3 Unconventional Ways to Improve your Fluency

TRANSCRIPT

Podcast intro:

Welcome to the InFluency Podcast. I’m Hadar, and this is episode number 366. And today I’m going to teach you three unconventional ways to improve your fluency.

Hey, what’s up, everyone? Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode of the InFluency Podcast, cause we are always in fluency. I’m so happy that you’re here. And today, I have something really fun for you. If you’ve been learning English for a while or studying another language for a while, you know that there are all these pieces of advice that are designed to help you improve your fluency. Like: ‘Speak as much as possible’ and ‘Read out loud’ and ‘Learn pronunciation’. And all of that is great.

But today I want to challenge you with a few things that are less conventional. And those things are going to significantly help you improve your English. Now, I like unconventional things. First, because it keeps us on our toes. It’s not something that we are used to, so it makes us wonder and maybe curious, makes us curious about something.

And the whole point of this podcast and my lessons is for you to always stay motivated and intrigued and passionate about learning and speaking in English. And this is why I recorded this episode for you.

All right. So let’s take a listen. And if one of the methods that I’m going to teach you is going to resonate with you, then come find me on Instagram – I’m at @hadar.accentsway, and let me know in my DMs if you liked it or not. You can also rate and review the podcast, that’s always helpful. And I’m going to be very grateful to you. All right, so here it is.

Video transcript:

Do you feel like you’re ready to take your English fluency to the next level? Are you wondering what else you can do to feel more free and confident and fluent in English? Today, I’m going to share with you three unconventional ways to boost your fluency and to gain that freedom that you are looking to feel in English; and at the same time, open up a lot of new opportunities in life. Stay tuned.

All right. So when we think about conventional English learning and how to practice and improve, you immediately think about, “Okay, I need to practice with a conversation partner. I need to maybe speak to myself. I need to read and write and watch lessons on YouTube and take courses”. And all of that is great and amazing. But today I’m going to share with you three things that are not necessarily related to English, but can level up your English significantly if you do that.

The first thing is to find a job in English. Now, I know you think it’s obvious, but stay with me. I’ve been working with English learners and students for 15 years. And here’s what I usually see. People wait to be fluent and to feel confident before they apply for a job in English. So they don’t even dare to think about the option of going to an interview or of working in English before they reach a certain level in English.

But here’s what I’m saying. The act of working in English and putting yourself in a situation that is demanding is really what you need to take your English to the next level. So instead of waiting until you’re ready, do it before, and be ready while doing it, because when the stakes are high, your improvement is exponential. Because you have no choice: you have to get better, you have to improve, you’re learning on the go.

Now you’re probably wondering, “Hadar, how will I find a job in English? I don’t live in an English speaking country, I don’t have certain skills, what do I do?” So here are a few tips on how you can actually find a job in this global world that we live in. First, think of a skill that is easy for you or that you are good at that other people might find useful. For example: editing videos or audio, writing emails, organizing inboxes, organizing folders, maybe graphic design.

Whatever you know how to do, even if you haven’t learned it, this is something you can offer help for other people. There are a lot of platforms like Upwork and Fiverr and also Facebook groups like Digital Nomads, of people who are offering their services and looking for help in their business from people from all around the world. They don’t care where you live. The most important thing is, are you able to do something that they struggle with?

So think of something that you are good at and look for all these different platforms. I’m going to link to all of them in the description below. Look for different platforms where you can offer your services. Worst case, you just spend two hours in creating a profile. It’s worth the investment, and even if all it gets you is a few Zoom calls, communicating with people, understanding what they need, it’s still something valuable that would level up your ability to communicate in English; and also challenge you to do things that scare you, which is something very valuable in your English journey.

I want to tell you that when I first started working with some of my team members, they have never had any English speaking jobs before. They haven’t even had any experience in the things that they are doing now. They learned how to do it. And also, they have improved their English significantly simply by working in an English speaking environment. And this is something that is possible for you too.

Also, think of the thing that you are doing, your current career. And if you are not currently working in English, look for companies or organizations that have the position that you are currently doing. And to work for that company would mean that you would have to communicate in English.

Even if it’s just for the process of going through the interview or creating a CV. Here’s the thing. Even if you don’t get the job, you will still take steps towards getting an international job. You have nothing to lose if you take those steps. And it will make you feel more confident, it will motivate you, and it would put you at a different level of English practice because it’s going to be more practical rather than theoretical.

When it’s more practical, we think of the possible outcome that we might have, like a better job, more money, maybe you relocate to a different country. And that reminds us of why we’re doing this to begin with. So that’s another thing you can get started with as of now.

The next thing is teaching or mentoring someone in English. I’m sure that you have something that you are good at, and you can help other people who need that knowledge. Now, it doesn’t mean that you need to teach them and get paid for it. You can offer to mentor other people and to do that in English. I have to say that my English really, really improved and I gained most of my confidence from teaching.

So, I was teaching English, but it doesn’t have to be English. As long as you share your knowledge in English, it will make you feel worthy, valuable, important. And most importantly, you will have to understand how to deliver a clear message, how to be concise, how to simplify ideas in English, so you can help other people.

And ultimately, for most people, when it comes to making an impact and really helping others, it gives them a whole new motivation to do this type of work and meaning to what they do. And you can find people on Facebook and on LinkedIn that might need that knowledge. And you can say, “Hey, I notice that you do this, here is my expertise and knowledge. I can share that with you over a virtual coffee date. Would you be interested?” Okay? Or you can think of how you can offer that.

But you can also say, “For me, it’s a great way to practice English, and I think it’s going to be valuable for you too.” When you want something from someone, it’s really good to start with what you have to give them, the value you have to offer them, before what you are asking in return because then people are a lot more likely to say yes.

The last thing, and I’ve talked about it quite a lot on my channel, is vlogging in English. First of all, using video to practice English is an incredible tool and it’s absolutely free. Okay? Because when you’re on video, there is something about how you use English that feels closer to how it is speaking in front of other people. So, it’s more demanding than if you were just to speak to yourself in front of the mirror. So using video is a great tool to practice your English. You can also watch it, give yourself feedback, think about what you wanna improve and rerecord it.

But then when you actually use a certain platform, whether it’s Instagram or YouTube or TikTok, to take your videos and put them online. And it could be about anything. It could be about your English journey, it could be about your life, it could be about cooking. It could be about anything, really, anything that you are passionate about. And it’s important that you’re passionate about those things. I’ve had a lot of students over the years who shared online their English journey and some of them became really, really successful content creators.

So the act of taking those videos and putting them on a public platform helps you, first of all, become more confident, become more resilient to criticism. Because you will be criticized and the more you deal with it, the easier it becomes, I have to say, as someone who has been criticized quite a lot over the years. And also, you start thinking about things differently, you start understanding what people want to hear, you become more creative, you become more innovative when you have an audience. So, vlogging is an excellent way to level up your English fluency.

All right, to wrap up, we talked about unconventional ways to take your English to the next level. We said that you could find a job in English and start working before you feel ready. The second is to start teaching or mentoring other people in the things that you are good at. And the third, start vlogging in English And do not be shy.

All right. I hope you are going to do one of them. And if you are going to take the challenge and do one of those things, let me know in the comments, which one will it be? I am so curious. I hope you enjoyed this one. If you found this helpful, you can share it with your friends and people you think might find it useful.

You can also check out my podcast, if you are a podcast listener, the InFluency Podcast. And also come on over to my website at hadarshemesh.com for a bunch of different lessons designed to help you speak English with clarity, confidence, and freedom.

Thank you so much for being here. Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day, and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.