If I Wanted to Speak Fluent English in 2025, This Is What I'd Do [FULL PLAN]

I've been helping students become fluent,  confident English speakers for over 10 years.

Here's my best advice to help  you become fluent in 2025.

Let's start with 9 things I wish  all English learners knew #1 native  

speakers don't care about your grammar mistakes.

I understand that you care  about your grammar mistakes.

I understand that your teacher cares about  your grammar mistakes, and I understand that  

other students care about your grammar  mistakes because as an English learner,  

you're in an English learner environment.

But in the real world, the focus  is not on your English skills.

The focus is on how you communicate  your message, your ideas.

Is that a good idea that you shared?

If it's a great idea but  you made a grammar mistake,  

that doesn't matter as long as your idea is great.

And native speakers in the real  world are not English teachers.

They're not English learners.

They don't know grammar, they've never  learned grammar, they don't care about  

grammar, and quite frankly, they  think grammar is pretty boring.

This is boring, but as long as you're  understood and you're communicating  

great ideas, native speakers don't  care about your grammar mistakes.

And part of the reason that native speakers don't  care about your grammar mistakes is number 2.

Native speakers don't speak perfect English.

I'm an English teacher, so when I'm speaking to  people, students, native speakers, my ear is very  

attuned to noticing grammar mistakes or awkward  sentence structure or incorrect pronunciation.

And let me tell you, I noticed these  three things from native speakers as well.

Of course not to the same degree  or frequency as with students,  

but absolutely, native speakers make mistakes.

And often when a native speaker makes a  mistake, even if someone said to them,  

oh hey you used the wrong verb  tense, they would say I don't care.

Because remember .1 native speakers don't  actually care about grammar mistakes.

As long as they're communicating  an idea, that is all that matters.

So it's OK that you make grammar  mistakes because native speakers,  

even myself as an English teacher,  we don't speak perfect English.

So you don't have to speak perfect English  either #3 you don't need to speak like a native.

The truth is that you can have a thick  accent, you can use direct translations,  

you can use incorrect grammar, and  you can still be a great communicator.

You can still get promoted in your career.

How do I know this?

Because I live in an English speaking country.

I interact with non-native English  speakers all the time who are in  

high level positions or who  are succeeding in their life.

And they do this without sounding like a native.

Yes, I understand that as an English learner,  

of course you want to push yourself and  of course you want to reduce your accent,  

sound more like an American or like a British  speaker, use more natural expressions.

And I certainly encourage you to do that.

But don't let that prevent you from speaking now,  

or from communicating now, or  from applying to that job now.

You can speak confidently, give presentations,  get your dream job with your English skills now,  

even if you don't sound like an American now.

Although you don't need to speak like a native #4  

you do need to learn phrasal  verbs, idioms, and expressions.

You've probably already learned that native  speakers don't speak like textbooks in the  

real world, which is part of the problem  why you've been studying for so long.

And yet you go out into the real world  and you can't understand native speakers.

It's because native speakers  we use phrasal verbs, idioms,  

and expressions that generally students  don't learn or aren't comfortable with.

So in order to confidently communicate  in the real world with native speakers,  

you need to understand us.

You can't have a conversation one way.

Yes, you don't need to speak like a native, but  you do need to understand natives because you  

can't have a conversation successfully if you  don't understand the person you're talking to.

And in order to understand natives,  

you have to expand your vocabulary with  phrasal verbs, idioms, and expressions.

But remember, you don't necessarily  have to use them in your speech,  

you just have to be aware of  them and know what they mean.

So you can understand natives,  but you can use the expressions  

that you're more comfortable with  because you've learned them your  

entire life #5 There's a big difference  between learning and using a language.

One of the things that I  know students struggle with  

the most is that they don't feel confident  speaking or like we just talked about,  

they can't understand native speakers,  but they can understand their teacher.

And the reason why is because students spend  most of their time learning the language,  

absorbing the language,  but not using the language.

Students focus too much on  input, absorbing the language,  

perhaps from watching these videos where I  teach you inspiration and tips like this,  

or where I teach you specific  grammar structures or vocabulary.

That is excellent and you absolutely need input.

You need to know the phrasal  verbs, idioms, and expressions.

You need to know the grammar rules.

You need to know the pronunciation rules as well.

But what's missing often is that output where you  

take that information you just  learned and you practice it.

You practice, practice, practice.

You practice speaking, so you  improve your speaking skills.

You practice listening to real English,  so you improve your listening skills.

And that is the difference  between learning a language,  

which is of course important, but using  a language which is equally important.

I know a lot of students hesitate to speak  in English because they don't feel confident  

they have this fear and it prevents them from  getting that output, from taking their knowledge  

and using it by speaking with native speakers,  giving presentations, going to job interviews.

But that leads us to number six,  feeling nervous when speaking is normal.

Did you know that public speaking  is the greatest fear in the world?

And this isn't for someone  speaking in a foreign language.

This is for someone speaking  in their native language.

Survey after survey show that public  speaking is the number one fear.

It's even a greater fear for  people than the fear of death.

So don't be concerned if you feel shy or  nervous before speaking in a foreign language.

The reality is that if you were to give  a presentation in your native language,  

you would probably feel shy and nervous.

When I first started teaching  students, making YouTube videos,  

giving more presentations, I was terrified.

And I still get nervous to this  day, even after making hundreds,  

thousands of videos and presentations.

Feeling nervous is normal and  feeling nervous is expected.

The thing you need to remember is that you cannot  wait for that feeling of nervousness to disappear.

You have to take action now.

You have to feel that nervousness in your body  and still go to that presentation, go to that  

networking event, go to that job interview,  go to that group with other native speakers.

You can't wait for that fear of nervousness to  disappear because you'll be waiting forever.

The best way to get rid of that feeling  in your body is by doing the action.

The more you do the action,  the more your body will get  

comfortable with that feeling and that  sensation will become less and less,  

even though it might still be there even after  you've been speaking for years and years.

The students feel disadvantaged  because they don't have someone  

to speak with or they live in  a non-english speaking country.

But #7 you can improve your speaking alone.

This is a hard one for students to accept.

It's a hard one for me as a teacher to  convince students to start doing because  

they have this belief that in order to improve  your speaking, someone must hear the conversation.

The conversation must be two ways, but right  now I'm not having a conversation with anyone.

There is nobody in front of me.

I'm speaking to a camera.

Do you think by doing these videos, I'm  improving my public speaking skills?

I'm learning how to articulate more clearly.

I'm improving my confidence.

I'm learning how to improve my body  language, my delivery, my overall speech.

Absolutely I am.

And I know that because if I go back and  watch my very first video and I compare it  

to this video, there is a huge difference in how  I communicate and I am not speaking with anyone.

You have yourself, you can absolutely  open your mouth and start talking,  

but to improve your speaking skills, you have  to open your mouth and have the sounds come out.

You can't think it in your head because yes,  maybe that voice in your head is saying the words,  

but it is very different from actually  opening the mouth and producing the sounds.

You can speak by yourself.

You can record yourself,  you can look in the mirror,  

you can narrate your day as you're doing chores.

You can ask yourself questions and answer.

You can absolutely improve your speaking  skills alone #8 there is no finish line.

The reality is that you're  a lifelong English learner.

You're never going to get to a point  where you say, well, I've learned it all.

I can throw out my dictionaries.

I can cancel all my course subscriptions.

I can unsubscribe from all  English learning channels.

Please don't unsubscribe  because I have learned it all.

You will never get to that point,  and that's a very good thing.

Imagine there was a Doctor Who  went to medical school 10 years  

ago and never learned anything new after that.

Would you want to fly in a plane and you  learned that the pilot graduated from  

pilot school 20 years ago and had never  tried to improve their skill after that?

Of course, not every profession  is constantly learning.

You're constantly improving your  skills in everything that we do.

And this isn't even just with learning,  

it's with your relationships with  people, it's with how you do anything.

You're always trying to improve these areas.

And the same goes for your English.

The reality is if you're at A1  right now, the second you get to A2,  

you're going to push that further  and say, OK, now my goal is B2 or B1.

And then you're going to push  that and say, now my goal is C1.

Now my goal is C2.

OK, I got to the C2 level.

Now what?

Well, now my goal is learn  how to present confidently.

Now my goal is to write a book.

Now my goal is to improve my body language.

Now my goal is to give presentations  to large groups of people.

No matter what you achieve, you will  always look towards the next goal.

And that is a very good thing.

You should celebrate that fact  that you are a lifelong learner.

And because you are a lifelong  learner #9 enjoy the process.

Let's say you decided to start a new hobby.

So you choose soccer and then you  play a couple times and you're out.

You realize, you know what?

I don't really like this very much.

Are you going to feel that motivated  to improve your soccer skills,  

to go to soccer practice, to  want and keep playing soccer?

If you don't like the actual sport,  

then of course you're not going to feel  that motivated to practice or improve.

And the same goes with learning English.

There are so many different ways to learn, and  it really depends on your learning style as well.

Maybe you prefer different styles of videos,  

different styles of learning techniques,  different styles of exercises.

But if you're following a specific learning  method or a specific teacher and you don't  

really enjoy the process, well, then you're  not going to feel very motivated to do it.

But if you're in a program and  you love the style of lessons,  

you find them so interesting and  enjoyable, and you look forward  

to learning a new lesson, well, then it's  going to make everything so much easier  

because you're going to be motivated to log  into that course and complete the lesson.

Or if you find a teacher on YouTube, hopefully me,  

then you're going to be motivated to watch  a video from that teacher every single day.

And the more exposure you get to a language,  the faster you'll improve your skills.

But if you aren't excited  about how you're learning,  

just take some time and find a  method that works for you because  

you need to enjoy the process because  remember, you're a lifelong learner.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finally Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

movies, YouTube, and the news.

So you can improve your listening  skills of fast English, expand your  

vocabulary with natural expressions,  and learn advanced grammar easily.

Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.

You can look in the description  for the link to learn more,  

or you can go to my website site  and click on Finally Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

Now remember those nine things and let's move  

on to how to train your brain  to think and speak in English.

You'll learn 4 proven ways that you can start  

using today and you'll see  results by the end of this week.

And at the end, I'll share some bonus tips  as well #1 think during everyday activities.

Think of all the things that you do in your  everyday life that either are very routine,  

don't require a lot of conscious  thought, or are pretty boring.

For me, it would be getting showered in the  morning, doing my makeup, doing my hair.

And for a lot of people it  might be commuting to work.

And then think of all the chores you  do, doing the dishes, making your bed,  

all those various things that  don't require conscious thought.

Well, why don't you use that  time to think in English?

Now, you might be saying or thinking  in your native language perhaps.

Well, Jennifer, what should I think about?

What can I think about?

And here's the best part.

In order to practice thinking in English,  

you just need to make very simple  statements, very simple observations.

