Understand The “Inner Circle” Of Native English?

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and we'll get started in just a moment here we

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like all right we should be live here  we go I am Drew Badger the founder of  

englishanyone.com and welcome to another  live video here on YouTube uh today the  

English fluency guide is going to talk with  you about the inner circle of oh look at

that so we're gonna talk about uh the inner circle  of English uh and this is because I got a question  

from a learner actually I've received this many  times but people you know they're always trying  

to get to that next level just like I am with my  own Japanese uh and when I hear from people that  

like as soon as they can understand one level  they want to get to that next level uh and this  

comment was specifically about being able to have  conversations with people one onone and being able  

to do that quite well but as soon as you have a  native speaker or a group of native speakers uh  

then it becomes much more difficult to understand  people so I'll draw this actually let me erase the

board but I thought this would be an interesting  problem to explain uh I'll come back and check  

chat in just a moment make sure I think we are  working though uh but the typical situation you  

have kind of these three levels of English uh so  the the lowest level is where you can understand  

a teacher so I mean obviously you can go even  lower than that but for the people that can maybe  

understand some movies or follow conversations  uh so we'll just put this I don't know we'll just  

say this is level three like the lowest level uh  for for people that can actually understand some  

English so this is uh like teacher English uh the  teacher English like the kind of textbook English  

and this isn't bad that you should be able to  understand uh a lot of this and natives will  

use this vocabulary also but you can hear the way  I'm speaking it's much more clear slower easier to  

understand I'm not using a lot of movie quotes  or references that you might not know so this  

is typical textbook English now the next level up  from this is being able to understand natives one

on-one so you're having a conversation with a  native person they're not a speaker and maybe  

they say some things that they're they're not so  so careful with their language like I'm careful  

with my language so I want to make sure I'm  understandable so people can follow what I'm  

saying but natives they might not assume  that you understand everything or you know  

they want to make sure they're they're able  to have a conversation with you but it might  

be a little bit difficult or more difficult than  typical textbook English because they're not as  

careful with their language so typically the speed  goes up as you go up these levels the speed goes  

up the quality of the speech goes down so maybe  people Mumble a little bit or they're not able  

to express themselves very clearly uh and they're  also using more conversational speech all right  

uh and so the highest level up here is when you  can be in a group of native speakers and actually  

understand what they're saying to each other and  the they also communicate with you at that native  

natural level all right so we'll just call this  like group uh group communication I'll just put  

Comm there for that so group communication meaning  that when you're in a group of people so if you're  

just talking uh like with one person so this  is you talking with another native over here  

uh maybe they're a little bit easier to understand  but as soon as this a second or third native comes  

to the conversation they join the conversation  and now they are talking you know back and forth  

with each other and you might not understand  what they're talking about okay and so usually  

uh what happens at these levels is that one onone  the person is actually trying to tailor their  

communication to you so the person especially if  they want to make sure they're clear or they're  

trying to explain something they want to make sure  you can understand some instructions or whatever  

uh they're trying to be clear and they will  tailor their speech to you just like a native  

speaker would tailor their speech if I'm speaking  to a person in my my company uh or if I'm speaking  

to my boss or if I'm speaking to a customer or  I'm speaking to a child I'm going to change the  

way I speak all right and so often what happens  with natives is is a is a person thinks wow like  

I can actually have a conversation oneon-one with  a native but the the kind of real test is are you  

able to understand things at the same level when  you hear two natives talking with each other all  

right now uh this can be difficult uh even for  native speakers when we just don't know what  

someone is talking about so as an example maybe  I work at a company and I'm a native English  

speaker I speak with people all the time uh and  at my company but there's a special group or  

you know some some part of the company they have a  project they're working on and they have all these  

code words or special terminology or something  like that that I I just wouldn't know so they  

could have a conversation with each other about  something about uh product design or marketing  

or some scientific thing or something that I just  don't know the vocabulary so I'm not in the Inner  

Circle so this is the way people are always kind  of uh this is part of the psychology of language  

learning and communication in general where it's  not just about the vocabulary we're also trying  

to to make connections with people and part of  language is actually creating uh like ingroups  

and outgroups with other people people and so  typically there's like slang slang is a is a  

kind of interesting thing about language learning  because you will have a group creates some kind of  

slang uh hopefully this makes sense I'm going to  erase this over here but just to talk about how  

how the language uh changes especially with young  people so you might start with a a small group of  

people or even just two people in a group that  are talking about something and they have their  

own special way of describing something so we can  call this uh like inside so some kind of inside  

joke or just some some kind of inner uh you know  Community language or something like that where  

where they know what they're talking about but the  other people outside of that group do not okay so  

the the point of this inside vocabulary or just  for the people who are communicating it's like  

a code for them to speak and understand uh just  among among on themselves and the people outside  

of that maybe they hear that and they're again  they're outside they're not in the Inner Circle  

and so they don't know what that's like what  those people are talking about now usually what  

happens with slang is more people will start  hearing something you know like you have even  

technology is created like the word internet so  this was I don't know however many years ago uh  

when the internet was just being created very few  people knew what the internet was and so you have  

the people that are creating the technology and  people using the technology and it's just a few  

people in this small group and the majority  of people are outside of that Circle so they  

don't know what the vocabulary is so this is not a  problem with fluency it's really a problem of like  

just being inside and knowing what that vocabulary  is okay so at that kind of highest level of native  

English you don't have to feel bad if you don't  understand like some movie quote that somebody  

use that you just haven't seen the movie and you  don't know what people are talking about all right  

so it is possible to learn more and to be able to  join more of these Inner Circle groups I'm going  

to talk more about that in this video but I just  want to explain why this works and and the reason  

the language continues to change is because people  always want to make some kind of cool like inside  

group that other people are not a part of so as  soon as this this circle starts getting bigger  

so the the circle is moving out because more  people are starting to learn about the internet  

or whatever the vocabulary is then it's not cool  anymore so it's not interesting or unique or  

different it doesn't make you special if everybody  is doing it all right so what do you do you create  

a new thing and then you create new language  around that so some of these people like they move  

over here and they're not maybe physically moving  anywhere but this is just the idea of how language  

changes and sometimes it's just a real thing like  technology or it's just actual vocabulary that  

people use to say like oh that's cool or that's  groovy or vocabulary like that that people used  

in one generation and they don't use anymore all  right so hopefully uh just so you understand about  

this I don't want you to feel bad if you don't  understand like always but that that's I just want  

to explain why that happens okay so it's probably  the same thing in your life in your native  

language you have different ways of speaking with  different people like you speak if you're married  

uh you have certain vocabulary with your you  know wife or husband or family that you don't  

use outside of the family like a family joke or  family vocabulary for something like recipes or  

whatever that other people might not use and so  that's not uh really about fluency it's just the  

a lack of knowledge because you're not in the  Inner Circle all right so how do you get in  

the Inner Circle for the people you do want to  speak with uh in this case there are basically  

two things you're trying to do uh I'll get to  that in just a moment let me check chat make sure  

everybody is following me so far uh if you are  enjoying this uh click the like button and let  

people know uh that you are let's see uh let's see  hi choo choo all right so Rene says uh greetings  

from Brazil have you discovered this method of  learning a new language on your own um well the  

all right I'll I'll be very very quick about  this the idea about learning English as a first  

language is what everybody does in their native  language already so the the way you learn your  

language uh or the way anybody else learns their  language everybody is learning their language as a  

first language because there's no other way to do  it so if I have a child so this is me uh and this  

is my child over here uh and my language let's  just say the only language I know uh is Spanish  

and so I I can't I can't like use translations  to teach my child because how else would they  

understand them I can't I can't like if I'm trying  to teach Spanish to my child I'm not going to use  

