Hey everyone, welcome to the English Fluency Journey podcast.
These episodes were created based on our videos on YouTube for those who'd rather listen than watch.
So happy listening. Hope you enjoy our content. how I became fluent in English and how long it took me.
These questions are among the most frequently asked and recently they've started snowballing. feel like when people start asking the same question over and over again it's time to address the issue So in this video, I'm setting out the exact things that I did and steps that I took on my way to fluency, because while I'm not hiding anything from you.
It's not a secret. Everything that has been done is out there for you to watch. because I have talked about all these things in my videos. but I can't direct you to all those 50 plus videos and say, oh, just watch all those and you'll know what I've done.
That's why I'm making this video. On the question how long did it take me to become fluent, I answered in one of my posts on my Instagram page.
So I invite you to check out my Instagram page and read it.
And also you can watch this video by clicking the link above my head.
And you'll find all these links in the description box.
But in a nutshell, it took me somewhere between a year and a half and two years to get to a very good level of English.
Now one important thing that I have to mention.
I don't live in an English-speaking country and I've never even been to any English-speaking country.
My husband is not a native speaker. I do have some native speaking friends now, but I didn't have them in the beginning or in the middle of my journey.
Why am I telling you this? Because people make all sorts of assumptions about me.
For instance, they say that all my advice is blah, and that my experience doesn't matter because I was privileged to grow up or live in an English speaking country. country.
So I just want to make this clear. I wish I was that privileged, believe me.
And as I wrote in that Instagram post, my journey started when I had my son.
I wanted to change my life completely and I wanted to show my child that following passions and dreams is the way to live.
Even if it's hard, even when everybody else doubts you and wants to talk you out of it in my case it was starting a youtube channel in english becoming an American Accent Coach and spending all my free time learning.
I figured out that the best way to learn a language for me is the most natural way.
I just analyzed how people learn their first language in the first place and started applying it to myself.
When you're just a baby, all you do is listen to people around you talk.
You listen and soak up everything for a couple of years before you start speaking on your own.
So, I started with my listening skills. From that very moment, when I decided to start working on my listening skills, Everything that I listened to and watched was in English exclusively.
Was it easy? Definitely not. At first, my brain was boiling and it was overwhelming sometimes and I had to look up literally every other word.
But over time became easier and now it's a total pleasure to be able to say everything that I want in English.
I can talk to anyone and understand what they're saying without any problems.
You can start training your listening skills with something simple like educational videos in English.
You'll learn grammar or vocabulary and people usually speak slowly in those videos and explain things very well.
Or you can watch your favorite TV show or a movie that you've seen before.
It's going to be easier to follow something that you've already heard in your native language.
Then start adding something else, some programs, news, etc.
It's okay if you don't understand every single word.
You will over some time. And it didn't take me years, it took me approximately seven months.
You just have to be determined and patient.
And this is key. Consistency, patience and determination.
No giving up, no second guessing, no stopping. you have to realize that if you want to be able to use a language freely, you have to sustain it all the time, meaning using it, hearing it and be ready to learn something new especially if you don't live in an English speaking country.
Second, I started following people on social media who post in English.
I was guided by my interests, of course.
You can follow a cook. a fitness instructor, a life coach, or a psychologist.
It's up to you. But believe me, you learn a lot simply by listening to those people daily and reading their posts.
I joined a wonderful community of non-native speakers on Facebook We had a challenge back then where we had to record ourselves speaking on different topics daily, and post those videos in the community.
And that was where I started working on my speaking skills.
It was weird and uncomfortable at first, but I really needed this to get out. out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.
And this method works wonders. You record yourself and then listen to yourself speak.
Catch your mistakes and fix them. Analyze the way you speak and introduce a topic and organize your thoughts.
And again, over some time, you'll become a lot better at this.
Also, we get feedback from other members, which is very helpful as well.
And this is for free, so why not to try?
But you can do it on your own. Believe me, it works. number four i wrote down new words expressions phrasal verbs idioms grammar rules everything that I wanted to learn.
I used five thick notebooks. It helped me a lot.
There's something about it when you write by hand, you memorize things better.
I don't have the need to do it anymore, but I still always have a notebook with me just in case.
Also, I wrote some stories and came up with sentences using new words or tenses that were difficult to understand, And I had some sort of a diary where I wrote out my thoughts in English.
And that was the moment I started working on my writing skills. skills.
5. I signed up for an accent makeover course I know that for a lot of people pronunciation and accent doesn't matter, but to me, they matter a lot.