You don't need to make it overly complex.

You don't need to focus on certain  grammar structures or vocabulary.

Just look around and observe the room  you're in and make a simple statement.

Let's say you're brushing your teeth  as you go through that process.

Now remember, you don't have to say this out loud.

You can simply think in your head, but think  in English as you pick up the toothpaste.

Think about that.

I'm picking up the toothpaste.

I'm taking off the cap.

I'm putting toothpaste on my toothbrush.

My toothbrush is very old.

I should buy a new toothbrush.

The toothpaste smells minty.

I never noticed the color  of the toothpaste before.

Now think of how boring this conversation is.

In your everyday life, you would  never talk so much about toothpaste,  

your toothbrush, or brushing your teeth, right?

But you are doing this in your head  to practice thinking in English.

And that's just one very simple  thing that you do every day,  

two times a day, maybe three or more times a day.

Think of all the other things and how you can  simply make observations about that situation or  

about what you see around you, and you're going to  make those observations in your head in English.

As a tip, you can start with simple statements,  

my toothbrush is old, and then take that  statement and try to make it more complex.

Can you change the verb tense?

Can you ask a question?

Can you add an adjective so you  can purposely think of ways to  

make it more complex as an additional exercise?

But start simple and then add on.

So if you're committed to trying  this exercise, put toothpaste.

Put toothpaste in the comments.

Why not #2 speak out loud  when you think in your head.

That is very beneficial to train your  brain to start thinking in English,  

to start processing sentence structure,  grammar, vocabulary in English.

But thinking something in your head is not the  same as opening your mouth and saying the words.

Once you open your mouth and say the  words, it's a different activity.

You're practicing your speaking skills.

Now you might be thinking to yourself,  well, Jennifer, of course I want to speak.

This is the one thing I want to do in English,  but I don't have anyone to speak with.

I live in a country where  there are no native speakers.

That's OK because there are easy ways that  you can practice speaking on your own.

My favorite way and native  speakers use this activity  

as well to practice their speaking skills.

My favorite way is a website  called Random Question Generator.

All you need to Google is Random Question  Generator and there are many different websites.

I will leave my favorite websites.

In the description Now what you  can do with these websites is  

all you do is you click the button  that generates a random question.

Now what you need to do is as  soon as you see that question,  

I want you to open your mouth and start speaking.

Don't think about grammar, don't think about  vocabulary, don't think about pronunciation.

Open your mouth and start speaking.

Make it your goal to speak for  one minute on on that topic.

You can record yourself speaking.

You can just use the voice  recorder app on your phone.

You can also set a timer for  one minute if you'd like,  

so when that timer goes off then you know  you've spoken for that amount of time.

You don't need to do that.

It's just an option.

Now, after you can listen to that recording  and you can think about your pronunciation,  

grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary,  and you can think of areas to improve.

However, as you're doing the exercise, you're not  thinking about your English, you're just speaking.

But here's the best part,  

because you have already taken the time  to think in English every single day.

Maybe you get 510, even 20 minutes  of practice where you're thinking,  

you're observing, you're making  simple observations more complex.

All of that practice that you just did will  help you open your mouth and get the words out.

Give this activity one week,  then two weeks, then 30 days.

I promise you, if you do this three times  a day for just two to three minutes,  

three times a day in 30 days, you are going  to be be so impressed with your results.

So if you're committed to trying this exercise,  

put let's go, put, let's go in  the comments #3 describe images.

This is a more guided method  because when you describe an image,  

you can think in your mind,  which is absolutely beneficial.

I've already mentioned why.

Or you can practice speaking out  loud and instead of using a random  

question generator you are going to use an image.

How are you going to find an image?

You can simply go to Google images  

and put a random word in like  cat or dog and choose any image.

Or you can go to a website that shares  free images like pixels, which I'll put  

in the description as well, and just choose  one of the first images on the homepage.

This is an exercise that I do with my  students and they absolutely love it.

And the conversations that we have, the examples  that they share are so interesting as well.

Now, this is an activity that I do  with my students for free on YouTube.

So make sure you subscribe so you know the  next time that I'm hosting a speaking class.

So here's an image that I used  in my last speaking class,  

and the students shared such interesting examples.

Now all you have to do is describe this image.

You can make observations  about how the people look,  

their clothing, the background, or you can  make statements about what they're doing.

So in this image you might say the man  wearing an orange shirt is kneeling or  

you might say there's an umbrella next to the man.

And again you can make simple  statements more complex.

There's a bright multi colored  umbrella next to the man.

You can even have fun with this and try  to guess what is happening in this image.

So this is what my students did.

Some of them said that the  man is proposing to the woman.

Other people had funny things like the  woman is helping the man because he fell.

So it was really interesting the  different observations that students made.

So you can take any image and use  this to both speak in your head.

Maybe on the way to work.

If you're on the bus or train, you  can do this activity in your head,  

think in your head, or you can  practice speaking out loud.

So are you going to practice  this activity if you are put.

I'm committed but I'm I'm committed  because I want to know that you're  

committed to practicing this activity and I  want you to be committed because I know the  

results that you're going to get are going to  make you so confident so happy and so proud.

Number 4A daily summary.

Now this is an activity that you should start  doing regardless because preparing a daily  

summary is a great way to reflect on the day  and ask yourself, what areas am I very proud of?

What areas could I improve on?

And this is just a great thing to do  for your overall personal development.

But we'll focus on how this activity can help you  train your brain to think and speak in English.

Well, the same thing that we talked about before.

You can think these activities in your  head and if you are in a public place,  

this is a great time to just think the activities.

If you are in a more private place,  then you can say it out loud.

And always remember the option is  there to record yourself speaking.

And with your daily summary, of  course, you can summarize your day.

You can talk about the best part of your day,  the worst part of your day, three things you're  

grateful for, three things you're proud  of, three things you want to improve.

And the best part is you don't need  need to summarize your whole day.

So you don't need to do this at night.

Maybe your nights are very  busy getting your kids ready  

for school or preparing for work the next day.

So you could do this activity  every day at noon, at lunchtime.

And you can summarize your morning.

So the daily summary doesn't  have to be your entire day.

You could summarize your morning, you  could summarize a meeting at work,  

you could summarize your evening.

Or you can do this multiple times a day.

So you could summarize your morning  and then summarize your evening so  

you have the opportunity to do this twice a day.

Whatever works best for you.

The more you practice, the  faster you'll get results.

I have two bonus tips for you.

Bonus tip #1 Surround yourself  in English as much as you can.

Ask yourself, what can I do to  make my environment more English?

Can you change the settings on  your phone or your computer?

Can you start listening to English music?

Can you start watching English TV shows?

What can you do that's easy for you to  do to make your environment more English?

Can you put labels on all the items in a room  or your entire house and their English labels?

So think about one thing, one thing that you  can do to make your environment more English.

Because of course, the more you  surround yourself with the language,  

the more that your brain  will absorb that language.

And bonus tip #2 the most important is be patient.

This is not going to dramatically  change your English overnight.

But in seven days, you will see some results.

In 14 days, you will see some results.

In 30 days, you will see some results.

But if you take those results from the seven  days, 14 days, and 30 days, guess what?

The result is a lot bigger than you may realize.

And that's only 30 days.

Imagine you do these four.

Very simple, free activities  that only take a few minutes,  

and you do these activities every day for 90 days.

Imagine the results that are possible.

So be patient.

How to speak English so good  native speakers are impressed.

I'm impressed.

I'm impressed.

You'll learn 9 tips #1 master the basics.

It certainly will not impress anyone.

Not native speakers, not your  teacher, not other students.

If you say I go store now,  

I'm sure you know that the correct way  is to say I'm going to the store now.

But maybe you forgot that article I'm going store.

Now, even forgetting one small word, the article,  the store, or using the wrong verb tense,  

the present simple I go instead of the  present continuous I'm going makes a  

big difference in how you communicate  and how others receive your message.

But don't worry, you don't need to master every  single grammar concept in the English language.

You only need to master the basics.

There are 12 verb tenses in English, but  only 6 verb tenses make up 96% of speech.

This is why you should focus  first on mastering the basics.

Make sure you have correct sentence  structure, basic grammar, and then  

you can keep improving and keep learning  more advanced concepts #2 use contractions.

I know what you're thinking,  but contractions are not slang.

Contractions are grammatically correct.

Contractions are not unprofessional.

Contractions are used in  professional and formal English.

Contractions help your speech sound  more friendly, fluid, and natural.

Let's take this common greeting.

If you say it without the contraction, it will be.

How is it going?

That doesn't sound impressive  because it doesn't sound natural.

A native speaker would say, how's it going?

They would take how is and form a contraction.

How's how's it going?

Repeat after me.

How's it going?

Now you'll impress a native  speaker #3 connect your words.

A lot of students will pause between  words, but this does not sound natural.

It sounds very robotic and it makes your English  levels seem more beginner than it probably is.

So if you pause between words, it  definitely won't impress native speakers.

Let's take the expression we used before.

How's it going?

So let's say you apply tip to  and you use that contraction.

How is how's?

But you pause between those words.

How's it going?

This won't impress a native speaker.

You need to combine those sounds.

So repeat after me.

How's it going?

We have how's and it so we can  combine that together and it  

sounds like how's it, how's it, How's it going?

And even though there is no connection between  it and going, I still don't pause between them.

How's it going?

Repeat after me.

How's it going?

So if you connect your words, you will definitely  impress natives #4 use idioms and expressions.

Congratulations, you already learned one that  will help you sound natural and impress natives.

How's it going?

You can use this instead of asking  how are you or how are you doing?

How's it going?

And because you know how to pronounce  it, you will feel confident using it.

There are some many idioms and expressions  in English and you can just add a few every  

day or every week to help build your  vocabulary so you impress natives.

Let's start with some basic ones.

Instead of I'm tired.

What could you say that's an  alternative way more of an expression.

You could say I'm beat, I'm beat  instead of I'm going to bed,  

I'm hitting the hay or instead of  you did a great job, you rocked it.

Most of my students already use this one because  I use it with my students almost every video.

You rocked it.

You did a great job.

So if you think I'm doing a  great job with this video,  

why don't you show your encouragement,  show your support and put rocked it.

Put rocked it in the comments to practice this so  

you remember it so the next time you  can use it with natives to impress.

And if you don't like that  expression find a different 1.

You can say you rocked it, you killed  it, you crushed it, you nailed it.

All of those are commonly used and will  impress natives #5 use phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are not slang.

Phrasal verbs are grammatically correct.

Phrasal verbs are not unprofessional.

Phrasal verbs are professional,  friendly, and natural.

And sometimes there is no other  way to communicate an idea.

Sometimes you must use a phrasal verb to  correctly and naturally communicate this idea.

Let's take a look at this image.