Chinese to try to teach them Spanish because  they I can't they don't know Chinese either so  

the the point is like they they have to learn  the language in the language all right so you  

can't use textbooks you can't use like flashcards  or whatever the only thing uh like and not using  

translations obviously the only thing you can do  is make the language understandable okay and how  

do we make a language understandable well we could  uh give you something to look at or something to  

hold or we're going to compare different things  like look this is a blue marker and this is a red  

marker and as you get these little contrasts then  people understand the language without needing any  

translations and again in this way there's nothing  you can do besides teach this way so you have to  

teach the language as a first language now what's  interesting is that people kind of forget this  

when they go to learn an additional language so  they think well okay I already know so now this  

child gets a little bit bigger and that child  wants to learn Chinese so what they should do  

is actually learn Chinese directly from someone  who speaks Chinese and knows how to make Chinese  

understandable all right but usually what they do  is they try to go back through Spanish and try to  

learn Chinese that way and so they will think  in Spanish as they're trying to learn Chinese  

all right so I didn't discover anything new uh all  I'm really doing is is looking at how people learn  

languages and taking the the natural way that  everybody learns their native language and just  

making that possible for people to do in English  and really the goal of all this when we say like  

making something understandable again like uh  you know comparing some different things or uh I  

could have you taste something so if I want to to  explain what orange tastes like like the fruit and  

orange or an apple it's better just to to actually  like bite some of that and try the flavor and so  

you understand what that means like that's how we  learn different flavors or you know things like  

that um so you can see something but the point  is to understand what it means you're connecting  

some idea or situation with a sound all right  so that like the word of the language whatever  

that is so when I hear something I'm thinking  oh okay I'm I'm making a connection with that  

and so uh instead of trying to learn things  through an additional language it's much easier  

just to learn it directly but most people don't  do this and the reason there are a few reasons why  

most people don't do this uh the first one is that  it's it's faster to try to pass a test if I just  

give you a bunch of translations so when I go to  a school to try to learn a language typically the  

the teacher is going to give me you know they're  going to use some of my at least some of my  

native language to help me learn the new language  uh they should not be doing that they shouldn't  

have to do that if they know how to teach well  uh but a lot of people do because I can just  

give you more information faster and just give  you a translation and tell you what it means but  

the problem is that teaches you to translate and  think in your head when you speak and that stops  

you from communicating so it seems like it's a  faster way to learn but it ends up taking you  

a lot of time and this is why many people study  English for years and never become fluent years  

all right and so again uh I want to make it clear  like I didn't discover this it's just it's really  

me spending a lot of time thinking about how to  make language understandable for people because  

I'm also a language learner learning Japanese  um and if I'm not confident about something if  

I don't understand something whatever that that  piece of the language is then I'm not going to  

feel very confident about saying it all right and  so most people are are very nervous about speaking  

or nervous about saying a particular thing if  they don't feel confident about saying it so  

the fastest way to become fluent in a language is  to destroy the doubts that stop you from speaking  

that language all right the fastest way to speak  a language to become a good speaker is to destroy  

the doubts that stop you from speaking so if you  understand something a little bit you can maybe  

recognize it in conversations but if you don't  really feel confident that you'll say it correctly  

you probably won't speak all right so all of  these things are just like it's it's more things I  

noticed about the way people learn okay so that's  why I talk a lot about destroying doubt and really  

helping people understand English rather than  just giving videos about here's some vocabulary  

or whatever so I do have vocabulary lessons uh but  if you understand these ideas it's much faster uh  

and you become fluent much faster anyway uh good  question if you'd like to know more about that  

you can click on the link in the description to  learn more about fluent for Life uh Frederick is  

also an app that's available for you to help you  with your spelling listening pronunciation and  

that will explain you uh basically show you how  this works it actually shows you how to learn  

English uh the same way kids do all in English so  if you have any young children especially uh it's  

a lot of apps or there are a lot of apps that U  they basically use like translations or they don't  

allow you to to control um like how people can  how like basically let you control the language so  

the ideal way to learn is if you could if you like  by yourself could manipulate like okay like I have  

these things here and and like the machine or  whatever the person is going to tell me what  

they mean but maybe I I change these or I I use a  different object or something like that if you can  

control that then you can actually discover what  the meaning of the things is uh and then you can  

become a fluent speaker much faster so that's what  Fredrick allows you to do uh but it allows you to  

do that with grammar and pronunciation  and really understanding how the sounds  

of language work all right uh let's see Lucio  says hi my teacher I'm from Brazil Lucio Jura  

nice to see you there Wendy language Enthusiast  good morning from Nagoya look at that we got  

quite a few people from Japan today is it a  holiday today I don't think it is uh let's

see oh really oh really you like you you rode  on the train yesterday let's say Joel says uh  

good evening from Brazil hi from oaka Ray uh  good morning from Sudan a ail oh my goodness  

pardon me as I'm not trying to look angry I'm like  getting older I need to be able to look squint to  

see this tiny font AR arelin if I'm pronouncing  that correctly from Brazil also jokes fly over  

sup salutations from Russia hi from Colombia  to says hello teacher Annette nice to see you  

there what greetings from Germany a little bomb  for the soul look at that wow you took a I guess  

you're in Germany right now uh your teaching is  very special sis TOA it's my well I'm again I'm  

just trying to help you learn the way the same  way your parents helped you learn your native  

language so think think of it like that like it's  not it's not so special it really is just a very  

a very basic uh way about people getting fluent  in language Alejandra says what's up lith says  

what's going on I like your teaching from abang  ah from Ivory Coast very nice uh and esta and  

Tagalog I don't know Tagalog actually Ohio from  oaka says yanan and look at that hi from Korea  

elino and Bridget brilliant Discovery teacher Drew  Rafa with the atmark good morning all of you from  

India hello from Morocco it is a pleasure to hear  listening to you very excellent from my learning  

from south or Saudi Arabia and hello from India  okay all right I'm trying to go through these  

quickly so I can get back uh and make sure we just  go through this so uh if we're trying to get into  

the Inner Circle how do we do that so you are out  here and maybe there's some native speakers let's  

imagine you work at a restaurant uh I think this  comment was specifically a uh guy who is I think  

it's a guy who is a manager at a restaurant  who is a non-native speaker but he's able to  

communicate with people well uh but he noticed  that when he's in a group he's got other natives  

around him he suddenly is outside of the Inner  Circle okay so he's outside of the Inner Circle  

they are talking about whatever and now instead of  having a one-on-one conversation where you're you  

you're able to communicate you basically create a  circle for your communication now you are outside  

of the circle and and now they are talking about  something else so uh the first thing there's  

basically two as I mentioned so the first thing  is really paying attention to what other people  

are saying uh for that particular group and for  you in your life you just have to choose what  

this group of people is so it could be a group of  people at work or it could be a group of people  

at school or it could be movies and TV shows it  doesn't matter what that thing is but each group  

will have its specific vocabulary and it could be  again for professional reasons maybe you want to  

know uh particular vocabulary that doctors use  or you want to know even particular vocabulary  

that doctors should use with their patients so  they it's again different different kinds of  

vocabulary uh but if you have a particular goal  that is the thing you should be focusing on uh so  

like for me for example when my wife was pregnant  uh we had to go to the like the the clinic uh and  

so both of my I had have two children now and  each time we were at the clinic I'm I'm on the  

the outside here so the nurses and my wife are  talking about you know baby stuff and women things  

I just don't know the vocabulary for that  but if I pay attention and listen to that  

vocabulary so the first thing I'm really trying  to do is just listen like oh okay and typically  

you know we go for maybe a few appointments and  we hear those same kinds of things whatever for  

that so I learn V vocabulary for uh you know  having a baby or raising a baby or whatever  

all of that all of that vocabulary uh I can I can  kind of get into the circle just by listening to  

it all right so even if I don't say anything I'm  focusing on this particular vocabulary for this  

situation so I can become part of the inside uh  that inner circle okay and when I do that again  

like I can do this with that particular group  of people or I could go to a YouTube video I I  

can learn pretty much any vocabulary I want to  for that particular thing so even I could learn  

uh if I'm let's say a kid at a high school uh  and I'm I'm going to a particular High School  

I can probably find other other kids who have  maybe social media Facebook or Instagram or Tik  

