Today I want to talk to you about the intermediate plateau.
If you feel like you have been at the intermediate plateau in English...
Don't worry, this is absolutely normal. Every successful English learner has been through the intermediate plateau.
Some learners even go through multiple moments of plateau in their journey.
It's absolutely normal. But what I want to tell you in today's episode is actually about the good side of the plateau.
Yes, the intermediate plateau in English can be a wonderful thing. that happens to you.
And today I'm going to list seven reasons why the intermediate plateau is actually awesome to your English development.
Let's get started. Hey there, how's it going?
Thiago here and welcome to another episode of the podcast.
In case you are listening to me for the very first time, I created this podcast to help intermediate and advanced learners of English communicate with more confidence, more accuracy, more clarity and more awareness.
If this sounds like something you want for yourself and your English, Go ahead and subscribe if you are on YouTube or follow the show if you are on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
You know, that way you don't miss a single new episode. the intermediate plateau.
I know that when we talk about the intermediate plateau, The feeling is usually negative.
The connotation is usually negative, right?
We say things like, oh man, I'm stuck in a plateau.
It feels like no matter what I do, no matter how I practice or how much I practice my English, I don't see any progress.
It feels like I'm not learning anything.
I think I'm going to give up. But don't, okay?
Do not give up because, you know, The intermediate plateau is actually the very step before the breakthrough you are looking for, which is to use English, to speak English more fluently, more confidently, naturally, and at a higher advanced level.
So let me list here today seven reasons why the intermediate plateau is actually very, very good for you.
Okay, so here's a presentation I've put together for today.
And it's called The Amazing Intermediate English Plateau.
Seven Reasons to Celebrate. not to feel sorry for herself, for being in the plateau.
Let's get started here. Are you feeling stuck in your English learning journey?
That plateau you're experiencing isn't a roadblock.
It's actually a sign of progress. So we're gonna explore why this phase of the plateau is not only normal, but incredibly beneficial for language development.
So let's talk about the dreaded plateau.
What's really happening when you are experiencing a plateau?
It feels like this. You are usually studying hard. putting in the hours, but your progress seems to have stalled, stagnated. stopped. your English isn't improving as quickly as before, despite your consistent efforts.
But look, what actually is happening here is that your brain is going through a critical transition phase that's setting you up for major breakthroughs in your language learning journey.
The first reason is that it shows you it's proof that you have built solid, robust foundation.
At the beginner stage of language learning, there is usually a steep learning curve.
It means that there is rapid acquisition going on there. rapid learning of basic vocabulary and grammar.
It feels like... your progress happens really, really quickly at the beginning.
Some linguists call this the declarative stage of language learning.
And then you finally reach the intermediate plateau.
Now, at the plateau, Progress feels very slow.
But instead of feeling bad or sorry for yourself, view this as a great thing.
It's a great sign that your foundation is complete.
It means that you can understand and communicate in English.
Maybe not as quickly as you would like yet or as natural, but you can do it.
So, congratulate yourself, reaching this plateau means you've successfully built the critical foundation for advanced learning.
Okay, so that's the first reason. Reason number two, is that reaching the plateau gives you the chance, the opportunity, to discover and try novel learning methods.
When I say novel, I mean new, new learning methods.
The plateau is actually your brain saying, I need something different.
Remember this, what got you here at this level, B1 or even B2, won't get you to the next level.
This is your opportunity to explore new, more engaging ways to learn.
Here are some examples, some new approaches you can try if you haven't been doing those regularly Yet.
Listen to podcasts on topics you love, not only about English learning like my podcast, and other teachers but podcasts on topics you enjoy.
Do you like movies? Do you like series? Do you like books, business, technology, psychology, marketing?
Listen to podcasts about those. Health and fitness.
Listen to podcasts about those topics you care about.
Start watching movies without subtitles.
If you don't have this habit yet, Now at the intermediate plateau, you got to do it.
I would say English with subtitles in English. and without subtitles.
You can alternate between those two approaches.
And remember, it's okay if you don't understand everything, but you got to do it, especially now at this stage.
