Learn English: How to Become Fluent on Your Own at Home [Powerful Tips]

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- Hello, this is Jack from www.tofluency.com

and welcome to this very important lesson.

So a lot of the time, I talk about methods you can use,

I talk about vocabulary you need to know

in my English lessons,

but today, I'm going to give you a big overview

on what I think are the best ways for you

to go from the level you have now

to the level you want to have

in the shortest amount of time possible.

So we're going to talk about your goals,

your why, training methods,

the types of things you need to do.

We're going to talk about time

and how to fit English into your schedule.

So stick around, continue watching

if you want to know the most efficient way

to improve your English and stay until the end

because I have a question that I want you to answer

and while watching this video go down to the comments

and see what other people are saying too.

So before I talk about the fluency equation,

I want to briefly talk about your goals and your why

because having a goal that you are excited about

is going to give you the motivation to create a plan,

but also the motivation to continue learning.

Because think about a time when you have started

to learn something new.

In those initial stages, you have all that energy

and motivation and desire to learn that new skill.

So for me, it might be learning the guitar

or learning a new sport.

And those beginning stages are very exciting,

but those who are going to succeed

are those who continue doing things consistently

over the long-term and we'll talk more

about consistency later.

But you're going to need to create that strong why.

The reason why this is important for you.

This then gives you the desire to do the right things.

Now, to help me explain this,

meet Pablo and Sarah.

Now, Pablo and Sarah are both from Spain

and they both want to learn English.

Sarah works in the stock market in Spain

but she wants to get a job in New York within 12 months.

And something that is holding her back,

something that is stopping her from getting this job,

is her level of English.

So she needs to learn English in order to get this job.

Now, Pablo lives in Madrid

and he's going to start working for his family business,

which is a restaurant in a big tourist area.

And his desire to learn English,

is so that he can talk to customers

and to be able to take their orders and do the other things

which include interacting with English speakers.

So both of these people have a strong desire

to learn English but for very different reasons.

They both have a strong why.

Not only is it important to think about your why

in this sense but also, we'll talk about this later,

it allows you to focus on the English that you need to know.

So the type of English that Sarah needs to learn

is different to the type of English

that Pablo needs to learn.

So my first question for you is

why are you learning English?

So for some people it's an external motivation,

which means a job that they need to get

or so that he can move to another country,

so that they can get into a university

in an English-speaking country.

But for many it's also an internal motivation.

They want to be able to speak English

because it's a challenge, because they love the language

or because they like meeting new people.

So take a moment, maybe pause this video

and think about your why.

In fact get my book "The 5-Step Plan for English Fluency"

as it allows you to really go deep into the reason why

you're learning English and it also gives you the ability

to write this down.

So you can get that book by going to the description.

Another important thing here at this stage

is setting a goal.

Now, your goal could be to reach a certain level

by a specific time.

So if you are an intermediate speaker

it could be to have a C1 level

of English by the end of the year.

Or within 12 months.

But basically you're setting a goal with a deadline.

Now, having a goal is very important.

We all have goals even if we don't write them down.

When you start a new skill your goal is

to become better at this skill.

So we always have a goal,

even if we're not very specific with it.

But it's a good idea to think about what level you want

to have and when you want to have that level.

But later when we talk about creating a learning schedule,

creating a daily routine, we can also talk about goals here.

So for example your goal might be over the next three weeks

I'm going to do 10 minutes of the Imitation

or the LRRC method.

We'll talk about methods later.

This is a more specific goal which focuses

on deliberate practice, which focuses on doing something

on a daily basis; and this is more of a process goal

instead of an outcome goal.

An outcome goal is where you say a C1 level

within 12 months.

But also create goals in terms of daily habits.

Let's now talk about the fluency equation

because this focuses on the two main things

that actually dictate how long

it's going to take you to reach your goal.

So let's again just say your goal is to reach a C1 level

where you can speak freely and you can understand

almost anything you hear.

You're not quite at that native level

but you're very good at English you feel really confident.

So there are two main things that are going to dictate

how long it's going to take you to reach that goal.

The first one is the types of methods

that you're going to use; what you do with your time.

And then the second one is, how much time you spend

doing things in English and learning English.

How much time you spend studying.

So it's what you do and how much time you spend

doing what you do.

Just to give you a very simple example.

If you spend 40 hours a week, which is a lot of time,

just studying verb tables, then you're not going to improve.

And on the other hand, if you spend 10 minutes

using the most efficient method possible,

then you won't make any progress.

So both of these things are important.

Now, before we talk about the methods,

there are two important things to know.

The first one is, you have to become an independent learner.

You have to become an independent learner.

Which means that you take responsibility for your learning.

Don't just think that signing up to the course,

or signing up to speak in lessons is enough.

You have to take control of your learning.

And that's what this video is going to help you with.

And then also note that there

are four main skills to English.

