probably were taught with a lot of listen and repeat drills. You know, when
the teacher would say, “Repeat after me. Hi, how are you?” And everyone in
the class would say in unison, “Hi, how are you?” Then the teacher would
continue, “I’m fine, and you?” Then all of the class together said, “I’m fine,
and you?” This is listen and repeat. It’s an old way to learn English. But, it’s
not powerful.
Why? When you listen and repeat, you don’t need to think in English. You
don’t need to think at all. You just repeat what the teacher said. You don’t
even need to understand what you are saying, but still you repeat. It’s a
mindless exercise with little benefit.
Now sometimes, after you’ve gotten used to listening and repeating in one
of these traditional classes, the teacher will start asking you questions so you
can answer with some of the responses you’ve learned. For example, instead
of having you repeat, she’ll ask: “How are you?” You’ll say, “I’m fine, and
you?” This is a bit better, since you’re at least answering questions and not
just repeating phrases you may or may not understand.
The problem is, these are scripted answers. When the teacher asks, “How
are you?” you always say, “I’m fine, and you?” You already know what the
teacher is going to say and you already know what you are going to say. Yet,
real conversations are unpredictable. You never know what is coming next.
You have to be ready for anything. Listen-and-answer stories are much more
powerful.
Perhaps the first question we should ask is, “Why stories?” In Rule Five, I
taught you about point-of-view stories. In Rule Six, I encouraged you to read
and listen to authentic materials, especially stories. Now I’m telling you the
key to automatic English is listen-and-answer stories.
Stories are incredibly powerful, because they are an ideal way to deliver
information to the brain. Human beings have used stories to teach and learn
for thousands of years, since well before the invention of writing. What
makes them powerful?
Stories are emotional. We love the heroes and hate the villains, and that’s
important because emotions create stronger memories. This is why religions
