat sheet, so keep watching. |
| But first, here are this month’s new lessons and resources. Be sure to download these now before we take them down in a few days. |
| First — The “Getting Sick” Conversation Cheat Sheet |
| Are you able to describe your symptoms in your target language? If not, download our new conversation sheet... and learn must-know words and phrases for the doctor. |
| Second — The “Language Learning StarterPack” PDF eBook |
| If you’re new to the language, do you know what words to learn first? With this eBook, you get over 70 basic words and phrases that beginners need to know. Start with these words first. |
| Download it right now! |
| Third — Can you talk about economics in your target language? |
| Learn how to say ”profit,” ”demand,” ”taxes,” and much more, with this quick vocab bonus. |
| Fourth - 30 Must-Know Opposite Nouns |
| Learn how to say “day and night,” “question and answer” and much more. You’ll pick up more than 30 words with this vocab bonus. |
| To get your free resources, click the link in the description below right now. They’re yours to keep forever. Ok, let’s jump in to today’s topic: |
| The Power of Textbooks &Digital Detox |
| You probably have some language learning apps on your phone, right? But do you have any textbooks? |
| Let us know in the comment section. |
| Digital resources like apps and physical resources like books have their pros and cons. |
| But, if you’re learning with digital resources only, you might be missing out on some benefits that come with physical resources. |
| What are they? |
| First, a digital detox. |
| This is a basic one. A textbook gives you a break from the screen. You’re not sitting in front of so much blue light all day (which can have an impact on your sleep). That’s just for your overall health. |
| Second, the ability to focus and improve your focus. |
| Here’s a question for you...how long is your attention span? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? The thing is, attention and your ability to focus are crucial for learning and succeeding with any goal in life. |
| But if you’re learning on a device, you’ll get pop-ups and notifications. If you’re on YouTube, well, the algorithm will have you watching cat videos soon enough. These things are designed to keep you jumping from one thing to the next, and all of this hurts your attention span...and your ability to learn. With a book, It’s much easier to focus…and consistently learning with one can help improve your focus. |
| Third, if the book has a really good story to follow, it makes it more fun to learn. |
| This may not be something you can find in every textbook, but you can find it in textbook resources like bilingual storybooks. |
| Fourth: You get a clear path to follow. |
| Textbooks give you a linear path from page 1 to 100. |
| You know where to go next, how far you are from the end, and what you have left to learn. With an app, you’ll be forever swiping and not really knowing if you’re getting anywhere. |
| Fifth: Textbooks have gone through academic rigor. |
| Meaning they’ve been made by teachers or checked by teachers. So, you’re learning the correct forms, the correct language, and you can rely on it to be accurate. If you google for blogs about phrases to learn... there’s a chance the information is not completely accurate. |
| Sixth: Textbook lessons are curated and organized so that what you learn on page 1 helps you understand page 2 and so on. |
| It builds you up and teaches you crucial language skills that beginners need to know. Like, how to introduce yourself first, then how to grow that conversation. |
| As an added bonus, you can write in them. |
| What about the downsides of textbooks? |
| There are a few. The content gets old fast. Language always changes. There’s new slang. |
| So, that’s where digital lessons do well. |
| Also, books can get boring and overwhelming. An approach you can consider for a textbook is to put in a certain amount of time, say 20 or 30 minutes a day, and then walk away. So you’re not overwhelmed. |
| But by providing a digital detox, allowing us a framework for focus, offering reduced distractions, being easy-to-follow, and accurate, textbooks are powerful in a digital world. |
| So, should you go for a digital detox and get a textbook? If you can handle a bit of change to your routine, then why not? |
| If you’re worried about learning the same thing from two sources, don’t worry. Learning something like a grammar rule from multiple angles will only help you understand it better and reinforce your memory. |
| A book will give you a clear direction of where to go, what to learn, and challenge your mind in ways that digital lessons might not. |
| So, how do you do a digital detox and learn with our program? |
| First, you can print out our extensive reading books. |
| Extensive reading is a learning tactic where you read books that are appropriate for your level, and the goal is quantity over quality. You should read a lot and skip over the words you don’t know. To access these, just visit the lesson library to find our extensive reading books. |
| Second, download our PDF lesson notes and print them out. |
| The lesson notes give you the lesson in writing: the dialog, the vocab, grammar explanations, sample sentences, and cultural insights. |
| Find the Lesson Notes in every one of your Lessons. |
| Third, use our printable visual flashcards. |
| With these, you’ll learn over 1500 of the most common words. If you want the link to the visual flashcards, just leave a comment, and we’ll reply with it. |
| Fourth, you can also use our printable conversation cheat sheets. |
| With these, you’ll learn words and phrases for the most common conversation topics. If you want the link to our collection of cheat sheets, again - leave a comment and we’ll reply with it. |
| Remember, the ultimate goal here is to go for a digital detox, challenge your brain in a new way, and try new resources. |
| So, thank you for watching this episode of Monthly Review. Next time, we’ll talk about... |
| How to start conversations: Talking Points for Language Learners |
| If you enjoyed these tips, hit the “like” button, share the video with anyone who's trying to learn a language, and subscribe to our channel. We release new videos every week! |
| And, if you’re ready to finally learn a language the fast, fun and easy way and start speaking from your very first lesson, get our complete learning program. Sign up for your free lifetime account right now. Just click the link in the description. |
| See you next time! Bye! |
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