What are the people doing?

Hmm, maybe you could say they're leaving the bus.

That is a direct translation.

They're exiting the bus.

Again, a direct translation.

They're getting off the bus.

This is the correct and natural  way to communicate this idea.

In this case, the phrasal verb get on to enter  and get off to exit is the only word used  

to communicate this idea naturally in English.

So you must use this phrasal  verb to impress native speakers.

Otherwise it will sound like you're using awkward  direct translations from your native language.

Number six, understand syllable stress.

Since this lesson is on speaking, you  must understand and use the concept of  

syllable stress, which may not  exist in your native language,  

in order to speak in a natural way  that impresses native speakers.

In English, in every word  that's more than one syllable,  

there is a stressed syllable  and an unstressed syllable.

Let's take this picture.

What is this?

Say it out loud.

What is this?

Did you say BA na na or did you say banana Banana?

Using the correct syllable stress will  instantly make you sound more natural,  

so whenever you're learning a new word,  you must learn the syllable stress.

The phonetic alphabet tells you specifically  where the stress is, and you can listen to  

an audio dictionary and listen for the  syllable that sounds louder and longer.

Banana.

Louder and longer Nah is the stress syllable.

Bah are the unstressed banana.

That's how you can say this word and  impress native speakers #7 Vary your tone.

Did you know that only 7% of  communication is the words you say?

38 percent is your tone, your tone of voice,  

which represents the rising and  falling of the sound of your voice.

So you may already understand this concept because  when you ask a question in English, a yes or no  

question, you have a rising intonation,  which means the tone of your voice rises.

Would you like a banana?

Banana.

So my tone comes up at the end.

But notice how my tone changes  when I say I hate bananas.

I hate my tone comes down.

I love bananas.

My tone comes up on love.

Imagine you just said I hate bananas.

I love bananas.

Notice how different that sounds?

The words are exactly the same,  the only difference is my tone.

In every sentence you say, there should  be a rising and falling of your tone.

This is something you can practice  by recording yourself and listen  

back and ask yourself if you  can hear those rises and falls.

But you also don't want it to be too dramatic  

because that will not impress  natives #8 Add body language.

You already know that 7% of communication  is your words, 38 percent is your tone,  

and that leaves 55% for, you  guessed it, your body language.

Let's look at this picture.

Of course, there are no words, so we can't hear  the tone of voice because there are no words.

But these people are communicating a message.

What are they communicating?

I'm sure some emotions  instantly come to your mind.

Some negative emotions  instantly come to your mind.

They are communicating even  though there are no words.

How about now this is the same couple, but notice  they're communicating an entirely different  

message even though there are still no words,  no tone of voice, because there are no words.

It is only their body language  that they're using to communicate.

So when you record yourself to practice your  intonation, why not use the video recorder  

instead of Justice Audio so you can look at  yourself and look at your body language and  

ask yourself if any improvements could  be made #9 My personal favorite smile.

There are so many studies that  show the importance of a smile.

Did you know that even studies where  people were talking on the phone,  

salespeople were rated higher when they delivered  their sales script while smiling compared to.

While not smiling, even though  this was a phone conversation.

A smile is obvious even when you're talking  on the phone because when you smile,  

it raises your tone, which  makes you sound more friendly.

Imagine you go into a job  interview and you say hello.

Nice to meet you, My name's Jennifer.

Hi, nice to meet you, My name's Jennifer.

Simply by adding that smile,  

imagine I started this video and said  today you're going to learn 9 tips.

Today you're going to learn 9 tips.

Of course, a smile is very closely related  to your tone of voice because as I said,  

it raises your tone and you need the appropriate  body language to go with your smile as well.

So when you're recording yourself and  you're recording yourself with video,  

you can look back and watch yourself as you smile.

Now it is not natural to smile the entire time  you're talking, so definitely don't do that.

But as a fun exercise, you can review this  video and review it from my tone of voice,  

my body language, and my smile.

And why not rate me?

I'm sure I still have areas to improve as well.

And I'm constantly trying to improve  how I communicate because I also want  

to impress native speakers  and non-native speakers.

I want to impress everyone with  my message, especially you.

Here are 14 signs that you're  more fluent than you think.

Number one, you dream in English when you're  studying English, when you're watching a YouTube  

video like this, or even when you're speaking  or reading English, you're using your conscious  

mind because you're awake, but when you go to  sleep, you're using your subconscious mind.

Now, if your subconscious  mind uses English instead  

of your native language, that is a great sign.

That means that the information that you're  learning in English is being absorbed.

Because when we can do things  automatically, it's because  

our subconscious mind understands  those patterns and those behaviors.

Think about it.

You don't have to consciously think about  tying your shoe or brushing your teeth.

You don't think about moving  the toothbrush side to side.

Your subconscious mind does that  for you because you have done it so  

much consciously that your subconscious  mind knows how to do it automatically.

So if you dream in English, it means that your  subconscious mind understands the language.

This is an amazing sign #2 you know  multiple ways of saying the same thing.

The reality is that in English,  and probably in every language,  

there are many different ways  to say the same same thing.

Of course I can say I'm tired.

What else can I say?

Can you think of one other way  that I can say, oh, I'm tired?

If you know it, put it in the comments.

And if you can think of one, that's a great  sign that you're more fluent than you think.

And if you can think of two 3-4 different  ways to say that your English is excellent.

I'm tired.

I'm exhausted, I'm beat, I'm spent.

Did you get any of those?

Maybe some other ways as well?

Now of course I'm tired is an easier example.

Think of some harder ones.

Can you think of a different way to  communicate same ideas in English?

Then you're more fluent than you think #3  you understand different styles of English.

I speak American English, but  I can have a conversation with  

someone who speaks English from around the world.

And there may be some things we don't understand  

with each other style of English,  but overall we can still communicate.

I know different accents.

I know different vocabulary in  different parts of the world.

And even in North America, which  is incredibly large and diverse,  

I can tell if someone is from California  or New York just based on their accent.

So if you can speak to many different native  speakers and you can understand different accents,  

different styles of speech, different vocabulary,  

that's a great sign that you're  more fluent than you think.

Now, you don't necessarily have to know that  that speaker is from California or New York.

That is not required.

But simply being able to have these  conversations to understand the  

different speakers, that is a great sign  #4 you understand cultural references.

When you're learning a language, many idioms,  

expressions, and phrases are  based on cultural references.

Now, this one is very place  specific because honestly,  

I probably don't know a lot of cultural  references from the UK or Australia.

And if I'm talking to someone  from that part of the world,  

they would have to explain that expression to me.

So this one is very place specific.

Think about the type of language that  you're learning, whether it's British  

English or American English or Australian English.

What if you're learning American English  and your American coworker says to you,  

I'm not having a good week with Uncle Sam?

Do you know who Uncle Sam is?

Well, there's a chance it is this  man's uncle and his name is Sam.

But most likely this is a cultural references and  

he's talking about the government  which is referred to as Uncle Sam.

Or what if this coworker asked you what  you're doing for Super Bowl Sunday,  

Would you know how to reply?

Or what if this Co worker wanted to have  a discussion with you about Area 51?

Would you know what that  Co worker is talking about?

Of course you don't need to  know every cultural reference.

And to be fair, I don't know  every cultural reference either.

It also depends on your age  and where you're located.

But if you understand the  main cultural references,  

then you're definitely more  fluent than you might think.

This leads us to #5 you can understand humor.

A lot of humor is based on cultural references,  

so knowing those references will  definitely help you understand humor.

Also, a lot of humor is based on  word play, where you take the meaning  

of a word, but that word has  different meanings based on context,  

and the joke is only funny because it's  using that word in a different way.

This is why you're definitely more  fluent than you might think if you  

understand these types of puns or word play jokes.

How about this one?

Why did the Baker accept the job?

Because he kneaded the dough.

Duh.

Duh.

Did you get that one?

Well, to understand this simple joke, which a  native speaker honestly would not find that funny,  

you need to understand many different  things about English vocabulary.

You need to know that the verb  to knead is when you mix dough.

You need to know that dough is a mixture of flour,  water, eggs, and salt used to make bread or cakes.

You need to know that need has the exact  same pronunciation as the verb to need.

And you need to know that dough is a casual way to  refer to money in addition to the bread mixture.

You need to know all of this in order to  

understand this very simple  and not really funny joke.

So if you understood that joke or if  you understand some jokes in English,  

your English is definitely better than you think.

That leads us to number six.

You understand many idioms and expressions.

Many English jokes are based on  idioms and expressions as well,  

so that's why this is important.

Plus native speakers.

Our vocabulary is filled  with idioms and expressions,  

but there are over 25,000 idioms and expressions.

You don't need to know them all.

But do you know 10203050?

Then your English is more  fluent than you might think.

If I said that test was a piece of  cake or you hit the nail on the head,  

or if I said when pigs fly,  did you understand those three?

Maybe you understood the 1st  2:00 but not the last one.

But that's OK because the last one  isn't as common as the first 2.

So even if you understood two out of three, your  

English is more fluent than you think #7  you can use many different phrasal verbs.

Now notice here I said use different phrasal verbs  because a lot of students know phrasal verbs.

They might recognize them, but being fluent,  

being more fluent than you might  think requires that you can use them.

Because using phrasal verbs is complicated.

This sentence structure changes.

The meaning really depends on  how you're using it as well.

Maybe you can say, did you figure it out?

But you also know that you need  to say, did you get over it?

So you know that the placement of the pronoun  is different for these two phrasal verbs.

Or you know that sometimes you  need an additional preposition  

like don't give up on learning phrasal verbs.

And did you get that gerund verb?

So if you can use many phrasal verbs directly,  

your English is definitely more fluent than you  think #8 you know when you've made a mistake,  

Making mistakes in English is  normal, and it is going to happen.

But let's say you're speaking and you  say out loud, I think I figured out it.

But then the second you said  that, in your mind, you know,  

Oh, I didn't say that correctly,  so you said it incorrectly.

You made a mistake, but you  know you made a mistake and  

you know instantly that you made a mistake.

That's actually a great sign.

This means that you're able to self correct  and you know when you make a mistake,  

this isn't a sign that your English is  bad or that your English isn't fluent.

This is simply a sign that you  haven't practiced that specific  

expression enough for your subconscious  mind to know how to use it automatically.

So you just need more repetition.

But the fact that you can identify your mistakes.

Maybe it's a mistake with grammar, sentence  structure, subject, verb agreement.

Maybe it's a mistake with pronunciation.

But if you can recognize those mistakes,  

that's an amazing sign #9 you can  speak or read without translating.

This is an important one, one  that you probably know about,  

one that might frustrate you because you  still have to translate in your head.

But the reason why you have to translate in your  

head is likely because you haven't  learned enough full expressions.