Tok or whatever and I can listen to those kids  making videos from that particular school or  

whatever so I could even be that specific  about the the kind of inner circle that I  

want to to know more about or I want to learn  that vocabulary but the point is pick a Target  

okay whatever that is and then I would get lots  of varied examples of that vocabulary so again uh  

here I'm talking with my wife uh and really  just maybe sitting and listening to doctors  

or I'm asking her some questions or something  uh but uh in this case I'm just trying to get  

more examples of the vocabulary and I could get  that from Again YouTube or Instagram or blogs or  

whatever that are teaching me for that specific  thing okay so it could be other people telling me  

about that and this this gives me enough input it  helps helps me understand something well enough  

that I can slowly or maybe even quickly become a  part of this Inner Circle okay so uh people might  

be talking about something whatever that thing  is you're spending most of your time trying to  

listen and getting lots of varied examples of that  vocabulary so if I want to work at a coffee shop  

and I don't know anything about coffee I should  probably pay attention I should probably pay  

attention uh to to what people are talking about  in coffee shops I should watch YouTube videos I  

should read blogs I should I know read a magazine  or whatever I can get a lot of information about  

that and that will give me the vocabulary I need  to start communicating with people all right now  

what happens like when you actually start  communicating this is where we've got step  

two over here and this is where uh we start using  the vocabulary we have so the first part is we're  

just getting the vocabulary we're just trying to  feel more comfortable uh and the second part is  

all we need is really like one word or phrase to  tell these people so let's say uh like a situation  

like this it's my wife uh and her doctor and then  I'm standing there but I'm I'm kind of I'm still  

going to move myself out of the circle here so  maybe I'm I'm kind of getting a little bit closer  

but my wife and her doctor talking about something  I'm standing there with them just listening uh but  

as as soon as like maybe the doctor says something  and I say something that uses that vocabulary it's  

probably going to be a little bit surprising for  them and at that moment this is where the circle  

opens up for me even because I just use one phrase  one word something like that that lets them know  

oh like like look that person is in the club with  us because he used basically like a secret code  

so I'm using the vocabulary that they're using  and that puts me in the circle and so if you're  

if you're even standing with a group of people  you could still be technically on the outside of  

that if you don't really know what they're talking  about but as soon as you say one thing that that  

that they can kind of connect with like they're  talking about a movie or a TV show and I say  

like oh like I really like the episode where this  happens like right then just because I said that  

one thing even if I'm not a great communicator now  I'm on the inside okay so the interesting thing  

about this and you will again this happens in your  native language as well if you're talking with  

people again you could be on the inside or the  outside it's kind of like what they think about  

that so these people are already in a circle by  themselves it could be two people or three people  

or a group or whatever and they will allow you  in if you know the secret password which is just  

basically the vocabulary for that group of people  okay but the the interesting thing about this is I  

don't need to know everything I just need to know  maybe one good thing and when I say good it's just  

like appropriate for the situation so one thing  uh like where I'm I'm talking about hey uh like  

I like that TV show or like if I have a question  for the doctor about I don't know raising kids or  

something like that so as soon as I do that like  my wife will be surprised I know the vocabulary  

the doctor will be surprised I know the vocabulary  and immediately the circle opens up and now I  

am inside it all right so I don't need to know  everything I don't know everything about you know  

doctors and raising kids but the point is to is to  break into the circle and now they're starting to  

communicate more naturally so I mentioned at the  beginning of this video where you have these three  

different levels of communication there are like  many more maybe you don't understand any English  

at all but my videos are typic Ally for people in  these you know three groups I'm holding a marker  

cap over here three groups so the first part are  people who understand textbook English uh and so  

this is people who maybe they've spent a lot of  time learning English usually through traditional  

methods like they're studying through their native  language uh or you could have people that are the  

next level up which they can actually have some  conversations with native speakers and usually  

one onone they're able to communicate with people  quite well uh but as soon as they have a group of  

Natives and those natives start talking to each  other that's where it becomes more difficult to  

understand all right so within those groups of  people it's it's quite easy to move up uh as you  

do this but remember that the the kind of highest  level here is not really about fluency it's more  

about just having the knowledge the keywords or  the code words or the secret vocabulary it's not  

really a secret but you can think about it  that way because this is the psychology of  

what's Happening all right so you have two people  they have a circle already because they're in  

conversation and they find some way to make a uh  you know they find some way to communicate about  

whatever and you are in that same Circle if it's  if it's like you uh and a native English speaker  

you guys are in a in a communication Circle as  well uh but again you will be outside of this  

other one if this other native speaker comes over  and they start talking about something else okay  

so if you want to get in this larger Circle if you  want to expand the circle so that you are inside  

the circle with everybody else again spend more  time knowing that vocabulary whatever that is and  

that's easy to do you don't need to have native  speakers uh or like go to places or do anything  

like that uh and then the second thing is look for  an opportunity or even if you just ask a question  

but it's something that uses that vocabulary  that they're using okay so hopefully that makes  

sense uh if you have more questions about this I  can answer those uh but uh again I'll just look  

through chat make sure we're having uh make sure  people understand where I'm going with this uh but  

this can be uh it can be a frustrating experience  if you if you feel like natives are talking about  

other things and you're not included in that  all right and this is not just about language  

learning but this happens all the time in life  I could be you know talking with like a young  

kid like let's say I'm talking with I don't know  a 10-year-old kid and then he starts talking with  

his friend about Pokémon or whatever and like I  don't know anything about that uh I don't really  

feel bad about that but now I'm I'm on the outside  so they are talking about you know whatever their  

uh their particular situation is and it works for  everything whether you're a language learner or  

you're you're just trying to communicate with  other people using your native language but  

it's easier than ever right now it's very easy to  find information about that particular vocabulary  

because it's just available online freely now it's  more difficult to learn the Vo vocabulary you have  

to kind of spend time doing that if you don't have  anyone to help you learn it but it is possible to  

do all right so for the people that like basically  the the these different kinds of circles are being  

able to talk about different things this is why we  structure fluent for life as as different kinds of  

topics uh and so people are learning and getting  fluent in that particular vocabulary so you're  

able to join that inner circle for when people  discuss those kinds of things all right so people  

get to choose what they learn in the program  and that's why each person has a different uh  

like a different way of learning or a different uh  particular path that they take in the program all  

right let me take a look at chat see if I didn't  miss anybody uh boulevar says uh it is a pleasure  

to be here listening to you it is excellent for  my learning welcome glad to hear it again if you  

know uh anybody else who would like to improve do  click that like button and share the video Vivic  

says hello from India Gabrielle from Uruguay Abra  says from from Spain Richard says hi good morning  

I actually uh in actuality this is my third  language but I managed to adapt to all languages  

even though they are quite different another issue  I face is the word a lot a word the word a lot  

of synonyms what do you mean by that let give  me more information you have a question about  

different ways of using a lot Tom is here nice to  see you there Ohio gas z zuru h you mean you mean  

yes my my name is is a little bit uh if you're if  you're talking about me you would write it like  

this of course my my Japanese writing is is bad  like my English handw writing but uh that's how  

you would write it or if you want to do the whole  thing and uh let's see where were we and Neils  

is back I wish you good night and see you next  time we have 3:00 a.m. oh my goodness it's 10:  

in the morning here 4:00 a.m. yes people are all  over the world and remember you don't need to  

watch this live you can enjoy it whenever you like  P says hi Drew good morning to see you sir coming  

live again from Sri Lanka Boulevard again uh do  you how often do you teach in live uh typically  

these videos are Mondays and W uh Mondays and  Thursdays Japan time Tom says uh I'm paying  

attention so George again hail Hydra watching  those Marvel movies over there Sergio says hi  

good morning uh so like right there like George  says hail Hydra uh and that that's an example  

of like an inner circle kind of thing where if I  know what he's talking about then I become part of  

that inner circle but if I don't know then I'm  just like all right well here's somebody just  

commenting some crazy stuff or whatever like and  that's just how it looks on the outside so when  

you're on the outside not in the Inner Circle you  are on the outside uh but uh assume he is talking  

about the same hail Hydra I know what he's talking  about I guess um then I'm on the inner circle with  

him Sergio says hi good evening and Tom says  yep Tam says can you suggest any online forms  

or communities where I can interact with native  speakers and ask questions uh well typically like  

it what kind of questions you want to you want to  ask because there are lots of I mean you can just  