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Reading, writing, listening, speaking.

Two of those are output, and two are input.

So, reading and listening, those are inputs.

And speaking and writing are outputs.

With that in mind, let's talk about the types

of techniques and learning strategies

that you can implement.

And the first one is to get lots of input.

Get lots of listening and reading.

This is what I call immersion, where you listen

to things in English and you read things in English.

You can also watch things in English, too.

So we'll include TV in this.

Now, the majority of learning a language is subconscious.

Okay, this is an important concept to understand.

The majority of learning a language is subconscious.

This means that you don't really study a language.

Instead, you immerse yourself in it.

So, getting lots of input is going to help you with this.

It's going to allow you to get used to English,

to recognize patterns and to acquire the language

in a very natural way.

Now, the downside of this method

is that you need a lot of it.

So it's not just about getting input,

it's about getting a lot of input.

The advantage, though, is that you can do this

while doing other things.

And I'm sure you're doing some of this already.

Watching this video is input.

It's quite easy to do, in a way,

because it doesn't require you

to really think about the language you need to use.

Instead you're just acquiring the language.

So, listen to things while doing other things.

This is easy to do these days.

And I'm sure you can think of all the times during the day

when you can be listening to English while

doing the housework, exercising, et cetera.

And due to the digital revolution,

where you live isn't as important anymore.

Because you have access to all these materials

no matter where you live.

If you can watch this video, then you can watch

more or less anything that's out there in the world.

Now, the next technique is to learn English

through sentences because context matters.

And learning English through sentences

allows you to learn new vocabulary

and see how that vocabulary is used,

but it also helps you internalize grammar.

Because when you learn sentences,

you recognize grammar patterns.

You don't need to know the rules to learn grammar.

Instead, you can acquire grammar

through the repetition of sentences.

Now, the input method, again, lots and lots of input,

will help you with this.

But you can also focus on learning English

through sentences by using something like ANKI.

Now, I made a video on this, so I won't go into depth here.

But know that the repetition of sentences

is going to help you acquire

grammar, vocabulary, and also, if you do it with audio,

the intonation and stress and the phonetics involved.

So, learn English through sentences.

Watch that video on the sentence method.

And then also, apply this later

when we talk about mimicking native speakers.

The next thing to focus on is the sounds of English

and how to make them.

But not just the sounds, but everything to do

with English pronunciation.

Now, this is something that not many people focus on

when growing up and learning English.

And this is obvious, or there's a big reason

why this happens and it's because

usually there's one teacher and 10, 15, 20,

30, 40, more than 40 students in a class.

And it's very difficult for a teacher

to give everyone personalized attention

and to correct the way that they say things.

But know that this is an important area of English.

And improving the way you say things in English

is going to help your confidence,

it's going to help your clarity, your accuracy,

and also your fluency.

Because if you can say things without thinking

about how to say them, then your English

is just going to flow.

Here is how to improve this area of your English.

Firstly, know how to make the sounds.

Know what you need to do with your mouth

in order to make a sound in English.

So inside the To Fluency program I go through this in depth.

Now, I talk about minimal pairs,

I talk about consonant sounds and vowel sounds,

the Shwa-sound, just knowing how to make

these sounds is the first step.

Knowing what to do with your mouth,

your lips, your teeth, your tongue, et cetera,

is the first step; the second step is to practice

and to get feedback on these sounds.

Okay, this is important.

You can do this on your own by recording the sounds

of English and then listening to how you say them.

And then you can make adjustments based on

what you think you need to do.

So, know how to make the sounds.

Say them, get feedback, and then get longterm repetition.

Train your muscles in your mouth

to be able to make these sounds

without thinking about how to do it.

Now, the next technique is what I believe

to be the most powerful.

And it brings together the four skills

and a lot of what we've already talked about so far.

And it's simply to mimic native speakers.

To mimic proficient or native speakers

by getting audio of sentences, listening to these sentences,

repeating them, recording your version,

and then comparing the two.

And this is going to allow you to work on

all four skills if you do it properly.

But it's also going to help you

improve your English in general.

I think this a most-powerful method.

Now, when you're listening to the phrase and reading,

you're getting input, so you're learning new words

and phrases; you're getting the input you need

to acquire grammar.

And then you're saying these sentences,

so you're getting the output, the speaking part of this.

You're listening to where you make mistakes

or where it doesn't sound quite like the original.

And then you're making changes.

And then if you repeat these sentences,

over the longterm then you're going to internalize them.

You're going to acquire the English

that you learned from that sentence.

So there is a lot going on here.

And this also helps you improve the areas of pronunciation

that you might not focus on, things like rhythm

and stress, and the music of English.

To be able to express different emotions

in the way that you speak.

And a big part of this is getting the right type

of audio that is specific to you.

So going back to our Sarah and Pablo examples,

Sarah wants to learn financial English for the stock market.