So you're thinking about individual words  and trying to translate those individual  

words rather than taking a full idea and  know how to communicate that in English.

So again, if you know the phrasal  verbs, the idioms and expressions,  

then you can likely already speak without  translating because you're using full expressions.

And of course, if you can't yet, keep practicing,  

and I know all my videos will help you  with that, so make sure you subscribe  

if you haven't already #10 You can speak  without long pauses between your words.

If you speak but you add a lot of pauses, this is  a sign that the words aren't coming automatically.

You have to think too much about sentence  structure, about subject verb agreement,  

about the right word, or you're just  simply overthinking it and you're being  

a perfectionist and is preventing  you from getting the words out.

You do not have to speak as  quickly as I'm speaking now,  

but if you have pauses, that's  definitely not a good sign.

So if you're able to speak even in  short sentences but without pauses,  

you are more fluent than you  think #11 you use contractions.

Do you say I am good or I'm good?

I did not go.

I didn't go.

I have been well, I've been well.

If you use contractions in speaking and writing  and you feel comfortable and confident doing that,  

you know when it's appropriate  and perhaps when you shouldn't,  

then your English is definitely more fluent than  you think #12 you can use shorthand English.

Have you ever replied back to  someone and simply said been busy?

Or maybe you asked someone a question  and you say you coming tonight?

If you know how to use shorthand English,  where you know informally that you can drop  

the subject and the auxiliary verb in certain  situations and you know those situations  

well, then your English is definitely  more fluent than you think.

Because this is something that native  speakers do as part of our speech.

We don't even recognize or  know that we're doing it.

We just say been busy instead of I've been busy.

So if you know how to do that,  

congratulations #13 You can change from  informal to formal speech instantly.

Let's say you're talking to your Co worker.

Let's say you want to ask your Co worker for help.

So you go to your Co worker and you  say, do you have a SEC to help me out?

But then you see the vice president of  the company walk by and you say Jane,  

if your schedule allows, I'd  love to run an idea by you.

Notice how you use more informal language with  

your coworker and more formal but still  casual language with the vice president.

If you can do this, and you can do this  instantly without having to really think  

about it, and you know what style of  language to use, what words to use,  

how to replace a simple word with a more  advanced word depending on the situation,  

that is an amazing sign #14 you're listening  to this video without closed captions.

Tell me the truth, that little CC button  at the bottom, Did you turn it on?

Do you see the text of this video or are you  listening to this without closed captions?

Now, maybe closed captions are automatically on  for you, but you're not really looking at them.

You're not relying on them.

You're really listening to me.

Maybe you're not even watching the video.

Maybe you're driving or you're doing your makeup,  you're doing the dishes and you're just listening.

But if instead you are reading the text and  you can't rely on your listening skills and  

you rely on closed captions, that is a sign  that your English isn't at that high level yet.

Because you can't go into a job interview or  

a presentation and ask someone to give  you the transcript of the conversation.

That isn't a possibility in the real world.

But if you're able to listen to this  video or TV shows or the news or any  

content without subtitles,  then that's a great sign.

Your English is more fluent than you think.

Don't worry if you can not do  many of the things on this list  

because that's why this YouTube channel exists.

Every single point that I've made on  this list, these are all things that  

I already have existing videos on or  I'll make a video on it in the future.

So don't worry, you're in the right place.

You're going to improve all  of these areas, and for now,  

you can think of the one area  you want to focus on the most.

Use my library of videos to help  you improve that area as well.

Have you ever felt stunk in a conversation because  

you couldn't think of the right word  or you didn't know how to respond?

Let's fix that.

Today, you'll learn how to speak  fluently in English about anything.

Of course, to speak fluently in  English you need a wide range of  

vocabulary, correct grammar, correct  pronunciation, and listening skills.

I have hundreds of videos on my channel to  help you improve all of these areas every week.

In this video, you'll learn how to speak fluently  

in English about anything with  the language skills you have now.

Step one, active listening.

When people speak to you, do you find yourself  

thinking about what you're going to  say next as the person is speaking?

Maybe you're thinking about what verb  tense you need as the person is speaking,  

or maybe you're even thinking about  some task you need to do later on.

Maybe you're thinking about what to have  for dinner as the person is speaking.

Does that ever happen to you?

Be honest, the answer is probably yes, isn't it?

How can I say this with such certainty?

Because I'm guilty of this too.

So if this ever happens to you, put that's me.

Put that's me in the comments  so I'm not all alone.

Now when this happens, you can  say that your mind wanders.

That's the term in English, your  mind wanders or that you zoned out.

You can say that as well.

But it's very difficult to speak  confidently in response to what  

someone said if you weren't even  listening in the 1st place, right?

To improve your speaking skills, you  need to become an active listener.

Not only will this help you with your  English fluency, it will also improve all  

your relationships because listening to someone,  truly listening to someone, is a sign of respect.

When someone is speaking, pay full  attention to help you do that.

Focus on their lips, focus on their eyes,  

focus on their face as a whole,  focus on their body language.

And when your mind starts  to wander, because it will,  

you need to instantly bring your  attention back to the person.

This takes work, as as you're listening you  will naturally think of questions you may  

want to ask, points you want to clarify,  or details you want more information on.

So when it's your turn to speak,  you will have so many ideas to  

prevent those awkward silences and to  help you keep the conversation going.

Step 2.

Be interested more than interesting.

What do I mean by this?

Have you ever had a conversation with  someone and you can tell that that  

person is more interested in talking about  themself than they are in talking to you or  

learning about you or showing interest  in your day, your life, your dreams?

What if you met someone and when you told  them something, you felt like they truly  

listened and you felt like they were  truly interested in what you just said?

I imagine you would think very positively about  

that person and you would want to spend  more time with that person, am I right?

When you're having conversations with  people, show that you're interested in them.

How can you do this?

Well, the easiest way to do  this is by asking questions.

Let's say I just got back  from A7 day trip in Texas.

This is true.

I did just get back from A7 day trip in Texas.

I want you to think of one question that you  

can ask me about my trip to show  me that you're interested in me.

So pause the video if you need  and think of one question,  

just one question you can ask me about my trip.

Do you have it?

Do you have a question?

Feel free to leave your question in the comments.

OK, now I want you to think of two  more questions, So for a total of 3.

Again, pause the video, take  as much time as you need and  

feel free to leave your questions in the comments.

I promise I'll answer as many as I can.

Now let me ask you was thinking of one  question, two questions, three questions.

Was that easy for you or difficult for you?

What if I asked you to think of 50 questions  you could ask me about my trip to Texas?

Could you do that?

Maybe you think that's not  possible, That's too difficult.

But I promise you that I could easily come up with  

50 questions to ask someone about  their seven day trip in Texas.

And I can do this because I've practiced being  interested in others by asking questions.

The easiest way to think of  questions is to think of categories.

So for a trip, the categories  could be transportation, food,  

weather, entertainment, people, nature, likes,  dislikes, recommendations, future travel plans.

And for each category, you need  to think of some questions.

Now you could easily come up with five  questions to ask for each category,  

and there were 10 categories.

So that's a total of 50 questions.

And you could keep a conversation going for hours,  

for hours and hours and hours  just by asking questions.

And you'll naturally have  more questions based on the  

person's answers to your initial questions, right?

But of course, you can't just ask questions.

That would be weird.

You need to share your ideas too, and you  need to do it fluently and confidently.

So Step 3, structure your ideas.

The easiest way to sound fluent,  

confident and professional while  speaking is to structure your ideas.

Think of this video.

This video follows a very specific  structure, as do books, movies,  

meetings, everyday conversations.

I didn't start this video by saying tip 1, improve  your listening because that would be confusing.

It would be like starting a new book.

And the first sentence is she had  to work late to finish the report.

Who is she?

Where does she work?

What report?

Why is this important?

What are you talking about?

Before you start talking, you need an introduction  

that prepares your listener  for what you're about to say.

You can have a more formal introduction like today  

we'll discuss 3 strategies to  improve your listening skills.

Or you can have a more casual introduction like  I'm so excited for my seven day trip to Texas.

Now you know I'm going on a trip.

It's seven days, it's to Texas, and I'm excited.

Think about everything I communicated  with this simple introduction.

Now you'll have your body.

This is where you'll share your main ideas.

So for the first example, I would share the three  strategies to improve your listening skills.

And in the second example, I would give you  more information about my trip to Texas.

The body is where you can include details that  describe The Who, what, when, where, why, and how.

These are the WHS.

Now to think about what to say in the body,  I would simply think of the WH questions.

But answer it.

Why did you choose Texas?

Who are you going with?

Where are you staying in Texas?

The answer to these questions would form my body.

So I could say I'm going to Texas  because I've always wanted to visit  

the Southern US and experience their warm  hospitality and delicious Southern cuisine.

I also really want to see  Cowboys walking down the street.

How cool would that be?

My husband and I are staying in San Antonio where  we found an amazing Airbnb right on the river and  

then we're heading to Austin for some nightlife  and we found an Airbnb right near downtown.

Now that's my body.

So now you just need a conclusion.

This video can't just end after this sentence.

That would be awkward.

What just happened?

I have to say something to  let you know I'm done talking.

I could summarize what you just learned and say  now you know how to speak fluently about anything.

And for my Texas trip, I could say something  like, I know it's going to be a great trip.

Now if you follow this simple  structure, remember introduction,  

body with WH answers and conclusion,  you will easily expand on your ideas  

and realize that you can speak  fluently about basically anything.

And remember, while the person is talking  and hopefully structuring their ideas,  

you are actively listening and you're going to  

keep the conversation going by being  interested and by asking questions.

What if I told you there are only two  things that you need to become fluent?

Would that make you feel relieved because it  

takes some of the complication and  overwhelm out of becoming fluent?

Well, that's exactly what you'll learn today.

The first thing you need is of course, input.

Input, knowledge coming in,  knowledge that you've gained.

And how do you gain this knowledge?

Well, by consuming, and there are three  different ways that you can consume that.

You can get input and they relate to your senses.

You can read with your eyes,  you can listen with your ears,  

or you can use your eyes and ears with  watching like you're doing right now.

Of course, this makes sense.

You already know this.

In order to become fluent, you need input,  You need knowledge gained through consumption.

So this makes sense to you.

Put input.

Put input in the comments.

Now let's make this interactive.

What are some ways, what are some of your favorite  ways that you can get input through reading?

Put one favorite way in the comments.

Well, of course, for reading, you can  read articles, you can read newspapers,  

you can read blog posts, but even reading the  comments section of a YouTube lesson, this  

YouTube lesson or any other social media video,  you can learn a lot by reading the comments.

Keep in mind, you will learn  a lot of slang, English,  

and inappropriate English, but still, you  can get a lot of input by reading things.

Even when you're driving in your car  or you're commuting on the train or  

subway, you're exposed to input.