Google any kind of question you have chat GPT will  be able to answer questions although I do find it  

makes mistakes occasionally um but as I say to  students you don't have to spend a lot of time  

in communities with natives what you do is is the  same way you get in these inner circles like I'm  

describing in this video you actually spend a lot  of time watching natives talk with each other now  

this is another good reason uh so what we do  in uh influent for life for example you have  

you know two or three native speakers speakers who  are talking with each other and they're not trying  

to make their language easier to understand  so the this is the kind of content you should  

be watching assuming you can understand it but  this is different like when native speakers don't  

know you're listening they're going to speak in a  different way and that's why you can find YouTube  

videos of native speakers talking with each other  about whatever and so you are able to learn the  

vocabulary like I watch uh some like for for  learning japane I don't really watch many uh like  

language like Japanese language learning specific  videos uh but I do watch occasionally like just  

interviews of of you know like Street interviews  of people in Japan uh or you know Japanese people  

just doing whatever but the point is like it's  it's Japanese people speaking with each other in a  

natural way so as soon as like you try to get into  the Inner Circle they're going to like if they if  

these people people want to communicate with you  they will change the way they speak and I don't  

want that I don't want them to change the way  they speak because I want to learn the way they  

speak I don't want them to try to change how they  speak to to fit me so uh it's better like if I'm  

in person with these people if I can communicate  with them that I speak well then they will speak  

normally with me they will you know talk about  whatever uh but if they think I don't speak very  

well they will change the way I speak all right  and so uh in these situ situations you should be  

focusing on you know whatever the uh like the the  language you're trying to learn uh but it should  

be real examples of people doing it and then you  get a variety of these different examples so you  

hear different people talking about the same  thing okay so in the program this is what we  

do you actually get to watch uh different natives  communicating but you learn what they say before  

you see the conversation so you're prepared for  the conversation right so the whole point is when  

you're learning this way like it's it's the same  thing I do to learn Japanese I just don't have  

a particular teacher to tell me what things mean  and tell me like watch this video and that video  

and this other thing and like that would be a lot  faster and easier basically I'm creating my own  

kind of program as I go uh but it's all done for  you in English you don't have to think about it  

you just get the content you learn the content and  you understand how to learn all right so hopefully  

that makes sense uh but you don't need to find  actual communities of people for you to speak with  

the point is uh for you to get lots of examples of  that native speech and it's actually easier if you  

don't try to talk with them because they might  change the way they speak so if you are not yet  

a great speaker if you are not very confident  don't try to speak with people just listen to  

them talking all right and if you can hopefully  uh get examples that help you understand things  

that's why like you obviously you can do this in  person but it's easy online because we can get  

transcripts and we can see what they're saying  and it's easier to learn it that way all right  

so don't look for uh like more people to practice  speaking with you need to understand the language  

better all right that's how you erase the doubt  all right uh let's see K says good morning yeah  

I understood how you felt at that time Sensei min  oh welcome and K let's see good morning again uh  

setti Sati very helpful for sharing this video  it's very helpful glad to hear it hi Tomas let's  

see and Vivic says it happened uh th uh I I it  happened Thunder Oh you mean understand thank you  

so much oh glad to hear I thought you were like  creating a new I like that though thunderstand  

that's kind of that's kind of a cool a cool word  though so Tam says are there any specific language  

learning apps or software that you have found  helpful uh not really I mean again like the

uh make sure this doesn't fall on me here all  right uh if the if the goal is to speak now some  

people their goal is not to speak and that's fine  and maybe they just want to watch movies but if  

you want to communicate so if your goal is to  let's just say U have good conversations with  

people then you should spend your time watching  how people actually speak all right so like the  

goal I'm I'm trying to think of a good way to to  describe this or write this visually for you but  

like the kind of goal uh we'll just put here like  a goal has to match with kind of reality we'll  

just put it that way so we want these two things  uh let's let's let's say I don't know I'll draw  

this kind of like a like a puzzle piece I guess  so the goal and the and the reality have to fit  

together it's kind of like when you practice for  a sport the practice should be like a game as much  

as possible all right if I just go to a like a I  don't know a playground and I'm shooting baskets  

by myself it's a different environment I'm not  really practicing like a game and when a real game  

comes I will probably not be prepared for that all  right and so that works the same way with language  

learning now the problem I have experienced  personally trying different apps to learn  

languages is that the like the kind of uh the  goal might be there but like the practice uh is  

is disconnect Ed we'll kind of put it over here I  guess like the practice is disconnected from from  

the reality of the way people speak so I might  learn some useful vocabulary let's say I I don't  

know I use I don't know some app and it teaches  me some useful vocabulary if I go to a real  

conversation and they don't use that vocabulary  then I'm I like I I I stutter and I forget my  

words and it's going to be a very unpleasant  experience for me so again the the practice of the  

thing it should be like the the the actual thing  you want to do so for language learning you should  

get examples that really help you understand the  way people really speak and so I have not found  

anything like that uh with an app uh like the the  reason I created uh Frederick which is our app is  

actually because it's trying to teach you how to  read and spell and that's a specific thing where  

you actually need to read it and see it and and  see actual examples like that so it makes sense  

to use an app but if you're trying to learn how  to have conversational fluency you really need to  

see lots of examples of how people speak all right  and so the best way to do that is you know getting  

videos if you don't have uh like somebody with you  to speak with but even if you do have someone to  

speak with I've I've shown you why uh sometimes  that that's not uh like a good way to learn  

because the the native speaker you might speak  with is going to change the way they speak that's  

why teachers who might be native they also change  the way they speak like me right now I'm changing  

the way I speak so that you can communicate with  me like you understand what what I'm saying all  

right so even if you're only sending me a text  uh text comment or something I'm changing the  

way I speak and I would not speak this way with  maybe some other natives all right so anyway the  

the whole point is uh I I've not found anything  but it is easy to create this situation where  

we have all these examples of native speaking and  you just think about what's the vocabulary or the  

situation you want want to speak in so if you are  a doctor and you want to learn English for I don't  

know Hospital communication or whatever watch  YouTube videos or movies or whatever about that  

particular thing all right the what what I do uh  as an English fluency guide is making the language  

understandable because it's much more difficult  to just watch movies and try to understand what  

people are saying so if you have like a bridge you  can go in some easy steps to go from where you are  

to the actual more ult native English over here  it's it's possible to do that by yourself it's  

just much more difficult so it's also difficult  for me trying to do this with Japanese because I  

have to create this myself I have not found like a  program that does what I do for learning Japanese  

uh but again it it is possible to create that  and I know how to do that because I did it for  

English Learners anyway um if you find something  maybe that's helpful but remember the practice of  

the thing should be uh with like what the real  thing is like uh so Sergio just mentioned chat  

GPT uh like I've done that before trying to speak  with chat GPT but I found that chat GPT can make  

mistakes uh and another thing is again chat GPT  doesn't doesn't speak like reality all right so  

you will get some examples you can get some good  examples of what vocabulary might be but it's  

different from how people really communicate and  so reading some text on a screen uh or listening  

even to chat GPT talking with you uh uh it's  different from how a native would actually  

speak all right so they're going to speak a  little bit more clearly uh and even the chat  

gbt I have if I'm trying to learn Japanese it's  not even a Japanese voice it's like I don't know  

like it I mean it sounds like an American speaking  Japanese with a little bit of an accent because of  

I mean that's just the languages that they have  uh but anyway so like whatever you're using try  

to make the practice like the real thing okay  so if I'm watching Street inter interviews or  

or just like like if I go to a cafe I will just  sit there and pretend like I'm reading a book but  

listen to other people having conversations  you know I'm kind of spying on people and I  

actually like fluent for Life members will know  I recommend uh spying on people in this way again  

because like uh as soon as people know that you're  listening they will change the way they speak okay  

so if you want to know how people really talk  you have to hear examples of how people really  

talk all right that gets you on the uh the inside  which is where most people would like to be all  

right uh let's see so hopefully that did I finish  that one already let's see oh we got a bunch of  

these comments now oh my goodness Nal says Hi Mr  Drew awareness and ownership technque teaching  

is come in handy always Sri Lanka thanks Drew  yeah it's my pleasure uh he's mentioning these  

different levels that I talk about about for  understanding so when we first hear something  

this is exposure to the language you might not  understand it or recognize it uh but if you hear  

it a little bit more or someone explains it to  you you can reach the awareness level with your  

ability to understand and then the ownership level  is where you really understand something very well  

uh and that's where you feel confident using it  because you've eliminated all the doubt all right  

