The Truth About Learning English: There is No Magic Pill

English version.

Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to learn English and speak fluently. I was fascinated by the way American actors spoke English. Although I did well in my English classes at school, all I learned in 11 years was a few words and the verb “To be.” Unfortunately, this didn’t change much when I got to university, and I graduated without being bilingual.

I tried to study English many times but didn’t succeed until I moved to the United States as an au pair. You may have heard that immersion in a culture is the key to learning a language, and that’s true. However, it’s not the only way. Some of my au pair friends learned English by themselves through songs or movies. Similarly, I met people who had been living in the United States for years but had a low level of English or didn’t speak it at all. Therefore, the secret is not just the geographical location.

This is not a comprehensive guide to learning English, but here are some tips that I put into practice to reach a conversational level (B2):

As I mentioned before, immersion is the key, and you don’t always have to move to another country for that. People I met who had exceptional English started to be interested in certain topics and learned absolutely everything related to them in English: fashion, makeup, nature, culinary, etc. Any subject that you’re passionate about, dedicate considerable time to learning it in English every day.

Learning a language is a process, and we can only take babies as a reference. First, they learn to listen, then repeat, and later, at school, they learn grammar. Concentrate on listening and trying to repeat because grammar should be the last thing to learn. In my case, trying to learn grammar and huge lists of words stunted my brain. I was trying to learn things that maybe I haven’t had to use to date. One of my English teachers told me to repeat a movie that I already knew in Spanish, but in English and without subtitles, as many times as necessary. The idea is to train your ear, understand by context, and with time, start repeating the dialogues.

Don’t be embarrassed to speak and be corrected. Speaking and not being understood by the other person can make us feel ashamed, but it’s a step that we must take. When socializing with native speakers or those with greater mastery of the language, kindly ask them to correct you. Many times my host family or my American friends didn’t understand me, but they didn’t say anything or correct me because they felt it was rude. However, a push from an expert is necessary for your learning. Learning a new language is an adventure, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it. On the contrary, it’s something to be proud of.

In both American and Colombian schools, books are used, audios are played, and students read aloud, so there’s nothing different. After taking classes in both places, I believe that I could have done it myself and saved some money. What’s the trick here? Putting what we learned into practice, even if it’s with imaginary conversations in our heads.

Try to put English into your daily activities. Use your phone, the radio, the TV, everything.

Shadowing: This is the technique of listening to someone and then repeating what they said. There are hundreds of videos of this on YouTube, and it’s very effective.

Learn phrasal verbs and idioms since people use them a lot, but they are not often taught in academia simply because the list can be almost endless. You have to learn them by heart, so here’s a tip for you to take a look at them because they’re a whole new world.

Lastly, I recommend repeating dialogue from movies, songs, or engaging with native speakers (cafés and bars often have conversation clubs) as practice makes perfect.

Here are some of my favorite YouTube channels and apps:

YouTube:

• Rachel English
• BBC Learning English
• Accent’s Way English with Hadar
• English Fluency Journey

Apps:

• Voscreen
• Cake
• BBC Learning English
• Irregular Verbs
• Inglés Ya

Enjoy the learning process and make repetition a part of your routine to see results. I didn’t realize how much I had learned until I went to Boston for three days by myself and had to ask people for directions, deal with a tour that didn’t work out, and request a change. This was about a year and a half after I arrived in the USA. I believe I have a B2 level now, but since I’m no longer living there and I aspire to live and work in an English-speaking country, I continue to learn new expressions every day and use English whenever possible. This journey will be a daily part of my life, but with patience and determination, I know I can achieve my goal.

Stay motivated and patient!

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” — Brian Herbert