You see advertisements that you quickly read,  

and I'm sharing these examples because  I want you to understand that you get  

input consumption of the language in so many  natural ways that you probably don't realize.

And that's why you want to always look for  simple strategies to maximize your input,  

but without necessarily spending more effort.

So let's brainstorm one together.

What could be a simple way that you  can get more input of reading English  

that would not take you any more time or  would take you a small amount of time?

Any ideas?

Share any idea in the comment.

We're just brainstorming.

So how about this?

You could change your cell phone, your device,  

your computer to English only and then  everything you see is input in English.

And again, it may seem like a very small  change, and it is a very small change.

It's certainly not something that takes a long  time to do, but simply by looking at your phone,  

looking at your computer and seeing  English, you are getting input.

And that input is helping you become fluent.

Input, input, input.

Put that in the comments three times  just to show you how important it is.

Input, input, input.

And I want you to look for ways, get creative,  

find ways to get more input  without putting in a lot of effort.

So reading.

How about listening?

This is an easy one.

Listening.

Well, you're listening to me right now.

Maybe you're not actually  watching the video because  

you're putting on your makeup or preparing lunch.

So you're just listening.

You're getting input.

Podcasts are a great example of listening.

What else?

How else can you get input through listening?

Put your examples in the comments.

I know you know them, and by sharing  these examples in the comments,  

I want you to be able to look in the  comments, get that input for reading,  

but also brainstorm many other  ways you can maximize your input.

Of course you can listen to music.

You can listen to music as you're preparing lunch,  

as you're putting on your makeup, as  you're commuting, as long as it's safe.

Of course, you can listen to anything really.

So anything that you can listen to is input  music, podcasts, those are great ones.

Now maybe another way you get input  is listening to native speakers.

So there is negative habit called eavesdropping.

When you eavesdrop, it means you listen to someone  

elses conversation, but you shouldn't  be listening to that conversation.

But if you are in an English speaking  environment and you're at a cafe,  

you're just naturally going to hear  the conversations of people around you.

So you can do that in a very subtle way.

Now, if you don't live in a in an English  speaking country or a country where there  

is a lot of exposure to English, well,  you can still be at a cafe and put on a  

podcast in the background or some music in  the background to get that listening input.

Now watching, of course, watching my videos.

So of course, make sure you subscribe  and like this video while you're at it.

If you're finding value in this,  like this video, subscribe.

Watching my videos, watching other English  learning videos, of course watching what else?

How else can you get input through watching?

Put it in the comments because  again, we're just brainstorming.

Well, I'm sure you've thought of many others.

You can watch TV movies, of  course, watching social media.

You're not just listening,  you're not just reading.

A lot of the times you're getting  all three of these on social media.

So all those social media can be  

something that really takes up a lot of  your time if you use it strategically.

You can use the time you're on social  media to maximize your input of English.

So social media, TV, movies,  you can maximize your input.

I'm sure there are other ways to get input.

So share your favorite way and share some tips on  

how you maximize your input in the  comments to inspire everyone else.

Because remember, you can go go to that  comment section and get input through reading.

And of course, through this input, you're  improving all areas that you need for fluency,  

your grammar, your vocabulary, your listening  skills, and your pronunciation as well.

But a tip that's very important is that you should  focus as much as possible on comprehensible input.

What does that mean?

Any idea?

Comprehensible input.

Well, if something is comprehensible, it  means you comprehend it, you understand it.

And this is where you need  to be careful because yes,  

you want to push yourself outside of your  capabilities, your current level of English.

You do want to push yourself, but you  don't want to push yourself so far  

where you're reading a news article  and you don't understand every 3rd  

word and you read the first two paragraphs  and you don't understand anything.

At that point, you're not getting the  input that will be most valuable to you,  

because that isn't comprehensible input.

So the best thing to do is spend about 80%  of your time getting comprehensible input.

And that doesn't mean you understand every word of  what you're reading or what you're listening to.

It means you understand the main idea.

So spend about 80% of your time on comprehensible  input and then push yourself outside of your  

current level and spend about 20% of your time  exposing yourself to more advanced topics.

Before we move on to #2 I want to let you  know you can get this free speaking guide,  

How to Speak English Fluently and  Confidently in six easy steps.

Just look in the description for the link.

Now let's move on to #2 Any idea what this is?

Well, if number one is input,  what do you think #2 is?

Put it in the comments #2 is of course output.

Is that what you put in the comments?

And this quote by Tony Robbins perfectly  describes why output is essential for fluency.

Because knowledge, which is input.

Input is the knowledge gained.

Knowledge isn't power.

Knowledge is only potential power.

Action in your case through output.

Action is power.

I'm sure you understand the  importance of this quote.

Please take a screenshot  right now or pause this video.

Write it down.

Someone please put this in the comments as  well, because this is such a powerful quote.

You should put this on a sticky note somewhere.

You'll see it every day.

That's how powerful it is.

Knowledge is only potential power.

You might know all the verb tenses in English and  you spent months studying them and learning them.

But if you don't do anything with that  knowledge through writing an article  

and publishing it somewhere, or going to a job  interview or sharing your ideas in a meeting,  

if you don't take that knowledge and use  it, what good is that knowledge to you?

It's only potential power.

It's by taking that action through output that you  use that knowledge and gain the benefits from it.

With output, you use your  input to produce language.

And you do this in basically two ways.

You're either speaking, you produce  language, or you're writing.

That's how you produce language.

Here's the mistake that many students make,  

and maybe you're making this  mistake, and that's OK if you are.

But students get too much  input compared to output.

So they get maybe 90 percent, 95%  of the time they're getting input.

Maybe it's a little bit less, a little bit more.

So that only leaves about 5% of the  time to produce language for output.

And students do this on all levels.

At the beginner level, they feel, oh, I need  more input before I start producing output.

But that's not true, because you can produce.

Output at the level you are now.

So produce beginner output if you're a beginner.

And then when you move up  to intermediate or advanced,  

then you can produce more advanced output.

But for now it's totally  acceptable to have beginner output.

But even as a beginner you still need output.

So we need to go from this  side to a more balanced.

Now you might be a little surprised  that I'm recommending 7030, not 50.

Fifty 70% input, 30% output.

This is reflective of how we live our lives.

Even myself in English, my native language,  I still spend most of my time getting input.

I don't speak or write 50% of the time.

I definitely get more input than I do output.

And as a language learner, in  order to reach that fluency,  

in order to produce the output,  you need a lot of input.

So This is why I'm not recommending 5050 and it's  totally acceptable to have more input than output.

But we do need more balance than  what I see students getting now.

Here's my advice to you.

Plan for output when getting input.

Let me repeat that, plan for  output when getting input.

This will help make sure you have that  correct balance of input and output and  

you're getting the two things that  you absolutely need to be fluent.

Remember that quote by Tony Robbins?

Input knowledge is only potential power.

Let's use a video series of mine that students  love my series called Learn English with the News.

If you're not familiar with this, I  have a whole playlist on my channel.

You can watch them after this video.

So when we learn English with the  news, well, it's pretty obvious.

We read a news article together.

We read, but I read it out loud.

So you're actually getting both reading  practice and listening practice for input.

So it's very powerful.

We read a news article together and I  teach you the vocabulary from that article.

I think you might not know.

I teach you grammatical structures  and I teach you correct pronunciation.

So I try to help you improve all  areas of your fluency at the same  

time in a fun and engaging way by  learning English with the news.

So let's think about this.

How could you plan for output  when you're getting input when  

you're watching Learn English with  the news, Let's brainstorm this.

Think of one way that you can use this lesson.

You're watching one of my lessons.

How can you get output?

Brainstorm anything, put it in the comments.

So to get output, how about when I give you a  new vocabulary word and I share the definition?

Why don't you pause the  video and repeat it out loud?

So you are getting output, you're producing  language, you're using the input to get output.

And this fits with our ratio of 7030  because in this lesson you will be  

listening about 70% or more and producing  language getting output, output about 30%.

So that would work.

So you can pause the video and repeat  the word and the definition out loud.

That repetition will be so valuable  to add that to your permanent memory.

What else could you do?

Well, if the video is already paused, why don't  you write an example sentence with that new word?

Or write an example sentence with  that new grammatical structure?

Why don't you form your own  sentence out loud and get speech?

Why don't you summarize the article?

Because in each lesson we  discuss a topic in the news.

So at the end, you can summarize  the article or you can ask some  

follow up questions about  the topic in that article.

You could of course share your  opinion on the topic of the article.

You could create your own  quiz about the vocabulary  

or grammar that you learned in the article.

You could shadow my pronunciation  because at the end of the lesson,  

I always read the article in full.

But you can listen to one sentence, pause it,  repeat it out loud, and shadow my pronunciation.

So you don't have to do all of those things.

I'm just giving you options.

And please think of some other options.

Share them with your fellow  students in the comments as well.

And this is how you can plan  for output when you're getting  

input to make sure you have more of a  balance of 70% input and 30% output.

What if I told you that by the end of this lesson,  

your speaking skills will be 10 percent better,  20% better, 50% better, or even 80% better?

I promise that by the end of this lesson,  

you will have the plan that you need to  dramatically improve your speaking skills.

Imagine you told your friend that  you're learning how to play piano,  

and you told your friend that you  spend time every day watching videos  

on how to play piano, studying piano theory  books, and even listening to piano music.

Your friend says, well that sounds great,  but how much time do you spend playing piano?

And you reply back and say,  oh, I'm not ready to play yet,  

I need to learn more before I start playing.

Your friends will of course be  confused because the only way  

you learn how to play piano is by playing piano.

Of course, learning about piano  theory will help you improve,  

but you will not reach your goal  until you sit down and play piano.

At first it will feel awkward and uncomfortable.

You will sound terrible.

You will make a lot of mistakes.

And guess what?

This is exactly how you learn piano.

The same goes for your speaking skills.

If you want to improve your speaking skills every  week, you need to practice speaking every week.

Yes, it will feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Yes, you will make a lot of mistakes.

Yes, you will pause and hesitate.

This is exactly what needs  to happen for you to improve.

The more you practice, the more you'll improve.

But let me be clear, You must speak  if you want to improve your speaking.

Do you agree with that?

Does that make sense to you?

If it does, put that's right put  that's right in the comments.

Let me ask you a question.

Do you think that someone needs  to listen to your friend playing  

piano in order for your friend  to improve their piano skills?

If your friend is playing piano in  a room alone with nobody listening,  

is your friend still practicing?

What do you think?

Yes or no?

Put your choice in the comments.

Did you say well yes of course my  friend is still practicing even  

if my friend is playing piano in a  room alone with nobody listening.

Do you agree with that?

Well then, doesn't it make sense that you can also  

improve your speaking skills by speaking  in a room alone, without anyone listening?

