How To Improve Your English Fluency | Reading and Listening Method

Today, you'll improve your fluency in English by  reading and listening to English at the same time.

We're going to read a news article together.

Welcome back to JForrest English, of course.

I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline.

This Vancouver man knows over 20 languages  

and he's sharing his secrets  so you can learn more too.

20 languages.

Can you believe it?

How many languages do you speak?

Share that in the comments.

I speak English as my native language.

I speak French as a second language that I  learned as an adult and I'm learning Spanish.

So when I see that this man speaks 20  languages, that is very impressive.

Now a little geography pop quiz for you.

Vancouver.

Do you know where Vancouver is?

Vancouver is in.

Do you know?

Put your answer in the comments.

Vancouver is in.

Vancouver is in Canada, Canada.

So this man is from the same country as I am.

We are both Canadian, but he speaks  many more languages than I do.

This Vancouver man knows over 20 languages.

So how many languages does he know?

If it says over 20 languages, it's not precise.

When you say over, over simply means more than  more than so 21 is more than 2022 is over 20.

So you can say over or more than 20 languages,  

and he's sharing his secrets,  so you can learn more too.

Now notice here he's sharing his secrets.

You share something, in this  case a secret with someone,  

but you don't need to include  that information if it's obvious.

Based on the context, it's obvious  he's sharing his secrets with us,  

but sometimes it might not be obvious.

For example, you could say  

I shared the report with Mary and you need  to specify who you shared the report with.

In this case, it would be beneficial to include  the with someone so you share something.

In this case, a secret with someone.

So this man is sharing his secrets with us,  so hopefully we'll learn more languages too.

Now don't worry about taking these notes because  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can look in the description to download that.

Let's continue A Vancouver polyglot polyglot.

This is the word to describe  someone who speaks many languages.

Now, how many languages?

It isn't precise.

I would not consider myself a polyglot.

Do you consider yourself a polyglot?

Notice how I also said consider myself a polyglot.

So that's the sentence structure.

You consider someone something.

Here's the question.

Do you consider yourself a polyglot?

In the short form, you can say  yes, yes I do or no no I don't.

This is the short form to answer.

If you wanted to answer in  a complete sense sentence,  

you would say I don't consider  myself a polyglot or in the positive.

I consider myself a polyglot  that would be in the positive.

Now to use consider.

Notice here to be he is considered  to be considered and then something.

He's considered one of the best language learners  in the world because he speaks over 20 languages.

So feel free to put your answer.

Yes, I do.

No I don't in the comments.

Let's continue.

A Vancouver polyglot and popular YouTuber  is teaching others his secret to learning a  

new language after acquiring more than two  dozen foreign languages for work and fun.

So how many is two dozen?

How many is one dozen?

One dozen is 12.

That would be one dozen is 12.

So what is two dozen?

Of course it's 24.

So now we know he speaks more than 24 languages.

Remember, we could also say over 24 languages,  

more than two dozen foreign  languages for work and fun.

When you acquire a language, it's another way  of saying that you now have that language.

So you now have the ability to use language after  acquiring more than two dozen foreign languages.

Steve Kaufman, the name of this  man, did you know who he was,  

by the way, before you just learned about him?

Steve Kaufman, 76.

This is his age.

He's 76 years old, who has over half a million  

subscribers on his language  teaching YouTube channel.

So you can Google him and subscribe as well,  

said his love for learning new languages  started when he met a professor at McGill  

University in Montreal, who encouraged him  to continue his academic studies in France.

Let's take a look at this sentence structure.

You encourage someone to do  something, so encourage is your verb.

You need to conjugate it with the  subject and the time reference.

So here's an example.

Jennifer encouraged me to subscribe  to Steve Kaufman's YouTube channel.

So this is in the past.

Simple because it's a completed action.

I already did this.

Remember just a few seconds ago I said  you can subscribe to his YouTube channel.

So I encouraged you to do that.

When you encourage someone to do  something, you support that action.

You give them advice to do it.

You suggest it.

You make them feel comfortable  and confident doing that action.

Jennifer encouraged me to subscribe  to Steve Kaufman's YouTube channel.

