"Silent - Speaking": How He Became A Confident English Speaker ALONE (And You Can Too!)

Hello everyone, I am very excited because today  I have a special guest Mustafa from Uzbekistan.

Now he started learning English  from zero from scratch in 2020  

and achieved a Band 8 in speaking on the IELTS.

So Mustafa, why don't you share with everyone?

Why did you Start learning English?

All right, So hi, everyone.

Hi, Jennifer.

First off, thank you very much for inviting me.

I remember back in 2020, like many  people, I was planning to apply for  

uni and I really wanted to study  in one of those European countries.

Well, I remember my second lesson in English.

My teacher kicked me out of the lesson  because I did not do my homework.

And it, it was the point when I realized  I, I needed a lot of change of scenery.

I had to change something.

Something had to be changed.

So I went home.

I did a lot of thinking.

I not only thought about my, my, my environment,  my circle, my friends, my social media and,  

and everything, everything like a lot  of ideas, you know, popped into my head.

I, I remember this very much vividly.

I was sitting in my room and  I was doing a lot of thinking.

So the first thing I, what I  did was I broke my SIM cards.

I deleted my messenger apps, Telegram,  and also I deleted my Instagram.

At that time, by the way, I was a very active  user of social media, especially Instagram.

I had a lot of followers.

I always kept connection with  my friends and acquaintances.

But despite the fact that I did not care, what I  really wanted was like deep down, I needed peace.

Plus I needed education.

That's what I needed.

So I deleted my social media and, and, and, and I  started eliminating, you know, distraction that I  

had around me, whether it was toxic environment,  whether it was social media, everything.

And I did not like announce  that I would do something.

I was going to do this.

I was going to lock in for six  months and transform myself.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I was quietly,  I, I really wanted to quietly improve myself,  

you know, making incremental gradual progress.

So at that time, everything started at the  time I I planned my future at the time I,  

I isolated myself for the next two years.

And so, yeah, it was like  a absolute transformation.

Wow, that's a powerful story and I  certainly took away a lot from that.

First I took away you had this negative  experience where you got kicked out of  

your English class for not doing your homework.

So we we have an expression, we call that a  wake up call when you realize that that was.

Actually, a wake up call  and sorry for interrupting  

because before that I was a very good video gamer.

I would play computer games like all the time.

I would hang out with my friends all the time.

So something had to change and it was like a light  bulb went off in my mind when my teacher kicked  

out of the lesson, he also told me that I would  give you the money, that the payments are back.

So, oh, hold on a minute.

Something had to change here.

So yeah, it all started then, Yeah.

Wow, well that's quite a powerful shift.

It takes a lot of commitment as  well to do something like that.

So you completely changed  your environment to let's say,  

optimize it more for for learning and improving.

Now I can see some of your environment  in the background behind you.

I see some sticky known.

So why don't you explain what those are and how  

that is a part of your learning  routine and your process as well?

All right, in our previous interview, I, I  think we showed the study area that I had.

I, I have always emphasized the importance  of having a study area because it gives you  

a psychological signal When you  walk into your study area, you,  

you kind of feel this burning desire to study.

And this is what happens to me all the time.

I here I have loads of books, I have ordered  over 1000 books from abroad and I'm about to  

start my online business plus I am about to  engage in this like reading process a lot.

And back to study area it's very  important since I'm an English  

teacher and I do both online and  face to face teaching right now.

I tell my students all the time, at  least you have to have a study table.

Otherwise it's, it's kind of  weird to study anywhere and  

anywhere like if you don't have the study area.

So as you can see in my back  here, I have the sticky notes.

It kind of gives me a little  bit motivation to study.

It's first action when I'm feeling  demotivated, demoralize it.

So I've studied a lot, I've read a lot of  articles, also listen to a lot of podcasts.

In order to study more and effectively, you have  to have this study area at least study table.

So yeah.

That's a powerful concept as well.

And I've I've heard of that concept as  well of simply making things visible.

So making your studying visible,  you're more likely to do it.

I heard the concept of if you want to  start working out, going to the gym  

simply by leaving your shoes by the front door,  making your shoes visible, you're more likely  

to say, oh, I'm going to go to the gym.

So it sounds like that's the concept that's been  effective for you is just making it visible.

100% and these days I am placing a  lot of emphasis on studying more.

So I have changed my style a little bit and  guess what, my students are studying 400  

hours a week and that's so we have, I have  also done a lot of studying regarding this.

I also heard that Jordan Peterson,  a Canadian psychologist, therapist,  

if I'm not mistaken, works 400 hours a week.

So I have taken that approach and applied  to my students right now, Guess what?

My students are studying anywhere  from 60 to 100 hours a week.

Yes, we talked about the quality.

Absolutely.

My students are not stupid.

They are also focusing a lot  on the quality while studying.

They have the study area,  they don't have social media.

They study four hours and hours  on end so I think it is working.

Hence they are getting better results.

Focus is a great thing, and of  course social media is a tool.

You can use it to educate yourself like  my students do with my YouTube channel  

and other YouTube channels, or you can use  it to waste time by endlessly scrolling.