I think that if you like language and you learn it and you want to speak that language with other people, you have to work on your pronunciation to be clear, of course, but also out of respect for that language and for the people you talk to.
And I just love the American accent and love to work on it and work on my pronunciation.
That's why I'm an American accent coach now.
I had some lessons on Cambly every once in a while. when I had some questions that I couldn't find answers for and for speaking practice as well.
This is not sponsored. I know courses and private teachers are pricey.
They were and are pricey for me as well.
I had to save money to take an accent course.
I had to save money to have some private lessons as well.
On my birthdays or other holidays, all I asked for as a present was money to have some lessons as I was a mom on maternity leave and I didn't work.
I took part in different online speaking clubs to practice my speaking.
Number eight, I spoke and still speak in English with my husband and son, which wasn't easy at the beginning as well.
However, I really wanted to teach my son English and that was a huge motivation and I'm so happy that I did this.
I needed to talk to my son with a good accent, good pronunciation, correct grammar, use proper words and the ability to explain things to him.
And that made me study even more. And let's say that was my insidious plan to raise my own conversation partner.
I've really gotten into writing and I did a video on this.
The link will be in the description or you can just click the link above my head to watch it. and I started writing even more after reading this book.
Everything's Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, and I'll make a review on it for sure.
I started my YouTube channel in English.
That was super helpful and super hard at the same time.
I needed to get ready for filming, do my research, figure out what to talk about and how to talk about it.
Number 11. I started posting on my Instagram in English.
I mean posts. and speaking stories. Now whenever I go somewhere, when I'm on my way, I listen to some podcasts in English.
And I read a lot. I mean a lot. And I did a video on this.
The link will be down in the description.
But I listen to podcasts and read mostly about psychology and self development, but not only.
My interests are diverse. I took some courses in English, but not English courses. because you know there comes a time when you realize that you don't need another english course You need to level up your game to be able to grow again.
When you're at that point when it's already boring and just consuming your time without giving you any noticeable results.
You can take a course in English according to your interests so those courses were and are on something that I'm interested in and want to learn.
And this also helps you to immerse yourself in the language even more.
I know it sounds scary because you're not sure if you know enough and if you're actually ready to use your English in the real world, outside your classroom, your apartment or your mind.
But believe me, you're never going to feel that you're ready.
So just go for it and learn as you go. It's gonna be an exciting, eye-opening, and maybe even mind-blowing experience.
I had pronunciation and accent lessons with a private accent coach.
And finally, I started teaching. I'm an American accent coach.
There's really not only one thing that I can point to and say, Oh, I did only this one thing and became fluent in no time, it's really a basket full of things that I've done still do a lot of them even now, every single day.
This is my way to keep my English in good shape.
That's what works personally for me. It all depends on your goals.
In terms of time consumption, I also get frequently asked how much time I study and practice my pronunciation each day and how much time I spend studying English.
I can't give you the exact number of hours because I practiced and learned as much as I could.
And I spoke and speak English literally every single day.
That's why I always say do as much as it is possible for you, like even test your limits.
Was that easy? No, it wasn't. It's never easy at the beginning.
It's a process that you have to adjust and it takes time.
And if you feel like your brain is boiling, melting and leaking out through your ears.
It's totally normal. It'll pass. In my case, didn't have and I don't have any days off, any excuses, I do these things Every day, English is part of my life and I am very strict with myself.
And I'm not saying that you have to be strict with yourself. or do the exact things.
You know, this is just my experience. Everyone's different.
We all have different goals. But at the same time, I do know what it takes and I can give you some tips and tell you what steps to take on your way to fluency.
Why I did this and why I do this. Learn English.
The answer for me is very simple, just because I want it. because I feel like doing this and because I enjoy doing this.
I'm doing this for myself and not to impress anybody else or make anyone else happy. i don't know i'm having a hard time explaining this but whenever i hear English, speak English, use English.
It feels so right and so natural for me. and I'm sharing my experience and knowledge sincerely and I hope that it's useful for someone.
You know, up until like three years ago, speaking English seemed absolutely impossible for me.
But now, here we are. Although I do not consider myself completely fluent in English, I still learned something new every day and I'm totally fine with this.
I like this because I think it's a lifelong journey.
Thank you for asking these questions. At first, I felt like, who cares about me and my journey?
But as I said, after these questions started snowballing, I decided that it's time.
Hope my little journey helps you with your learning journey and gives you some ideas on how to learn English basically on your own.
Okay guys, that's it for now. Thank you for choosing our podcast.
Until the next one.