Before we move on, I'd love to tell you  about Like, my personal favorite way to  

learn a language, Link is a language app  that lets you learn from content you love.

The reason why I use Link to learn  languages and why I recommend you do too,  

is because of the apps focus on input.

On Link, you have access to thousands of hours  of content that includes both audio and text,  

so you can both read and listen to English.

Plus, you can import content directly from  YouTube, Netflix, blogs, the news, and much more.

For example, you know those news articles  that I like to share in my videos?

You can easily import them into Link  and create your own interactive lessons.

You'll be able to easily  look up words and phrases,  

track your statistics, and  level up your English ability.

I first started using Link because the  platform was Co founded by Steve Kaufman.

As we just learned, he's a  polyglot who speaks 20 languages.

His method focuses on input, lots  of reading and lots of listening.

And that's why Link, the app  Steve Co founded, is so effective.

It makes reading and listening to content in  my target language easier and more enjoyable.

Link is available on both desktop and mobile, so  you can practice your English anytime, anywhere.

And Link is giving all J for his English viewers  of 35% discount off a one year premium plan.

If you upgrade using my coupon  code, you'll also have access to  

my special Link shelf which includes my  favorite English articles and TV shows.

I highly recommend link because  I know it will help you improve  

your English quickly and you'll  have a lot of fun in the process.

So use the link in the description to sign up.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

Everything was in French, so I became very  fluent and when I was a student I hitchhiked  

a lot to Spain, Italy and Germany, so I  kind of picked up those languages too.

Do you know what it means to hitchhike?

Have you ever seen this before?

Hitchhike is a verb and when you hitchhike  you travel from location A to B and you do  

that by getting a free ride in someone else's  vehicle and you do not know who that person is.

That person is a stranger.

In North America we hitchhike,  although it's not very common,  

but you hitchhike by standing on  the side of the road and you put  

your thumb out by the side of the road  and usually you have some bags with you.

And this means you want someone  to stop their car and then you  

will get in their car and they will  take you somewhere else for free.

There's no expectation that you would pay.

Is that a concept that exists  in the country you live in?

To be honest, I certainly would never hitchhike.

To me it sounds very dangerous,  especially as a woman.

However, it is an interesting concept as well.

Maybe in very specific  situations I would hitchhike,  

but it is not something I have ever done.

Have you ever hitchhiked or have  you ever picked up a hitchhiker?

A hitchhiker is someone who hitchhikes.

So if you've picked up a hitchhiker,  it means you are the one giving the  

free ride to someone else and  that someone else is a stranger.

I wrote a hitchhiker for you.

Remember someone who hitchhikes?

As I was writing this, I thought  to myself maybe I would feel  

comfortable hitchhiking if I was with someone.

So put this in the chat.

I'll hitchhike with you Jennifer, and  that means you and I will stand by the  

side of the road and go like this and try  to get a free ride to another destination.

So that would be a once in a lifetime  experience and we can do it together.

So put that in the comments.

I'll hitchhike with you, Jennifer.

And notice this is your verb.

This is in the future.

Simple.

I will hitchhike.

I'll hitchhike with you, Jennifer.

We'll do it together.

OK, so I hitchhiked.

Remember, this is Steve Kaufman speaking.

I hitchhiked a lot to Spain, to Italy, to  Germany, so you hitchhiked to a location.

I hitchhiked from Spain to Italy, for example.

So I kind of picked up those languages too.

Let's talk about this to pick up a language.

When you pick up a skill or a  language, it means you learn it.

You learn that skill, or you learn that language  by practicing it rather than being taught it,  

which means you didn't formally study it.

So here, remember, he spent time in Spain.

So if he picked up Spanish, it means he  learned Spanish simply by being in Spain  

and being exposed to the Spanish language, hearing  people speak it, seeing the signs on the streets.

And that's how he learned Spanish.

He didn't sit in a classroom and  formally study Spanish, he picked it up.

Now, right now you are  doing a combination of both,  

because I am formally teaching you specific  words like Hitchhike, but you are learning  

a lot of other vocabulary, pronunciation,  grammar rules, simply by being exposed to it.

