15 Things Every English Learner Should Stop Saying Now

So you want to speak English fluently.

You want to sound like a native English speaker.

You want to walk into a room and speak English with confidence, my friend.

I believe that you can and will be able to do it, but there are a few

things you must stop saying now.

Are you ready to find out what the 15 things are?

Well then I'm teacher Tiffani.

Let's jump right in.

Number one, the very first thing you must stop saying is it's too difficult.

This is something that I have heard from thousands upon thousands of

English learners around the world, and I'm sure that you've probably

said it at least one time or another.

It is too difficult.

I, I don't know really how to speak English.

English is just too hard, my friend.

I need you to stop saying this now.

Instead of saying, it's too difficult when you're learning a new word, a

new expression, or even a grammar rule, instead of saying, it's too

difficult, I want you to say this.

I need more time to understand this.

I'm gonna say that one more time.

I need more time to understand this.

You see, when you change the words that you say, You also

change the way you think.

When you say it's too difficult, you're literally telling your brain, stop.

Don't work.

This isn't possible, but when instead of saying it's too difficult, you

start saying, Hey, I just need some more time to understand this.

Your brain says, okay, we are smart enough.

We are intelligent enough.

We just need a little bit more time.

This is the truth, my friend.

You are smart enough to do anything.

And your goal is to speak English fluently, so don't say it's too difficult.

Instead say, you know what?

I just need a little bit more time to understand this.

Start saying this today.

Never say again.

It's too difficult.

Just say, I need a little bit more time to understand this.

You with me?

All right, now, I love it.

Here we go.

The second thing I need you to stop saying is this.

I can't speak fluently.

I, I, I can't speak English fluently.

Stop saying that.

Remember, I am your English teacher.

I'm a native English speaker.

I'm an American, and I believe that you, yes, I'm talking to you,

the one looking at me right now.

I believe that you can speak fluently, but you must believe that as well.

From now on, never say I can't speak fluently.

Instead, this is what I want you to say, my friend, I want you to say this.

I'm working on improving my fluency.

Ooh, you see the change, right?

One is I'll never do it.

I can't do it.

It's impossible.

While the other phrase I'm working on improving my fluency is, Hey,

I'm in the process right now.

I'm working towards my goal.

That is impressive when a native English speaker sees you has a conversation

with you and maybe you make mistakes or you struggle a bit, but your response,

instead of saying, I can't speak fluently.

If you say, I'm working on improving my fluency, I guarantee the native English

speaker is going to be impressed.

They're going to see that.

Wow.

You are a diligent person.

You recognize that you have a goal and you're daily working

towards it, and you're not allowing your mistakes, your challenges,

your struggles to hold you back.

Or discourage you when you say this, I'm working on improving my fluency.

You'll encourage yourself and you'll also inspire other people.

Listen, the words you use affect you.

I believe in you.

I need you to believe in yourself.

So starting today, I want you to never say, I can't speak fluently.

I want you to now say, I'm working on improving my fluency.

Feels good, doesn't it?

I love it.

Now, before we move on to number three, I want to remind you after

each lesson, I want you to go to my app English with Tiffani.

You can download it right now.

After each lesson, I have practice lessons for you to go over that

connect directly to the lesson you are following along with today.

The link is right in the description, but remember, as you're learning English,

it's important to practice what you learn.

And for today's lesson, you'll get some quizzes to see if

you remember what to say.

So don't forget to download my app English with Tiffani.

You can download it for free.

The link is right in the description, and each week you'll be able to

practice what I am teaching you.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

All right, now let's move on to number three.

Number three, I need you to stop saying,

I'll never sound like a native speaker.

Woo.

Stop saying this again.

I'll never sound like a native speaker.

I don't want you to ever say that again.

Instead of saying this, I want you to say, Hmm.

Embracing your own unique accent and focusing on effective

communication rather than perfection.

I'm gonna give you a few things that I want you to say.

Instead of, I'll never sound like a native speaker.

I want you to say I'm working on my accent, or, I'm working on sounding

like a native English speaker, or I'm working on my communication skills.

There are so many other things that you can say instead of, I'll

never sound like a native speaker.

I want you to remember this for this one.

It's not just one specific statement that I want you to say.

I really want you to change your mindset.

Listen closely.

I want you to embrace your own unique accent.

Let's pause really quickly.

Many times English learners, and maybe even you don't realize that in

America, Americans in America, you will hear many different accents.

I have friends from all over America, some live in California, some live in

Louisiana, some live in Alabama, some live in New York, and we all have a

unique sound, but we're all American.

