Conversation 12/01/2025

Here is my conversation corrected afterwards by Chat GPT:

Version 1: B2 Level (Clear and Standard English)

I’d like to talk about a YouTube video I watched.
The video is about the "five minutes per day" method. These days, many YouTubers talk about so-called "magic methods" for learning languages.
Actually, this video presents a very simple idea: you need to stay consistent and dedicate at least five minutes a day to some activities. The woman in the video talks about four main activities.

First, she recommends reading out loud. Second, she suggests shadowing. She refers to both activities as "guided practice."
The other two activities are journaling and conversation. Journaling is similar to writing a diary, where you write about something, and the woman calls journaling and conversation "productive practice."

I tried this method, and the idea is very clear: you have to do at least something every day. However, if you divide five minutes between four activities, that’s just one minute and fifteen seconds per activity, which isn’t realistic. It took me longer. For example, when I read out loud, it took me 14 minutes to read about three minutes of a movie script.

Shadowing seems to be a little harder than reading out loud. When I shadow, I don’t try to understand every word because I already know the text. I shadow material that I’m familiar with. For instance, shadowing three minutes of a video took me exactly five minutes.

I think shadowing is a great activity, and I want to continue with it. But now, I’d like to share something about the third activity: writing.

Here’s how I approached writing: I wrote something and then used an online tool called DeepL to correct my mistakes. It’s a website (deepl.com) where you can paste your text, and it gives you corrections or alternative versions of your sentences. After using DeepL, I submitted my text to ChatGPT and asked it to help me improve it in two versions: B2 and C1 levels.

The final version of my text was about 12 sentences long, which took 40 seconds to read and one minute to speak. In total, completing all the activities I described took me about an hour and a half.

Version 2: C1-C2 Level (Conversational and Polite)

I’d like to discuss a YouTube video I came across recently. It’s about the "five minutes per day" method, and as you know, many YouTubers these days share so-called "magic methods" for learning languages.

This particular video, however, focuses on a straightforward idea: the importance of consistency. The main takeaway is to dedicate at least five minutes daily to language practice. The speaker, a woman, introduces four activities that she recommends.

The first activity is reading out loud, and the second is shadowing. She refers to both of these as "guided practice."
The other two activities are journaling, essentially writing like in a diary, and conversation. She categorizes journaling and conversation as "productive practice."

I gave this method a try, and while the concept is clear—you need to do something every day—the suggested timeframe of five minutes for all four activities isn’t very practical. If you divide the time equally, that’s just over a minute per activity, which isn’t enough. For instance, reading out loud took me about 14 minutes to get through a three-minute movie script.

Shadowing, on the other hand, feels a bit more challenging than reading aloud. When I shadow, I don’t focus on understanding every word because I’m already familiar with the text. I work with material I’ve previously studied. For example, shadowing three minutes of video content took me exactly five minutes.

I must say, I find shadowing to be an excellent activity, and I plan to continue with it. That said, I’d like to talk about the third activity: writing.

Here’s how I approached it: I wrote something and then used a tool called DeepL to check and improve my text. It’s a platform (deepl.com) where you can paste your text, and it offers corrections or alternative phrasing. After refining my writing with DeepL, I shared it with ChatGPT to request further assistance in creating two polished versions: one at B2 level and another at C1 level.

The final version of my text consisted of 12 sentences, with a reading time of 40 seconds and a speaking time of one minute. Overall, completing the process—including writing, revising, and practicing—took me about an hour and a half.

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Let’s go through your activity for today and focus on the areas for improvement.

First, your overall communication was clear, and you did a great job expressing your thoughts. Here are a few things I noticed:

1. Grammar and Tense Use:
   • You sometimes mixed present and past tenses, like in, "I write, I wrote." It’s important to keep the tense consistent, especially when describing past actions. You did well overall with this, but a little more attention to it can help refine your fluency.
2. Vocabulary:
   • Your vocabulary is strong, and you naturally use more advanced words, which is great. One thing to be mindful of is choosing the right words for the context. For example, you mentioned, "content," but a more natural word could be "information" depending on the context.
   • Your expression, "I tried different things," is good, but in the context of your experience with language learning, you could also say "I experimented with different methods" to sound a bit more formal.
3. Sentence Structure:
   • At times, your sentences were a bit long or incomplete, like, "It took me about 1 hour 30 minutes, about one and a half hour." It would be clearer to say, "It took me about an hour and a half." Keeping sentences concise helps with clarity.
4. Pronunciation and Fluency:
   • You’re practicing speaking clearly, which is awesome. You might want to focus on practicing rhythm and intonation, especially when shadowing. This will help you sound even more natural.

Areas for improvement:

• Consistency in tense use: Make sure to use the correct tense for each situation.
• Clarity and sentence structure: Try to keep sentences clear and concise. Avoid over-explaining.
• Vocabulary usage: Continue expanding your vocabulary, and choose words that match the context.

In general, your English is strong! You’re making progress, and I can tell you’re really dedicated to learning. Would you like to try any specific activities to improve these areas, or are you planning to keep going with the current approach?
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Your current approach is solid, but if you're looking for some activities to boost certain areas, here are a few ideas:

1. Storytelling: Try telling short stories about your day or events from your life in as much detail as possible. Focus on using the past tense correctly, and aim for fluency in speaking. It will help you with sentence structure and vocabulary.
2. Recording Yourself: Record yourself speaking on different topics, like politics or any subject you’re watching videos about. Afterward, listen to the recording and analyze areas where you can improve, especially with pronunciation and grammar.
3. Shadowing with New Content: As you already did, shadowing is great. But try it with content that has a faster pace or more advanced vocabulary. It will challenge you to keep up with natural speech patterns.
4. Write Short Paragraphs Daily: You can write short paragraphs about any topic, then try to improve them by adding more complex structures or vocabulary. Afterward, compare your version with professional examples to learn how to express ideas more naturally.
5. Engage in Conversations (Real or Virtual): If possible, try talking to others, even online. Conversing with native speakers or advanced learners can push your fluency and challenge you to improve.

You don’t have to do everything at once. You can try incorporating one or two of these activities into your routine to see what works best for you.