Can you prepare for a job interview by practicing  

how you're going to answer  a question in A room alone?

If you practice answering job interview  questions in a room alone, will you feel  

more confident answering that question in a job  interview while people are listening to you?

What do you think?

Yes or no?

I hope you said yes.

I will feel more confident by practicing what  I'm going to say even if I'm practicing alone.

And if you answered yes, then it also makes sense  

that you can improve all areas of  your speaking by practicing alone.

You can practice ordering a cup of coffee alone.

You can practice asking for directions alone.

You can practice introducing  yourself at a party alone.

Not only can you practice these things alone,  you should practice these things alone Even if  

you have a teacher or a speaking partner, that  person is only available for a few minutes a  

day or week, but you are available to  yourself every second of every day.

If you agree with me so far, then you  must also agree that you truly have  

no excuse to not practice and  improve your speaking skills.

Now I understand that speaking alone can  be boring, so here are three easy and  

free strategies to make speaking alone fun  and engaging #1 Random Question Generator.

These are free websites that randomly generate  

endless questions that you can  answer to practice speaking alone.

Once you generate a question, make  it your goal to talk for one minute,  

and then you can generate another  question and another question and  

another question and practice speaking  for as long as you want #2 ChatGPT.

You can ask ChatGPT to start a  dialogue with you to practice speaking.

So here's the prompt that you can use.

I want to practice speaking English.

Write a dialogue where you provide only one part  

of the conversation so I can  respond to practice speaking.

So as you can see, ChatGPT replied with a  very simple question, Hi, how are you today?

And now you can hit the microphone button on  

your phone and then vocalize your  reply and submit it to ChatGPT.

So let me do that now.

I'm great.

I'm recording a video to help my  students improve their speaking skills.

Now notice that ChatGPT asked  me a follow up question.

That sounds like a fantastic idea.

What kind of speaking exercises  are you planning for them?

So let me reply to this.

I'm planning exercises where they  can practice speaking alone and  

notice ChatGPT again asks me a follow up  question and this will keep happening.

ChatGPT will keep asking me  questions to get me speaking  

and I don't know what ChatGPT  is going to ask me next.

So this truly is like if you're at a  party and someone asks you a question,  

you don't know what they're going to ask you.

Now at any point you can change the conversation  and just give ChatGPT a specific topic.

Let's discuss movies.

So now notice ChatGPT asked me a question  about movies #3 narrate your day.

To narrate means to explain what happened.

For this activity, you're going to  vocalize your actions throughout the day.

You can do this anytime you're alone or anytime  you feel comfortable speaking out loud in public.

Let's say I'm at home alone and I'm  working at my computer and I decide  

I want to take a break and have a cup of tea.

It will take me approximately  5 minutes to make a cup of tea.

This gives me 5 minutes to  practice speaking out loud.

I can summarize what I've already done today.

I can summarize what I still need to do today.

I can talk about tea and  discuss my favorite flavors.

I can compare tea to coffee.

I can share my opinion on beverages.

It doesn't matter what you say.

It only matters that you  practice speaking out loud.

You can easily do these three  activities multiple times per day,  

and you can easily get one hour or more  of speaking practice every single day.

If you practice speaking in English  every day for an hour a day,  

would you not agree that your speaking  skills and confidence will improve?

I'm sure that you would agree that yes,  yes, yes my speaking skills will improve.

So put yes, yes, yes in the comments below.

Remember that this video is on improving  your speaking skills specifically.

Of course, you need to expand your  vocabulary, improve your grammar,  

improve your listening skills,  and learn correct pronunciation.

But knowing the theory of a grammar rule does not  mean you can confidently use it in your speech,  

just like knowing the names of piano keys or  

knowing piano theory does not mean  you can sit down and play piano.

And that's why your daily speaking  should be done as a separate activity.

This is a smart strategy that will help you see  

greater improvements in your  overall fluency in less time.

Did you know that you can speak fluently  in English with a limited vocabulary?

I have many videos on my channel to help you  

expand your vocabulary because  of course this is a priority.

But you don't need to wait to start  speaking until you learn more words.

Today, you'll learn how to speak English  fluently with a limited vocabulary.

First, let's define what's  speaking fluently is not.

It's not speaking perfectly without mistakes.

It's not speaking endlessly.

It's not speaking like a native.

It's not replacing everyday words with  phrasal verbs, idioms, and advanced words.

Fluency is communicating  ideas clearly and smoothly.

Fluency is the ability to manage  conversations with confidence and ease.

Now let's review some tips on how to  speak fluently with a limited vocabulary.

Tip #1 Focus on the words you know.

I'm sure one of your goals is to expand your  vocabulary, and I'm sure every day or every  

week you watch YouTube videos like mine to  help you learn other ways to express yourself.

But what about the words you already know?

How often do you use those words?

This is like filling your closet with new  shirts every day, but never wearing any of them.

This is wasted money, right?

Wouldn't it make sense to  wear the shirts you already  

own and only buy new shirts when you need them?

This same is true for your vocabulary.

Yes, expanding your vocabulary  is important, but it's equally  

important to practice and use the words you  already know but aren't regularly using.

Your vocabulary will likely double just by  

using the words you've already  learned in your daily speech.

For your action step this week, write down  10 words you already know but aren't using.

Make it your goal to practice and  use these words in your daily speech.

Tip #2 Use frameworks.

I know many students lose  their words when they speak.

They can only provide very brief answers, or they  can only offer a few words before hesitating.

Learning a simple communications framework can  

solve all of these problems and help you  communicate fluently and confidently.

Let's say you're talking to someone  and they ask you how your weekend was.

You can simply say it was great,  but that's a very short answer.

Sure you didn't make any grammar mistakes,  but I'm sure you have more you want to say.

Maybe you think you lack the words.

But what if the problem isn't the lack of words?

The problem is you lack a simple framework  you can use to answer any question.

One simple framework you can start  using today is the prep framework.

Did you know that the word prep is  the short form for the word prepare?

Native speakers frequently  use this in everyday speech.

For example, I have to prep  for the meeting tomorrow.

The prep framework will help you prep  prepare for any conversation you have.

Prep stands for point, Reason, expand point.

Remember someone started a conversation  with you and said how was your weekend?

Now you can answer using the prep framework.

Your point is the main answer.

It was great.

Now you can expand on this  by providing the reason it  

was great we relaxed and watched a movie at home.

This is already a more fluent answer and it uses  very simple vocabulary that I'm sure you know.

Let's keep going and expand on this answer.

You can expand by providing  more information or an example.

Here you can simply state what movie you watched.

Now you can say it was great.

We relaxed and watched a movie at home.

The movie was called Arthur the King  and it was about a man who found and  

rescued a stray dog while  competing in a race abroad.

I'm sure you agree that this answer sounds  a lot more fluent than simply saying my  

weekend was great and notice that I'm using very  simple vocabulary that you likely already know.

The final point in our framework is point.

This is your conclusion.

It's a final statement.

To end your answer here, it makes sense to  

provide a final statement either  about the movie or the weekend.

Overall, you can say it was an  excellent movie and I recommend it.

I'm sure you would feel very  fluent and very confident if  

you provided this answer to a simple  question like How was your weekend?

And remember, this uses simple B1  vocabulary you likely already know.

You can absolutely replace some common  words with more advanced words or even  

keep expanding on your answer, but  that isn't required to speak fluently.

For your action step this week, practice  answering questions using the RE framework.

You can Google random question  generator for a website that will  

give you endless questions that you  can use to practice the RE framework.

Tip #3 Handling vocabulary gaps When you have  a limited vocabulary, you are going to be in a  

situation when you don't know a specific word  or you don't know how to answer a question.

But did you know that native speakers  experience these exact situations?

My husband is very handy, which means he likes  to fix and repair things around the home.

He owns a lot of tools.

I don't know the names of  90% of the tools he owns.

When he talks about repairing something technical,  I don't understand what he's explaining.

Does that mean I'm not fluent in English?

Does that mean I should spend my weekends  learning vocabulary related to tools?

I have no interest in learning this  vocabulary because I don't need to know it.

I can effectively communicate  with my husband without knowing  

the vocabulary and without having  in depth knowledge on the topic.

Just like you can communicate with your doctor,  plumber or lawyer in your native language without  

knowing the same terminology they know or  without having the same expertise they have.

When you don't know the name  of something, describe it.

Kevin asks me to pass him the green tube  sitting on the toolbox instead of using  

the specific name for that green tube, because  he knows that I don't know what it's called.

If you're talking to a doctor,  you might ask about the machine  

that monitors your heart rate rather  than saying the name of that machine.

If you're at a store, you might ask if they  sell something to protect you from the rain.

If you can't remember the word for umbrella.

If you're ordering a dessert at a  restaurant and you don't know what  

it's called, you can say the one with  a strawberry on top on the third shelf.

Native speakers do this  regularly, and you can too.

For your action step this week, once a day,  look around any room you're in and practice  

describing objects using the vocabulary you  know instead of using the name of that object.

This will also give you the chance  to practice using words you already  

know but don't frequently use, like adjectives.

Tip #4 Handling knowledge gaps.

When Kevin's not fixing things around the  house, he builds complex computer algorithms.

I have no technical knowledge in this area and  I can't discuss the topic at the level he can.

But I can have long conversations with Kevin  about his work by using simple strategies.

I ask questions instead of sharing information.

I'm honest about not understanding something  and I ask him to explain it another way.

I change the topic when I've had enough.

You can have amazing conversations with people  by asking questions based on the conversation.

When Kevin says he made some sort of change to the  code he's working on, I ask him simple questions.

Was it a difficult change?

How long did it take?

Is it working now?

Why did you need to make that change?

Do you have to make any other changes?

Notice that my questions are very basic and don't  require specialized knowledge or vocabulary.

Now, Kevin frequently uses very complex  terminology to talk about his work,  

and I asked him to explain it another way or  to give me an example to help me understand.

He's happy to do this.

And remember, you can always change the  

conversation to something you  do feel confident discussing.

When I've had enough computer talk, I'll make  a final comment and then change the topic.

I might say, I'm so glad your code is working now.

That's great.

Do you want to go for a walk after  dinner for your action step this week?

Think about any conversations you  had or heard in any language and  

practice asking questions in English  based on that past conversation.

And also practice ending the conversation and  changing topics in a polite and natural way.

Last week I asked my community what area of  their English they're struggling with the most.

Now before I reveal the answer,  what do you think they said?

Did you say speaking skills?

Well, you're right, 61% said they're  struggling with their speaking skills the most.

This was not a surprise to me at all because  I hear this from my students every single day.

Now, in another poll, I asked my students why  they're struggling with their speaking skills.

The number one reason at 42% was a lack  of vocabulary, 36% said it's feeling shy,  

nervous and scared, 11% said incorrect  pronunciation, and 10% said a lack of grammar.