So can you share perhaps let's say there's  a student who feels like they spent too much  

time endlessly scrolling or watching cat  videos or non productive social media use.

But studies show that this is very  much an addiction in people's lives.

So can you share perhaps a practical tip  or a practical strategy that my students  

watching can use to try to reduce  their unproductive screen time?

Well, back in 2020, what I did was  I deleted Instagram and Telegram  

because I was not earning any  money and I was not benefiting.

So I deleted both.

However, I used to YouTube,  I made a list of the of the  

people that I would follow and watch  all the time, only English teachers.

So I would watch them.

However, if I overwatched or overspent on YouTube,  

I would take my phone away, let's say for  three days or four days and use my mom's,  

my family's smartphones to watch YouTube  videos for 30 minutes, one hour, 2 hours.

Well, sometimes it kind of seems  like impossible or sometimes it seems  

really strange not to use your phone,  especially in the in the 21st century.

But so guess what?

Like after 30 years, 40 years, do you  want to look back and do you feel regrets?

That's what you want.

Or do you actually want to improve yourself?

That's what I keep telling myself all the time.

That's what I did back in 2020.

I did not use social Instagram for four  years because I was not earning any money.

And guess what?

Right now, I am a very active user of Instagram.

I have over 200K because I'm not only  earning money but also gaining popularity  

and also sharing my own experience  with as many people as possible.

Look, if you do not have a solid  concrete purpose, delete social media.

You can use YouTube because YouTube is  a powerful weapon to educate yourself.

There are thousands of thousands of podcasts,  

thousands of thousands of educational  YouTube videos, including yours.

So take your phone away, use your family's  smartphones to watch for a couple of days  

until you adjust yourself, adopt yourself, and  then gradually you'll start making progress.

You will absolutely like  the feeling of tranquility.

So yeah.

I like that gradual approach you recommend,  and I also like perhaps having a playlist  

of specific people you follow so you're  in control of the content you consume.

Rather than allowing an algorithm  to tell you what to watch next,  

you decide who to follow and who to watch.

So those are great recommendations.

Now, you mentioned that you are working,  

actively working with your own  students both online and in person.

So what do you feel is the one thing  

that your students are struggling with when  it comes to improving their English fluency?

Or perhaps even a mistake that you see your  students, all your students, consistently make.

I would say distractions are  a huge crisis these days.

Students that are facing.

If students do not have  distractions, everybody can study.

Everybody, literally everybody.

Eliminate distractions as possible as  you can for your future, for your family.

Try to do that.

The time is flying.

Yesterday it was 2000, yesterday it  was like 2016, today is like 2024.

So time is flying.

Lock in, shout out with all  the distractions you have.

The second.

The second thing which I have  noticed is like, no patience.

That's a very huge problem.

Students want to make progress really quickly.

That's not the case.

That's actually not the case.

Learn how to make little  gradual, incremental progress.

Little by little, little becomes a lot.

It's a life learning process.

You don't just wake up and bingo  abracadabra, you become fluent.

That's not the case.

English is a very beautiful  language and it's very interesting.

Watch movies in English, watch cartoons  in English, listen to music in English.

Enjoy the process.

Do not think about the results,  statistics, the numbers.

Just immerse yourself in learning  English as much as possible.

A lot of students come up short  of learning because they, they,  

they feel like they are not progressing.

You are progressing.

It's like this line it, you don't  feel that you are making progress,  

but but one day it's like bomb  it, it, it does give you this.

What do you call that?

What do you call that's the the sudden  improvements that you feel eventually.

So patience, you got to be patience.

Have a study area, try to organize yourself  as much as possible, eliminate distractions.

Have this study area, Read  books as much as possible.

I have lots of books here.

I order books all the time.

The more books I read, the more knowledge  I gain, the more problems I solve.

Recently, what happens?

I was having a very huge problem  actually, and I read one book in one day.

I finished that book, I think in five hours.

And also one problem that  students are facing this days,  

especially in Uzbekistan, it's a relationship.

Do not go into a relationship  if you are not ready, please,  

because it's unlikely that there will be a high  

level of reciprocity in relationships  these days in, in, in the 21st century.

That time will come.

You will go into a relationship and  you will find somebody who will love  

you unconditionally for the rest of your life.

Because when you are in a  relationship, you get distracted a lot.

You get stressed, you get anxious  when your partner is having a bad day.

It affects you and you don't want to study.

So here we go.

Try to isolate yourself and then when you become  financially stable, when you become ready,  

you will start paying attention  to those aspects of your life.

A lot of great tips and a lot of great advice.

I particularly like your focus on patients  because this is an area that I also see my  

students struggle with and let's be  honest, I struggle with this too.

We want everything now, but things  take time and we call that either  

the compounding effect or the *********** effect.

When you learn small amount information  and it builds and it builds and it builds.

And when you look back over a period of  three months, you realize, wow, all those  

small improvements really compounded  or snowballed into something great.

So I love that tip that you shared Now  Mustafi, you're speaking very fluently.

You're able to share your ideas in  a very clear, well structured way.