Elizabeth says uh from Med in colia Keo says great  to see you again Tom lith says anybody I want to  

be in the circle Andi happy face thanks everybody  wheny says hi K Goan you look like you're very  

popular here Tam says uh do you have any tips  or strategies for improving my pronunciation  

in the language get Frederick just click on the  link in the description below this video and get  

that there basically two things you need to do uh  I've already explained one uh so the first part  

about understanding how natives really speak you  need to see examples of how natives blend sounds  

together because even if you know the individual  sounds people will speak differently and the the  

pronunciation of phrases is different than the  pronunciation of individual words but you also  

should know those pronunciations and that's what  Frederick teaches you so it shows you how to learn  

the different sounds and you can uh find the  specific sounds you need um maybe you're able  

to make some sounds but not others but Frederick  will show you what those are so you can actually  

go through the app and learn the pronunciation  the same way native English speaking children do

uh let's see and it says can you tell me the  difference between beware a lot of and lots  

of yeah there's no difference for that uh let's  see you will hear a natives using both of those  

uh and again like when I when I say there's no  difference I'm I'm assuming a particular situation  

like there are lots of things here or there are a  lot of like there are a lot of people at the park  

or there are lots of people at the park so uh  it it's important to understand vocabulary and  

learn it for particular situations all right uh  let's see uh it's cool yeah hray is a do yeah that  

like my name it's like it kind of sounds like  do with that Katakana like do do D rather than  

do do both of them are not the sound just not is  not in Japanese so they can't make it anyway but  

that's the closest thing do you usually I I tell  people to call me Andy which I I don't really like  

that name but it's easier for Japanese people to  say all right Chan says my girlfriend is a native  

speaker from LA and I'm Sri Lankan but talking  with her I only get very limited vocabulary I  

have to find other ways to improve I'm fluent to  some level by the way yes uh and so again like  

if I'm if I'm speaking with my wife or somebody  it doesn't really matter matter who I'm speaking  

with but if they think I'm not a good speaker they  will lower their speaking ability so like even if  

I'm I could be married I I mean I am married to  a native Japanese speaker uh but if they think  

I don't understand something you know if she was  like well I'm trying to explain something about uh  

like doctors or whatever and I just don't know the  vocabulary she will kind of explain it to me like  

a child and that's okay you know so I understand  that's how I learn what the vocabulary is uh  

but again if you want to get in the Inner Circle  they are assuming that maybe you don't understand  

something so you have to you have to show them  that you do by using the vocabulary so at first  

just listen and try to understand what people  are talking about all right and hi teacher how  

are you I'm doing all right good morning want to  speak English uh teacher I want to speak English  

but I have a problem with words what I do I would  spend more time getting more examples so typically  

when I'm I'm looking at the these comments I can  tell typically a person's English level by the way  

they communicate but most people would it would  easily improve if they just focus on getting more  

examples of the kind of speech they they either  have trouble with or the kind of speech that they  

want to use more Eduardo says I get pretty nervous  even though I've had some real English or real  

conversations in English yeah again like you will  the nervousness usually comes because you have  

some kind of doubt about something and I mentioned  this in a video maybe last week where it's talking  

about um uh like control and it's it was just more  about language learning psychology but if you feel  

uh that you're not in control I I think I I think  I remember the video now this is the one about not  

being able to speak uh with like you can speak  well by yourself but you don't speak well with  

other people so maybe in your mind you're trying  to talk with yourself but you don't have a I don't  

know like a good a good sense for conversations  and typically or part of that the reason that is  

uh is because you you're not in control of what  other people will say so when you're talking with  

yourself you are in control you know what you're  going to say but if you're talking with other  

people then you don't know exactly how they're  going to respond or what they might say so that  

increases the nervousness that you might feel  Serio says uh you can practice with chat gbt Yes  

again you can practice with chat gbt be careful  about mistakes and recognize that chat GPT is  

still not the same way like lots of people would  communicate and even if uh even if chat GPT made  

no mistakes uh it's only one source of English  so just like I'm trying to practice my Japanese  

I need to get many different sources of people  speaking a language uh that's why I particularly  

I enjoy uh like the street interviews of people  of like Japanese people because what happens in  

those videos is there's usually a theme theme or  a question that lots of people are getting so you  

hear the same uh or different people responding to  the same question which is naturally varied review  

it's like the best best thing you can get all  right uh see you soon all right Tom says manabu  

spy on yes spy on people so I'm not really like  spying I don't really care what they're talking  

about it's just more like oh that's how they speak  so when so like when two like older ladies are  

talking with each other about something like okay  that's how they speak with each other that's how  

those those people so I don't say like everybody  but again I'm getting more examples but like there  

are you you get the patterns as you hear this so  if I listen to if I sit at a cafe and listen to 10  

different groups of like I don't know 50-year-old  women talking in Japanese about something I'm  

going to have a pretty good sense like for how  they do and especially it would sound a little  

bit different in Nagasaki rather than Osaka  or foka or whatever uh but again like I'm I'm  

getting lots of good examples of that uh M or am  Amy Amy Photoshop in ukz is z America is z yes uh  

hey sorry my name kind of different it's loyalty  Integrity ah I see it's a uh an acronym uh let's  

see Dan says greetings from Mexico should and must  difference uh I don't want to cover that because  

it would it would be too long of a video uh and  other people are probably covering that already  

uh but again you you should you should you should  get many examples of these different things for  

particular situations so try not to start with  vocabulary like what does should mean you should  

be thinking uh in what situations do people use  should so you're trying to learn it backwards in  

that way and the more examples you get the the  better you will understand that uh let's see  

uh this is a grammar doubt yes exactly hit the  like button everyone yes uh Quran says what now  

is the time in USA no idea you should Google that  there are also different time zones in the in the  

United States I prefer teacher Drew's classes than  chat GPT so chat GPT can be useful and I use chat  

gbt but I've just I've I've found it can be quite  frustrating when I'm trying to learn Japanese with  

it just because I I can see it making mistakes  and I'm just I'll test it even with kind of  

lower level stuff and like why did you say that  or why are you you know changing formats when I  

ask you to not do that and and things like that  so it can be a little it can be a little bit  

frustrating uh but it is good in general to get  more examples of native speakers actually talking  

the nice thing is you don't have to physically be  there talking with anyone you can just find this  

on YouTube or wherever Worley says how can improve  my English when I live in a country with people  

that speak native languages yeah so this I just  answer this question uh but the basic idea is that  

you you become fluent by getting lots of examples  of native speech and so you don't physically need  

to be there with people you just need to listen  and understand what people are talking about and  

as you get different examples of that like you  can find on YouTube or like we have INF fluent  

for life um that's what's going to help you get  fluent in the language so the the thing the thing  

that like that's interesting about learning trying  to learn by yourself uh and me this is the problem  

I experience is there's lots of content is is  it's like a whole ocean of content so it can be  

difficult to try to find what are good examples of  things and what are good examples that might help  

me with specific grammar points or whatever if you  know what those are you can find them but the like  

uish y g l i s huglish uh that's a a site you can  use to if you're looking for specific vocabulary  

you can enter that vocabulary and YouTube or  uish will give you examples of that um on YouTube  

but uh if you don't know what the vocabulary is or  you don't have anyone to really explain what the  

vocabulary is that's the more frustrating part so  it it is more difficult uh and it just takes more  

time if you're trying to do it by yourself but  it is possible to do uh what is more important  

listening or speaking for beginners uh well not  I wouldn't I wouldn't say either of those really  

it's just it's just understanding the language  so a lot of understanding comes from listening  

but if I if I want to know what an orange tastes  like this is not an orange but if you imagine I  

have an orange I'm not going to listen to the  orange I'm going to taste the orange so the  

point is to understand what something is uh and  so listening is certainly helpful for that but I  

would certainly say don't try to force yourself  to speak before you're ready so if you're not  

comfortable it means you have doubts about the  language solve those doubts answer those questions  

and you will speak more fluently all right uh  good example says Tom uh I want this language from  

you and still discovering it goad here okay go  says teacher what what should I do about this the  

function words that are really difficult to catch  for me I is particularly hard I can't catch it at  

native speaker speed uh uh so like again when  we're when we're trying to listen to different  

native speakers if you have trouble like listening  to people or catching specific sounds like that um  

