CASTLETON, VIRGINIA – When was the last time you saw an advertisement for broccoli?
Maybe in a magazine…?
On the side of the road…?
On TV…?
I can’t even remember the last time a broccoli salesman called me during dinner.
My guess is it’s too hard to sell, so why try?
But it’s good for you, right?.
There’s fiber and vitamins and protein inside.
And people need that.
There’s just one problem.
Broccoli taste like broccoli.
So why am I talking about broccoli?
Because I sell broccoli.
While the other kids in the Better English Universe want to give you bags of Cheetos, slices of pepperoni pizza, and nature bars with 32 grams of sugar and 25 unpronounceable ingredients inside, I’ve got what you need.
The vitamin-packed truth, such as:
“You want to get better at another language? Listen and read, listen and read.”
-Dr. Stephen Krashen, linguist professor at the University of Southern California
But let’s be real for a moment.
Who really eats broccoli?
Like I said, it tastes like broccoli.
Here’s what I do:
I don’t eat it plain.
I add some of this stuff:
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear says, “The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.”
And that’s what you should do with your daily English.
Make it attractive.
For me, that’s adding Tabasco Sauce to my veggies.
What’s your Tabasco Sauce?
On the Joy Scale (which I just invented), from 1 to 10, make sure everything you do in English is at least a seven.
Higher is better.