M E M B E R S O N LY

A U G UST
08
YOU’RE NEVER FULLY
PREPARED UNTIL YOU IMMERSE
YOURSELF IN LANGUAGE
 Welcome back!

In the previous Inner Circle lessons, you

learned about the importance of
preparation in language learning. And you
got to know about some effective tools,
Custom Lists and the Innovative Language

You’re never fully

101 App, which you have free access to.

This time, we’re going in the complete

prepared until you get

opposite direction. We’re exploring one
undeniable fact of language learning that
you can use to your advantage:

in the game and You’re never fully prepared until you get
in the game and immerse yourself.

immerse yourself. And this is something I experienced

first-hand during my trip to Italy this
month.

Most learners fail at languages because of

this fact. They prepare, study, take lessons
and study some more. Then, when they’re
faced with the language in real life, they
realize it’s spoken a lot faster, there’s a ton
of words they’ve never encountered...and
they’re simply unprepared.
 Smarter learners use this fact to their advantage.
How? This is what we talk about in this month’s Inner Circle. We’ll cover the
three main points below, based on my experience in Italy. You’ll learn...

1 2 3
Why You’re Never Fully How You Can Take How You Can Do So With
Prepared Until You Get Advantage Of This Fact The Premium Custom
Into The Game And Succeed Lists App
So, let me give you a rundown
of my family trip to Italy
AND EXPLAIN HOW THE FIRST POINT CAME UP....

AEROPORTO CAGLIARI
 Why You’re Never Fully Prepared Until You Get
Into The Game And Immerse Yourself

Prior to the trip, I prepared with my people, lots of speaking styles, lots of path, was the perfect example of why
opinions, lots of words I’ve never heard you’ll never be totally prepared.
Skype tutor, my in-person tutor and before...and they were all coming at me In the town I stayed in, there weren’t
used ItalianPod101 and Custom Lists. with rapid-fire speed. And they all any modern supermarkets. Just small
confused me very rapidly too! mom and pop shops, bakeries, butchers
I made sure I knew the necessary Italian and vegetable stores.
Survival Phrases. In short, like any other The first half of the vacation took place
language learner visiting a certain in Sardinia, an island off the west coast For example, when you’re buying bread
country, I was on a study spree. of Italy. Not exactly a tourist hot-spot at a bakery, you’re dealing with an older
like Venice or Rome. Not a lot of shopkeeper who has a completely
...And it all helped at some point. English. And not many tourist-friendly different speaking style than standard
stores. We did a house-swap at Italian. Then, the buying process was
However, once my family and I landed HomeExchange.com and traded homes different! You have to order by grams!
at Cagliari Airport in Sardinia, Italy, with an Italian family. You need to know the weight! It was
I realized that despite my preparations, similar to buying meat at the butcher
there were things I simply could not The goal was to live like locals for the shop. At the bakery they would cut the
anticipate and prepare for until first half in Sardinia, and then enjoy the bread, weigh it and bag it for you. I
I was there. touristy Rome, Venice and Florence for know the word for “bread” and how to
the second half the trip. buy things in general. You walk in, take
The Italians there spoke faster than what you want, pay and leave. This, I
my Italian tutors. There were lots of Sardinia, being off the beaten tourist had no clue about.
A typical Italian Phrasebook with at restaurants in Italian and got to use because I asked my tutor about it later.
what I already knew. It was a word for the “plastic bag you
phrases like “I’d like that please” buy to put your groceries in.”
would not work. It won’t account for But there was still one thing tripping me I know the Italian words for “bag,”
cultural differences, especially in up. It has to do with the evolution of “groceries,” “put,” and “buy”.
non-tourist spots. language.
But this word was new.
Big cities in Italy are becoming very
In fact, my own Italian tutors didn’t
eco-friendly. And with the eco Again, something that you can’t prepare
prepare me for this. This is so ordinary
movement comes a whole set of for until you immerse yourself.
to them that they hadn’t even
vocabulary that is not in textbooks.
thought of it.
Finally, there’s just the simple fact that
The perfect example of this happened for you, as a learner, there’s always a
A second example of why you can’t be
at a supermarket in Rome. The cashier new word or grammar that you won’t
prepared is because of the evolution
asked me if I wanted to buy something be prepared for. This isn’t a good or a
of language. Simply, language changes
and I had no idea what they were bad thing. It’s just a reality of language
with the times. Phrases from the 50s
talking about. learning. So, you shouldn’t wait until
aren’t used nowadays.
you’re perfect, but learn it on the fly
As it turns out, you have to pay for when you hear it.
So, after the first week in Sardinia, we
plastic grocery bags. So they actually
spent some time in Rome, Florence
asked me a word that I never Let’s get to the second point
and Venice. I had an easier time
encountered that is specific to Rome,
checking into hotels and ordering
 You know you can’t be fully prepared. So, how can you
take advantage of this fact and succeed?

