I’m a bit of a generalist. The books I read tend to be non-fiction in relation to many different topics, but it’s time for me to investigate the topic of how to get fluent at English.
One of the first videos I came across on YouTube was called ‘This Is The *Only* Method to Become Fluent in English‘
I found it quite fascinating because it put into words what I think. It stated the way to get fluent at English is something called ‘comprehensible input‘. Exposure to a large amount of the English language. That could such things as YouTube videos, streaming TV, movies or books. You have to get a lot of input. Even if you don’t understand all the words, your brain will start to fill in the blanks. It helps if the language is just above your current level so that you have to struggle a little bit.
Comprehensible input is how children learn, they are surrounded by the language. Comprehensible input comes first, speaking comes second.
There is another term mentioned in the video, which is ‘Affective Filter Hypothesis’. This states that boredom, stress or lack of motivation will block your progress. You have to find material you actually love.
I’ve always thought the classroom is a little bit overrated as a place to learn English. I kind of think doing practise exercises are perhaps also a little bit boring. I’ve always thought the amount of exposure to the language is the way to go and to find something you love that is in English. I think you can do classwork or exercises for an hour or two before you lose focus but if you find something you love, you can do it for four or five hours.
The other idea I like is to create an English environment. Change your environment as much as possible to English:
- English social media account
- English journaling
- English books
- English gaming
- English messaging
- English TV Shows and movies
- Inner dialogue in English, describing the things around you and your day in English inside your head
- Speak out loud in English. Having fake conversations out loud.
Some of my students also had thoughts on this topic when I asked them:
Student Emma: Likes the idea of thinking up English conversations inside her head. If she is in private place she can say them out loud, but if not it’s an internal English conversation. Sometimes she also makes scripts about common things she talks about or about what she would like to talk about.
Student Yoon: “Just a lot of input. Watch English TV, movies and books.”
Student Sun: “Start with what you want to talk about in your daily life. I think that’s the first step and it really helps. Watching Vlog on Youtube based on your interest it’s also a great way to pick up real life expressions. For example, it can be food explore, book review, or anything else.”
Student Bella: “For me, listening to how native speakers talk is good for my speaking. Because I can learn what words to use in certain situations, and of course, try to use them in conversation. Reading is also useful for me. I think my way of learning is to notice how native speakers use English and then try to use it in my next conversations.”
Student Emily: “I feel like reading novels in English works well for me. Unlike those non-fiction books, novels use words and phrases that are more frequently used in daily life. I find this a better way for me to improve my daily life English.
As for speaking, besides practising with other people, when I study alone, I like watching movies and soap operas and read after each words. At first it was kinda hard for me because I couldn’t catch up with them, but with more practices over time, I saw improvements.
Ooh one more thing, daily practices is much more important than one or two days of long hour practices and studying.”
Student Vicky: From a conversation we had:
- Moving to an English speaking country
- Use such things as Episoden, Netflix and shadowing
- Become an English tutor. Preparation of the teaching materials is practise. Having to earn money using English increases your motivation
- Become a walking tour guide using the English language {Vicky does this}
- A lot of English input and then a lot of English output
- Use English in your job and then fake it until you make it
Other random students ideas I’ve seen: One of my students, he uses an AI App – a language learning app. One was a barber and practised talking with his clients. I’ve had students working or studying or volunteering in an English environment and they’re going to get a lot of input and practise. One was a nanny in an English speaking family.
Episoden
I still like the Episoden service. I feel like the people I meet on there speak English pretty well. Perhaps because they are a little bit addicted to the service and it would be pretty easy to get a couple of hours of English conversation per day. It also has a lot of statistics that you can track, which I think is super motivating.
Motivation
It’s also interesting to look at language learning from a motivation aspect. I’m often searching for motivation and if you’re highly motivated, surely you will be a good language learner.
Do you have any thoughts on the best ways to become fluent in English or a way to be motivated or simply to enjoy the learning process more? Feel free to comment below.
Eltham Library, part of my challenge to visit all the libraries in Melbourne.
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