Today I want to tell you one of the reasons why people struggle to get fluent. First, you need two things to achieve fluency in a language: Input Output Input refers to learning, studying and absorbing a language. Most people are very good at this. You listen to music You watch your favorite movies You …
English learners ask me all the time how to find partners to practice their English with, so today I’m going to give you one of my BEST strategies.
First of all, finding people to speak English with is the easy part… you just have to know where to look.
You can use…
Those are just a FEW of the places where you can start.
But, the biggest mistake I see is when you say something like, “Hey, I want to practice my English! If anyone wants to chat, please let me know.”
99% of the time these comments are unsuccessful.
Either nobody answers you, or you attract beginners who don’t even know how to have a conversation.
There is a MUCH better way.
Here’s the truth… you will ALWAYS lack confidence in English until you decide to be confident.
Many people think if their vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, fluency, etc improves…
… their confidence issues will magically disappear.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that.
You have to CHOOSE to be confident… but that’s not easy, either.
Why?
When I was 17, my best friend told me about a self-development book that was a “must read.”
She went on and on about how it helped her improve her communication skills and have better relationships with people.
She said I HAD to read it.
But I ignored her suggestion because I was too busy living my life and doing whatever else seemed more important.
Then, years later, I found the book and read it.
Not only did it change the way I thought about life, but it helped me communicate more effectively & build powerful relationships with friends, mentors, colleagues, and people all over the world.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of overhearing a conversation that still makes me want to vomit.
It was a guy flirting hopelessly with a girl for a whole hour. And, thanks to their chat, I’m now convinced I need to make a course on how to flirt and how NOT to flirt in English, you know… for the sake of humanity and all things holy.
1. How did you learn English?
This is a long story, haha. Let me explain why. I studied English in school ever since I was a kid, and I also studied for a year in the university. I used to be one of the best students, even when I was unable to establish a basic conversation with somebody else in English.
I also took a course in an institute where I had a couple of native English speakers and also other bilingual/multilingual teachers. Then, I figured my English was not so bad because I was able to understand them and establish really poor dialogues with them. Then I met you Stef, and you helped me a lot to grow my confidence. As I said, my English was not so bad, but my lack of confidence was one of the biggest obstacles during this journey. But now I’m enjoying practicing and improving instead of being afraid.
First, ask questions about what you are trying to accomplish Different types of writing require different structures and techniques. An email, for example, is not written the same way as a resume. Formal and informal writing are also very different. So, start by asking questions.
Here’s the story.
I wanted to study translation at a national university in Argentina and to be accepted to the program, I had to pass a few exams that were designed to test my fluency and English ability.
Needless to say, they were all very easy.
For example, the assignment on the writing exam was to create a short 150-word story, which I could have done in 5 minutes.
I thought that was too easy…
Understanding a language but not being able to speak it confidently.
Is that you?
Maybe you understand all your favorite movies in English, but when you come face-to-face with a native speaker… you freak out, your voice starts to shake, and you get super nervous.