You can also try reading articles about your hobbies.
And you can try finding language exchange partners, people to talk to. either in a private community, in a conversation club, group classes or even private classes with a teacher.
Still talking about... novel learning methods, let me share with you about my Speaking Accelerator program.
I am running the second group of the Speaking Accelerator program next month in September.
And this is a new program that is different. from all the programs you see out there.
The program is about you recording audio messages to my questions, sending me those audio messages in a group that we have on Telegram, and then I listened to your messages and gave you feedback.
I send you all the feedback messages about your pronunciation in English, your your grammar, your vocabulary, even the way you structure and answer your questions.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the program is much more than that.
So... Learn more about it. The link is here in the description of the video, in the pinned comment below, and also in the show notes if you are on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. read all the information on the page, watch my short video presentation there,
And if it makes sense to you, join my Speaking Accelerator program.
That could be a novel learning method for you to try, especially if you find yourself at an English plateau, intermediate plateau.
So, do check out my Speaking Accelerator program.
Going back to the topic here, Stephen Krashen, a famous American linguist. coined the term comprehensible input.
So focus on acquiring more comprehensible input at this stage.
So when choosing maybe a podcast to listen to or a movie to watch fully in English, the level should be hard enough so that it's challenging for you, you feel like you're being challenged, but easy enough so that you can still understand most of what you hear.
Okay, I would say maybe 60 to 70% difficulty level.
Alright, so challenging, but still understandable.
This is about comprehensible input. All right?
Now, reason number three why the plateau is actually awesome It promotes the embracing of mistakes.
Just like learning to ride a bicycle, and when you learn to ride a bicycle, you fall many times before finding your balance.
In order to get to more advanced levels of English, you need to make a lot of mistakes. because mistakes are proof that you are trying.
The plateau appears partly because we're using more complex language. and expressing more nuanced, abstract ideas.
So of course, you will make many more mistakes because the language that you are attempting to use now is much more complex.
This is you moving toward the procedural stage where English becomes more automatic.
Do you remember I shared with you earlier that we have the declarative stage? of language learning, this is the beginning.
Everything happens quickly. You'll learn many things quickly.
It's something more conscious. You consciously take time to study the grammar rules. see vocabulary definitions, you think about the language more consciously. before using it now the the procedural stage is the next level It's about taking all these rules that you have already been studying and making them second nature.
Just like riding the bicycle. At first, you're gonna fall a couple of times, but after enough practice and repetition, you learn how to ride the bike, you might not even know how the physics work there, but It's a motor skill that has become second nature to you.
Driving a car, the same example. You don't have to know necessarily all the physics and mechanics of how the car moves in order to be able to drive well You got to get to that level, that procedural stage.
So learners who are at this intermediate plateau, they're actually moving from this declarative stage from rules and definitions and actual study, or learning about the language to actually using the language more naturally. more second nature-like, okay?
Another great reason why... the intermediate plateau is good for you is because it tasks your tenacity.
Yes. Tenacity means resilience. You know, a tenacious person is a resilient person. a person who doesn't give up easily.
Remember, language learning is a marathon, not a sprint.
And unfortunately, The intermediate plateau is the point where many learners give up.
They feel discouraged and consider quitting.
Some of them actually quit altogether. But view this moment, the plateau, as your opportunity to push through and build that mental muscle and resilience.
And to be honest with you, this will serve you well, not only in your English learning journey, but also in life.
If you can learn to be more resilient, more tenacious in life, you're going to accomplish wonderful things that you wouldn't otherwise.
Now, just a little caveat here, it's important for you not to confuse fossilization with a plateau.
Okay? The plateau is temporary. Okay, now fossilization is where mistakes or errors become permanent.
If a learner has a fossilized mistake, it means that that learner never really took the time to properly learn about that mistake or nobody ever taught that person properly so that person started to make that mistake.
And after years of making that mistake, that mistake becomes fossilized.
In those situations, it's much harder. much harder to fix those mistakes.
