An interview with Fahad: on picking English back up and recognizing progress

Fahad practiced English with Cambly tutors for over a year. He tried a few different approaches before figuring out what worked best for him. In this interview*, we got an opportunity to learn more about him and his hard-won insights into language learning. We hope you enjoy meeting him too!

Tell us about your English learning journey and why you chose to learn on Cambly.

Before Cambly, I had studied English abroad for a short period that lasted five months in 2016 and then stopped for about two and a half years. I then decided to resume my English learning journey, but I was looking for a flexible option that suited my schedule of university courses. I looked at the available options, but none of them offered flexibility like Cambly, so I decided to try Cambly for a month. In that time, I determined that it was exactly what I was looking for in terms of flexibility and excellent educational content.

Do you remember your first lesson? How did you feel?

Of course, I remember my first lesson. It was actually pretty frustrating precisely because of how much I used to know; I could tell exactly how much weaker my speaking and listening skills had become. I worked hard to remember the words and the rules, but it was much harder after not having spoken English in so long. But I was lucky. I met several wonderful teachers who encouraged me to continue and discuss all sorts of topics.

What helped you stick to your commitment to your Cambly lessons?

I am very sociable and curious. I love discussing ideas and events. Knowing I could share these interests with my Cambly tutors, I don’t remember ever missing a single booked lesson.

How do you choose your tutor? What is your preferred method of learning?

Usually, I stick to a limited number of teachers; sometimes, I’ll even just work with one person for a long stretch of time. The reason for this is that I want to make it easier for the tutor to evaluate my language and notice the mistakes that I make most commonly. Also, by limiting my conversations to a limited number of tutors, it forces me to engage in deeper conversations and discuss more complex ideas (as opposed to having a surface-level introductory conversation with every new tutor I meet). I need to be more precise with my words and that makes my speaking both stronger and more accurate, in my opinion.

I used to take lessons at an in-person English language academy, but I actually did not find it useful. Everything they would teach was already available on the Internet and on YouTube. As for vocabulary, I rely on documentaries that allow me to switch between English subtitles and Arabic speech, and vice versa.

With these tactics, I expanded the range of words I use and made clear improvements in my ability to listen, speak and read. Additionally, I spend time memorizing a large set of words each week, making use of a few different memorization techniques including spaced repetition and retrieval of meanings.

How many hours did you spend on Cambly and how did you notice your development?

I spent more than 150 hours on Cambly and found that my development in the language was divided into stages. I could give a longer explanation but the gist of it is that my English speaking has developed so fully that I can communicate spontaneously, without delving into thinking about how to structure words.

Anything you’d like to say to other Cambly students?

For everyone who is a novice on Cambly, you’ll probably see that the most important incentives for continuing your hard work are the results; however, I would urge you to remember that it takes time AND that the amount of time differs from person to person. That said, I’d say it will most likely take more than 3 months and you will continue to make mistakes and forget words. This is just part of our human nature. Make use of practicing spaced repetition and meaning retrieval to reduce these weaknesses. Remember that practice and daily training is what makes the difference in the end.

*Note: this piece was originally written in Arabic and rewritten into English for this English-language blog. Read the original here: https://blog.cambly.com/ar/2020/06/15/fahad-success-story/