5 Tips to Learn English | Antonio Parlati

Hello everyone and welcome to my YouTube channel!  I've always wanted to say that and I finally can  

because I'm finally on YouTube. The first thing I  wanna say before we even get into this video is:  

BEWARE THE FAKE ANTONIOS! Yeah! Because I've  seen a couple of people pretending to be me on  

YouTube. Needless to say, it's not me! They've  been reposting my TikTok videos...whatever!  

This is my official YouTube channel, I've  just created it. Anyway, I'm so happy to  

be finally on YouTube so I can make longer  videos and talk a little bit more in detail.  

For today's video, what I'm gonna do is-  I'm gonna give you 5 tips to learn English  

successfully. Before we get into the tips, let me  just tell you this: Everyone can learn English,  

EVERYONE! No matter who you are, no matter where  you are, no matter what language you speak,  

no matter how old you are, you can learn English!  So, if you're feeling a little discouraged,  

this video is for you. I don't believe in age  limits, OK? Yes, children can learn languages more  

easily. There's a whole scientific study on it-  well, not just one, there are multiple scientific  

studies explaining why. Maybe because they use the  left side of their brain which is more linked to  

affections and so on. But regardless, if you  really want to and if you're really dedicated,  

you can learn a language no matter how old you  are. I really, really believe that! So, tip n.1:  

Find something that you like about English.  Passion is the key ingredient to anything in life.  

Like Mary Poppins said: "In every job that  must be done there is an element of fun. You  

find the fun and snap! The job's a game!"  And that's true! The reason why I say this  

is because not everyone likes English, not  everyone is a linguist, not everyone is into  

languages and that's OK! You don't have to be  into languages, you don't have to love English  

in order to learn it. When I first started  learning English, I did not like languages,  

I didn't know the first thing about languages. But  what I'm trying to tell you is: Find something,  

an element, an aspect of the English languages  that you like and that you enjoy. For me,  

it was pronunciation. I really wanted to be able  to speak a certain way, to imitate an accent,  

in particular, the American accent because I  really love the way it sounds. I've always loved  

impersonating characters, doing their voices. I  love singing, playing around with my voice, with  

my instrument. And so, pronunciation was the thing  that really introduced me to learning languages.  

So, find something that you really enjoy  about English, I promise you, everything  

is gonna be easier if you do. Maybe it could be  writing for you. People love writing stories,  

they love writing journals, keeping a journal  where they write down everything that goes on  

during their day or what they're feeling in that  particular moment. And this could be really,  

really helpful as long as you enjoy  it. Tip n.2: Constant practice.  

Now, when I say "constant practice" I don't mean  that you need to spend the entirety of your days  

on a book, sitting at your desk. That's not  what I mean by practice. We're so lucky to  

live in a world, to live in a time where we  have so many resources literally in the palm  

of our hands. Hello? The Internet! There are so  many things that we can use to our advantage when  

learning a language. There are movies, TV shows,  series on Netflix, videos, you can listen to an  

audiobook, you can listen to a podcast. There  are countless things you can do to practice your  

English and have fun with it! This is what I mean  by practice. Do some of these things during your  

day even if you don't have a lot of time, you're  working, you're studying, whatever you're doing.  

Even if it's just 5 minutes a day. Take a  little bit of time and listen to a podcast,  

watch a video, watch a movie and do it  in English. This brings us to tip n.3:  

when watching movies in English, use subtitles.  When I say subtitles, I mean captions,  

subtitles in English. Those kinds of subtitles  that give you exactly what the person is saying.  

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I always,  always keep my subtitles on if they're available  

and most of the times, native speakers do that  too! Because sometimes what happens is- maybe  

you're eating, you're chewing, there's a little  noise in the background and you can't really hear  

every single word. So, to make sure that you learn  new vocabulary, keep your subtitles on. Subtitles  

are also very useful lo learn how to spell words  correctly, because we know that English is not  

very coherent when it comes to spelling. You  have a word like "queue" which is pronounced  

like a single letter, but then has like 5 in it!  If you're just starting to learn English and you  

don't feel comfortable enough to watch a movie  or an episode of your favorite TV show in English  

with English subtitles, I understand that you feel  the need to use subtitles in your native language,  

a translation. And of course, that could be really  useful if you're just starting to learn English,  

you're not there yet, you don't feel comfortable  enough and that's first step. So it's totally  

OK! But once you feel comfortable enough,  make that progress! Get rid of translations  

and if there's a word you don't understand, an  expression that you've never heard of before,  

look it up online. It takes 2 seconds, just  google it. Tip n. 3- Hold on! Hold your horses!  

We've already seen tip n. 3. This is supposed  to be n. 4. Sorry, you guys! Keep going- watch  

cartoons or anything that is specifically made for  children. When we start learning a language, we're  

discovering a new world, so we're kind of like  children, we're back to being kids. So we need  

that kind of language, that kind of baby talk, if  you will- well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but  

you know, that kind of simple language, that kind  of pronouncing words very slowly and clearly.  

That kind of simple vocabulary. Simple but  very very useful because it's basic words,  

it's basic vocabulary that we need for everyday  life or everyday conversations. I'm speaking from  

experience because, I don't know about you, but  I love Disney movies. They're like my favorite  

thing in the world. Something that could be  really useful is watching a cartoon or a show  

that you were obsessed with as a kid, something  that you already know very well. When I was a  

kid I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid,  so when I first watched that movie in English,  

I wasn't a kid anymore, but suddenly I was hooked.  The next day I already knew the songs in English,  

because I was already familiar with the  characters, I was already familiar with the tunes,  

with the music. So, that could be really helpful.  When. learning a new language, let your inner  

child shine through. And last, but definitely  not least, tip n.5 is: Talk to yourself.  

Now, call me crazy but whenever I'm home  alone, whenever there's no one listening,  

I'm constantly talking to myself and this is  really useful to practice all the languages that  

I learned, all the languages that I speak and  I need constant practice because unfortunately,  

we don't always get the chance to practice  with someone, especially a native speaker.  

They're not always around, you know? If you  do have native speakers to practice with,  

by all means, do it with them, but if feel like  it's not enough, talk to yourself, there's no  

shame in it. No one's listening, say whatever  you want! Some people have told me: "Antonio,  

I don't know what to say! Like, what am I supposed  to say, I don't know!" That's not the point, you  

don't have to think about topics, you just need to  go with it, go with the flow. Say whatever is on  

your mind. That's what really makes a difference  because by doing this, you will also start  

thinking in English, which is a really important  step in learning a new language. Once you start  

thinking in a new language it means you're  doing it very well. If you don't know a word,  

if something is on your mind and you can't express  it because you don't have the right vocabulary for  

it, struggle a little bit with it. Because by  struggling, by trying to find the right words,  

we're gonna remember them better. And  then of course we can always look it up,  

the Internet is always there. But before we look  it up, let's try and do it ourselves. I promise  

you, it helps! So, that was it, you guys! These  were my 5 tips to learn a language. In particular,  

we've talked about English, because you know  that's what I teach. Of course, I have plenty of  

other tips, but these were very general, so I feel  like these can work for everyone. Before you go,  

make sure you follow me on all of my social media  platforms. Again, beware the fake ones, because  

there are a couple! I hope you enjoyed this video  and I will see you guys in my next one. Bye!