I would read a transcript first like we do  and so I recommend this for for many people  

in fluent for Life uh certainly people who have  lower levels that want to read something first  

to really understand it well uh and then when  you listen it's a lot easier to understand that  

vocabulary so that's one way to do it uh another  is to lower the level of the the English you're  

listening to so if I listen to kids speaking  English I can usually get some like better  

examples of something uh but if I'm listening to  some people that just aren't clear speakers then  

it's more difficult to get that um but again  that that's the kind of thing you can use uish  

for so if there's specific sounds you want or  specific words or phrases or something uh you  

can uh put that into uish and it will explain to  you or just give you examples of uh lots of that  

vocabulary so remember a naturally varied review  is the key uh not not a lot of people are going to  

say everything clearly so we we really should  get lots of examples examples but as you hear  

many examples you understand the patterns and  it's easier to recognize when people are going  

to say something all right so like I should do  something or I would do something becomes you  

know we're going to shorten things like that like  hide I do something uh let's see and Hui says how  

to improve spontaneous speaking you have to know  the language really well or you have to know that  

specific vocabulary that you're trying to speak  very well uh but like another thing I in U in the  

native fluency blueprint which is also uh part  of uh fluent for life I talk about moving like  

water uh and this is where native speakers like  I you'll you'll see me do this a lot in my videos  

but you probably don't realize I'm doing it so I  will be talking about one thing and then maybe I  

can't think of the like maybe the best way to  express it so I may have to switch s my words  

or say something else so as an example I'm trying  to think of I'll let you know next time I do it uh  

but if I say something to to to appear to speak  better and this is not it's not trying to trick  

anybody it's just like because the communication  is better if you can keep it flowing rather than  

stop and stutter and uh forgot what I was going  to say that we're trying to solve that problem  

uh and when I'm communicating I want to try to  speak smoothly and give you lots of examples of  

that that's why I do these live videos um but if  I'm saying something let's say I say something  

and I accidentally say the word don't so now in  my mind I have to switch to the opposite thing  

like I meant to say do so I wanted to say do but  I said Don't by mistake you know and but but in  

my in my in my mind I'm already like okay I was  going to say this well I can't say that now going  

to switch to this other thing over here and I just  reverse the sends so as an example I say something  

like um uh what I what I do recommend so I want  to say that so what I do recommend is uh going to

school so as an example so what I do recommend so  do we're using do here for emphasis so what I do  

recommend uh is or what I do recommend is going to  school so I recommend that thing all right so what  

I do recommend is like going to that restaurant  or doing this other thing over here so what I do  

recommend uh but I accidentally for whatever  reason I say don't all right so I might say  

oh what I don't uh but in my mind I have to very  quickly switch and move like water switching to  

something else uh and so I'm saying oh what  I what I don't recommend is skipping school  

and so in that like it's like oh like because I I  know the language well I'm able to manipulate the  

language well without people realizing that I'm  doing it okay so if you look at people who are  

professional speakers that's what they're doing  like and you watch them carefully you will see  

when they when they do this kind of switching from  one thing to another all right I should probably  

make a video about like examples I think maybe I  did one one time I don't remember uh but anyway  

this is what people are doing this is what I'm  doing when I speak so when people say wow you're  

able to continue speaking it's because I'm able  to switch back and forth here now I I'll mention  

very briefly I I talk more in detail about moving  like water uh in Native fluency blueprint uh but  

again when we're talking about switching from one  thing to the other uh fluency means that you know  

the vocabulary really well I don't have doubts  about using the vocabulary so if I accidentally  

say this I don't have to say oh no I didn't mean  to say that I just I just switched to something  

else and uh this is also other vocabulary that  maybe non-natives also know uh and the the kind  

of deeper idea about moving like water to continue  fluently speaking and i' I've talked about this in  

many other videos uh is that if you trying to  explain something and you have only one way to  

say it then you will then you will get stuck so if  this like let's say I like I only know how to say  

the word don't for example so if I say something  I uh oh no I forgot I forgot the word don't I I  

can't remember what the word is so in this way I  can only I only know how to make like one sentence  

in this way and that means I'm trying to express  an idea and I can only say it in one way but a  

native could actually Express that same idea in  many different ways and that's what's happening  

when people are speaking fluently so if you  watch a really good speaker what they're doing  

is they're trying to express an idea and they  could say that in many different ways but what  

happens with non-natives is they usually have just  one way to say something and if they forget that  

one way that's when they struggle okay so it's not  it's not really about knowing more vocabulary it's  

just knowing the vocabulary really well so that  I know oh like I know the word skip like I'm like  

skipping like running skipping like you probably  know that kind of skipping but skip because I know  

the word well I know various uses of it I also and  also know Skip means to not do something all right  

so as an example like if I have uh I don't know  I I woke up late so I skipped breakfast so I did  

not like I skipped over that thing I jumped over  that thing like I I'm just like la la la skipping  

you know skipping like a child might skip so I'm  skipping something so I can skip breakfast I can  

skip a workout today or I can skip you know  skip school or skip something we're talking  

about not doing that thing so as a native if I  forget or I don't use something and I I can't  

think of the exact way to express it I just easily  switch to something else and I'm able to do that  

because I know the vocabulary really well it's  not because I know more words it's because I  

know that vocabulary very well so even young kids  like they will try to say something and especially  

if you watch like my like my daughters you know  they're trying to explain something in Japanese  

or English or whatever young kids they are still  developing in this ability because they just don't  

they don't spend enough time well they they do  but they're they're basically getting a lot of uh  

vocabulary examples but it's not very systematic  like this so they might hear something and then  

maybe a year later they hear a different example  something uh but again this is this is how they  

develop this skill over time just by knowing the  vocabulary very well so if I forget this word but  

I remember this word then I'll just use that word  okay so I call it moving like water because you  

can imagine like water it just goes around a rock  so if you forget something or you stumble like you  

just move around it you go to something else all  right and you're able to do that because you know  

the vocabulary well it's not because you have more  vocabulary it's just because you know it so well  

all right so when people only know one way or one  translation or one example of how to say something  

like a greeting if everyone just says hello that's  all they know how to say then they're going to be  

surprised when natives say hey or hi or what's up  or what's happened or how you been okay so these  

are all different ways of expressing the same  thing so if you're trying to become fluent you  

want to learn to express yourself communic like  to communicate fluently uh without stopping and  

stuttering or forgetting words just spend more  time knowing your words better and you do that  

by getting lots of different varied examples  so lots of different examples from different  

people hearing things in different tenses in  different speeds really understanding what  

vocabulary means and I promise you if you do  that you will naturally become a good speaker  

automatically okay so this is what I call learning  English as a first language you're spending more  

time getting many varied examples of things that's  why I do this in every video to really help people  

understand and see like oh this is actually how it  works I'm giving you examples so you should feel  

when I when I give you this example of skip you  should be feeling oh like if you didn't know that  

already look at that now I know another way to  use the word Skip and that also gives me another  

way to say not doing something so a friend of mine  says hey did you have breakfast today no I skipped  

breakfast I wasn't hungry okay or you could say  no I did not eat breakfast like I can take some  

you know regular textbook English which is fine  but if I want yeah just I skipped breakfast this  

morning okay so when you hear that like you should  feel like ah like the aha moment comes and you get  

more examples as you really learn something you  really understand you well okay so notice like  

I I did all this with I don't have a plan I don't  have a lesson plan in front of me I'm just looking  

at the comments as I as I get them but I'm able  to do that because I know the vocabulary well all  

right I don't have like a super huge vocabulary  I bet if you looked at my the words I use in all  

these videos I should probably do that like  run all this vocabulary through chat GPT or  

something uh but you would see the the the number  of words I use is not very it's not very big and  

they're not very Advanced words either okay so  I know the vocabulary well I'm able to use it  

well I'm able to use it fluently because I know it  well okay and you can do the same thing so don't  

don't try to spend your time speaking with lots  of people spend more time getting more examples  

of the language all right so you can either  do that with me like what we do in fluent for  

life or you can try to do it yourself but it is  possible to do and you can do it all right uh all  

right uh what is the correct sound for the word  Apple Oh you mean the pronunciation of it like an  

apple like apple I mean I would say it like that  Apple you might hear somebody say it differently  

but if you're looking for pronunciations of  words like that just get Frederick we we take  

you through over 2,000 words and sentences and  you can hear how these different words are made  

like apple and and that that's the uh just  using a short a sound like a a apple cat bat  

uh so that's level two actually level two  and level three cover that all right Tom  

says uh let's see all let's see sir I like to  read articles about politics uh economy Etc by  

reading articles I realize that my English is lack  vocabulary yes so if you if you're interested in  

something then the more input you get for that  thing if you understand it it will help you get  

fluent so if you if you feel like you're on the  uh like not in the Inner Circle then get more  

examples of that thing all right uh let's see  I can see here that most of people wants more  

speaking than understanding yes and and so this  is like and the the interesting thing for me like

uh or kind of the the surprising thing for me  so I am a learner I am a language learner but  

also you know the guide I am an Eng English  teacher and so as a learner like all of the  

things that I do those are the same things  that I teach and I and I teach those things  

because they work for me they work for my  students uh and they've gotten me fluent  

in Japanese and uh the interesting thing is  that like again so I'll do this here as like  

language learner language teacher so what I'm  doing as a learner and a teacher uh so this is  

