How To Think Like A Fluent English Speaker

I want to invite you to reflect on something.  What do you think is keeping you from becoming  

the English speaker that you have always dreamed  of being? what is it? Is it a vocabulary problem?  

Do you feel you can't remember words quickly  and easily? Is it a grammar problem? You feel  

insecure that you often make grammar mistakes  and you're never sure that what you're saying  

is correct? Is it your pronunciation  or your lack of speaking opportunities?  

Whatever it is there's a solution to all of these  problems and I'm here to tell you about it so  

that you can finally achieve fluency that you are  proud of. So in this lesson we'll talk about your  

mindset and how it determines whether you're ready  for success or crippled by your fear of failure.  

Mastering the English language is an adventure  that contains many challenges along the way.  

In this lesson we're going to talk about your  mindset in the face of these challenges that you  

encounter on your journey to lifelong English  fluency. Mindset is your general attitude and  

the way which you think about things and make  decisions. Your mindset will determine whether  

you succeed or fail in anything you do. Trust me I  know how you feel learning a foreign language. I'm  

a language learner myself. Not only have I learned  about this topic but I've taught it in schools and  

the effects are incredible. The growth and fixed  mindset concept was pioneered by Carol Dweck  

a Stanford professor and author of Mindset The  New Psychology of Success. She distinguishes two  

types of mindset that we can cultivate. One that  embraces problems as opportunities to learn and  

one that avoids them often out of fear to fail.  Those who see problems as interesting challenges  

have a growth mindset but those who avoid these  kinds of problems have a fixed mindset. In fact we  

make lessons just like this one every week so that  you can understand native English, be understood  

by anyone and connect to the world. Just like  Moumita who says that our channels disparate to  

any other because not only do we teach you English  but we help you to increase your skills and keep  

you motivated. So if these are some of your goals  join our community by clicking the subscribe  

button and the bell down below so that you  don't miss any of our new lessons! So now let's  

explore the dangers of a fixed mindset a little  further and the power of the growth mindset.

First of all what does fixed mean? This is an  adjective that we use to describe something  

that's firmly fastened to a particular position.  It does not move we also use this word to describe  

a disapproving way ideas or opinions. If an idea  or opinion is fixed it doesn't change. In a fixed  

mindset a person believes that their abilities  intelligence and talents are fixed traits and  

cannot change. When we think through the filter of  a fixed mindset we tend to be rigid in our ideas  

and we seek perfection and avoid failure. How does  a fixed mindset affect you as an English learner?  

In extreme cases it may cause someone to  give up very early in their learning journey.  

They'll say something like I'm not good at  English, so why even try? But in your case a fixed  

mindset may cause you to avoid taking advantage  of opportunities because you're afraid of failure.  

You might say I can't join this conversation,  they're so much more fluent than me. I don't want  

to make a fool of myself. Or when you see another  learner communicating effortlessly in English  

a fixed mindset may cause you to think  that they are obviously good learners  

of languages or have a talent or of  course he went on an exchange program.  

While going abroad is definitely a great advantage  it's not the only way to fluency. Learners with a  

fixed mindset tend to see failure as limiting  and a reflection of personal shortcomings.

Growth is a noun that has a very positive  meaning. When we talk about personal growth  

we mean the activities that a person engages  in to become a better version of themselves.  

People with a growth mindset believe that talent  comes through effort. They believe that anyone can  

be good at anything, that their abilities can be  developed through determination and perseverance  

and the right strategy. They believe in the power  of yet. They'll say I'm not there yet which means  

I have not achieved a certain level at something  but one day I will. I know this because I'll work  

hard for it. An English learner will say I can  do it if I try hard enough and how can I learn  

from my mistakes. A learner with a growth mindset  usually views failure as a learning opportunity.  

A challenge as a chance to grow and feedback as a  constructive way to improve. When you see things  

through the lenses of growth you see effort as an  essential ingredient on the path to mastery. When  

you see others do great things with their English  you find inspiration in them and you think about  

what lessons you could take from their success.  This is something we often see in our Fluency  

Circle which is an online community of language  learners from all around the world just like you.  

With the support of our team they take part in  weekly challenges and connect with each other  

through their common language English.  When joining our Real Life Native Immersion  

Course you also become part of this incredible  community so you never feel alone when learning.  

