we all know that for English language Learners fluency can open the doors of opportunity it's
a powerful skill to get a better job higher pay to work abroad and do all of the things
that you dream of in life well English is what gets you there in many cases but there are some
things that you should be aware of that you might not know about learning English first
of all learning English is a never ending goal unless you set a very specific goal
but the whole language is never ending I mean there are native speakers that are still learning
the English language right it takes time effort consistency to build your English skills and
you're never going to know everything about all of English I mean there are so many different
dialects in English there's Old English there's Modern English it keeps evolving new words come
into the dictionary every year there's so much to know about English unending vocabulary culture
history and that's why it's fascinating it never gets boring for me anyway because there's always
something new to explore but on the other hand it can be overwhelming unless you set a specific
goal and it's important to set a specific goal for example using the common European framework
of reference for language learning so that you can have a goal for example of achieving the c
one level next and then you work specifically towards that that can help you to focus your
energy and achieve your goals faster but it's not always a quick process and you won't achieve
your goals overnight you have to look at English fluency as part of your life make it part of your
everyday routine and a part of your identity some people may underestimate the amount of time that
it actually takes to become fluent in English the intricacy and complexity of English grammar can
sometimes be difficult even for native speakers to grasp there's so many rules exceptions and nuances
you may underestimate the level of grammatical understanding that you need for efficient
communication English pronunciation can also be difficult especially if your learning background
has been more focused on reading than on listening because the way that English looks on paper is
often completely different than how it sounds when people speak it there are so many conflicting
rules and just strange pronunciation because English borrows words from a lot of different
languages and then we borrow the pronunciation but then we mess it up we make it more English or
American you may struggle with specific sounds clusters or patterns because of your native
language and how it's not similar to English but with time and perseverance you can certainly
improve your pronunciation you might think that memorizing thousands of vocabulary words will make
you fluent that is not entirely true it's not enough to just memorize vocabulary you have to
know when and how to use it the context the Nuance of a word when it's appropriate or inappropriate
to use it idiomatic expressions are so important too so make sure that you're considering all of
this when you go to use all of that vocabulary you've memorized and I highly recommend not just
memorizing lists of individual vocabulary words it's way more helpful in the long run for overall
fluency if you memorize phrases as you would use them in conversation let's talk about cultural
context learning English is not just about memorizing grammar rules or vocabulary as I
mentioned it's about learning a whole new culture sometimes more than one culture if you're learning
English as it's spoken in the United States and in England and in Australia and other places as
well is really about cultural understanding when and how do we use the language to communicate what
we want to express the language we use can vary greatly depending on the setting am I at work in
an office am I making a presentation am I at a restaurant with my friends or am I at home
with my family the way I speak is going to change change here's a big one a lot of English Learners
think that just by consuming English content they will become fluent your understanding will improve
a lot however this is why when you go to speak the cat gets your tongue and you are just Frozen
because you're not doing enough active practice active practice means speaking and writing
primarily especially thinking on the spot being spontaneous spontaneous speaking without reading
out loud without simply rehearsing something that you've practiced before being able to respond in
conversations or keep up with conversations with proficient speakers so active practice
is extremely important you have to push yourself challenge yourself to practice actively take what
you have learned like let's say that you memorize 10 new vocabulary words well active practice is
not really just memorization active practice is taking those words creating your own new sentences
maybe writing them first and then saying them out loud and then using them in a conversation okay
what if you don't have someone to actually have have a conversation with that's okay you can make
up the conversation on your own but try to do it without rehearsing it without planning it imagine
a conversation in your mind between two people and how that would go fear so I never realize how
big a role fear plays in language learning until I worked with English Learners from around the world
through my fluent communication course many times the problem is not that you don't know English
it's that you're afraid to use it it is scary but we have to push past fear because all your goals
everything that's good in life lies just outside our comfort zone so in order to grow we have to
face our fears fear of making mistakes fear of looking silly fear of being made fun of or not
accepted or not understood I mean it's just part of it to be honest so this is actually a great
personal growth exercise learning any language will push you outside your comfort zone you'll
learn to embrace your mistakes improve on them and learn and grow as a person not just as an English
speaker you may have taken an English class in high school or college and you learned English
in order to write essays or take standardized tests but what about your real life communication
skills have you considered how important those are now that you're out of school so being fluent in
English is not just about the skills you need in academic settings it's about being able to speak
in any situation and understand what others are saying as well that includes not just academic
language not just professional language but also informal English colloquial Expressions slang
idioms and even humor you may not yet know your individual learning style some people learn really
well in a classroom others learn better outside in the real world so know yourself and know what does
and doesn't work for you if you're not sure then now is a great time to explore that knowing your
learning style can really optimize your learning process and save you a lot of time especially do
you prefer to learn alone and self-study do you prefer learning in a group do you prefer
in person or online tell me in the comments which you prefer I'm assuming since you're watching this
online you may be a self-starter and you prefer to learn online from anywhere but correct me if
I'm wrong and tell me more about you and how you like to learn and is there anything that
you would add to this list about things that people may not know about learning the English
language I'm Gabby from gonaturalenglish.com and I'm so happy that you watch this if you're
here you are on your way to fluency so thanks for watching and I'll see you again soon bye for now