Extensive listening – How to get better at the things you care about

Working hard but not improving? You're not alone. Eduardo Briceño reveals a simple way to think about getting better at the things you do, whether that's work, parenting or creative hobbies. And he shares some useful techniques so you can keep learning and always feel like you're moving forward.

Eduardo Briceño leads Mindset Works, which helps people develop as motivated and effective learners through training and resources to foster growth mindset beliefs and behaviors. He co-founded Mindset Works in 2007 with the foremost growth mindset researcher, Carol Dweck Ph.D., and education expert Lisa Blackwell Ph.D. Prior to his current role, Briceño was a Principal at the Sprout Group, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, where he was part of the technology investment team.

Briceño grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, before moving to the US when he was in high school. He now lives with his wife in San Jose, California. He holds Bachelor's degrees in economics and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA and an MAin Education from Stanford University. Most important, he continues to enjoy lifelong learning every day.

You can read a full transcript here.

Extensive listening: Are you a giver or a taker

In every workplace, there are three basic kinds of people: givers, takers and matchers. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant breaks down these personalities and offers simple strategies to promote a culture of generosity and keep self-serving employees from taking more than their share.

In his groundbreaking book Give and Take, top-rated Wharton professor Adam Grant upended decades of conventional motivational thinking with the thesis that giving unselfishly to colleagues or clients can lead to one’s own long-term success.

Grant’s research has led hundreds of advice seekers (and HR departments) to his doorstep, and it’s changing the way leaders view their workforces.

Grant’s new book Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World examines how unconventional thinkers overturn the status quo and champion game-changing ideas. 

You can read a full transcript of the talk here.

Extensive listening: The surprising habits of original thinkers

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world.

In The surprising habits of original thinkers, learn three unexpected habits of originals — including embracing failure. "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."

You can read the transcript here.

More people go with Visa

These are two short Visa ads that may have some inspirational effect on us.

Self-study activity:
Watch the ads and fill in the blanks in the transcript with the missing words. You may need more than one word in some of the blanks. The activity is suitable for Básico 2 students, although strong Básico 1 learners can give it a go.



A fresh (1) ... .
A (2) ... to go in a whole new direction.
So, will you?
Will you walk out the door and go left, (3) ... right?
Will you create a new (4) ... ?
Find a new favorite (5) ... ?
Do something you've always (6) ... to?
Will you go (7) ... while also giving back?
And will you (8) ... going, no matter what life (9) ... your way?
Well, (10) ... .
More people go with Visa.




When you wish, they fly just a little bit (1) ... .
[Third attempt at a new world record.]
When you (2) ... , they go just a little bit (3) ... .
[...was 22 years old, speed and momentum going down.]
When you (4) ... your breath, well, they can (5) ... be perfect.
[Perfect 10! The first time I've ever seen... ]
And when we come together, to (6) ... as one, we know what (7) ... .
[...in lane five, I don't know if he's gonna catch him.]
Visa. (8) ... sponsor of the Olympic games for 25 years. (9) ... our global (6) ... .


Key 1:
1 start 2 chance 3 instead of 4 recipe 5 song 6 wanted 7 forward 8 keep 9 throws 10 let's go

Key 2:
1 higher 2 scream 3 further 4 hold 5 even 6 cheer 7 happens 8 Proud 9 Join

Make it happen

This is a short motivational video by Danielle LaPorte, a popular motivational speaker and former news show commentator.

Just watch Danielle's video clip and let her ideas permeate you. I don't think you will have very many problems with comprehension, because the key ideas Danielle is trying to convey are shown on the video, but you have the transcript below if you wish to understand everything.

Danielle is a fast talker. Try to repeat some of the phrases she says at her speeed.