And many students added their own  comments and said it's a lack of practice.

So if it's all right with you, I'd like to  give you some advice, My honest advice, my  

brutally honest advice about why you're struggling  with your speaking skills and how to fix that.

First, let's talk about a lack of vocabulary,  because this was the number one choice at 42%.

Now, on the one hand, I agree with  this statement because if you don't  

have the words, you're not able to form sentences.

You can't open your mouth and share  ideas because that takes words.

So I do agree with this.

But on the other hand, I think you have  

a lot of vocabulary and you just  don't realize how much you have.

For example, think of how many  words I'm using in this video.

If you can understand these words, even if  you only understand 50% and you count how  

many words I used in this video, you would be  quite surprised by how much you actually know.

Or just open up the first page of a textbook  or a children's story in a language that you  

don't know and see how unfamiliar it  looks to you compared to anything you  

would look at in English and how many  words you actually know in English.

The reality is that most native  speakers are Daily speech is  

formed by a small number of words, maybe  1 to 2000 words in an average daily use.

So if you learned three to six  new words per day in one year,  

you would have the vocabulary that you  needed to have basic conversations.

Now more realistically, you probably  need about 20,000 or 35,000 words to  

fully communicate your ideas  on a wide variety of topics.

But think of how many you already know.

So if you divide that by two, the  number of words you already know,  

you only need to know about 25 new words per  day for one year to reach that full vocabulary.

Another part of the problem,  if I'm being brutally honest,  

and perhaps I'm even part of this  problem, is that teachers like myself,  

we release these videos saying you must know these  and see one expressions to speak confidently.

But the reality is, if I'm being  brutally honest, that's just not true.

Sure, you can absolutely add  these words to your vocabulary.

All the words that we claim are must  know, need to know learn these now.

But it isn't actually true.

You don't actually need to know these words.

They're useful to know.

But are they must know?

If I'm being brutally honest, most likely not.

And another problem, probably why  you think it's a lack of vocabulary,  

is you're too focused on forming more  advanced sentences, C1 sentences.

Now I make these lessons for you on C1  vocabulary because you need them for your ILS.

You need them for a job interview.

You need them if you're writing an academic  paper or you're giving a formal presentation.

But in your day-to-day speech.

The reality is, if I'm being  brutally honest, you don't need them.

I don't use the word utilize in my daily speech.

I might use the word utilize  three to five times a year,  

a year, whereas I use the  word use every single day.

I probably use it 20 times in this video.

So on the one hand, although I agree that it's  absolutely important to expand your vocabulary,  

I also feel like you probably have enough  vocabulary right now to start forming sentences  

and to start speaking, and you can just add  on more words as you go every single day.

Now, a tip for you is to actually not learn words,  

to learn entire phrases, because we  don't communicate with individual words.

You need to know how to use that  word in an entire sentence, a phrase.

So focus on learning phrases that you can learn  one phrase and you can instantly use it in your  

vocabulary, in your speech, and you'll  already feel more confident communicating.

Now let's talk about feeling shy, nervous,  or scared because 36% of students said this.

In my honest opinion, I feel like  this is probably the biggest barrier,  

mainly because this isn't an area  that's focused on in language learning.

The focus is on learning vocabulary, learning  grammar, learning correct pronunciation.

But it's not about managing your  emotions, understanding your mindset,  

understanding what it's like to speak in  public, and providing strategies to fix that.

My brutally honest advice to you is that it's  totally normal to feel shy, nervous, and scared.

Those feelings most likely aren't  going to go away in the near future.

They're going to be with you, and you need  to learn how to open your mouth and speak.

Even with that feeling in your stomach, even  with that nervousness, you can't let that  

feeling in you, in your body or in your mind,  You can't let that prevent you from speaking.

You need to take action now.

And the more you practice, the more you speak,  

the smaller and smaller that feeling will  become, but it will likely still be with you.

If I'm being brutally honest, even after  you've been practicing your speaking for  

months or years, I still get  that feeling of nervousness.

Even when I sit down to record a YouTube  video and there is no one around me,  

I'm not even in public, I still feel nervous.

And I think that's a good thing because it shows  that I care about making a quality video for you.

I care about your feedback and  your reaction to this video.

So just know that it is totally  normal to have that feeling.

And honestly, the best way to fight  that feeling is just by practicing.

Practice, practice, practice now, and  that feeling will get less and less.

Let's talk about a lack of grammar because  

10% of students say it's the  reason why they're struggling.

The thing you need to remember  is that when you're speaking,  

when you're speaking in the real world,  you are no longer a language learner.

In a classroom environment,  you are a language learner.

If you open your mouth to speak, the teacher will  

stop you in the middle of speaking  to tell you about a grammar mistake.

This makes you focus on your grammar a lot,  which I understand is important when you are  

in a classroom environment because you're  there to improve these specific areas.

But the problem arises when that same student goes  

out into the real world and still focuses  on their grammar when they're speaking.

When you're speaking in the real world, you  need to focus on the ideas you're sharing.

You can make a grammar mistake.

That's OK Native speakers make mistakes.

If you were to watch this video very  critically and look at every single sentence,  

I'm sure you would find grammar mistakes  because I'm speaking without nodes.

I'm opening my mouth and speaking and it's  just normal for human beings to make mistakes.

Native speakers make mistakes,  and you can make mistakes too.

Now of course, you do want to work on  improving these areas, reducing those mistakes.

But again, you can't let that prevent you.

You have to start speaking  with the skills you have now.

And the best way to really know what  areas of your English, your grammar,  

your sentence structure you need  to improve is to record yourself.

And just like I suggested, if you watch every  part of this video, you would find mistakes.

So you can do the same thing for yourself.

You can record yourself telling yourself about  your daily routine and you can watch that video  

and you can listen line for line and try to  understand what mistakes you commonly make.

Choose one the mistake that keeps coming up.

Maybe you forget to add that as on **  *** it verb conjugations in the present.

Simple.

And this is your area to improve for the  entire week or how long it takes you.

So get out there, start speaking.

Just know that native speakers  aren't listening for your mistakes.

Your English teacher absolutely is.

But in the real world, native speakers are not.

Now let's talk about incorrect pronunciation  

because 11% of students said this was  the reason why they're struggling.

This is an important one, and I find it's often  neglected both by teachers and by students.

So when you learn, let's say 10 phrasal verbs,  but if you don't learn how to pronounce them  

correctly in different sentence structures,  different verb tenses, then when you go to  

speak and use that phrasal verb, if the person  replies back and says sorry, what did you say?

I didn't catch that.

Can you repeat that?

Well then honestly, you didn't communicate  successfully and it will really feel like  

you're struggling if the person you're  talking to doesn't understand you.

So this is an important area and  one that you should spend time on.

And again, if you're already  recording yourself for speaking,  

practice one to focus on what areas  of your grammar you need to improve.

Well then just add on 1/3 and  listen for your pronunciation.

This could be very difficult  for you because you might not  

know if you're pronouncing a sound incorrectly.

So the best thing you can do is  listen to audio dictionaries or  

listen to a native speaker actually  say a specific word or phrasal verb  

and then doing shadowing practice  so repeating after that speaker.

That will help you improve that area  of your speech that you need to,  

to learn correct pronunciation.

So this is something that you do need  to focus on, but you'll get feedback.

How do you know if you need to  improve this area of your English?

Because people will say two things to you.

They'll say, can you repeat that?

I didn't understand you, something like that.

So, you know, if you get that a lot, you  know, this is an area you need to improve.

Another way you'll know is if you're talking  and the person says, oh, where are you from?

If your accent is so recognizable that  they know you're not a native speaker.

So they either ask you where you're from  or they say, I bet you're from Mexico,  

I bet you're from France because  they hear such a distinct accent  

that they know you're speaking English with  a Mexican accent or with a French accent.

So if you hear those two things, it might be a  sign that you need to improve your pronunciation.

If you don't hear those two things, then maybe  your pronunciation is great as it is now.

Remember I said in the comments section a  lot of students said it's a lack of practice?

Definitely.

If I'm being brutally honest with you, this is  true and this is where I hear a lot of excuses.

Do you know what the most common  excuses are for a lack of practice?

Well, I live in a non-english speaking country.

I don't have anyone to speak to.

I don't have time.

These are the three most common excuses.

I'm sure you know some other  excuses that you've either said  

yourself or you've heard other students say.

Well, just recognize them for what they are.

They are excuses.

And how do I know this?

Because there are so many students  who do improve their speaking skills,  

who learn to speak confidently in non-english  speaking countries without a study partner,  

without speaking to anyone else.

So if students are doing this all the time,  then it's absolutely possible for you as well.

So maybe the first thing you need to do  is just recognize that they are excuses.

They're not the truth.

Because if you feel in your mind that it is true  that you can't improve your English speaking  

skills alone, then you won't even try because  you've already determined that it's not possible.

So for right now, I want you to to accept  that yes, I can improve my English speaking  

skills alone and then commit to practicing  speaking, opening your mouth and speaking in  

front of a mirror or by recording yourself and  doing this every single day for two minutes.

That is absolutely something you can achieve.

Now let's talk about a lack of time.

This is an excuse I hear from  students, but the reality is,  

if I'm being brutally honest,  we all have 24 hours a day.

Much of that time we spend sleeping.

But regardless, we all have  the same waking hours per day.

It's not a lack of time.

It's not right now.

Improving your speaking skills isn't a priority  for you, and there's nothing wrong with that.

If you want to prioritize spending time with  your family over improving your speaking skills,  

that is absolutely fine and that's your decision.

But don't pretend like you don't have time.

Just say right now it isn't a priority.

I want to focus on being the best mother I can  be, being the best father I can be, or I want  

to focus on learning me how to play guitar, or I  want to focus on spending more time with my cats.

Something I definitely prioritize, but that's OK.

But just be honest with yourself.

Don't sit here and say I'm struggling to  find the time because the time exists.

You're just not allocating the  time because it's not a priority.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you are listening to this and you  think to yourself, but it is a priority,  

I need to improve my English speaking  skills so I can send my kids to a good  

school or so I can get a better job,  well then you need to reflect on that.

And you need to adjust your  schedule to allocate the time  

to your speaking skills if it truly is a priority.

There is a lot of advice online  for free to help you become fluent.

But what if that advice isn't helping you?

What if that advice is actually  preventing you from becoming fluent?

A lot of students come to me because  they're struggling with their fluency.

They can't speak confidently, they  can't understand native speakers,  

They're frustrated and they're stuck.

They spend a lot of time trying to  become fluent, but it's just not working.

In this video, I'm going to share  some horrible advice that I see  

online that's preventing you from becoming fluent.

First, let's talk about grammar.

Of course you need correct grammar, correct  sentence structure in order to form sentences.