Accept that you’re never going to be a piece of pizza, I asked the shop owner And you probably won’t commit as
for sex. Yes. I accidentally propositioned severe language butchery as I did.
fully prepared. an honest pizza worker by mistake. This
is easy for you to read but very hard for However, making mistakes is the fastest
Most language learners do not.
me to remember. Luckily, he knew I way to improve. And if you can keep
was making a mistake and corrected going, improving on the fly is crucial to
They study and hold off real-life
me and I did it right. serious progress.
conversation so they can reach
perfection. They’re afraid of making
It took me a little while to get my This is where preparation can’t and
mistakes. But the irony is that they
confidence back after that mess-up, won’t help.
won’t reach perfection, and they’re
but you can bet I won’t be making that
putting off valuable practice that will
mistake again. So, being open to mistakes and learning
help them immensely.
from them sounds good, right? But it’s
And here’s the golden rule: Making common advice that nobody takes. And
And if they make one mistake, they’ll
mistakes is the fastest way to improve. you’re probably wondering (and rightly
clam up and avoid speaking again.
You instantly know what you’re doing so): how do I follow this advice in real
wrong and can get instant feedback. life?
Let me share an experience from Italy.

Propositioning a pizza worker was a Is there a step-by-step process?

I made a very big mistake at a pizza
harsh mistake. Tough to recover from. Let’s get to the third point
shop in Florence. Instead of asking for
Take advantage This was my go-to App during
my trip to Italy.
Here’s how my learning
process went:
of the Custom Every mistake that I made and every 1. I would go to the shop.

Lists App.
new word went right into the Custom 2. I would say a phrase I learned
Lists App and I would create my own beforehand. This would be in one
lists and add my own words. of my Custom Lists.
3. I would mess up.
What would happen was that the first 4. The nice people would correct it.
time I went to a shop or a restaurant, it And if they gave me a funny look,
often didn’t go smoothly. Then I’d make I’d ask for a correction.
my list with corrections. And then, 5. I would quickly add it or correct my
before I went back to the shop, I’d current Custom Lists entries.
review the correct phrases.
The proper way to buy bread?
Also, after going to the shop a few I noted it down in my Custom Lists App.
times, they would allow me to take
pictures. And I would take a picture of The proper way to buy pizza?
something I didn’t know, ask them Noted it down in my Custom Lists App.
how to say it, and add what they said
to my list. The plastic grocery bag I had to buy?
I noted that down as well.
As a Premium member, you
already have access to this
Open up Custom Lists at customlists.innovativelanguage.com on your
1 computer or smartphone.
exclusive App. So, if you
haven’t taken advantage of Create a list based on a theme or topic you’re interested in or that you need
2 for real life such as shopping or ordering at restaurants. Things that you do
Custom Lists, do so now. on a regular basis, like I did in Italy.

3 Keep updating your lists with every new phrase and word you come across.

4 Share your Custom Lists with other users.

And Custom Lists will help you note Create your own Custom Word Lists
down and improve every mistake with your own images and audio
you’ll ever make. It’s a great tool for pronunciation and review anywhere,
Quattro Formaggi preparation and, since you can’t always anytime, on any device. Remember, you
Four Cheese fully be prepared, for adding new can also take advantage of other users’
abbreviation
vocabulary and learning from your lists by searching for themes and
type of pizza with mistakes on the fly. keywords!
four cheeses

When you come across a new word or

phrase, add it!
And don’t forget your monthly goal
for September. I want to hear about
your next goal. Remember to keep it

My monthly goal was

specific, realistic and measurable and
have a deadline.

on a bit of a vacation
My monthly goal was on a bit of a
vacation due to the Italy trip, but that
doesn’t mean my Italian was on a

but that doesn’t

break! I’ll be aiming for 30 minutes’
pure Italian conversation next.

mean my Italian was

I’d also like to know how you’re
using Custom Lists to your
advantage. If you haven’t done so

on a break.
yet, access the App for free and let
me know if it helps you!

Send me an email at:

inner.circle@innovativelanguage.com.

To your fluency, SESSO!

Peter Galante
Founder, InnovativeLanguage.com