So you are formally learning  some language right now,  

but you're also picking up a lot of vocabulary.

Now, interestingly, you pick up a language,  

which means you learn it more informally,  but you also pick up a hitchhiker.

But that is in a completely different context.

When you pick up a hitchhiker, it means they enter  

your vehicle and you transport that  person from location A to location B.

So one phrasal verb to pick up used  in two completely different context.

I wrote that example here for you, so you can see  pick up being used in our context of a hitchhiker.

I've never picked up a hitchhiker.

So hitchhiker is a noun.

That's why we have an article, because  it's referring to the noun A hitchhiker.

Let's continue.

Today, Kaufman speaks over more than over 20  languages, including before I read this long list.

Is the language you speak on this list.

Is your native language on this list?

There's a lot of languages here, including  English, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean,  

Spanish, Swedish, German, Italian, Cantonese,  Portuguese, Greek, Polish and Hebrew.

Whoo, that's a long list.

He's currently in the middle of  learning Russian, Arabic and Farsi.

All right, in the middle of this  means the action is in progress.

Now in the middle of let's continue, he said.

15 years ago, on his 60th birthday, he  and his son decided to create a website  

and YouTube channel to help others who are  interested in picking up a new language.

So now you see this again who are interested  in picking up and notice our expression here  

to be who are to be conjugated with  the subject and time reference others.

This is conjugated with others.

Others because it's they.

They are others who are interested.

This is always in the Ed form because  it's functioning as an adjective.

Interested in Now you're interested in something.

Interested in languages that would be a something,  or you're interested in doing something.

So you need your gerund verb interested  in picking up a new language?

I wrote that sentence structure there for you  

using flash cards and content from  Netflix movies and books, he said.

Thesitelink.com, which you now are very familiar  with and I encourage you to sign up for link.com,  

teaches people a new language in the same way  that people learn to speak their native language.

So it's using very natural content, Netflix,  

movies and books, just like we're doing now  learning with the news in a very natural way.

The first language is the  most difficult, Kaufman said.

But once you do it, it becomes easier and  your mind becomes a little more flexible.

Would you agree with that that the  first language is the most difficult?

I think I agree.

The second language I learned was definitely  a lot easier than the first language I learned  

simply because I knew how to learn a language  and I learned from the mistakes I made learning  

the first language, and I was able to correct  those mistakes and learn a lot more efficiently.

Have you had that same situation?

But once you do it, it becomes easier and  your mind becomes a little more flexible.

Our website link.com our website  has beginner material that we have  

designed which has a lot of repetition  and lots of listening and reading.

So as you know, I'm also all about the repetition.

I say that all the time.

Repetition, repetition, repetition, and what  you're doing right now, reading and listening.

You're doing these two skills, and this  helps you pick up a language a lot faster.

The key to learning a new language is  listening and reading, Kaufman says.

OK, let's talk about this, the key  to something or doing something.

This is a great expression.

It's an idiom.

The key to and then you have  something or doing something.

This means the best or the  only way to achieve something.

Now notice that the is part of the expression.

You need it the key to learning.

Now here's an example with a noun form.

The key to something, in this case success.

The key to success is.

Now if I wanted to turn this into  a verb, I need a gerund verb.

The key to attaining success.

The key to achieving.

You could also say achieving success is.

So you can have the exact same point,  

but one form is a noun form and the other  form is a verb form and you need the gerund.

So what do you think?

What's the key to success?

Feel free to share that in the  comments and why not inspire people?

I will share my key to success with you.

I believe that the key to success is if I had to  only choose one thing, I would say consistency.

Consistency.

This is a something.

When you're consistent, it  means you do that action.

Many, many times.

Or if you say I'm going to eat healthy every  single day, will you do it every single day?

It's consistency.

This is the something, the noun form.

Now if I want to turn this into a verb form,  

I would say the key to attaining  success is being consistent.

Be to be.

This is our verb in ING and then consistent.

This is an adjective that describes the verb.

This is my opinion, and this is how  I have personally achieved success.

Do you agree with this?

What do you think the key to success is?