So she should find phrases that are specific to her,

that are based on financial and business English.

Whereas, Pablo needs to learn the types

of phrases he needs to use in a restaurant.

So things like: How is everything going?

Are you ready to order yet?

Would you like dessert?

Et cetera, and then both need to work

on general English, things like small talk; things like

phrasal verbs that people use in everyday English.

So, know that no matter which area

of English you want to learn,

there will be this everyday English component.

But be specific to you and focus on the areas

you need to know.

Those are the main things that I think

are the most important techniques or strategies to use,

study plans to use so that you can make fast progress.

Now, it's also important with all of this to have fun.

And that doesn't mean just doing things

that you always find enjoyable.

But it also means to enjoy the process of learning English.

To learn the whole journey from where you are now

to where you need to be.

And to take pride in the way that you learn English.

So repeating sentences might sound boring,

but you can make it fun, you can make it enjoyable.

And that is a big part to this

because consistency is so important.

Now, a couple of other things to work on

are to get feedback on your speaking,

maybe from a teacher, to get that natural speaking practice

so that you can put everything together

and enjoy speaking English.

And then the other one is to try and make

some English-speaking friends so that you put yourself

in a situation where you're using

your English more naturally.

Now, the second part of the fluency equation is time.

And you can have the best strategies in the world,

but if you don't do them then,

you're not going to get anywhere.

So this is a really important part to spend some time on.

I actually made a lesson on collocations

and phrases with time, if you want to learn those.

But the key here is just to get in the habit

and make English a part of your daily routine.

I recommend implementing these strategies

so that you can use them on a daily basis.

And I made a video called "The 10+ Method"

where you dedicate 10 minutes a day

to something you know you should be doing

but you're not doing.

And then if you do more, great!

If you don't, don't worry about it.

But the key is just to focus on 10 minutes every day,

and to do this consistently.

If you don't do it for one day,

for whatever reason, forget about it.

And then do it the next day.

Try and do it every day if you can.

And make this part of your daily routine.

That is going to allow you to get used

to doing the right things in English,

to using these strategies that I think

are really going to help you.

And then over time it becomes a habit.

It just becomes part of your daily routine.

So try "The 10+ Method,"

I'll leave a link to that in the description.

Now with all that in mind, I'm going to talk about

some general tips to help you with this journey.

And the first one is to learn

high-frequency used phrases and words.

Because these are the most important to learn,

because they're the ones that you're going

to use most of the time.

So take some time to look up these

high-frequency used words and phrases,

and implement that into your daily learning strategy.

And it's not just about knowing something.

Because I come across a lot of learners

who know how to use Must and Have To,

but actually using it during a conversation

is a completely different story.

It's not as easy as just knowing something.

And that's why the repetition of sentences

and mimicking speakers is going to allow you

just to use it naturally when speaking.

So don't fall into that trap of thinking,

oh I know that grammar point, therefore I don't need

to implement that into my daily practice.

Stay simple, go with the basic phrases,

the high-frequency used phrases

so that you can speak freely and naturally.

The next tip is to make it easy to learn English.

So, download the apps that you need to have

and have them on your phone.

Change the language of your phone into English.

Only have English come up on your social media feed.

So unfollow pages that you don't need to know.

And then also, have English books by your bed.

Don't have books in your own language by your bed,

just have English books by your bed.

Make it easy to learn.

And then another tip is to do something

in English in the morning, first thing.

Because by doing this, it makes sure

that you've done something in English for that day,

but it also gives you the motivation to do something later.

Because if you've already done something in the morning,

then you get excited about this.

You get excited about maybe doing something else

and learning more later.

So think about how you can do something

in English, first thing in the morning.

And in fact, let me know what you're going

to do as soon as you wake up, in English.

So we have covered a lot in today's lesson.

To get at a quick summary of this,

go over to my website, because I have this post

in written form and you'll be able to just go through

this again and read it, which gives you the input

of listening and also of reading.

And then from there, take a look at two things:

Firstly my book, "The 5-Step Plan for English Fluency."

A lot of what I've talked about here is in the book format.

And it allows you to go through this

in a different type of a way.

And then check out the To Fluency program,

because it gives you that method that we talked about before

where you listen, repeat, record, compare.

And then get longterm repetition.

And it also gives you the audio for those

high-frequency used phrases and words

that you can just go through in your own time.

So let me know if you have any questions, too,

because I might make a part two of this video.

And always just check out the description;

there's a lot there for you.

Now, the question I have for you is this:

What are you going to do for 10 minutes every day,

over the next 30 days?

So what method are you going to use

for 10 minutes a day for the next 30 days?

Leave your comment below.

If you have enjoyed this, then please like and share it.

If you are new here, subscribe to this channel.

Again, my name is Jack

from www.tofluency.com.

And then also, check out another video

which will be on your screen now.

Okay, thanks for watching.

Bye bye.

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