Those that live in Texas, they have kind of a Texas drawl.

We say drawl in English, right?

Those that live in upstate New York, they sound like a New Yorker.

There's a certain accent depending on where you live in America.

Why is this important for you to understand?

You see the very fact that Americans, we have accents should encourage

you to embrace your own accent.

Yes, there's always things you can do.

There are always things you can do to improve, but I don't want you to say,

I'll never sound like a native speaker because we have all different accents.

The next part of this focus on effective communication rather than perfection.

Many times English learners only focus on their sound, but what truly

leads to fluency is being able to organize your thoughts and effectively

communicate your ideas and your opinions.

Don't forget to organize your thoughts.

Don't forget to properly convey your message.

Your accent will improve.

Don't be discouraged.

So again, instead of saying, I'll never sound like a native speaker.

I want you to embrace your unique accent, and I also want you to focus

on effective communication, some students that are in my academy.

Again, if you'd like to join our family, the link is in the description.

You can go to speak English like a native.com.

Again, speak English like a native.com if you wanna join our family.

But the link is also in the description.

I have many students from countries all around the world.

And when they understood the importance of effective communication and not

being discouraged about their accent, their English took off, they're able

to effectively express themselves and they sound like a native speaker.

You can do it too.

So again, stop saying I'll never sound like a native speaker.

Number four, the thing I want you to stop saying.

I'll never understand native speakers.

I, I just can't understand native speakers.

They speak too fast or their accent is too hard to understand.

I, I don't know the words.

They're using the expressions.

Stop saying you'll never understand native speakers.

I wanna give you a hint why you need to stop saying this.

I am a native speaker.

Do you understand me?

Now, you probably said, well, Tiffani, you're our teacher.

Of course we understand.

No, I need you to remember that I am a native speaker and the very fact that

you, my friend, are able to understand me proves that you are smart enough

to understand other native speakers.

Stop saying you can't understand native speakers.

This is what I want you to start doing.

I want you instead to remember that with practice and exposure, your

understanding will improve over time.

With practice and exposure.

Think about it.

The reason you can understand me so much is because you've probably

been watching me for a long time.

You're used to my cadence, you're used to my pronunciation,

you're used to my expressions.

And even if you're here for the first time, you're comfortable.

And when you're in a comfortable environment, your brain.

Relaxes, you don't experience any stress and you're actually able to

understand more when you are relaxed.

So even if this is your first time seeing me, hello, by the way, you're able to

understand me because hopefully my smile, my personality is making you comfortable

and making you think I can do anything.

That helps you understand me more.

So instead of saying, I'll never understand native speakers

first, remember that you can understand me, a native speaker.

Then practice and also remembering that exposure.

Will help your understanding improve over time?

Trust me, I've seen it happen multiple times with students in my academy.

A student in my family told me, TIFF, I listened to one of your

conversations with your friends.

One of my friends that, just a regular American, not an English teacher.

So we were having a conversation and speaking very quickly.

And she said, when I first saw the conversation, TIFF, it was a video.

She said, I understood you, but I couldn't understand your friend, but I

remember what you said, TIFF practice.

Keep trying.

She said, TIFF.

By the third time I listened to the conversation, I understood everything.

She only watched the conversation.

She only listened to the conversation three times.

All of a sudden, her ears opened up and she was able to understand my friend.

This is why I say you need to stop saying I'll never understand

native speakers, my friend.

Nothing is impossible.

You can and will do it.

So stop saying, I'll never understand native speakers.

Next, I need you to stop saying I'll never be able to write well.

I, I've tried, but my writing skills aren't that good in English.

I'll never be able to write.

Well, stop saying you'll never be able to write.

Well, instead, I want you to do this.

I want you, yes, you, I need you to believe in your ability to improve

your writing skills through practice.

And feedback.

Anything is possible.

Maybe right now, your writing skills in English are not where you'd like them

to be, but instead of being discouraged, remember, Hey, all I have to do is

keep practicing, keep getting feedback.

Maybe you have a tutor, right?

Getting feedback from others and then trying again, and then writing again.

Now at the end of the lesson today, don't go anywhere because we have

story time A, and I'm gonna tell you about my English teacher, my

favorite teacher from high school, and how she helped me, your English

teacher, improve my writing skills.

And it was not easy.

It was challenging.

I'll tell you more about that at the end.

So don't go anywhere.

But I need you to stop saying I'll never be able to write.

Well.

Instead, I need you to believe in yourself.