I'll I'll use English for example here but this  is uh the English as a first language example  

and then the English as a second language  which is what most people are doing uh so  

for me learning English as a first language  or learning Japanese as a first language I  

want to listen and I want to to really try  to understand the language a lot so I'm not

talking so I'm not trying to talk it doesn't  matter where I live I could get fluent in I  

could I could live in Saudi Arabia or Texas or  wherever it doesn't matter and I could still get  

fluent in Japanese because I understand how to  learn and I'm not trying to talk because talking  

is the result of me understanding the language  well okay so I could try to talk if I don't  

understand something but I probably won't feel  very confident or speak very well U so it's much  

better for me to just understand the language well  uh but with ESL there's like it's lots of people  

talking but people not talking very well and lots  of ways to time trying to find people to practice  

with uh or whatever so they're like ah I don't  live in an english- speaking country what can I  

do you know everyone says you should be speaking  if you want to become fluent in a language and I  

just say why is that helping you just take  a moment and think about that and because  

that I thought about that I like I'm trying to  speak but I don't feel more confident what's the  

problem okay I'm trying to speak I don't feel more  confident what's the problem the problem is if I  

still have doubts about the language I'm not going  to feel confident saying something okay so I feel  

confident about some things but not yet others so  I'm going to need to practice those things more  

and by practice I mean get more examples of those  things so I really understand what what that means  

and when I get that ah like that aha moment uh if  I can figure that out and usually I just have to  

like kind of figure it out myself because I don't  have a specific teacher to help me uh if I can do  

that then I feel confident about speaking so  in the ESL way the typical way you're trying  

to look for lots of speaking opportunities but  when you're in those speaking opportunities often  

people are not feeling very confident and they  don't they don't really say very much and even  

if they have these speaking opportunities like you  could speak with a native the native is going to  

change the way they speak so it's not even the way  they normally speak with other natives which is  

the topic of this video all right so like stop  looking for speaking opportunities and look at  

all the the content that's available right now  you I mean you don't need to go anywhere to do  

that you're already learning with me right now  and we're not in the same room so you could do  

that I would not talk spend more time trying to  understand the language and then that's how you  

actually become you actually become fluent so  as a teacher I do the same thing all right so  

I don't I don't spend uh a lot of my time telling  people to speak I I do for the people who already  

feel confident like if you do that's great get out  and and meet people and speak uh but if you don't  

feel confident spend more time understanding the  language and you can do that anywhere so there's  

nothing stopping you no excuses uh it's not a  Time issue either like you're already probably  

not using your time very efficiently none of  us are you know like that we're all spending  

some time uh like messing around or while we're  doing something else or we're looking at our phone  

or whatever and so there's always more time  you could spend doing something and if you're  

understanding the language more it will make you  feel more excited about about spending more time  

learning okay but if you're doing the typical  thing where you're not learning something you  

don't really understand it very well and then you  try to speak it's very demoralizing demoralizing  

or just it's very frustrating it's a very  embarrassing and difficult way to improve  

which is why I don't recommend it all right so  this is what I used to do so as like when I was  

learning before I used to try to do this but  it didn't help me and so so I I would I would  

try to you know just just try to feel confident  anyway and get into a conversation but if you  

don't feel confident you're not going to speak  all right or you might so like talk about a few  

things that you that you know you can speak about  but you will not maybe understand other things or  

you will not feel confident about speaking about  other things but that's basically how it works all  

right so instead of looking for people to speak  with get more examples of whatever you know and  

you can learn like for me trying to learn uh I  should make a video about this like what I do  

for learning Japanese uh but it's a similar I mean  it's basically this I I have to kind of make like  

a um basically I I create like fluent for life  for myself as I'm learning which like kind of  

the same way I created it for English learners but  for example I will have like 30 30 minutes of or  

you know 15 minutes or whatever of trying to like  I'll get a particular grammar point or something  

and I'm just trying to understand what that means  maybe from like a textbook example I don't really  

like using it but I don't have a different  way to get those examples so I could get it  

from a textbook or I could get it from a YouTube  video that's it's more of like a kind of teacher  

trying to do that and I it's it's rare for me to  find good examples of people who can really make  

the language understandable all in Japanese it's  hard to it's hard to find it might be out there  

but it's hard to find but I'll spend like some of  my time doing that uh and so what I'm doing is I'm  

putting a particular grammar point or thing into  my mind that I'm looking for and if I'm really  

like really working hard about uh you know trying  trying to think about how to learn then I might  

go to uish and put that vocabulary like whatever  that grammar point is and then look for examples  

of that but it's usually uh like a nicer thing if  I just watch a whole a whole video or a TV show  

where I'm kind of listening for that particular  grammar point maybe it comes maybe it doesn't but  

you know I'm not so strict with the learning so  what I do in fluent for life is I actually create  

the content so it's easier for me to control this  for Learners so I know we're going to be focusing  

on this grammar point I know it's going to be in  this conversation and you will hear it a couple  

of times uh but that's basically what I'm doing  so I'm not trying to speak I'm just spending a  

lot of time getting examples of those things  uh and that's how I would be develop fluency  

so this is the same thing I teach to other people  so it's the job is easier than most people think  

just get lots of good examples of the the kinds of  English you need for your life whatever that is uh

right uh okay I can see here all right uh let's  see I want to be a great English speaker says dan  

well that's a good a good goal I would make  it more spefic specific like a great speaker  

about what you know focus on a particular thing  that you're able to speak about and then you can  

expand from there let's see Juan Carlos says hello  I have to use a tiny bit of ability talking but as  

I get older I've lost it and I feel more nervous  to get into a conversation I feel like I'm walking  

backwards ah yeah it's an interesting problem I  it often it often happens as we get older and and  

that's another part of the psychology of language  learning uh but again you don't have to be with  

other people in order to improve you just need to  like get examples of that of that speech so you  

can get the speech without the the person being  physically there all right that's the the really  

amazing uh the gamechanging thing about being  able to learn today because you can get examples  

of this stuff anytime you like uh PR says hi good  morning sir how is everything going on all right I  

hope you are okay I always look up to you because  your lessons are very important to me thanks a lot  

have a great day glad to hear it and person says  why don't you you laugh I like to see sir when you  

teaching it's very nice why don't you why don't  you laugh what you me laughing well I I laugh  

sometimes if something is funny to me Mr craft  says can I learn a second language like Japanese  

for example behind English for knowing my English  levels B2 uh well they would be indep dependent so  

you learn Japanese and you learn English I would  not try to learn English through Japanese but if  

you're learning Japanese and you're learning  English you could ilder says all right man  

all right I picking I what I don't even know what  you're saying fool your do I picking a w I don't  

know what that means or I get maybe that's some  uh phonetic way of saying something K says thank  

you very much I'll try to listen to various uses  of I repeatedly I also use a uish thank you Tom  

says uh didn't know yish go is it good yes so  again like that it's a website you can use to  

search for particular vocabulary so if you know  what you're looking for uish will find examples  

of YouTube videos and and let you hear those  examples so that's a kind of naturally varied  

review uh grub says hi good morning sir love from  India it's been two days since you came last came  

online welcome back well yes I mean I I don't make  these videos every day uh but yeah I try to try to  

make some new content for you guys receivers  is what I noticed that logos practically always  

reass me to clarify what I did say when I have a  conversation with them I have no clue why could  

you make a class uh not to simplify it like well  why again natives are paying close attention to  

to you because they would be the better speaker  uh it's like they're like a coach kind of and  

you're the new person on the team and so they're  Maybe going to be a little bit nicer to you um  

and even though it's frustrating for them to to  repeat something or ask you to repeat something  

uh it's they're they're getting that from you  so if you you really have to demonstrate your  

ability to know the vocabulary and if you can good  pronunciation so it like if you if you had to pick  

one of those two things I'm trying to get into a  conversation with someone um like could I could  

pronounce something really well but maybe not  be a good speaker or know many words and people  

would would welcome me into the the Inner Circle  they would probably uh like quickly discover that  

