Let’s take a moment to assess where you might be in your English learning. For some, you may connect with every question, for others perhaps only one or two – but each question still pinpoints the same issue:
Do you watch youtube videos endlessly but still find yourself making the same, sometimes simple, mistakes?
Do you listen to podcasts about specific topics in English but still find it difficult to have a conversation in English about the same topic?
Do you struggle to connnect with people deeply when you are speaking English?
Do you struggle to find people to practice English with?
Have you taken some English courses, or private English classes?
And yet, after all this time, you still feel like your ability with the language isn’t developing?
Well, I’ve got a shocking piece of news for you – it’s not about your ability to learn, nor is it to do with the language itself.
“What?” I hear you say!
Yes. Trust me, it’s something more than that.
Let me tell you a secret…
I lived in China for 3 and a half years. And do you know how well I could speak Chinese? Let’s just say that having a conversation with a 4 year old child made him look like a genius and me look like an idiot.
I was even living in the country itself, yet I couldn’t develop my ability to speak a new language.
I could ask for a coffee, or where the eggs were in the supermarket, and even some days when I was lost I could ask someone for directions and find my way. I watched some Chinese shows with the subtitles on, I listened to podcasts, and found blogs about the 100 best words you need to know! I even had a few Chinese teachers.
But, whenever I spoke with native speakers I always had the same problems – I was unable to have a clear and coherent conversation, or connect with people properly.
So, if it’s nothing to do with my ability to learn, nor about the language itself, what is it then?
The real issue you are facing is this…
It is do with your confidence and desire to stay in your comfort zone.
“Wait, what? I am confident and I am pushing my comfort zone already when I am learning a new language! That’s ridiculous.”
No. No, it’s not. You see, we live in a world where technology drives everything we do. But, we are not interacting with people properly anymore.
What this means is that we are relying on our technology to do the learning for us, rather than us physically doing the work necessary to immerse fully in learning the English language.
I Know the Pain You are Currently Feeling
It can be extremely frustrating when you are learning the same grammar over and over again, or repeating the same mistakes (do articles or prepositions ring any bells?).
It can be disappointing to feel like you are putting in so much effort to learn but feel like you’re not developing, that you are hitting a ceiling.
So, remember – it is your desire to stay in your comfort zone that is pushing you to learn the language passively.
Passive Learning is any form of learning where you are receiving information and not actively engaged with the learning process. This can be podcasts, youtube videos, even reading this blog!
From my perspective, reading this blog is not active English practice. And, if anything, it is another form of avoidance because you don’t want to actually work on the real issue.
Humans are social creatures. It has been proven scientifically that when we are connecting with people socially we also learn much quicker. So, we must do this in order to learn. We must break out of our comfort zones in order to learn the language properly.
Let’s Imagine for a Moment…
Imagine yourself in the future, after lots of effort and challenge you have finally arrived at the place you are seeking: you have become a fully confident English language speaker. Let’s consider:
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- What does your life look like, specifically?
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- Where are you?
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- Who do you interact with?
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- How do you feel?
We could even go further and imagine situations where we are:
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- Being told that we sound like a native
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- Achieving excellent grades in our English Exams
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- Receiving compliments in job interviews
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- Receiving job offers purely because our English is better than the other applicants
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- Being told we sound like James Bond or Harry Potter or Adele
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- Surprising people because we can say Worcestershire Sauce correctly
Trust me, this is all possible. But, we need to look at the solution:
If you push yourself out of your comfort zone, you will feel confident to connect with others and expand your English language in the way that you want.
Many of my students have different interests. Some of them love reading, football, meditation, art, even law. Others like politics, fashion or windsurfing. Every English learner is different. However, it is impossible for every student to develop and grow if we try to use the same system. This is why podcasts and online courses will only take you so far.
So, this takes some introspection. Consider these questions:
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- What do you love to talk about?
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- What do you love to do in your spare time?
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- What Podcasts or Youtube videos do you watch, even in your own native language?
Once you have answered these questions, you can consider how you can link your English learning to expanding your comfort zone.
For full immersion to take place, you need to use your interests as entry points for speaking to other people and connecting with them in English.
You don’t need another teacher.
You don’t need another online course.
You don’t need another Youtube Video.
You don’t need another Podcast.
All you need is yourself:
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- Understand your own passion and interests
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- Push yourself to meet other people and connect with them – based on these interests
It is that simple!
How Do I Connect With Other People in English?
This is where you need to use your imagination. Here’s a few examples:
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- a person who likes football can find a team to play for that only speak in English. Or they can find a community online where they only speak about football in English.
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- a person who likes painting can find an online community of artists, or if they are in a non-English speaking country, find expats in their hometown
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- a person who likes law could find networking events and seminars which cover topics that they are interested in specifically. These could also be online, if necessary.
But the key is this: You are using the English language to connect with people.
This is it.
If you are struggling with this step, you can always reach out – not only will we discuss your English level, but we will also work on how to connect with other people and break out of your comfort zone.