Believe in your ability and practice and remember to

accept feedback and keep going.

You can do it.

Number six.

I really need you to stop saying, I, I, I don't have a good memory for vocabulary.

I, I just can't remember.

I don't have a good memory for vocabulary.

Stop saying this.

I have students, again, in my fa in our family and in our, the academy

speak English with Tiffani Academy.

Some of them are in their sixties, some in their seventies.

And when they first joined, they said, TIFF, you know, I'm, I'm a little old

Tiff and I, I don't think I'll be able to learn English, but I'm just gonna try.

And I tell them whenever I meet someone that's older, right?

And when I spoke with these students, I said, listen, you're

never too old to learn anything.

Stop saying that.

Stop saying, my memory's not that good.

I'm not really gonna be able to remember the words.

Listen, here's the truth.

Years ago when I was first studying Korean, I was 27 years old when I started,

and the classes that I was taking, they included students that were 19 and below.

I was the older sister in every class, right?

And they were picking up stuff like this, why they were teenagers.

They were young and their brains were grasping things faster than my brain was.

And I'm not gonna lie, it was challenging.

I had to study twice as hard as they did, but I kept going.

So I'm not saying that it's not going to be challenging.

What I am saying is that it is possible.

So stop saying I don't have a good memory for vocabulary.

You just need to learn a better method for learning vocabulary.

You might have to take it slow, but it is possible.

If you wanna study with me, I have a daily English vocabulary newsletter.

Every day I send out an email with a brand new word, describing it,

giving you examples, sentences.

If you'd like it, you can join us.

The link is right in the description daily english vocabulary.com.

But again, it's not impossible.

You can do it.

So I want you, instead of saying this, to employ, to start using,

to look for various techniques for learning vocabulary, like

repetition, mnemonics, and context to enhance your vocabulary retention.

Now, you might ask yourself, you might be asking right now, How are different

techniques going to really help my memory?

Here's the interesting thing about the human brain.

Each person is unique.

Each person is different.

We all learn in different ways.

You might be someone that needs to learn by having practical

application immediately.

You might be someone that needs to write down what you're learning, right?

You have to figure out what your learning style is.

So again, instead of saying I don't have a good memory for vocabulary,

find various techniques that will help you remember the vocabulary words.

There's no problem with your brain.

There's no problem with your memory.

You just need to find the right technique and everything will flow.

So again, stop saying I don't have a good memory for vocabulary number seven.

I need you to stop saying I'll never overcome my accent.

I'll, my accent's just not going anywhere.

I'll never overcome my accent.

Depending on where you live, depending on your mother tongue, your mother

language, you might have what we say is a thicker accent than someone else.

Your accent may be a little more challenging to work through in order

to sound like a native speaker, but I need you to stop saying

I'll never overcome my accent.

Remember earlier I said even Americans have accents.

Depending on where we live, you don't have to stress about your accent.

So instead, I want you to remember that while your accent may persist,

you might still sound like someone from the Philippines, someone

from India, someone from uh Ghana, someone from any country you can

think of or your country right now.

Even if your accent, it's important for you to focus on clear pronunciation.

An effective communication rather than eliminating your accent entirely.

Let me break this down.

I have friends that live in England.

I am an American.

We can pronounce a word properly, but our accents are different.

Listen closely, we can pronounce the same word properly.

American style, British style, but our accents are different.

So that's what I need you to understand.

Focus on pronouncing the word clearly, making sure that the

person listening to you can actually understand what you're saying.

Your accent might still be there.

That's okay, but can you pronounce the word in a clear way?

Focus on.

The pronunciation and don't stress about your accent as much.

I hope this is encouraging you because I hear this so many times from

different English learners, stressed about their accent, but after a while,

after they've been studying with me for a while and I help them realize,

listen, stop worrying about your accent.

I can understand you.

Worry about effective communication.

Worry about saying the word clearly.

And keep it moving.

We have a slang term.

Keep it rocking.

That means keep going forward.

Keep it rocking.

All right, so again, stop saying I'll never overcome my accent.

Next, I want you to stop saying I can't understand movies or TV shows in English.

I don't know what they're saying.

I don't understand.

Stop saying this instead, I want you to do something.

I want you to start with subtitles, English subtitles.

If you've watched a movie or a TV show and you're like, I have no idea what

they're saying, stop, rewind, turn on the English subtitles and gradually

reduce the reliance you have on them as your listing skills develop.