But it's important to, again, mention here that the intermediate plateau is not the same as your English being fossilized, okay? the plateau is a temporary situation all right so remember In those moments of plateau, your decision to keep going proves that you are committed to mastering English.
I like to say that The intermediate plateau is what separates the men from the boys. the women from the girls, you know?
This is where the rubber truly meets the road, all right? and it tests your resilience.
Now, here's another reason why the plateau is good for you.
It helps you start focusing on learning how people actually communicate.
It helps you move beyond textbook English.
Maybe up until now, you have been more focused on textbook English.
But now that you have hit the plateau, you've got to move past that. and focus more on real life or real world English.
For example, learning more idioms, idiomatic expressions in the language, Instead of saying I'm happy, why not say I'm over the moon? learning more slang and colloquialisms, learning phrasal verbs instead of saying search, you say, look up.
Instead of saying, I want to search the definition of this word, say, I want to look up The definition of this word Also, it's a moment for you to focus more on cultural references.
And I talk about cultural references all the time because I think it's very important to for you to be a successful, well-rounded English learner, for you to be familiar and into English pop culture, for example.
Learn more about movies in English. tv series books famous writers famous authors musicians bands artists in general, famous classic songs that have stood the test of time.
So... cultural references, you know? It's important that you become more familiar with those. if you are at the intermediate plateau.
Learning a language is not just about learning the words and the grammar.
It's about learning the entire culture that usually accompanies those nations that speak that language as their mother tongue.
And of course, now is a great moment the plateau i mean it's a great moment for you to pay attention to regional accents and expressions and how maybe the English that is spoken in England is a bit different from the English that is spoken in the US, and in Canada, and in Ireland, in Australia, in New Zealand, in South Africa.
So you start noticing these differences.
The next reason is your brain needs time for consolidation.
So the intermediate plateau becomes... a requisite.
A must. Your brain needs time to consolidate, to internalize, to process.
All these rules, words and information about the English language that you have been acquiring for the past months, the past years?
Think about it like a software update. Just like a computer installing a large software update, Your brain needs time to process and integrate new information.
It might not seem like it, but trust me, behind the scenes, A lot of things are happening in our brain during the intermediate plateau.
Your brain is strengthening neural pathways and making connections between concepts.
This is crucial time. I would say that the plateau is crucial time for everything. internalizing information, even when you don't feel like you're actively learning something new every day.
And the last reason why the intermediate plateau is awesome is because it means that you are on the cusp of a breakthrough.
When you are on the cusp of something, you are on the verge of that thing happening to you. that thing is almost happening to you.
So it means that you are on the cusp, on the verge of becoming... a more natural, confident, advanced user of English.
Think about it as the calm before the storm.
That feeling of being stuck is often the precursor to a significant leap forward in your abilities.
And in this timeline here, hopefully you can clearly see what I mean.
Phase one is the hard work phase. You've been constantly practicing and studying English. right and then you you reach phase two which is the plateau phase Now in the plateau, progress seems to stop altogether. despite your continued effort.
But right after the plateau phase, you have the breakthrough.
This is when things suddenly Click and you'll notice major improvements in fluency.
Many learners experience a sudden breakthrough or click after a period of feeling stuck.
That certainly happened to me at some point in my journey,
I realized that I was using English, speaking English or listening to English as naturally as my first language.
And nowadays, I even feel more comfortable using English for many things, much more than my native language.
Funny enough. But to be honest with you, I don't know exactly when that happened.
I just know that at some point in my journey, That happened.
And it's usually sneaky like that. If you don't give up, if you keep practicing, studying, trying new methods and ways of practicing English.
At some point, things will click in your brain and then Maybe you will realize one day that, huh, I'm speaking English fluently.
I understand everything. I understand jokes and nuances.
When did that start? I don't know. It's usually sneaky that way.
But it only happens to people who do not give up.
All right? Remember, the plateau is not a wall.
It's a stepping stone. It's a stage that is necessary for you to go through, but that will propel you to the next greater thing.
The plateau is not a wall, it's a stepping stone.
