Kick Off Seminar

I woke up way earlier than usual this morning. I did so because I had a corporate seminar starting at 9:30 a.m. It took place in Toyosu in Koto City (or Ward), Tokyo.

Today's seminar was the first of a series of seven seminars that stretch over a course of nine months. Sixteen participants showed up. For those who couldn't physically be there, but who are participants in this program the seminar was video recorded for them to watch it later on. A few of those present were repeaters. Although the first seminar, also known as the Kick-Off Seminar, was mainly designed for those who were new to the notion of English training, there was a benefit for those repeaters also. Essential principles for improving your English proficiency couldn't possibly be emphasized enough. No matter how often you listen to them, you forget them as time goes by. So the seminar should have been valuable for those listened to it for the second time. But since no one wants to see the same old material, I introduced a new material to them so that they would be able to learn the essential with a fresh mind.

Today's seminar consisted of three parts:

1) Route map for achieving one's goal

2) How to make English training your daily routine

3) Setting daily, weekly, and long-term goals 

1) Route map for achieving one's goal

The first part of the seminar, which is THE most important part, is about showing the learners the meaning of different TOEIC scores, what the main stumbling block is at the level represented by each score, and how to overcome it. Participants loved it, especially those who listened to me for the first time. The lecture of this segment was originally designed by my boss who is the most logical person that I've ever met in my life. His reasoning is as sharp as a knife. There are a number of important point to be made during the lecture, and each point is effectively coupled with some activities that allow the learners to realize what they can, and cannot do. Activities are sometimes conducted in order to allow them to compare their comprehension or performance before and after the activities. This allows them to appreciate the benefit of the activities. They are like, "Before I did this, I didn't have a clue what they were saying. But now I do, thanks to what I just did. I see the benefit. I'd love to keep on doing it!" 

2) How to make English training your daily routine

Just because you know the essentials for improving your English doesn't mean you can improve it easily. Unless you do it, and do it regularly, you're not going to change. Therefore you must make it a habit. And if you want to make something a habit, you need a tool. And you need a very good tool. In this program, we provide the participants a textbook and some other related materials. I showed them how to use them, as well as how to make a 30-minute self-training session their daily habit, including some useful mindsets that work for first-timers.

3) Setting daily, weekly, and long-term goals 

The last part of the seminar is planning. A day without a plan is like journey without direction. You ain't go nowhere. A business without a plan is like a car without a steering wheel. It's dangerous. So based on what they learned in the first and second segment, they made plans that made sense to them in terms of how busy they were on a weekly basis.

Although I would like to have had all of the participants stand up and announce their individual goal in front of everyone, I ran out of time and had to hand the microphone over to my co-worker who explained to them some important requirements to complete the course. They all took notes seriously as they listened to her. 

After the seminar was over, I exchanged a few words with the head of this project. He took the seminar for the second time. He said the seminar re-enforced what he had learned in the previous program. I was glad to hear it. He was one of a good number of people who joined the first program and showed significant improvement. That this second program was launched is because the first one proved effective. I feel pleased. But I'm not satisfied. My goal is to achieve even better results this time. It's a long journey over a course of nine months. But I have a map. Using that map, I am going to navigate the nine-month journey across the vast sea of English language learning.