The first time you watch the movie, the first time you watch the TV show, you

might be reading the entire time English subtitles, but when you watch the same

show or the same movie again, you might only read 80% of the sub subtitles.

The third time, you might only read 50% of the subtitles.

Why?

Because your listening skills will naturally improve.

The more you listen to a certain person, the more you watch a certain

show, the more used to the sound of that individual's voice, the

sound of the character's voices, your ears will get used to their

pronunciation and you'll start to understand what they're saying more.

So again, instead of saying, I can't understand movies or TV

shows in English, I want you.

To start with English subtitles and gradually stop relying

on them as much Makes sense.

Right.

Excellent.

All right, here we go.

Number nine.

I want you to stop saying I can't improve my listening skills.

I just told you when we looked at number eight, that there's a way you

can improve your listening skills.

I need you to stop saying though I can't improve my listening skills.

You see what's happening, right?

There's this common theme, this common thread that we are seeing

as I go throughout this lesson.

Stop saying, I can't stop thinking something is impossible.

Stop feeling discouraged.

English fluency is really dependent on your mindset.

You have to change your mindset.

Stop saying, I can't improve my listening skills instead, Practice

active listening, engage in conversations and use online resources

designed for listening comprehension.

I'm trying to give you other things to do, other things to focus on that

will help you stop saying, I can't.

There are many different listening tools online, but one thing I want you

to remember is that active listening, as someone is speaking, trying to

process what they're saying, and maybe even after the conversation, try to

summarize in your mind, Hey, what?

What did they say to me?

You're actively listening.

And also when you engage in conversations, it forces your brain to not only

formulate ideas so that you can speak, but it also forces your brain to

process information as you listen.

Practice does make perfect, so stop saying I, I can't improve my

listening skills, and instead, start practicing and realize that you can.

Number 10, the thing I want you to stop saying, woo.

Ah, I can't learn English because of my age.

I'm 65.

I'm 75, I'm 80.

I'm just too old.

Woo.

No, you're not.

You're not.

I don't care if you're 85, you're never too old to learn something new.

I've had students literally from four years old all the way up

to about 85 when I was in Korea.

I had them in person.

Now I have you all online.

I'm your online English teacher, and I realized that nothing is impossible.

I believed in each and every one of my students, no matter how old they were.

The key though is for you to believe that you.

Can do it.

It's not impossible.

So stop saying, I can't learn English because of my age.

Instead, I want you to remember that age is not a barrier

to learning a new language.

Age does not determine information that's able to go into your brain.

It might not go in as fast as a younger person, but you're

still able to learn something.

It may require different strategies, but progress is possible.

You are never too old to learn anything, so I need you, my

friend, if this applies to you.

I need you starting today to stop saying I can't learn English because of my age.

Don't say that again because it's wrong.

The truth is you can learn anything.

Just trust the process.

It might be a little slower, but trust the process.

Next, I need you to stop saying this.

I'll never be able to think in English, Tiffani.

I, I just can't do it.

I, I can't think in English.

Every time I go to speak English, I'm automatically thinking in my own language.

I'll never be able to think in English.

Stop saying this because it's not true.

You just need to learn the techniques to help you think in English.

Remember when you say, I'll never, I can't, I can't do it.

You're telling your brain to stop working.

Like, oh, okay, you don't, you don't need my energy.

You don't need me to work hard.

Yes you do.

Stop saying I can't.

Instead, I want you to remember something.

Remember that with consistent practice and immersion, you can develop the

ability to think in English with consistent practice and immersion.

You might be saying, TIFF immersion, how can I immerse myself?

Well, right now you're watching a video, right In English,

about English this entire time.

Right now I'm not speaking in your language, right.

I'm speaking in English.

You're immersing yourself at this moment in English.

Do it even more.

Watch English television programs.

Watch English movies, immerse your yourself, and the more you put

in, the more tools you'll have as you think in English, for example,

in Korean water is mole, right?

So before I went to Korea, whenever I saw a cup of water, I thought water.

But as I immersed myself in conversations and my friends would say, Moul, or I'd

go somewhere and I'd see someone in this store and they'd say, Moul, all

of a sudden in my brain, not just the word water was there, but mu was there.

So now I was starting to think in Korean, You can do the same thing,

but you must give your brain more opportunities to put English inside

and then when you try to think you'll have what you need makes sense, right?

So again, stop saying I'll never be able to think in English.

The next thing I need you to stop saying,

I'll never be able to understand.

Fast speech.

Americans speak too fast.

I, I just can't understand when they're speaking.

I just can't get it.

I don't know what they're saying.