Remember that. So, this is what the plateau actually looks like.
If you are in the plateau, You are experiencing all these things.
Maybe you feel like you understand more, but you still struggle to respond quickly. when people talk to you.
Also, you know what you want to say in your head, but you don't know how to say it Perfectly actually I don't like the word perfectly, but let's say effectively, you know what you want to say, but You don't know how to say it effectively or naturally.
You are able to follow TV shows and movies, but maybe you still miss some jokes or cultural references.
And you might be writing very well at this stage, but you still take longer than you would like to write something, maybe for a more advanced user of English The person would take five minutes to draft a professional email.
You take 20, all right? But it's all part of the process.
These are all signs that you are firmly in the intermediate stage and you are building toward fluency.
You are not stuck, okay? even though you don't see it you are going somewhere you are building toward Fluent, advanced English, all right?
So here are some tips for you to succeed. thrive during your plateau.
Make the most of your intermediate plateau.
First of all, mix it up. Vary your learning methods, podcasts, YouTube, books, conversation, practice with a teacher. or other people.
Join programs like MySpeaking Accelerator programs, programs that are more alternative, different, and that's gonna force you to use your English in ways that probably you haven't used before, all right?
Also, focus on your personal interests. Learn English through topics you are passionate about. make a list of topics you care about in your native language and just start consuming content in English about those topics.
Also, I would say track progress differently at this stage.
Start measuring your success by your ability to express complex ideas. not just vocabulary size.
So be on the lookout for that. At this stage now, don't be so obsessed with learning more vocabulary. or learning more grammar, but learning to express myself in a more complex way.
It's what I called grown-up English, knowing to use more grown-up language.
The key is to make learning enjoyable and meaningful to your life.
Alright? Here are a couple of real success stories.
We have Maria from Brazil. She says I was stuck at B1 for almost a year.
I started watching cooking shows in English, my passion.
And within three months, I noticed my speaking becoming more natural and confident.
We also have here Hiroshi from Japan. I plateaued for eight months and felt frustrated.
I joined an online gaming community and practiced English while playing.
My progress skyrocketed because I was focused on the game, not my mistakes.
What these success stories have in common is that these people found ways to make English a natural part of activities they already enjoyed. in their native language, and you should do the same.
View English as not simply something you study. but something you use every day, something you do. things with.
So, a few final words here. Be kind to yourself. celebrate small wins, and recognize the patience is part of the process of overcoming the plateau.
Also, I can't stress this enough, explore new methods of learning. fine learning approaches that excite and engage you personally.
By the way, My Speaking Accelerator program, this group we're having on September, The topic is all going to be about movies, TV series, music, and books.
So, if you like talking about this stuff, talking about these topics, The Speaking Accelerator is a great opportunity for you to practice speaking English about topics you deeply care about.
And remember, connect with other people.
Share your journey with fellow learners. for support and motivation.
Join a private community. I have a private community as well of like-minded people. who are there to help each other grow and develop as English users.
Remember, the plateau isn't a wall. It's a stepping stone to greater fluency. and confidence.
Remember that. And there you have it. These are seven reasons why the intermediate plateau is actually amazing, awesome, and and beneficial to you.
Embrace it. Have fun during this phase and you will see that before You know it? you will be communicating at a higher level and you will have had that breakthrough.
But... Only if you don't give up. Alright?
Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.
I hope you enjoyed. This episode today, this information, I hope it helped you. keep going in our journey there.
Again, don't forget to learn more about my Speaking Accelerator program.
Link in the description. The program starts on September 15th.
If you found this video, this episode helpful to you, Like this video, share this video with a friend who's also maybe experiencing a plateau in their language learning and leave me a comment here under the video sharing more about your experience with the intermediate plateau how has the plateau been for you If you are listening on Spotify or Apple podcasts, you can also leave comments there.
Leave me a five-star review on those platforms as well, and that's pretty much it.
I'm Thiago. I'm signing off. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today.
And I'll be talking to you very soon in the upcoming video.
Bye-bye.
