I received a question at today’s 1D1U Camp SHS (Sunday Hitomi Service) and I’d like to share part of it with you.
Q: I would be happy if you could share some tips on how to balance increasing your tasks (increasing the load?) while maintaining some margin in your life!
When I first took an English lesson, I started at level 4, which is about lower-intermediate. At first, even though I could understand the textbook content, the English wouldn’t stick in my head. I would read the textbook but then immediately forget it. I couldn’t understand why and really wanted to improve this. However, I decided to just continue attending the lessons without increasing the burden, focusing instead on doing even a little bit of pre-study and review, the basics of basics. As I continued attending lessons, gradually the English started to stick in my head. By the time I reached level 5, I went to London for a two-week study trip at age 39. I thought I had begun to understand a bit, but I ended up crying at Heathrow Airport.
Strangely, I managed to pass the written test and was placed in an intermediate class, but I couldn’t keep up at all and returned home defeated (laugh). Rather, I understood my weakness: I needed to improve my listening skills. That’s when I learned about shadowing.
Afterwards, through voice training, I began singing in English, and by assigning katakana to English words, I started to understand why I hadn’t been able to hear certain sounds. Eventually, I decided to take the Spartan “Callan Method” English lessons. It was so tough I cried, but I continued the lessons daily for about two years and climbed from Stage 1 to 8. I think I am pretty tough (laugh).
At one point, due to allergic rhinitis, I had to take a break from the lessons for two years, but when I resumed at a different school, I started back from Stage 5 and found the learning progressed more smoothly than before. After daily lessons for a year and a half, I completed all 12 stages of the Callan Method, and even finished the Business Callan. Now I truly have an English ear! I was amazed that such a day had come for me.
Continuously, I manage a variety of activities, including both online and offline English conversation lessons, and creating newsletters.
Since last year, I write newsletters in Japanese, which ChatGPT translates into English for me to check during lessons.
Compared to DeepL, ChatGPT hardly makes any mistakes! Sometimes it even phrases things better than my Japanese. My goal is more about having discussions with the teacher based on the English newsletters, rather than creating English compositions, so by fully utilizing GPT, my goals are more easily achieved.
When I decide to increase my load, it feels like a sudden whim. But the most important thing for continuation is not to make it too burdensome. When I do increase the load, it’s tough for a while, but I never cut back on my habits of meditation and exercise; in fact, exercise takes higher priority.
Because my priorities are clear, increasing the load doesn’t lead to dissatisfaction.
To create margin, I utilize technology like GPT. Also, it’s clear what I choose not to do. Regarding English, I don’t write compositions (laugh).
There was a time I didn’t use DeepL, and I would spend about five hours on English compositions. Writing newsletters in Japanese was also a struggle. One day I realized that when I write in English by myself, I can only use the vocabulary and grammar I know. It might be better to use technology, as it exposes me to unknown words and sentence structures. That realization became more important. After starting to use DeepL, it became much easier, and I could write in about three hours. This creates two hours of margin for me.
To continue, it’s crucial not to overburden yourself. However, more often than not, aren't we neglecting the basic preparation and review? If you solidly perform the basic tasks, you’ll improve faster. Then, suddenly one day, you can handle an increased load. Once you increase the load, then you think about how to make other areas simpler. It’s always a repetition of this process. Separately, maintaining your foundation of meditation and exercise is a must.
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