Practice that in the comments, let's continue.

The key to learning a new language is  listening and reading, Kaufman said.

And to overwhelmingly expose yourself to  the language and increase your vocabulary.

When you overwhelmingly expose yourself,  when you expose yourself to a language,  

it simply means that you constantly see English.

If you expose yourself multiple times a day, you  hear English, you see English, you read English.

That is, expose yourself.

And when you overwhelmingly, it simply  makes how much you expose yourself.

Very strong, overwhelmingly expose yourself.

It sounds like multiple times a  day you see English, hear English.

You do everything you can to make sure  your environment has English in it.

So you're seeing, listening to, speaking,  reading, writing English constantly.

That would be overwhelmingly  expose yourself to the language.

Let's continue.

If you are going to go to Mexico,  maybe you'll hitchhike to Mexico.

If you're going to go to Mexico, give  yourself a year to really build up your  

ability to comprehend so that when you get  there, you can actually operate, he suggested.

When you build up your ability,  when you build something up,  

it means you make it stronger  and stronger and stronger.

And your ability is your ability  to understand the language, to  

speak the language, to use the language.

So again, to build up your ability, that  means to increase your ability or your  

ability becomes stronger or larger, Kaufman says.

Learning a new language helps him experience a new  

culture and learn about people in  different places around the world.

When you learn another language, those  people of that country come to life.

So you have a totally different  perception of that country.

A perception is how you see that country.

So before you come to Canada, you of course have  

this image in your mind of what Canada  is or what Canadian people are like.

But then when you actually visit Canada,  

your perception, how you see the country and  the people is going to be very different.

You have a totally different  perception of that country.

And in my opinion, that's why traveling is so  amazing, those people and that culture, he said.

And that's the end of the article.

I hope you are now inspired learning  about someone who speaks 20 languages.

So now what I'll do is I'll go to the top and  I'll read the article from start to finish,  

and this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

This Vancouver man knows over 20 languages  

and he's sharing his secrets  so you can learn more too.

A Vancouver polyglot and popular YouTuber  is teaching others his secret to learning a  

new language after acquiring more than two  dozen foreign languages for work and fun.

Steve Kaufman, 76, who has over half a million  subscribers on his language teaching YouTube  

channel, said his love for learning new  languages started when he met a professor  

at McGill University in Montreal who encouraged  him to continue his academic studies in France.

Everything was in French, so I became  very fluent, and when I was a student I  

hitchhiked a lot to Spain, Italy and Germany,  so I kind of picked up those languages too.

Today, Kaufman speaks over 20 languages,  including English, French, Japanese, Mandarin,  

Korean, Spanish, Swedish, German, Italian,  Cantonese, Portuguese, Greek, Polish and Hebrew.

He's currently in the middle of learning  Russian, Arabic and Farsi, he said 15 years ago.

On his 60th birthday, he and his  son decided to create a website  

and YouTube channel to help others who are  interested in picking up a new language.

Using flash cards and content from Netflix,  movies and books, he said, the sitelink.com  

teaches people a new language in the same way  that people learn to speak their native language.

The first language is the  most difficult, Kaufman said.

But once you do it, it becomes easier and  your mind becomes a little more flexible.

Our website has beginner  material that we have designed,  

which has a lot of repetition and  lots of listening and reading.

The key to learning a new language is  listening and reading, Kaufman said.

And to overwhelmingly expose yourself to  the language to increase your vocabulary.

If you are going to go to Mexico, give  yourself a year to really build up your  

ability to comprehend so that when you get  there you can actually operate, he suggested.

Kaufman says learning a new  language helps him experience  

a new culture and learn about people  in different places around the world.

When you learn another language, those  people of that country come to life,  

so you have a totally different perception of that  country, those people and that culture, he said.

I hope you're feeling motivated and inspired  

to keep learning English and  keep learning other languages.

And maybe one day you'll become a  polyglot and speak 20 languages as well.

And remember, Link is giving you a 35%  discount off a one year premium plan.

You can click right here to sign up now, or  you can look for the description in the link.

I know you'll love using Link and it will  help take your fluency to the next level.