Immersion

Can you surround yourself with English at home?

Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash

Hello!

Some people say that the best way to learn English is to live in an English-speaking country. Is this true or false?

If you ever have the opportunity to live in an English-speaking country or even to visit for a few weeks, then yes, it can really help you with your English. But I know a lot of people can’t do that.

Here’s the good news though! You don’t have to! We’ll talk a bit more about that later, but first, let’s talk a bit more about living abroad.

I lived in Poland for a couple of years. After two years, how good do you think my Polish was? Not very good!

I spent most of my time in Poland speaking English! I had to speak English for my job (teaching English) and most of my friends were either native English speakers or Polish people with excellent English.

It’s surprisingly easy to live in another country for years and years and never get much further with the language than ordering in a restaurant and buying cinema tickets.

I’ve also spoken to people who live in England but can’t find opportunities to practise. It can be a lot harder to find ways to practise than you might think. You can’t just walk up to people and start a conversation! They will think you’re crazy!

I once taught a stay-at-home mum who came here because of her husband’s job. The only chance she got to practice her English was when she said hello to other parents at the school gate.

What about if you go to a language school in an English-speaking country? When I worked in Cambridge, some students lived alone and spent all their free time between lessons talking to people from their own country. Other students lived with an English family and spoke English with their international friends. I’m sure you can guess who made the fastest progress.

So going to live in an English-speaking country does not automatically mean you will become fluent in English. It will only help you if you work hard and speak English as much as you can.

If you have a job where you speak English or a way to make English-speaking friends, that will help a lot. Just living abroad is not enough.

Why am I telling you this? Because I hope it makes you feel better! If you don’t have the time, money or opportunity to live abroad, don’t worry! You’re not missing out on a magical solution!

And more good news! You can easily surround yourself with English in your own home.

Here are some things that you can do:

1. If you live in a big city where there are British or American expats, maybe you could help them with your language and they can help you with English.

2. If you can’t meet native speakers face-to-face, maybe you can meet them online. There are apps and websites full of people looking for language exchange partners.

3. You don’t even need to talk to native speakers (although it’s helpful if you can). It’s good to practice your English with other non-native speakers. You can even talk to yourself!

4. If you can’t find native speakers to talk to, you can still easily listen to them on YouTube, Netflix or on TV. That will help you with listening, pronunciation and learning natural language.

5. Read as much as you can in English. There is more reading material on the Internet than you will ever have time for!

6. If you’re really serious about improving your English, the best thing you can do is to find a class or a teacher. There’s a lot you can do on your own but it’s also good to have somebody who can correct your mistakes, tell you what you’re doing right and what you need to improve.

If you’re interested in English lessons with me, just leave a comment or reply to this email and I can send you some more information!

Here are a couple more things to think about before we finish today.

First, I want to say that mindset and consistent practice are more important than where you live. If you’re motivated and you surround yourself with English at home, that can be just as effective as going to live abroad.

Secondly, remember that English is an international language. Maybe you’ll use English more often with other non-native speakers than with native speakers. You don’t need to speak like a Brit or an American. You can learn international English from anywhere, so don’t worry if living abroad isn’t an option.

See you next week!

Katie 💙

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