SKILLS to SUCCEED in 2023 (and beyond) | What should you learn in addition to English?

There's no novelty that the world pandemic  that began in 2020 shook all of us to the  

bone. It has indeed been a year that has  shifted in many aspects of our lives,  

regardless of where we are in the globe. Above  all it has been a year with lots of learnings.  

As we've seen children, teenagers, and adults  using digital environments for their studies,  

companies adhering to remote and distributed  work. And so many of us using video calls to  

celebrate the big moments with our loved ones.  Although it wasn't evitable that we would all  

need to develop new skills to cope with a rapidly  changing and localizing world. The pandemic has  

greatly sped up that need. So in this lesson,  we are going to talk about the set of skills  

that are absolutely crucial for you to develop in  order to succeed in this new intertwined world.  

I will walk you through what global competencies  are and why they're so important. Skills of the  

21st Century and abilities that you can start  developing now to stand out in 2021. And how  

exactly all of this relates to learning English.  So in case you're new here every week, we help you  

to understand fast native speech, be understood by  anyone and connect to the world, just like Obey,  

who says that they are overcoming their fear of  mistakes thanks to our videos. You will too. So  

hit that subscribe button and the bell and below.  So you don't miss any of our new lessons.  

Let me ask you this: What comes to your mind  when you hear the word "Global competencies"?  

Do you think it is the ability to understand  and engage with global issues? Is it something  

related to interacting with people from different  cultures or is it putting together different types  

of skills to solve a problem? If you answered  yes to any of these questions, you are right.  

Global competencies are the values, behaviors,  and skills combined to understand, appreciate,  

engage and act together with people from different  cultures towards a collective wellbeing goal. That  

means that someone who's developed global  competencies is able to recognize different  

perspectives, communicate ideas effectively,  investigate the world beyond her own environment  

and above all take action to create a more diverse  and interconnected world. So why is it important?  

Developing global competencies is one of  the first steps towards global citizenship  

that is having the mindset that we can  all be a part of the global community.  

It's living in a world that goes beyond borders in  which each and every person has the potential and  

the conditions to live their true identity. Lev Vigotsky said that through others,  

we become ourselves. Take us here at this moment,  for example. There's a language that connects  

us no matter where we are in the world right now,  we are able to interact, share and learn from each  

other all because we have learned how to speak  English. And of course in thanks to the wonder  

of the internet. It's no secret that we learn  through interaction. You already know that's true  

for learning a language well, it's true for other  skills as well. The health crisis has proved just  

how interconnected we all are. We are all getting  closer and closer as an international community  

in this quickly emerging digital world. So how  can we spur that, that leads us into the skills  

that you need in 2021 and beyond into the 21st  century. Have you ever heard them before?  

They have been in discussion since the early  80's by educators, world leaders, managers,  

and so on. They wanted to discover what skills  will be needed for current and future generations.  

Although there's room for flexibility when  implementing such skills, this table paints  

a good picture of the abilities that we should  aim at developing. You may have noticed that  

achieving a high level of university degrees  is not at the top of priorities to succeed  

and handle the demands of the workplace,  learning and innovating in the new century.  

That doesn't mean that aiming it to a high level  of education is not important. However, the weight  

of a degree starts to lose its virtuosity compared  to these new abilities. Although each of the 21st  

century skills have their own importance as a  language learner, you are already a step ahead  

in what is called The 4 C's: Critical thinking,  Collaboration, Creativity, and Communication.  

Learning a new language can be a  process of expanding your horizons.  

As you get in touch and understand the nuances and  cultural aspects of the language you're learning.  

That means that your creativity  and critical thinking is sharpened.  

This means the ability to engage in independent  thinking and understand the logical connections  

between ideas. You might do that when you choose  to read a piece of news from different sources  

and the language that is not your mother tongue,  or when you watch a video in English exploring  

different perspectives on a topic that you  already know well in your first language.  

Or when you sit down and journal about a problem  and you can kill two birds with one stone by  

doing that in English. As I mentioned before, we  all learn through interaction. So as an English  

learner, the more you collaborate and communicate,  the more you develop your language skills and your  

global competencies. Enhance that by sharing  your thoughts and ideas when working in a group,  

reach out to a teacher, a manager, or a mentor,  and ask them questions about a problem that you  

have. Seek solutions by exploring different areas  of interest. By the way, one of the best ways  

to improve your global competencies is through  practice, practice speaking with people from other  

countries, cultures, and worldviews on your own.  We are big believers in the power of community.  