I don't know the vocabulary very well but having  good pronunciation is is a good way to get into  

that because it's telling them that I like I'm  actually saying what I want to say so as an  

example when I first came to Japan and I'm trying  to learn vocabulary my pronunciation wasn't very  

good and when people even if I know what I'm  saying and I know I'm saying something correctly  

if my pronunciation is not very good then they  will assume I don't know what I'm talking about  

so I like I told people like I was I was working  like doing gardening and they were like what like  

what gardening like what are you what are you  talking about you know and like I had to explain  

it a couple times because not not I mean even if  I said it correctly they assume I don't know what  

I'm talking about or they assume I'm talking about  something else so they're trying to figure out  

what's happening and that that's why you get that  problem so it's on you as the person trying to get  

into the Inner Circle to communicate correctly  or to give them some indication that you know  

what you're talking about so if I go if I talk  with some like I'm you know like uh what was that  

there was there was like some I think a TV show or  something where Steve Bui this is an actor he's an  

old guy well he's an old guy now anyway but he has  he tries to talk to these high school kids he's  

like hello fellow high school kids how are you  and they he has like a a baseball cap on backwards  

and stuff like that uh and this is like I think a  meme now but basically where like someone who is  

clearly not a part of that group and is obviously  not a part of that group it's more difficult for  

for that for those people to welcome that person  into the group because they would just think  

he's he's not going to know what he's talking  about or what we're saying or whatever so you  

that's that's the point of this video about you  making it clear by understanding the language  

well or uh really or and actually if you can to  actually say it say it well and pronounce it well  

when you do say something so if I say something  uh that indicates to those people that I know what  

I'm talking about they will let me into the group  especially if I can pronounce it well all right so  

like work on those particular things and people  will uh they will they will ask you to repeat  

yourself less if that makes sense uh right let's  see K I haven't used it either uh danis says the  

day when I could be rolling the pro the problem  around and talking says I'll give it a try Monica

saysat excellente videos well I'm glad to hear  that if you're understanding my videos uh if  

you know other people and Guatemala or anywhere  else then tell them to watch the receiver says  

I mean not to simplify the language please I  see where is your likes you would say where  

are the likes where are the likes or where is  your like if you're talking about individual  

people all right uh let's see so uh BR says I  heard someone said in a conversation I had it  

given to me Drew is had a verb in the sentence  well you're you're talking about like something  

having been done for you like I I had it given  to me it's just it's a different way of saying  

it was given to me or like either they they  they're just saying it in kind of a polite  

way or uh it kind of depends on the situation  like what you're what you're talking about uh  

even looking at that sentence by itself it's not  enough context but uh just to answer the question  

about like had like it would be had given as  one one thing thing that that would be the

verb uh let's see TG you gave me great advice if  I memorize words I got to put the words a lot of  

example yes well remember like it's easier to  get more examples that you really understand  

uh rather than just trying to trying to memorize  a word through repetition so varied review will  

help you understand much faster uh Jackie say  I'm a truly trust your method you would say I  

truly trust your method yes glad to hear it uh  remember you you should uh anything I say to you  

you can verify it for yourself so if you think  I'm incorrect then go ahead and try it and find  

out and most people will find that they understand  the language better and if they understand better  

they speak better that's how it works and this  is the same way you got fluent in your native  

language so it should work but I'm glad to hear  it Nal says please take a water break thing Mr  

Krab says I have a problem when listening you  would say listening to you I fully understand you  

but when I listen to podcasts or episodes of  talking about a story I can't understand it  

well but I can know what they are talking about  yes so that is uh part of the topic of this video  

is you're understanding me and I'm speaking at a  lower easier level of English so if you want to  

understand higher levels of English you need  to listen to that kind of English so I I put  

the example before here about the practice that  you get it should be like the reality so if you  

only listen to uh like like English teachers and  you're not getting good examples and really like  

you kind of need information in between me and  listening to podcasts by native speakers so this  

is what we do in fluent for life so we actually  move you step by step from from this lower level  

to to understanding how natives actually speak all  right so either you do this by yourself and you  

eliminate the doubt that way or you do it with me  all right but you have to do this if you want to  

get from this level to that level that's how it  works no getting around that all right cam says  

sorry I just arrived at the end of the show it's  all right and then high from sedan look at that  

we got through all of the questions and comments  hopefully everyone has enjoyed this remember if  

you want to get into that inner circle you don't  have to spend a lot of time speaking with people  

you just need to listen understand really feel  confident eliminate the doubt that stops you  

from speaking and then the speaking becomes a  natural automatic thing it really is is that  

easy all right so stop trying to focus on speaking  focus on understanding and you will feel much more  

confident in conversations all right uh I RF  says Mr Drew good to hear you again I'm really  

struggling connecting ideas is there a class from  you uh about connectors such as how to use them as  

a native speaker thank you uh we do cover this  in fluent for Life uh and also in some YouTube  

videos I talk about different ways of doing that  uh I forget the names of those specific videos  

but if you look at the live videos you should see  examples of that I usually talk like the title of  

the video is is about the the topic of the video  I I'm like saying that poorly but basically uh  

if you if you look for how to make connections  or topics about that about continuing to speak  

you will find lots of videos about that I think  there's one uh it's like getting more popular  

recently about like the bottom of it has like a  chain on it like a picture of a chain um so you if  

if you look at my live videos you should see  that all right K says thanks uh and again to  

Tom Wendy everybody and Jan I'm following you  thanks really glad to hear it thanks says b  

ASM well remember you can learn to communicate  uh confidently and fluently you just have to  

spend more time understanding the language first  so make it easy for yourself you don't have to  

go anywhere or speak with anybody or spend a lot  of time doing it but just be smart about how you  

do it when you understand something even try to  understand one thing just to prove that what I'm  

telling you is correct U just try to understand  one thing spend one I don't know like an hour  

or even 20 minutes or something pick a particular  grammar point or word or something and get a bunch  

of examples of that thing and I promise you if you  understand it better because you get good examples  

like if you can uh just like I gave uh with the  example of skip in this video but I've done that  

in many videos uh and if you can get fluent in  one thing you can get fluent in many all right  

that's how it works all right uh let's see ESS  says vocabulary is the only way to get a good  

level of English well I mean you can you you you  have to have some words in order to communicate  

so the vocabulary itself is inescapable um but  yeah I don't quite understand the sentence but or  

the question but in general rather than trying to  learn more you should know the vocabulary better  

okay so most people will will not do that and  that's why most people will will continue to to  

struggle because they would rather like continue  to look for more information rather than get good  

at the vocabulary they already know all right  even though it's the easier thing to do all  

right uh the tricky part about that is that the  mind is naturally interested in uh in new things  

and so that's why the the mind is always like  looking for new content to watch all right so  

you need to trick your mind in order to in order  to give yourself the review that you need to get  

fluent and so this is what I call naturally varied  review that's why I keep explaining this about  

different examples of the same thing so if you  watch the same content over and over it's going  

to get boring for you but if you have a couple of  different things that talk about the content with  

different speakers or speeds or in a slightly  different way that won't be very boring for you  

and if you're in like interested in that and you  feel your improvement you will actually do it so  

it is it actually is easy to learn the language  that way if you take your time and focus on that  

uh J let's see janato or jado hi my name is t uh  is there a main method uh that applies to all the  

languages for learning them yes it's just called  learning that language as a first language that's  

it so I call it like efl so learning English as a  first language uh for people learning English but  

and I learn Japanese as a first language as well  that's basically the way to learn any language  

because it's how you got fluent in your native  language just do the same thing again all right  

but remember you even when you learned your  native language you weren't spending a lot  

of time talking with people especially when you  were young because you couldn't speak You're just  

listening getting lots of examples of the language  and over time you really felt comfortable and  

that's when you started speaking okay so just do  the same thing in English and either you can do it  

yourself or you can have someone like me help you  do it all right receiver says thank you Brig says  

thank you as well have no doubt about uh not clear  pronunciation now all right get uh get Frederick  

down in the link below the description it it will  help for for anybody uh anybody out there trying  

to improve their listening and pronunciation  uh H hokimi says are you an American yes I'm  

from Chicago in the United States currently live  in Nagasaki Japan all right that's it for today  

have a fantastic day do click on the links in the  description if you'd like to learn more even if  

you don't join any of the programs you should  learn more about how to to get fluent because  

it's really the thing that's going to get you  fluent as quickly as possible whether you're  

learning uh by yourself or with me all right have  a fantastic day and we'll see you next time byebye