I don't understand.

Did you just understand me because I purposely gradually increased

my speed as I was speaking just to prove a point when I speak slowly.

You understand me with no problem.

I get hundreds of messages each week under the YouTube video lessons.

Tiffani, I understand you and not anyone else.

So I purposely increased my speed just now, but you understood me, right?

So it's not impossible for you to understand fast speech.

It goes back to what I said earlier.

You're comfortable with me.

Hopefully I make you feel happy.

I make you feel relaxed.

And when you are relaxed, your brain is able to process more information.

There's no stress.

You're relaxed, you're taking it all in.

So even if I started speaking very quickly, you'd be able to understand

everything that I was saying.

Why?

Because.

You're relaxed.

You might have pulled in a little bit like, whoa, Tiffani's speaking

faster, but your brain had this feeling, oh, we can do this.

We like Tiffani, I like you too.

We can understand what she's saying, so let's work harder as she speaks faster.

This is what's happening in your brain as I'm speaking.

It proves that it's not impossible for you to understand fast speech.

It just takes practice.

You need to be relaxed.

So I want you, instead of saying this, I want you to gradually expose yourself

to faster speech through listening exercises and authentic materials.

Let me explain what I mean.

I'm teaching you English right now, right?

I'm helping you understand how to improve your English fluency.

But there are other videos on YouTube.

There are other videos in my course and other teachers' courses that are not

specifically about learning English.

They just involve two native English speakers having a conversation,

two native English speakers.

Speaking quickly about a topic.

Again, if you wanna join our family, I have multiple videos like this in the

Speak English, like a native.com program.

Speak English like a native.com.

Multiple conversations going quickly.

The more you expose yourself to the real English conversations where

native speakers, including me, are speaking quickly, the faster your

listening skills will improve.

So you'll never say, I don't understand fast speech.

Instead all of a sudden you'll realize, oh my goodness, I understand what

they're saying because you're smart, boo.

You are smart.

You just gotta believe it.

Next, I hope you're understanding why it's so important for you

to stop saying these things.

I need you to stop saying, I can't learn English without a teacher.

Now, this is probably a shocking one.

Why?

Because I'm your teacher and I'm helping you learn English.

But today in this lesson, I'm trying to give you some tips.

So that when I'm not with you, when you're not watching my videos,

you'll still be able to move forward.

I need you to stop saying I can't learn English without a teacher.

I had a student when I was in South Korea.

His English, I'm not going to lie to you.

I've mentioned him before in one of my lessons.

His English was so good.

I pulled him to the side and asked him what he did.

He said, oh, Tiffani, I just went online and I studied English every day.

He used videos on YouTube.

He listened to podcasts.

He watched movies in English.

He immersed himself in English without a teacher.

He didn't have a teacher in a classroom, but he was still able to improve.

So this is what I need you to remember.

I need you to remember.

That while a teacher like me, your teacher, while we can provide

guidance, I can give you the steps.

I can give you the tools.

There are many self-study resources available to support your learning.

It's possible for you to speak English fluently without having a

physical teacher in the room with you.

I told you online, there are so many things.

I have a daily vocabulary email that I send out.

I have a program for my students now.

Yes, I'm the teacher, but they're doing the work.

They're take taking the resources and applying what I've taught them.

We're not in a classroom environment.

We're not physically speaking to each other all the time.

In person, no.

And yet they're still improving because they're following a plan that I gave them.

Self-study, giving them the plan.

It's up to you to study.

You have to remember, even if you don't have a teacher physically with you,

even if you can't afford the amazing tutors that are online, you can still

learn how to speak English fluently.

Make sense?

Yes, you're getting it now.

You're getting it.

All right.

I really, really, really need you to stop saying this.

I can't learn English because I'm too busy.

First, let me state this fact right here.

I understand.

Having a busy life.

Maybe you're married, maybe you have kids, maybe you also work.

Life can get really hectic and busy.

I run a company, I run an online academy.

Over 2000 students.

It gets very busy, but.

Let my friend call me and say, you wanna play basketball?

I am going to get things done so that I can go and play basketball.

Let my friend call me and say, TIFF, do you wanna go get some Indian food?

Yes.

Give me about an hour.

Let me finish this work.

When we put our minds to it as human beings, when we put our

minds to do something, we can get it done faster than we realize.

When you really want something, you make time for it.

If you're married, think about before you got married.

Think about how you loved spending time with your boyfriend, your girlfriend.

Think about the time you spent on the phone just talking for hours.

No, you hang up.