But I see a lot of advice online that tells  

students that they need to  memorize all verb tenses.

Or I see videos where you need to learn all verb  tenses and use them in a specific period of time.

But did you know that native  speakers don't communicate  

with many of the verb tenses that exist?

So if you spend all your time studying these verb  tenses, but then you go to speak and you don't  

actually need these verb tenses in your speech,  that time you spend studying isn't helping you.

The reality is that the majority of our speech,  

90% of native speakers speech, comes  from about 5 different verb tenses.

You would be a lot better off mastering these five  verb tenses and learning how to use them fluently  

and confidently rather than overwhelming yourself  by trying to master every verb tense in English.

Now let's talk about vocabulary again.

Of course you need words.

You can't communicate without words.

You need a wide range of vocabulary,  

but do you need to memorize a list  of words that all start with a?

Do you need to memorize all the  phrasal verbs with the word down?

And this is where I see a lot  of students make mistakes.

They get overwhelmed by downloading a list  of 20 phrasal verbs with down or 50 or 100  

phrasal verbs with down, and they think  they need to memorize them all at once.

And somehow knowing all these phrasal  verbs with down will help you communicate.

But when you're in a meeting, when you're in your  IELTS, when you're having a natural conversation,  

how likely is it that you're going to  use all those phrasal verbs with down?

And that's the mistake is memorizing random  lists of words rather than focusing on full  

expressions, full phrases that you  can use to communicate in the most  

common situations that you need to communicate in.

Let's keep talking about vocabulary  because a lot of advice I see online  

tells you that you need to replace an  everyday word with an advanced C1 word.

Again, this is creating a lot  of overwhelm and frustration  

for students and they think that they  aren't fluent, they can't communicate  

because their vocabulary is filled with more  everyday words rather than advanced C1 words.

Now, the reality is that yes, C1 words,  advanced vocabulary can be very helpful to you.

But in extremely specific situations, like when  you're in a job interview, which happens maybe a  

few times a year and then you don't go to another  job interview again for five years or longer.

Or when you're taking your IELTS or  language exam, or if you're giving  

a very formal presentation, yes,  this vocabulary can be helpful.

But you have to remember that 99% of the  time you are communicating in the real world,  

and 99% of the time you don't  need to use these C1 words.

So don't overwhelm yourself by thinking you need  

to replace the vocabulary you have  now with more advanced vocabulary.

That simply isn't true.

Now let's talk about your  expectations because online  

I see a lot that suggests you can't  make mistakes when you're speaking.

If you make ground mistakes or if you have an  accent that you won't be able to pass your I LS,  

you won't be able to get a job  in an English speaking country.

You won't be taken seriously by native speakers.

But that is creating stress and overwhelm because  it's simply is not true and it's not helping you.

You absolutely can make mistakes,  

and not only can you make mistakes,  you absolutely will make mistakes.

It's guaranteed that you will make mistakes  

when speaking English because  it's not your first language.

And the reality is you make mistakes  in your first language as well.

So of course you'll also make mistakes in  additional languages that you've learned.

That's OK, but a lot of the  time students think that they  

can't make mistakes or if they're  making mistakes, they're not ready.

They're not ready to apply for that job.

They're not ready to take the IELTS.

And there's this advice out there  suggesting that you need to wait.

You need to wait to take your IELTS  to apply for a job, to try to move  

to an English speaking country, to just  use your English and social situations.

You need to wait until you've  learned all the verb tenses,  

until you've learned C1 vocabulary,  until you've replaced all your regular  

verbs with phrasal verbs, until  you've eliminated your accent.

But that just simply is not true.

And what this advice does, and if students accept  this as the truth, what it does is it creates a  

situation where students are just focusing on  input and they're getting input, input, input.

They're consuming the language,  but they're not using the language.

They're not getting output because  they feel they're not ready.

They feel their English isn't good enough.

But this is a mistake.

You need to start getting output.

Start using your English through speaking,  writing from day one, right from a beginner.

And if you're not a beginner,  

if you've already been learning English  for many years, well then start today.

Don't even wait until tomorrow.

The 2nd you finish this video, you can  start changing that by using your English.

And I see a lot of advice online  that suggests that you're going to  

get to some point in the future where  you'll be finished learning English.

But that is also just not true.

And it sets this expectation that again,  

you need to wait now because your  English isn't good enough now.

When you get to this undetermined point in the  future, then your English will be good enough.

Then you can start speaking, applying  for jobs, or pass your IELTS.

But The thing is, there is no point in the future.

You will always be trying to improve your English.

You're a lifelong learner.

So you need to accept that where you are today  is where you are today is what your level is now.

And you need to start communicating  with the language you have and just  

make effort every day, small effort every  day to improve and improve and improve.

And as you go on, your level  will get higher and higher,  

but you'll be communicating the entire time.

Now I'm going to share 5 easy habits  to follow every day to become fluent.

Daily habit #1 listen to native speakers.

This may seem like an obvious daily  habit, but let me tell you more about it.

I want you to listen to native  speakers in a natural context.

Yes, right now you're listening to a native  speaker, but this isn't a natural context.

I'm not having a conversation with  my friends or with my coworkers.

I'm not out in the real world.

I'm teaching you something.

So to improve your listening skills, to learn  vocabulary, to learn sentence structure, to  

improve your pronunciation, you can do all of that  by listening to native speakers in a real context.

So this is native speakers on TV, movies,  

the news, podcast, and YouTube videos  that aren't teaching you English.

Now with this daily habit, know that there's  

a big difference between active  practice and passive practice.

And this daily habit is  more of a passive practice.

You won't be actively studying the conversation.

You're going to listen to the  native speakers passively.

So you can do this when you're making breakfast,  

getting ready, doing your hair,  makeup or when you're commuting.

Those are perfect times to put in your earphones.

Listen to native speakers passively.

Now don't worry, even though this is  passive, you are still learning so much.

You're of course going to improve  your listening skills of real English,  

fast speaking native speakers.

Your brain is processing all of that advanced  sentence structure and you're also learning new  

words and you're learning them in context so you  understand how that word is used in real speech.

And as a bonus tip, make sure you find  content that you enjoy listening to,  

because if you enjoy the process,  you're more likely to do it daily.

Habit #2 speak for 5 minutes.

Most students are language absorbers, language  learners, but they're not language users.

When you open your mouth and speak,  

you are using your grammar, sentence  structure, vocabulary, pronunciation.

You're using everything that you're learning.

It is mandatory that you speak  in English every single day.

Daily habits every single  day for at least 5 minutes.

And let me stop you right there because  you do not need a speaking partner.

You can absolutely do this on your own  in your room without anyone around.

You don't need someone to hear  the words out of your mouth.

In order for you to practice, all you need  to do is open your mouth and speak, and you  

can do that anytime, any day, no matter where  you live and no matter what your situation is.

To make this fun and easy for you to do, I  have a free resource that I know you'll love.

It's called a random question generator.

Simply Google that and you will find lots  

of results and I'll share one of  my favorites in the description.

Now all you need to do is go on to this website.

You click a button and it generates a question.

You can answer that question out loud and  then when you're ready for the next one,  

you just click the button again  and you get another question.

And you can keep clicking that button, getting  random questions, answering these questions.

To get active.

Speaking practice.

Make it your goal to answer 3 questions a day.

But remember, your goal isn't perfection.

Your goal is simply to practice.

To open your mouth and start speaking daily.

Habit #3 shadowing practice.

Do you know what this is?

When you shadow, it means you imitate someone  and you try to match their speech exactly.

So here's how you can complete this exercise.

Choose any audio or video, listen to one sentence,  hit pause, and then repeat the sentence aloud.

So let's try this right now.

I'll say one sentence.

What do you want to do tonight?

Now remember, you should pause  the video and repeat it out loud,  

which means you're opening  your mouth and speaking.

And your goal is to match what  I said as closely as possible.

So I'll say it again.

What do you wanna do tonight?

Now, I said it very slowly.

There are controllers on every platform where you  

can reduce the speed so you  can really hear those sounds.

Because notice I said, what do  you, what do you want to wanna?

What do you wanna do tonight?

So you can start it slow, half the speed,  

and when you're comfortable with  it, you can play it at full speed.

What do you want to do tonight?

But remember, you're not just listening,  you're opening your mouth and you're shadowing.

You're trying to match it as closely as possible.

So now I'll say it at a natural pace, and I  want you to open your mouth and shadow me.

Try to say it exactly what  do you want to do tonight?

So do that for five to 10 minutes a  day and you will greatly improve your  

listening skills and you'll  improve your pronunciation.

And you're also practicing your speaking  daily habit #4 read for 10 minutes.

Reading is one of the best ways  to improve your overall fluency  

because you are learning so many  different skills at the same time.

When you read, you learn advanced grammar,  

you learn sentence structure, you learn  vocabulary, and you learn in context.

So you're not just studying  one word and the definition.

You see how that word is used in a context, the  grammar that's needed, the sentence structure.

So you learn.

So with this one activity now remember that  your listening practice, your daily habit,  

Number one, listening was  more of a passive activity.

When you read, this is more of an active activity.

So you can focus on what you're reading.

If you don't know a word, you can  look it up and learn that word.

You can notice what verb tense  is being used in a sentence.

So you can turn this into more active practice.

But just like with reading, make  sure you learn with content you enjoy  

and also read content that's  relevant to your daily life.

This will make sure that  you're learning vocabulary  

that you need for your career or your daily life.

So if your goal is to advance your  career and you work in marketing,  

well then you can Google market.

Blogs and you can find a blog to read for  your daily habit and that way you're learning  

all vocabulary related to marketing  that you can use for your daily life.

Daily habit #5 Write a daily summary.

This is another great habit  to get active practice.

Now you're writing a daily summary,  but you don't have to show anyone.

This is completely private.

And when you're writing, really take the time  

to make sure that your writing is both  grammatically correct and professional.

So you're formatting your  punctuation, everything is correct.

So this is truly an act of practice and you're  really thinking about everything you're writing.

So when you write, focus  on your sentence structure.

Focus on your verb conjugation and  focus on your word choices as well.

And try to improve it.

Try to make it more advanced.

Now maybe you don't know what to write about.

Don't worry.

Let me give you many suggestions.

And you can choose one, or you can rotate between  these and choose a different one every day.

You can summarize your day.

You can write about the best part of your  day, write about one thing you learned today,  

3 unusual things you saw or heard today, you  can discuss a problem and focus on the solution,  

or you can write about your  favorite meal of the day.

It doesn't matter what you write about,  the point is that you're writing every day.

Amazing job.

Think of everything you  learned in this master class.

Do you want me to keep sharing  tips and advice with you?

If you do put let's go, let's go,  Put, let's go in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson,  

share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And here's another lesson I know you'll love.

Make sure you watch it now.