You Need This If You Want to Speak Better English!
For those who are here for the first time, please read my previous post to understand more about brain training for English users.
Part 2
What I am going to share with you in this post is ONLY for those who are middle to advanced level English users. This simple and effective instructional activity, developed 12 years ago for my own students, I now offer to you, wherever you are in the world -and it's free. The more often you use it, the better it works.
I help those who don't want more classes or workbooks. It's for those of you who probably have jobs, families and responsibilities, or just don't want to study anymore. It’s your right to be able to use English for any purpose that will add value to your life. And the way to get yourself to a higher level of competency is through this short writing exercise.
Why writing? Because this activity offers the perfect conditions to allow self-correction skills to develop and most importantly, to improve the quality of your spoken English, all without pressure from anyone. This brain training activity:
does not require classes
does not require books
does not require a lot of time
The only requirement is....
I know that ESL users can actually correct 30 to 80% of their written mistakes by themselves, simply by waiting one day and following a few simple directions. Imagine if your English skills could improve simply by learning to do a simple brain training activity that helps you to remember the English you forgot you knew, and easily remember any new English you see and hear. Your success using this module depends on your willingness to carefully follow all directions and requirements.1 or 2 times per week is ideal. Like going to the gym, the more often you practice, the better it works. No one and no resource is allowed to help you.
The writing part is limited to just 3 to 5 complete sentences. Writing more is not useful. Quantity is not important. Quality is!
Do the exercise without distraction, in a quiet place if possible.
The activity is divided into 2 sections, and must be completed on separate days.
Let's begin!
Part 2
What I am going to share with you in this post is ONLY for those who are middle to advanced level English users. This simple and effective instructional activity, developed 12 years ago for my own students, I now offer to you, wherever you are in the world -and it's free. The more often you use it, the better it works.
I help those who don't want more classes or workbooks. It's for those of you who probably have jobs, families and responsibilities, or just don't want to study anymore. It’s your right to be able to use English for any purpose that will add value to your life. And the way to get yourself to a higher level of competency is through this short writing exercise.
Why writing? Because this activity offers the perfect conditions to allow self-correction skills to develop and most importantly, to improve the quality of your spoken English, all without pressure from anyone.
This brain training activity:
does not require classes
does not require books
does not require a lot of time
The only requirement is....
|
I know that ESL users can actually correct 30 to 80% of their written mistakes by themselves, simply by waiting one day and following a few simple directions. Imagine if your English skills could improve simply by learning to do a simple brain training activity that helps you to remember the English you forgot you knew, and easily remember any new English you see and hear.
Your success using this module depends on your willingness to carefully follow all directions and requirements.1 or 2 times per week is ideal. Like going to the gym, the more often you practice, the better it works. No one and no resource is allowed to help you.
The writing part is limited to just 3 to 5 complete sentences. Writing more is not useful. Quantity is not important. Quality is!
Do the exercise without distraction, in a quiet place if possible.
The activity is divided into 2 sections, and must be completed on separate days.
Do the exercise without distraction, in a quiet place if possible.
The activity is divided into 2 sections, and must be completed on separate days.
Let's begin!
~Write To Speak Brain Train Module~
DAY 1
STEP 1 (10 to 15 minutes)
Write 3 to 5 sentences on any topic that you might chat with a friend about, or to answer an imaginary question. Some examples:
Something funny that happened
What someone told you about anything
What you like, or dislike, about something
What you did yesterday, on the weekend, any time.
A vacation experience
Describe your neighborhood
Your opinion about something
Why you enjoy doing something
Why you enjoy or dislike shopping, travel, cooking, etc.Do not use a dictionary. Do not use a spell check program. Do not ask anyone.
STEP 2 (5 minutes or less)
When you have finished, look over what you have written and see if you can find (without help) any errors in basic grammar, such as verb tense, singular/plural, missing articles, general sentence structure, etc. Make the changes or corrections.
STEP 3
Save that page on your desktop or tablet, so that you can easily find it the next day. It is very important that you do nothing with this file until at least one day has passed.
DAY 2
Step 1: (5 to 10 minutes)
Open the file and imagine it is someone else’s writing, not yours. You have been asked to find mistakes, so instead of expecting it to be ok, you are actually looking for mistakes. In that way you are more likely to find the mistakes that you did not notice the first day. Make any corrections that you think are needed.
Step 2:
Now it’s time to read and listen. You read aloud. You listen. Why? Because you may hear something that doesn’t sound right, even though you didn't notice anything wrong when using your eyes. Correct it if you can, and if you can’t, just underline or highlight it. By noticing something is wrong, even without correcting it, you are still increasing your ability to notice what is wrong, which always comes before correction anyway, so you are half-way there!
When you are done, copy and paste your self-corrected paragraph below the original on the same page.
Step 3 Copy and paste your self-corrected version of the writing into any native English AI website, such as Copilot, Gemini or ChatGPT. First type your request. For example: “Please read and correct this paragraph, and explain any mistakes you find.” Ask for further explanations if needed. AI is quite good at explaining whatever you still didn’t get right after doing your self-correction. Make sure you understand completely.
Next, paste the AI corrected copy back onto your page, below the original and self-corrected copies. You should now have one original and two corrected versions of your writing.
Now carefully reread all 3 versions out loud, in 1 to 3 order. Listen to yourself. Last, create a desktop folder and date the writing page before putting it in the file folder. This will become useful in the future as it becomes one more tool your brain can use to reinforce error correction.