No, you hang up.

You made time even though you were busy.

The same is true when it comes to English.

Stop saying, I can't learn English because I'm too busy.

You can find time.

So instead of saying this, this is what I want you to do.

Find small pockets of time throughout the day for language learning

activities such as listening to podcasts or practicing vocabulary.

I remember when I used to work at nasa, right?

We got a 15 minute break in the morning and a 15 minute break in

the afternoon, plus an hour lunch.

But in the midst of the day, we would walk to get some tea or those

that drank coffee or we'd walk to get something from the supply closet

five minute period as you're walking.

Ooh, I learned this new vocabulary word from Tiff Tiffani's video yesterday.

What was the word again?

Uh, devout.

Okay.

It means you're practicing as you're walking, or maybe

as you're driving back home.

Instead of listening to the news, why not turn on an English podcast?

You can find time for things you enjoy, start enjoying English,

and I guarantee you'll find these small pockets of time to practice.

So stop saying I can't learn English because I'm too busy.

Finally.

This one right here.

I want you to remember my friend.

Stop saying I'll never be fluent in English.

You already know, this is something you should never say as my student.

Again, I'm your teacher here on YouTube online, or if you're listening to

the podcast, I'm your teacher and I believe, I don't care where you are.

I don't care how old you are.

I don't care how long you've been studying English.

If you follow the tips I give you each week, you will be

able to speak English fluently.

So what.

You need to stop saying, I'll never be fluent in English.

Remember, your brain is gonna act on what you say.

So instead of saying this, woo, I need you to believe in your potential

and keep working to towards fluency, knowing that progress takes time.

An effort.

That's the fact you are going to achieve your goal.

You just have to remember that there's a process.

It's going to take time and effort, but stick with it.

Be consistent, and you will achieve your goals.

Stop saying, I'll never be fluent in English.

Remember, I believe in you.

I just need you to believe in yourself.

There's nothing, nothing, my friend, that you can't.

Accomplish.

There's nothing you can't achieve.

Why?

Because you're amazing.

All you have to do is believe it yourself.

Now, remember I said after the lesson, I want you to go get

the app English with Tiffani.

That's the app, and I want you to practice what you learned today.

The link is in the description.

You'll see it.

Also, I have it on the screen.

If you're watching the video, the link is in the description.

Download the app, go to the weekly English fluency lessons with teacher

Tiffani area, and you'll be able to practice what you learned today.

Quiz yourself.

See if you actually remember what I taught you today.

Remember that I believe in you and I want you to believe in yourself.

And never forget to speak English because you can do it.

I'll talk to you next week.

Do.

You still there?

Oh yeah.

I love it.

You know what time it is?

It's story time eight.

I said it's story time.

All right, so.

We had a longer lesson today, so I'm gonna give you an abridge to

a shorter version of this story.

But earlier I was telling you about my English teacher, and I've

mentioned her many times because she literally will always be my

favorite teacher, miss Candelaria.

When I was in high school, I was a very good student.

My least favorite subject though, Was English.

I always got A's, but my least favorite subject was English for some

reason, wasn't because of her, but it was just my least favorite subject.

I loved math.

I loved science.

I loved art, I loved history, but English just happened to be my least favorite

subject, but I was a hardworking student.

I remember going to her class.

It was an AP class, an upper level class, and I was a creative person,

so I thought my writing skills were good until I got to her class.

Remember getting my first paper back and there were red marks everywhere, you see?

She was trying to help me understand how to be a good writer.

I had to learn the proper writing skills.

I had to learn how to organize my thoughts, the things

that I teach you, right?

I had to learn how to organize my thoughts properly, how to

support my ideas properly.

She had us writing all the time.

She had us debating because she was trying to train us.

We were only about 14 or 15 years old.

We were young.

And she was trying to train us to think in an organized way.

This is why I say she's my favorite teacher.

She taught me how to think.

Properly when it came to organizing my ideas and supporting my points,

so much so that it inspired me to do the same for English learners

around the world just like you.

So even though she was not an easy teacher, I had to work hard.

I think I got an A in her class, but it was challenging to get that grade.

But she pushed us to excellence.

And as your English teacher, that's my goal.

To push you to excellence.

I want people to be impressed when they speak with you in English,

when they speak with you and say, wow, you speak English so well.

I want you to remember that you put in the hard work just like I did

when I was in high school in Ms.

Canarias class.

I hope you enjoyed this short story, and I hope you remember

everything that I taught you today.

I love you.

Have a good one and I'll talk to you next time.