You wanna make it happen? Life is short, let's do this.
Your mantra of choice is this: I'll figure it out. You'll figure it out. You will figure it out.
You need to strike this from your vocabulary: I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. But I don't know what to do. You'll figure it out.
Remember this: everything you have ever done in your entire life, in the history of humanity, has brought you to this point. It's a whole lot of life force on your side. The first kiss, a blank page, white space.
A beginner's mind is an open mind, and an open mind innovates.
Respect your fear. It's part of the creative process and it keeps you alert.
What are you gonna give up to get where you wanna go?
Because you can't have it all. But you can always have and always do great things.
Balance? It's a myth. Tell us your dream.
When you declare it and share it, you're accountable and you're helpable.
Don't let perfection become procrastination.
Every masterpiece that's ever been done? It could've been better. Just launch and learn.
Everything is progress. The universe is always expanding and that includes you.
You wanna make it happen?
Do what you say you're gonna do. Do what you say you're going to do. Do what you say you're going to do.
Keep it pointed to where you want it to go.
Every day, today, now, do a little more of what you really wanna be doing and do a little less of what you don't want to do, until your ideal becomes what's real.
You can do this. You got this. You can make it happen. You wanna make it happen?

Impossible?

Impossible? What is impossible?

Lesson idea:
Discuss the quotes below. What ideas come to mind when you read them in hindsight?

• "Everything that can be invented has been invented." (Commissioner US Patent Office, 1899)
• "The telephone has too many short-comings to become a means of communication." (Executive from world’s leading telegraph company, 1876)
• "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." (IBM Chairman, 1943)
• "Guitar music is on the way out." (Record executive who rejected The Beatles, 1962)
• "10 meters in under 10 seconds? Not in our lifetime."
• "An Asian team will never reach the second round of the World Cup."

Watch this motivational video clip about great achievements in the history of sport and complete the blanks in    the transcript. The activity is suitable for Básico 2 students. The listening activity starts at 2.20.

Impossible?
What is impossible?
Was it impossible for the humble son of an Alabama cotton (1) ... to enter the politically charged arena of Berlin, win four gold medals, the (2) ... of the world and become the true message and lasting memory of the 1936 Olympics?
Was it impossible for a young girl who at the age of six was diagnosed with (3) ... polio, whose doctors told her she would require (4) ... braces for the rest of her life, to go on to win three gold medals in Rome?
Was it impossible for an athlete who one day decided to jump over the bar (5) ... instead of (6) ... , who was (7) ... at and booed at every track meet, to go on and win gold and revolutionize his sport in the process?
Was it impossible for a man who (8) ... qualified for the Olympic finals to take off into the thin air of Mexico City and land somewhere in the next century, (9) ... a world record that had hardly (10) ... over four decades by 55 centimeters?
Was it impossible that the first gymnast to (11) ... a perfect ten would also be the second to  (11) ... a perfect ten, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh at the age of 13?
Was it impossible for a (12) ... eighteen-year-old from Kentucky become heavyweight champion of the world only to be (13) ... of all his titles and his freedom because of his (14) ... , only to come back, stronger and faster than ever before to become the (15) ... of all time?
Was it impossible for a team of unknowns, immigrants’ sons, (16) ... and (17) ... in their own country to surprise the world’s very best, (18) ... from game to game, and go on to win the World Cup and the hearts of an entire nation?
Was it impossible for a simple (19) ... from a small town inspired by his passion for sport and athletes to (20) ... an entire industry and become the founder of the world’s largest and most innovative sports company?
It wasn’t. Don’t accept impossible. Adi didn’t. Athletes don’t. And… we’ll never will.

Key:
1 farmer 2 hearts 3 incurable 4 leg 5 backwards 6 forwards 7 laughed 8 barely 9 shattering 10 changed 11 score 12 skinny 13 stripped 14 beliefs 15 greatest 16 underestimated 17 doubted 18 grow 19 shoemaker 20 pioneer 

An appetite for learning

What skills do you have?
Can you drive, ride a bike, cook, skateboard, paint?
When did you start learning English?
How did you start learning any of the skills you have?
Did anyone teach you how to do any of the skills you have now?
Have you ever taught a skill to anyone?
Do you know anyone who is really skillful at doing something?
Why are they so good?

It would be a good idea that you answered the questions above with someone who speaks English, so that you can also practise your oral English while thinking about the topic of learning.

A few weeks ago Larry Ferlazzo published this video on his blog about the key factors to learn English or any other skill for that matter: Motivation, perseverance.