But I also point out that you live in  

Uzbekistan and perhaps you're not necessarily  in an English environment all the time.

So how were you able to specifically  improve your speaking skills and gain  

the confidence to speak for 5 minutes  without stopping right here on this  

channel when you're not necessarily in an  English speaking environment every day?

So there is a theory called that,  the spotlight, a spotlight effect,  

a lot of students struggle with that,  that everybody's like looking at me.

Students have this high expectations.

Everybody's looking at me.

Everybody's expecting something from me.

Actually, that's not the case.

Nobody cares about you.

So back in 2020, nobody cares about you.

What I mean by that, Well, first of all,  people forget if you make a mistake.

People forget if you achieve something worthwhile.

People forget.

People forget if you embarrass yourself.

People forget if you do something really bad.

What I'm trying to say is that at the time I was,  

I, I struggled speaking because I was  afraid of speaking in front of people.

I was afraid of showing myself.

I was afraid of giving lectures,  giving presentations, on and on and on.

So what I did was I kept telling myself all  the time, hey, the person that you see today,  

you might not see that person like tomorrow  or even like for the rest of your life.

What I'm trying to say is that eliminate  those fixed thoughts that you have.

Like everybody's looking at me.

Talk to yourself 24/7 as much as possible.

That's the first thing I did.

Let's say I learned the expression.

I like something.

Yeah, I like books.

I like reading something, something, something.

So I started making sentences in  speaking in front of the mirror.

I would sit, I would talk to  myself for a couple of hours.

I would drink if I if I got dehydrated,  I would talk to myself when I went out.

I would talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

So self talk was the most powerful web  and I had if you do not talk in English,  

how are you supposed to  improve your speaking skills?

Tell me.

By reading books, Not going to happen.

By listening to something.

Not going to happen.

You have to speak, plus you  have to talk to individuals.

The opposite gender destroy your comfort zone.

Talk the opposite gender, try to show  yourself as much as possible because Jennifer,  

as I told I have gained over 200  gay on Instagram in two months.

How?

By talking by expressing myself in  the proper way in the right way.

Listen, speaking is very important  when you are giving a job interview.

You have to have to speak.

When you are talking to people,  

when you are trying to make a first good  impression, you have to have to talk.

So self talk is the most powerful weapon.

The second one, which I recommend is listening.

You have to connect listening with speaking.

In our previous interview, I emphasized that  a lot because the more you listen to people,  

the more ideas you get, and then you will,  like, express those ideas through your speaking.

So yeah.

I completely agree with you.

I think if you're not listening  to someone, like for example,  

as you were talking, if I were  planning what I'm going to do  

next or think about what I'm going to  make for dinner, how could I respond?

How could I ask you a question?

It takes a lot of focus for me to actively  focus and listen to every word you say.

It takes work, it takes focus, but it's the key of  being a good communicator, a great communicator.

So I'm glad you mentioned that.

And also, I love your concept  of self talk, self talk.

You might live in a country where you  don't have access to a native speaker,  

but you can talk to yourself.

So thank you for sharing that for everyone.

And Mustafa, if my students were to do  one thing this week, only one thing to  

improve their English fluency, what is  that one thing they should do and why?

OK, so the first thing that  students have to do the listen more.

Listen, but do not listen to  like things that you don't like.

Engage yourself in interesting,  interesting videos.

Whether it's a feeling, whether it's  a carton, it doesn't really matter.

Actually, I would watch cartoons a lot.

The more you listen to the the the  more ideas, the more input you get.

So that's the first thing.

That second one is self talk  as I had mentioned before.

The third one is imitation shadowing.

Imitate native speakers, but only  native speakers as much as possible.

Just put a video or interview  on YouTube on your laptop.

Start imitating because the more imitate,  the more you pronounce words correctly.

This is what happens.

I would imitate native speakers for 25 minutes  every single day without taking days off.

Like seven days a week, 25  minutes every single day.

I would imitate a Canadian native speaker  because that's what I like the accents  

and the more I imitated the more the more I  realized my pronunciation was getting better.

But be patient.

So self talk, listening, imitation,  combine those, eliminate distractions.

Do not go into a relationship if you're not ready.

Shout out social media and the  distractions that you have and be patient.

How are you doing?

You gave more than one thing for my  students to focus on, but that's OK.

You gave different options.

So how about for my students watching, share  the one thing that you want to focus on this  

week based on what Mustafa said, and that  will be your commitment for this week.

Well, thank you so much for being here again,  

Mustafa, and sharing all your  wonderful advice with my students.

Jennifer, thanks for inviting  me more one more time.

Yeah, I'm, I'm looking for  forward to the next interview.

Thank you.

So.

Much and where can my students  find you on Instagram?

Since you are very active, sharing all your advice  

and working with students as  well, where can they find you?

So for those watching from in Uzbekistan,  I am a very active user right now.

Mustafa English on Instagram on Telegram.

I share a lot of English content materials  I list with Mustafa on Telegram, so yeah.

All right, well, I'll make sure  those are in the description so  

my students can easily find  you and connect with you.

Thank you again Mustafa, for being here.

Jennifer, thank you.

Bye bye.