Episode 17: Tips for Intermediate English Learners (part 2)

[00:00:00] Welcome to English, please, the podcast where we explore captivating topics in under 10 minutes in clear, intermediate English. I’m your host, Christopher. I live and work in New York City, and I’m a language enthusiast who has always been interested in the best ways to learn a new language. 

Thank you for joining me for another episode, designed to help you improve your English listening skills and vocabulary. In episode 16, I mentioned that I’d be sharing more tips and advice in this follow-up. If you haven’t listened to episode 16 yet, it’s a great place to start. Then, come back and listen to this episode for even more helpful tips. 

Okay, let’s get started with part two. [00:01:00] 

You’ll often hear the best and quickest way to acquire advanced language skills is through total immersion in English. Normally, this means living in a place where English is all around you and you are forced to use it at all times. And yes, immersion certainly is effective. But leaving family and friends and the daily routines of school or work, in order to live abroad for a few months, isn’t necessarily an option for most of us. 

But you don’t have to move to Los Angeles or New York City to get some of the benefits of immersion. You can still fulfill your normal commitments at home, and at the same time, you can increase your exposure to English in your daily life, wherever you live. First, switch the language of your phone to English. It will function in the same way, but you will have to think and read in English in order [00:02:00] to use it. You’ll quickly acquire a lots of common vocabulary words. You can also do this to your social media accounts. And, depending on how you use your computer, and if anyone else shares the computer with you, you can switch the language to English there as well. 

If you use your electronic devices for just one hour, each day (and most of us use them for much longer than one hour per day), this simple change will expose you to English for an additional seven hours per week. 

To improve your ability to speak, read, and listen in English, it’s critical to continually expand your vocabulary. In Part One, I recommended getting a notebook to add new words and phrases when you encounter them, and to review this growing word list frequently, whenever you have time. This really does work. [00:03:00] You can supplement the notebook and develop a larger vocabulary by doing something that might sound strange, but that’s quite effective. Attach a label or post-it note to physical objects in your home, with the English word for each object written on the label or note. This might be the refrigerator, the television, the desk, or even the window. The note can be tiny and you can put the notes someplace out of view. Your English journey, shouldn’t bother other people in your home, of course. 

You should look at the word and say it when you use the object. If you don’t recall the word, when you use the object, just check the note. You’ll be amazed how quickly your vocabulary grows. The words for objects in your home are often used in conversations you have in your native language, and it’s the same in English. You will use this vocabulary when [00:04:00] talking or hearing about daily routines or actions, so why not learn them in a simple way with almost no extra work. 

The easiest part of learning English or any language is the passive part, the part that you do by listening or reading or reviewing vocabulary. There’s no risk in this. We don’t get embarrassed or nervous, since we aren’t interacting or using the language with another person. 

I think we all feel nervous or unsure when using a language at the intermediate level with a native speaker. Intermediate conversations are more complicated and detailed than the basic phrases you use as a beginner. 

So, how can you get better at speaking while still feeling comfortable and confident? The answer might sound odd, but it’s easy and it’s very effective. Simply talk to yourself about what you’re doing. [00:05:00] I know it sounds silly, but it works like this. If you’re making dinner, for example, describe what you’re doing in English. And you can do this quietly, even whispering if you live with other people. 

Describe what you’re doing. If you’re walking into the kitchen to get a glass of water, or if you’re getting on the subway, or if you’re turning left, as you drive your car. It doesn’t matter, but say whatever you’re doing quietly in English as you’re doing it. Do this, and you will become more and more comfortable speaking. You’ll begin to feel more confident expressing yourself and talking about daily tasks and processes. And if you look words or phrases up that you don’t yet know, you’ll learn new vocabulary, too. 

Okay, so far, all of the tips in this episode require almost no extra work. They are [00:06:00] things you do anyway—doing them in English adds little or no additional time to your day, and this is great, because we are all busy. 

However, improving your English does require some extra time. I’ve got a couple of additional tips to share with you, and these will require some work. But the rewards are huge at the intermediate level. 

First, speak. This time, not to yourself, but to others. This isn’t always easy, of course. You might not have access to native English speakers where you live. And speaking to other English learners who are also at the intermediate level is great and can be helpful, but if you limit yourself to this, you’ll find it difficult to get feedback on your pronunciation or to learn native phrasing or vocabulary. In my [00:07:00] learning, finding someone to speak with has been the most difficult part. 

But I have a solution. There are many places online where you can meet native English speakers who are learning your native language. This is a perfect situation because you can speak to each other, and help each other, so both of you learn together. Some sites make you pay for this, and these can be great, but I want to suggest one site that’s totally free. Now, I have no connection to it, but I do use it several times per week for my own language learning, and I highly recommended. 

It’s called Conversation Exchange, and you can find it at conversationexchange.com (all one word). 

You can set up a simple profile there with your interests and your level of English, and then you can search for users who are native English, speakers, [00:08:00] learning your language, ideally with similar interests. After that, it’s up to you to connect with partners and arrange a time to speak, and you do this anonymously through the site. I generally use Skype or WhatsApp with the conversation partners I’ve met, and so far everyone has been serious and kind and helpful. In fact, I’ve been talking to some of my partners for over a year. They’ve helped me become better at speaking and listening, and I’m sure I’ve also helped them. We generally speak for 30 minutes in English, and another 30 minutes and their language. We’re able to help each other with pronunciation and phrasing, and we can support each other since we both have an interest in progressing in our learning. Oh, and the fear of speaking disappears. We’re both learners, so it’s a level playing field. Again, my only connection to the site is that I use it. [00:09:00] But I’m sure you’ll find it as useful as I do. 

The next tip I have is to set realistic goals. This requires a bit of work because you have to write down the goal and follow up regularly. Break down what you want to achieve into manageable pieces. For example, set a goal to learn one new grammar component each week, along with eight to 10 new words. Or maybe set a reading goal ,or a goal to listen to the news only in English. Then, continually check your progress and celebrate your achievements. You’ll feel great as you meet your goals, and best of all, you’ll be able to see your improvement. Just be careful to make the goals realistic. 

Participating in conversation exchange and setting and checking goals will take some time, but it’s worth it. Combine these tasks with the things that don’t take [00:10:00] extra time, things that you do anyway. You’ll be able to see real growth in your English skills, and you’ll be on your way to fluency. 

Trust the process is a common phrase that I think applies nicely to language learning. This phrase means to be comfortable and confident that the journey, or process, of learning English will work, even if it feels challenging, overwhelming, or difficult. You’ll get there. Use the tips here and in the previous episode to help you. 

And I want to repeat something I said in Part One: getting to the intermediate level in English is amazing. Understanding most of the content in this episode is incredible! Remember this as you continue to improve. 

As with the first part of this episode, you can find a link to the transcript in the episode notes, in case you [00:11:00] want to see the tips in a PDF. I also recommend listening again with the transcript to help with anything that wasn’t clear. 

Again, I’m Christopher, and I want to invite you to join me in future episodes of English, please to hear about a variety of topics, all focused on helping you with your English. Subscribe now, wherever you listen to podcasts and let’s embark on an adventure together in clear, understandable English. I also encourage you to visit comullen.com/pod for more information. 

Thanks for listening. See you soon!