Do you really need to live in an English-speaking country to get fluent?

Do you really need to live in an English speaking country, if

you want to get really fluent?

This is the question of all questions.

I often hear from my students that the reason why they're not yet

fluent or they don't have a way to practice is because they don't live

in an English speaking country.

And also, I find a lot of articles and blogs that talk about the fact that if you

really wanna immerse yourself in English, you have to surround yourself with English

speakers – native English speakers.

Which means that you have to relocate or go for a summer camp or anything

else they're trying to promote.

But the question is, is it really true?

Do you have to live in an English speaking country to get fluent?

If you answered 'yes', then I wanna examine and explore this idea today,

and see if this is really true.

And then I'm gonna also share with you my own experience when I was living in the

US for five years, and then when I wasn't living in the US, and the impact it had on

my English and my ability to communicate; and if there was a difference.

So I'm going to tell you from my own personal experience, if this is

something that has worked for me or not.

But first, I wanna talk about the fact that if we believe that this

is true, meaning that the only way to get really fluent and confident

in English is to live in an English speaking country, if this is the belief

that you have, the question is...

is this serving you?

Whether it's right or not, whether it's true or false, is this the right thought

pattern that you should have and own if you wanna get fluent in English?

Let me explain.

When we have a certain thought and a certain limitation, right, like this

thought: "Okay, it's not possible for me if I don't live it in English speaking

country", the reality that you create for yourself is based on that thought.

So that means that you won't even try or won't even do things that will help you.

Because you have this belief that it doesn't matter what you're gonna

do – it's still not gonna work for you.

You're not gonna be fluent.

So whether it's true or not – and I hope that by the end of the video, you'll have

a pretty solid idea whether or not it's true – the most important thing is that

you need to decide how you think about it.

Because if this is your reality and you can't move to an English

speaking country, it does not matter.

And you should not settle for less than fluent or even limitless fluency.

Right?

And if you believe that it's possible for you, you are more likely to do things

that will get you closer to that goal.

Now, to continue this conversation, I want you to ask yourself two

questions, and to see if this belief that you have is rooted in reality.

The first question that I would want you to ask yourself is, Do you know of people

who have moved to an English speaking country, and yet they don't feel fluent,

they haven't been able to reach fluency?

Because I can tell you that I've had a lot of students who have been living

in the US or Canada or Australia or the UK for 5, 10, 15 and even 20 years,

and they still don't feel fully fluent.

And there are many reasons for that.

One of the reasons is that in many cases, when you move or when you immigrate, you

might find yourself in an environment that still speaks your first language.

Maybe you still speak your first language at home and you

don't get to interact a lot.

And maybe sometimes you're afraid so you avoid communicating in English,

and then you don't use your English.

And that means that you will not improve.

And that is the case for a lot of people, a lot of immigrants.

So, living in an English speaking country does not guarantee fluency.

And another reason for that is that it does not matter if you do have

a lot of opportunities to practice English and to speak English.

If you don't take advantage of these opportunities, if you don't focus

on what you really need to learn, again, the result is that you're

not going to see the impact, or you're not gonna reach your goals.

So, reality shows that living in an English speaking country

does not guarantee fluency.

On the other hand, do you know of people who don't live in an English

speaking country, yet they are fluent and confident, and maybe some

of them might even teach English?

I know quite a few.

For example, my student Katya.

Katya lives in Russia, she has always lived in Russia, all her life.

And now not only that she is so fluent in English, she is an

ambassador in one of our programs, which means that she's helping our

students get through the program.

She hosts a lot of conversation groups, she delivers public talks.

And sometimes she even confuses her first language, Russian,

and uses English words because English is so dominant in her life.

Or Artur, a student of mine from Brazil, who is absolutely fluent.

In fact, in one of our previous sessions inside of New Sound, he said that

there was a moment where he spoke and he felt so effortless and everything

is just pouring out of his mouth.

He has reached this feeling that we usually have only when

we speak our first language or when we reach limitless fluency.

And he has never lived in an English speaking country.

So that feeling is possible even without living in an English speaking country.

Or Marcela, our coach.

We call her our grammar queen, cuz she is remarkable.

And she helps our students tremendously, she coaches in Beyond.

And she has always lived in Argentina.

She has not lived in an English speaking country.

Yet not only that she's fluent, she makes an impact in people's

lives, teaching English.

So as you can see, and as you can hear these stories, it is possible.

And if it is possible for them, there is no reason why it

wouldn't be possible for you.

And if it is possible for them, it means that it's not a fact, it's just a thought.

It's a belief.

