You Have to Write Every Day. ChatGPT Won’t Save You.

Most people only write when they have to. But if you’re trying to learn something, especially a language, writing will make your learning faster, richer, and more efficient. Writing plays a powerful role in how we think, learn, and remember. In this video, I’ll show you why and how to become an active writer. You’ll then learn how rewriting helps rewire your brain beyond surface-level understanding. Finally, I will share practical ways to use writing as a language learner, including journaling, rewriting with new vocabulary, and using writing to think about your own thinking. I also discuss why relying too heavily on AI tools can weaken this process instead of strengthening it. Every time you use ChatGPT or Gemini to write FOR you, your brain gets weaker. I’m sure you’ve already noticed that yourself. Please don’t sabotage yourself by using these tools for that purpose. https://www.engvid.com/want-to-learn-you-must-write/ Watch the whole *English Is Not What You Think* series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1MxVBsQo85qLby7rrLVVLNlWMLYoLjJZ In this lesson: 0:00 Writing is not what you think 1:57 Passive Writing vs. Active Writing 6:14 Can I get ChatGPT to write for me? 7:35 Writing shows your progress & mistakes 8:38 Writing lets you take your time 9:38 Follow the 10% rule. 11:19 Writing helps you organize your thoughts 12:42 Tip #1 13:20 Tip #2 14:03 Tip #3 15:08 Nata Juice Transcript: Hey, E, you're talking about writing. James from engVid. This is part of a four-part series I'm doing on communication, reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and this one is on writing, which is, funny enough, it's the least percentage that you do in communication. Let's face facts, you don't walk around writing everything down, right? I picked up this book because horror. I used to teach an English class where I had to do a lot of writing, and having to read what people would write was a horror show, right? Let's go to the board so you won't have someone making comments about you like this, right? So, as I said, E, we're doing writing, and we can see that it's only 10 to 15% of our communication. However, it's a very versatile and important part, and it shows, you might say, the evolution of people, because, well, our ancestors, I mean, way back when they were in caves, they used to draw, so that was sort of, writing. They would do pictures to give messages. So, something has been with us forever, but we weren't born with it. When we did it, we were able to communicate, to store information, and that's why we have planes, trains, and television, because as you write it down, you can give it to someone. Because before that, and you can still see in the world today, people who don't have a rich and deep language system that is written are living the same way we would have 10,000 years ago, because there's only so much information one person can pass to another, the importance of writing cannot be overlooked. You've got to look at it, because that's why you're watching me today, because somebody wrote something down about cameras, about television, electricity, and we can communicate this way. I don't need to be in your house, we can communicate. So, writing's important, and it's going to be even more important on your language journey to help you get faster to where you want to go. So, let's go to the board. Okay, so most people are passive writers. Yes, I know writing is an activity, right, versus reading. People also think that's passive, it's wrong. But they write because they have to, right? That's why it's 10%. They write because I've got to write an email to my boss, or I've got to text somebody, and that's as far as it really goes. They're not really into the writing process or what it can do for you, so they find it troublesome. I know if you're like me, nobody likes writing essays. Although writing the essay helps to get you to clarify your ideas and learn, people are like, "Oh, I've got to write an essay. I'd rather do a test where I don't have to write 10 or 15 pages or 100." But that writing is so important, and we'll come to it when I come to the board for something else, but for most people, writing is a passive activity. You have to do it, so you just kind of do it to get it done. When you start understanding the importance of writing, you're going to know that when you write, you rewire your brain, because as you write, the important thing about writing is not writing, it's the rewriting. It's the looking at something you put on paper, looking at it again, and then rewriting it, because each time you rewrite it, you restructure it, you change it. After a while, the brain has to change, because the way you see it is changed, you change. We have a wonderful thing between our ears, and writing is a great way to change it. Writing is a, let's just say, an advanced activity that humans do that helped us, I wanted to say enabled, similar, helped us to get where we are, right? […]