Watch the video and see if you can name all the activities the protagonist gets involved in. Have you tried any of them? Are you good at any of them?

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

On a different level, it is the same idea as NBA player Steve Nash is trying to convey in his famous video You gotta practice.

Watch the commercial and fill in the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.

Wow, good kick!
If you spend so many hours by yourself (1) ... ,a lot of stuff goes through your mind.
If it's you trying to incorporate everyone on the (2) ... in some way, whether you're trying to (3) ... half of them, or accentuate, you know, half of them, it makes the game a lot more fun.
It's such a creative (4) ... to try to encompass all those different moving (5) ...  .
Get the passion and the appreciation for the (6) ...   ... of soccer easily translated to basketball.
If you wanna be good, you gotta practice.

Key:

1 shooting 2 field 3 deceive 4 outlet 5 parts 6 finer points

Our motivation for learning

This is a presentation that Karenne Joy Sylvester gave at TESOL Spain this year and the she published on her blog Kalinago English a few weeks ago.

The presentation is primarily aimed at English teachers, but behind the thought-provoking slides and the huge visual impact of the pictures, there's food for thought for everybody regarding our motivation to learn and to do anything for that matter.

Motivational video: Your time is now

Watch this short motivational video that writer Katherine Center made for the States Conference for Women this year and fill in the blanks in the transcript with only one word.



This year is not last year. This year is different. Time has its way of (1) … forward, and changing everything in the process, changing everything including you. The things you know. The things you want. The things you can do. This year, you can do more than (2) … … these changes happen. You can remember all that life’s (3) … have taught you about being resilient, that a beautiful promise you can make to yourself. To rebound from anything that has (4) … you. To remember that it’s not what happens to you that matters, but who you become in (5) … . To leave the past in the past. To remind yourself every day how full of promise every minute is right now.

You must not forget all the ways that you are a leader or (6) … the things that you can do. It’s so easy to think that your (7) … don’t matter or that you are not so good as you’d like to be. It’s so easy to (8) … on the ways you let yourself down.

But this year is its own new year. You can choose to believe in yourself. You can look for beauty in everything. You can be (9) … of the purpose that you bring to every single thing that matters and the (10) … that comes from that purpose. What’s different now is that you are different. You are (11) … in all the ways that time makes us wise. You are braver in all the ways that life (12) … us to be brave. That’s what’s different about this year. The things experience has taught you. The way you know that opportunity is only there if you look for it, that believing in your own strength makes it real. And that the only way to make the most of your one (13) … life is to discover what you want, and go get it.

This is the information Wikipedia cites on Katherine Center:

You can watch more inspirational videos by Katherine on her webpage here.

Key:

1 rolling 2 just let 3 struggles 4 challenged 5 response 6 underestimate 7 strengths 8 focus 9 mindful 10 power 11 wiser 12 compels 13 precious

The Secret Ophra

Self-study  activity:
Watch this excerpt from an interview of Ophra Winfrey on CNN the Larry King show and answer the questions below.



1 What message does Ophra have for the world?
2 When did she do The Colour Purple?
3 How many auditions had Ophra done before The Colour Purple?
4 Why did Ophra go to the farm?
5 Whose phone call did Ophra get while she was on the farm?
6 When did Quincey Jones see Ophra for the first time? Where?


You can read the transcript here.

Key:
1 You are responsible for your life 2 1985 3 None 4 She was fat 5 Steven Spielberg 6 1984, Chicago

Raundy Pausch's legacy

Raundy Pausch is an American professor who passed away in 2008. He was in the limelight because of the bravery he showed when he was told about a terminal illness.

Self-study activity:
Watch the clip, which shows part of a speech at his university and some extracts of an interview on Good Morning, America, and answer the questions below.



1 What do people regret on their deathbed?
2 Where should the students find passion in life?
3 How old is Chloe?
4 How many children does Raundy have?
5 How old was Randy when he got married?

You can read the transcript here.

Key:
1 The things they haven’t done 2 In people and relationships 3 Two 4 Three 5 Thirty-nine