Lesson Transcript

Hey everyone, welcome to the Monthly Review!
The monthly show on language learning, where you discover new learning strategies, motivational tips, study tools, and resources.
By the way, all the lessons and bonuses you’re about to see can be downloaded for free on our website.
So, click the link in the description right now to sign up for your free lifetime account.
Okay, today’s topic is:
Are You Improving? How to Assess Your Language Skills
Have you ever wondered, “Am I actually getting better with my target language?” If you want to know how to see if you’ve improved or not, then keep watching. Today, you’ll learn:
Why Assessment Can Mean the Difference Between Fluency &Failure
How to Assess Your Language Skills, Even if You’re Learning on Your Own.
And Much More.
But first, listen up! Here are this month’s new lessons and resources.
First — The “Writing a Journal” Cheat Sheet
With this cheat sheet, you’ll be able to keep a diary in your target language, and talk about your day. Inside, you learn phrases for common daily activities - from morning to night.
Second — If you love travel, then you’ll love our brand new travel words and phrases PDF eBook. Learn all the must-know travel phrases with this ebook. Download it for free right now.
Third — Must-Know Words &Phrases for Your Resume
If you want to write your resume in your target language, then this next 1-minute lesson is for you.
Fourth — The Top 12 April Fools Phrases
Want to prank others AND speak more of your target language? Then you’ll want this April Fools phrase list.
Fifth — The Must-Know Vocab for Doing Laundry
If you need the language for practical situations, like doing laundry, then this 1-minute lesson is for you. You learn how to say washing machine, detergent, softener and much more.
To get your free resources, click the link in the description below right now. They’re yours to keep forever. Ok, let’s jump into today’s topic:
Are You Improving? How to Assess Your Language Skills
So, have you ever wondered, “Am I actually improving with my target language?”
If you feel like you’re not improving, that can hurt your motivation.
On the flip side, if you do notice yourself understanding more of the language than before, you feel good, and that can fuel your motivation to keep going.
But, it’s not easy to spot your improvement. It's tricky with language. It’s not like going to the gym, where you can see your muscles in the mirror.
So this is where assessment comes in.
What’s assessment?
The easiest example of assessment is a test. If you ever start a language class, you get a test on the first day. The goal of the assessment test is to see where your language is. And any test after that is a way to see how much you’ve improved… or ongoing assessment.
So, assessment is checking where you are or how far you’ve come with your language learning. You get to see where you’ve improved, and you get a reality check on what you need to work on.
If you’re serious about learning a language, it’s one of the best things you can do… to stay on track, stay motivated, correct your mistakes and reach fluency.
But assessing yourself is also hard if you’re learning on your own.
So, what can you do?
Here’s how you can assess your language skills, whether you’re learning with our program… or not.
Number one: If you’re a Premium PLUS user. Re-take the assessment test.
Technically, you can only take this once, but if you get in touch with our support team, we’ll give you the link.
If you’re using any other resource, find a way to test yourself. Look for practice tests. Apply for a proficiency test. Take online quizzes. Anything that forces you to test your language skills.
Number two:
Revisit old lessons.
An easier way to self-assess your language level is to revisit old lessons. You can do this with any program you’re learning with.
If you’ve truly made progress, then you should be able to understand the lesson dialogues with no problem. If not, then you know that you need to review them some more.
Number three: Try harder lessons. Also something you can do with any language resource.
If you’re using our program, try lessons from a higher level. If you’re a Lower Intermediate, try Upper Intermediate Lessons. If you don’t understand anything, that’s fine. But if you do, then that’s a good sign that you’ve improved and are ready for harder lessons.
Number four: For Reading, check out our extensive reading books.
These are available for all levels, from Absolute Beginner to Advanced. You can re-read old ones or try harder ones to see where you stand. You’ll find these books in our Lesson Library. This will help you assess our reading and comprehension skills.
Number five: For speaking, use our voice recording tool.
If you can easily repeat the lines from the conversation, that’s a good sign. Or, if you’re using any other program, try to shadow the provided conversations. If you can do it without a problem, then you’ve made progress and are ready to go to the next level.
Number six: For Writing, try and copy out our lesson dialogue by hand.
The point here is to see if you can write smoothly or not, as a way of assessing your writing. You can also do this with any textbook.
You can also take a picture of your writing, and then send it to your Premium PLUS teacher for feedback.
Number 7: Use our Premium PLUS assignments.
If you’re a Premium PLUS member, you can ask your teacher to send you weekly assignments based on your needs. Whether for reading, writing, speaking or listening.
And they will provide feedback so you can see where you are with each skill.
So, to recap:
One: Take our assessment Test
Two: Revisit Old Lessons
Three: Try Harder Lessons
Four: Use our Extensive Reading Books for Reading
Five: Use Our Voice Recording Tool
Six: Write Out Dialogs by Hand
And Seven: Take Advantage of our Assignments
Remember, the point of assessment is not to pass or fail, but to see where you’ve improved and where you need to work.
So, thank you for watching this episode of Monthly Review
Next time, we’ll talk about: The Easiest Way to Start Writing
If you enjoyed these tips, hit the “like” button, share the video with anyone who's trying to learn a language, and subscribe to our channel. We release new videos every week!
And, if you’re ready to finally learn language the fast, fun and easy way and start speaking from your very first lesson, get our complete learning program. Sign up for your free lifetime account right now. Click the link in the description.
See you next time! Bye!

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