And that is exactly why all of our courses  include access to the Fluency Circle Community.  

This is a group of English learners from around  the world. They're virtually anytime a day,  

you can have eye opening conversations with other  global citizens and of course, practice your  

English at the same time. A great way to learn  more is with our Power Learning Mini course,  

as an added benefit, this will also help you to  greatly improve your English comprehension and has  

a lot of fun. So what are you waiting for? Look up  here or down the scription to learn more and sign  

up? It is absolutely free. Also remember that if  you haven't worked on improving your communication  

in your mother, tongue, how you listen, relate  and respect other people, you will also struggle  

to make meaningful relationships through your  English and improve your speaking skills.  

So what else can you do? There's a range  of different abilities you can choose from.  

And your current context will certainly  dictate which ones you should prioritize.  

For example, digital literacy.  Become more familiar with the apps,  

software and websites, whether in your field of  study or work being used right now. For that,  

you can watch tutorials on YouTube, search  online forums, simply ask your peers for tips.  

Nowadays, there are so many free and  affordable courses available on Coursera,  

Udemy, Skillshare among others, adaptability,  be open to changes and embrace learning  

and adaptable person sees opportunities where  others see failure. To develop adaptability you  

have to keep an open mind and force yourself to  take risks. It's not always easy. I know, but it's  

certainly worth it. Teamwork and cross-cultural  interaction working in and with a team involves  

commitment. Communication is a key for that to  run smoothly. That's even more true when joining  

an international team where the language spoken  is likely to be English, make sure you know your  

role and responsibilities, and don't be afraid  of asking questions and clarifying information,  

keep a positive mindset and a respectful  attitude towards cultural differences.  

Don't forget to always be working on  yourself. This is important whether speaking  

English or your mother tongue. A great place  to start is with books like The Seven Habits  

of Highly Effective People and How to Win Friends  and Influence People. You can read them in English  

and also improve your language skills. If you want  more books like this, that could change your life  

and your English, then check out this lesson.  Another skill that is without a doubt crucial  

to develop is accountability. This means taking  responsibility for your actions without making  

excuses, which includes being humble enough to  admit when you make mistakes and ask for help,  

when needed. Regardless of skill or skills that  you choose to invest some time in developing,  

here are a few tips for you to start working  on them right now. Study things from different  

areas. There are so many great channels on  YouTube masterclasses books, like the ones that  

I mentioned, and so on, just a click away. Reach  out to people who are close to you and seek their  

advice, ask them about their experiences and what  they've learned on the journey. Having a mentor  

could change your life. Also talk to people  outside of your inner circle. Expand your  

horizons, is especially powerful to learn from  people who withhold a different perspective than  

your own. As for feedback from your boss, your  mentor, your teacher, or your coach, and actually  

carve out the time to reflect on it. Use it to  write your plans, to recalculate your route.  

Now, how does all of this relate to learning  English, mastering some of these key skills means  

that you are already more prepared to deal with  this so-called new world. By choosing to learn a  

new language, you put yourself out of your comfort  zone. You challenge yourself and putting check the  

skills that you already mastered. You open all  sorts of new doors that were close to you before.  

That's why developing emotional intelligence plays  a big role in succeeding in 2021 and beyond. To  

help you with that in your English journey and  personal life ask yourself these questions:  

What motivates me? Do I empathize with other  people's feelings? Am I helping and being helped  

by others? Am I continually bettering myself  and growing? If there's one thing 2020 proved  

it is that we have no idea of what lies ahead. So  there's only so much we can predict about 2021 and  

the years to come. It's more important than ever  to be prepared for anything. With that being said,  

you might as well dance while the music is playing  and see each day as a new opportunity to learn.  

So thanks again for joining me today.  And if you enjoy lessons like this,  

then we would love to join you on your English  learning journey and to get started it's really  

simple. Here's what subscribe button and the  button below and you won't miss any of our new  

lessons. And now it's time to go beyond the  classroom and literary English. Aww yeah!