Congratulations! You have begun the process of training your brain. If you do this 2 or 3 times weekly, you should soon start to notice that you have stopped making many of those old mistakes. 
You may also start making new ones. Don't be discouraged, because this is a clear sign of progress!
DAY 1
STEP 1 (10 to 15 minutes)
Write 3 to 5 sentences on any topic that you might chat with a friend about, or to answer an imaginary question. Some examples:
Something funny that happened
What someone told you about anything
What you like, or dislike, about something
What you did yesterday, on the weekend, any time.
A vacation experience
Describe your neighborhood
Your opinion about something
Why you enjoy doing something
Why you enjoy or dislike shopping, travel, cooking, etc.
What someone told you about anything
What you like, or dislike, about something
What you did yesterday, on the weekend, any time.
A vacation experience
Describe your neighborhood
Your opinion about something
Why you enjoy doing something
Why you enjoy or dislike shopping, travel, cooking, etc.
Do not use a dictionary. Do not use a spell check program. Do not ask anyone.
STEP 2 (5 minutes or less)
When you have finished, look over what you have written and see if you can find (without help) any errors in basic grammar, such as verb tense, singular/plural, missing articles, general sentence structure, etc. Make the changes or corrections.
STEP 3
Save that page on your desktop or tablet, so that you can easily find it the next day. It is very important that you do nothing with this file until at least one day has passed.
DAY 2
Step 1: (5 to 10 minutes)
Open the file and imagine it is someone else’s writing, not yours. You have been asked to find mistakes, so instead of expecting it to be ok, you are actually looking for mistakes. In that way you are more likely to find the mistakes that you did not notice the first day. Make any corrections that you think are needed.
Step 2:
Now it’s time to read and listen. You read aloud. You listen. Why? Because you may hear something that doesn’t sound right, even though you didn't notice anything wrong when using your eyes. Correct it if you can, and if you can’t, just underline or highlight it. By noticing something is wrong, even without correcting it, you are still increasing your ability to notice what is wrong, which always comes before correction anyway, so you are half-way there!
When you are done, copy and paste your self-corrected paragraph below the original on the same page.
Step 3
Copy and paste your self-corrected version of the writing into any native English AI website, such as Copilot, Gemini or ChatGPT. First type your request. For example: “Please read and correct this paragraph, and explain any mistakes you find.” Ask for further explanations if needed. AI is quite good at explaining whatever you still didn’t get right after doing your self-correction. Make sure you understand completely.
Next, paste the AI corrected copy back onto your page, below the original and self-corrected copies. You should now have one original and two corrected versions of your writing.
Now carefully reread all 3 versions out loud, in 1 to 3 order. Listen to yourself.
Last, create a desktop folder and date the writing page before putting it in the file folder. This will become useful in the future as it becomes one more tool your brain can use to reinforce error correction.
Congratulations! You have begun the process of training your brain. If you do this 2 or 3 times weekly, you should soon start to notice that you have stopped making many of those old mistakes.
You may also start making new ones. Don't be discouraged, because this is a clear sign of progress!
‘Your Write To Speak’ Personal Coaching Course
For those who prefer a private, personalized and guided version of this training module. The module itself is exactly the same as the free version. In 2025 I am offering an ongoing 12 week/12 session course for a maximum of 6 subscribers at a time. Weekly personal live coaching via internet platforms such as Teams, Zoom, Skype. You may choose with or without camera. The fee for 3 months/12 sessions is US$450. In the twelve, 45 minute sessions you will receive the following:- Enjoyable review and discussion about the writing you have completed.
- Coaching focused on helping you to strengthen self-correction skills.
- Additional techniques and strategies when we are online.
- The opportunity to speak freely, allowing me to help you with pronunciation, accent reduction and vocabulary if requested.
- By recording our online sessions you will have a reference resource that you can listen to anytime.
NOTE: Course availability is subject to time zone and time/day compatibility. Wait/Standby listing available with small deposit.
To inquire please email: eslspecialist@ymail.com
Put '12 week course' in the subject line.
Please include your location and preferred session times.
See you next time!
For those who prefer a private, personalized and guided version of this training module. The module itself is exactly the same as the free version. In 2025 I am offering an ongoing 12 week/12 session course for a maximum of 6 subscribers at a time. Weekly personal live coaching via internet platforms such as Teams, Zoom, Skype. You may choose with or without camera. The fee for 3 months/12 sessions is US$450.
In the twelve, 45 minute sessions you will receive the following:
- Enjoyable review and discussion about the writing you have completed.
- Coaching focused on helping you to strengthen self-correction skills.
- Additional techniques and strategies when we are online.
- The opportunity to speak freely, allowing me to help you with pronunciation, accent reduction and vocabulary if requested.
- By recording our online sessions you will have a reference resource that you can listen to anytime.
NOTE: Course availability is subject to time zone and time/day compatibility. Wait/Standby listing available with small deposit.
To inquire please email: eslspecialist@ymail.com
Put '12 week course' in the subject line.
Please include your location and preferred session times.
Put '12 week course' in the subject line.
Please include your location and preferred session times.
Aaron
I'm Aaron Hurst. I’ve been an international educator for more than 30 years. I have learned a lot from my experiences in schools and online, teaching academic subjects and ESL, as well as business English for professionals. I have 2 degrees; one in Education, the other in English. I love to make my students happy, and I deeply believe in the value of lifelong learning. It’s why I decided to become a teacher in the first place.
How To Train Your Brain To Speak Better English © 2024 by R. Hurst is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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