The best part is you can try this course  for free with our Three Mini Lessons!  

just click up here or down in the description  box below to learn more and sign up now. 

According to Carol Dweck an important factor  for determining the development of either  

a fixed or a growth mindset happens during  childhood. How did your parents talk to you?  

Did they say things like you're doing  it wrong or you need to practice more  

or you need to try harder. Praise is important in  developing a growth mindset but only if you say  

it the right way. Dweck did an experiment where a  group of students were praised for their ability  

and another group was praised for their effort.  One group was told great work you're so smart!  

The other group was told great work you  must have worked really hard. Later the  

group that was praised for their ability  started to adopt a fixed mindset and in  

subsequent tests they started to reject new  challenges fearing it would expose their flaws  

on the other hand the group that was praised for  their efforts saw no limits in their abilities  

as they knew that effort and hard work was always  going to be something they would have control over  

when working in schools. One of the first  workshops we did as a class was on this topic  

I taught children the differences between the  two mindsets by doing activities based on them,  

such as creating a classroom display, showcasing  the different language for a growth mindset and  

a fixed mindset. The results were incredible.  This display in the class was a tool to use in  

those challenging moments and a reminder of what  the students were capable of. It was so effective  

that they created displays and posted them around  the school and taught the younger students how to  

have more of a growth mindset and it became part  of the school's culture what mindset do you have.

Well it's not like you are  100 fixed or growth oriented.  

These mindsets exist in a continuum. Although  we'd like to always have a growth mindset  

there are always going to be traits of a fixed  mindset that you have to recognize and overcome.  

It might also vary depending on what you're  focusing on. For example when I'm practicing my  

spanish working out or trying something new those  fixed mindset thoughts start to pop up in my head!  

This is too hard I can't do it! I'll never be good  enough! The key is to recognize these thoughts and  

change your way of thinking. So instead I'll  say you're getting stronger! you can do this!  

I'm challenging myself and this  is a great opportunity to grow.  

Carol Dweck offers a four-step process to change  your mindset. This can be immensely useful to  

learn to identify in what areas of your life or of  your English learning process a fixed mindset is  

keeping you from achieving your true potential. As  I walk you through the four steps I'm going to use  

examples of the struggles that an English learner  is likely to encounter. First you need to learn  

to hear your fixed mindset voice. Think about a  time when you passed on an opportunity to learn or  

practice your English because you feared failure  all of us have self-sabotaging tendencies at times  

when we self-sabotage we do something  that prevents us from achieving our goals.  

If your goal is to achieve fluency in English  you might sabotage that goal by deciding not to  

speak because of your fear of making mistakes. So  step two is to recognize that you have a choice,  

although you might be tempted to avoid  the situation that you're shying away from  

recognize that you can combat that desire  to not do what you know you should do.  

Here you need to talk back to it with a growth  mindset voice this is step three when your fixed  

mindset says you can't do it your growth mindset  responds I might not have the talent now but I  

think I can learn from the time and effort. Step  four is finally taking the growth mindset action.  

This means taking on a new challenge  persisting in the face of adversity  

learning from setbacks and feedback. This is  how you go from I won't do it or I can't do it  

to I can do it and I will do it to finally yes  I did it! If you're enjoying this lesson then  

I highly recommend you check out this lesson  we made on why motivation isn't important for  

learning English. Just click up here or down  in the description below to watch it next!  

Let's do a fun activity now. I'm going to list  a few tendencies one for a fixed mindset and one  

for the growth mindset. You have to choose the  option that corresponds to the growth mindset.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson and  are excited for the new possibilities  

available to you by adopting a growth mindset.  Remember just recognizing your fixed limited  

thoughts is the first steps. Can you think  of a positive growth mindset statement that  

you will start saying today? Please share  it in the comments I'd love to read them!  

And now with that in mind it's time to go beyond  the classroom and live your English! Aww yeah! 

This means that learning new words to describe  your English is a good idea don't you think?  

So rather than just using  the usual words like good,  

bad ,beginner, intermediate and advanced  today we're going to learn some more  

colorful language and vocabulary that's  going to help you to describe your English