It's not rooted in reality because, hey, you have proof for both arguments.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about my personal experience.

When I moved to the US, I was 20, almost 21.

And I think that living in the US has definitely helped me improve.

So for me, it was a big part of why I was able to reach fluency.

But wait, because there is a twist in the story.

I did decide that once I'm there, I only connect with English speakers – not

just native speakers, but English speakers, because I wanted to immerse

myself in English, in the culture.

And in a way, I also wanted to move away from my own, you

know, language and culture.

Because I was going through my own things and trying to discover

like this new identity of mine.

So, I was talking in English, I was working in English, I

only had friends in English.

And definitely that helped me gain fluency.

But when I moved back to Israel when I was 25, it definitely had an impact

on my fluency, flow, and confidence.

I stopped using English.

I was not teaching in the first few years that I was living there.

And my English definitely became rusty.

I felt more stuck, I felt like my pronunciation was deteriorating.

I did not feel comfortable in English, I felt artificial.

And it didn't feel like English was my ally anymore, like it used to feel.

Now at that point, I only lived in Israel.

Like I was not using English, I was not speaking English.

And that is when I thought about this idea of teaching people.

Because to be honest, how I started was because I was looking for an extra income.

And I was like, What can I do to make more money and to feel more fulfilled?

And I was like, Oh, I know pronunciation!

And that's when I started teaching pronunciation.

But like I said, my English was pretty rusty.

So I don't know if you know the story about me, but when I

started teaching pronunciation, I started teaching in Hebrew.

And only when I had to make the sounds, I would switch to English.

But even though I did not move back to an English speaking country, I started

gradually building my confidence.

I started practicing more, I did a lot of imitation exercises.

And at some point I forced myself to start only teaching in English.

And that had a big impact on my confidence and my fluency.

Because I started immersing myself in English, regardless

of the environment I was in.

I just created for myself a lot of situations where I

was able to speak in English.

So, speaking from my own personal experience – yes, living in the

US has helped my fluency, but I was very, very proactive, and

I was speaking all the time.

And when my English deteriorated, I was able to go back to this feeling of fluency

by taking action, even though I wasn't living in an English speaking country.

So to conclude, the way I see it – and again, this is what has

worked for me and what I see with my students – it has nothing to

do with what's happening outside.

It really has to do with you, how you think, your beliefs,

and the action that you take.

So as you can see, you do not need to live in an English speaking

country to be able to get fluent.

And here are a few things that need to happen for you to get fluent,

no matter where you live, but in particular, if you don't live in an

English speaking country and you don't have a lot of opportunities to speak.

The first one is to create a schedule for yourself, to plan ahead, and to build

a habit of practicing English daily.

Especially, again, if you don't encounter English speakers on a

regular basis, on a daily basis, you have to create that for yourself.

So either you speak to yourself or you find conversation partners, or

you speak to your family, but you have to create a habit of speaking

in English, every single day.

You also have to create a schedule around what you do and what you practice every

week, what you focus on, so you don't fall into the trap of the illusion of learning.

The illusion of learning is where you do a lot of work and you learn a lot, but

actually you're not progressing cuz you're not focusing on what you really need.

I have more videos about that for you.

And I'm going to link to it in the description below.

Now, another thing is that you want to surround yourself by people who

are like-minded, who also want to strive for limitless fluency, and

also who would hold you accountable.

And this is where I invite you to join my online free community called the

InFluency Community, where we practice conversation topics every single week.

And there is a beautiful Speaking Club where you can meet with other

people and practice speaking.

And we have a lot of fun challenges.

And like I said, it's absolutely free and it's accessible for everyone.

And you can do that no matter where you live in the world, as long as

you have an internet connection.

So I'm going to link to that in the description below as well.

And I highly recommend for you that take advantage of it.

And finally, you wanna set very clear goals and decide for yourself what it

looks like to be fluent, so that you can measure your progress and know when

you are actually making changes and when you're actually reaching your goals.

If you wanna find out more, and if you need more help and guidance in learning

how to immerse yourself in English, no matter where you live in the world.

I also wanna let you know that New Sound, my signature program,

is designed to do just that.

It offers you the roadmap to reaching limitless fluency, and it tackles all

the necessary elements: whether it's mindset, building habits, pronunciation,

confidence, effective practice, learning strategies, and so much more.

So I'm going to link below to the wait list, and you're invited to sign up to

be the first to know when we open doors.

Thank you so, so much for being here.

Remember, it does not matter what is around you.

The most important thing is your attitude towards it, and your

willingness to learn and to practice.

You've got this!

You really do.

Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day.

And I will see you next week in the next video.

Bye.