A1 English Listening Practice || How to speak fluently in English

hello everyone have you ever tried to learn English but felt confused or stuck maybe you know some words in grammar but speaking is still hard I've been there too and I'm here to help in today's video I'll share simple tips that help me go from being nervous to speaking confidently whether you're just starting or want to improve this channel is all about easy English you can use every day stay with me and by the end of this video you'll see how learning English can be simple and fun hi I'm Emma and today I want to

share my story about learning English I wasn't always good at it in fact I struggled a lot in the beginning but over time I found some useful tips and methods that really helped me and I believe they can help you too no matter what level you're at so let's start from the very beginning of my journey when I first decided to learn English I didn't know where to start there were so many things to learn words grammar rules pronunciation it all felt like too much at once I remember feeling over overwhelmed wondering how I could

possibly remember all of it but one day I realized something important I didn't need to learn everything at once you see learning English or any language is like building a house you need to start with the foundation so I began by focusing on the basics the things I would use in my daily life for for me that was simple words and phrases greetings introductions and common questions words like Hello thank you how are you and goodbye I even kept a small notebook with me to write down new words and review them when I had free

time at first speaking English in front of others made me nervous I was so afraid of making mistakes but here's the thing making mistakes is part of the learning process I made a lot of them but instead of getting upset I learned from each one every time I said something wrong I just tried again until I got it right and that's another important tip don't be afraid to make mistakes the more you practice the better you'll get one thing that helped me a lot was listening to English as much as I could I used to

think I needed to understand every single word but that's not true just listening regularly to English whether it's music TV shows or podcasts helps your brain get used to the language for example I used to listen to a radio show from London while commuting to work here in Edinburgh at first I didn't understand everything but over time my listening skills improved without me even realizing it here's a tip that made learning more enjoyable find something you love in English for me it was TV shows I started watching a series I liked with subtitles in my

own language after a while I switched to English subtitles finally I tried watching it without any subtitles at all it was hard but it helped a lot and because I was watching something I enjoyed it didn't feel like studying it felt like fun another thing I struggled with was pronunciation sometimes I knew the words but people still couldn't understand me because I didn't pronounce them correctly it was frustrating but I found a solution I started practicing out loud even if I was just talking to myself I would say new words over and over again until

they sounded right I also used online dictionaries with audio so I could hear how the words were supposed to sound this was especially useful when I learned words that sounded very different from how they were spelled and now let's talk about grammar oh grammar was tough for me at first it felt like a huge mountain to climb I couldn't remember all the rules and I kept mixing them up but then I realized something important you don't need perfect grammar to communicate grammar is important yes but don't let it stop you from speaking it's okay to

make small mistakes as long as people understand you so I focused on getting my point across and as I got more comfortable I slowly improved my grammar I also started reading in English at first I read children's books because they were simple and had pictures to help me understand then I moved on to short stories and eventually I started reading online articles I didn't always understand every word but I got the main idea and that's What mattered reading helped me learn new words in context which made it easier to remember them later one of the

most important things I learned was consistency if you want to improve your English you need to practice regularly I set a goal to practice at least 15 minutes every day some days I did more and some days I did less but I always did something whether it was speaking listening reading or writing it wasn't always easy but over time I saw real progress speaking of writing here's another tip practice writing in English I started by writing short messages to friends and later I tried journaling writing helped me organize my thoughts and think about the language

in a different way it also gave me a chance to practice grammar and vocabulary without the pressure of speaking in front of others one day I found a a language exchange partner online this was a game Cher for me we would chat in English for a while and then we would switch to my native language so we could help each other finding someone to practice with is one of the best things you can do it's not just about learning the language it's about building confidence too the more you practice with someone else the easier it

becomes to speak in real life situations another tip that worked for me was labeling things around my house with sticky notes I wrote the English words for everyday objects like table door and fridge and every time I saw them I would say the words out loud it may seem like a small thing but these little reminders help me learn vocabulary without even realizing it and here's something else that really helped thinking in English at first I always thought in my own language and then translated it in my head but this took too long and I

often got stuck trying to find the right words so I started trying to think directly in English even even if it was just simple thoughts like I'm hungry or I need to go to the store the more I did it the easier it became and soon I didn't have to translate everything in my head anymore one important thing I learned along the way was to ask questions whenever I didn't understand something in the beginning I was shy and didn't want to seem dumb but I realize that asking questions is the best way to learn whether

it was about a word a phrase or a grammar rule I asked my teacher friends or even people online the more questions I asked the more confident I became in using the language let me share a funny moment from my early days of learning English I was practicing with a friend and after we ate a big meal I wanted to say I'm full but instead I said I'm fool my friend burst out laughing and I had no idea why until they explained the difference between full and fool at first I was embarrassed but then I

laughed too and that's another tip laugh at your mistakes if you take everything too seriously it's easy to get discouraged but if you can laugh and learn from it you'll feel more relaxed and confident finally remember to be patient learning a language takes time and there will be moments when you feel frustrated or stuck I remember feeling like I wasn't improving fast enough and there were days when I wanted to give up but I reminded myself that learning English isn't a race everyone learns at their own pace and it's okay if it takes time so

to sum up learning English has been a challenging but rewarding Journey for me I used a combination of listening speaking Reading Writing and consistent practice to improve I made mistakes asked questions and found ways to make learning fun most importantly I never gave up and neither should you whether you're just starting or you've been learning for a while remember that every step you take brings you closer to your goal now it's your turn to put these tips into practice don't be afraid to make mistakes ask questions and find ways to enjoy the process with time

and effort you'll get better just like I did when I first started learning English I had to remind myself that it's okay to take time there were moments when I felt stuck like I wasn't making any progress I'd study hard but still feel like I wasn't getting anywhere however I soon realized that even small steps like under understanding a new word or having a short conversation without getting nervous were still progress sometimes the progress was so small that I didn't even notice it right away but it was there I learned that the key to learning

a language is patience you can't expect to become fluent overnight and that's perfectly fine for example when I was was living in Chicago iel I found it challenging at first to use English in everyday situations I remember the first time I ordered coffee at a cafe my hands were shaking as I tried to ask for a cappuccino the words didn't come out smoothly and I felt embarrassed but then I took a deep breath and the Barista was patient with me after a few tries I finally set it right and I left the cafe with my

coffee and a big smile that small victory made me realize that even though I wasn't fluent yet I was still making progress so my advice is is to be patient with yourself it's normal to have good days and bad days the most important thing is to keep going and never give up one thing that helped me stay focused was setting specific goals saying I want to learn English is a great idea but it's a big vague goal to make it easier I broke it down into smaller more achievable goals for example one week I focused

on learning 10 new words I made sure to use them in sentences and practice them until I felt comfortable the next week I set a new goal to have a 5minute conversation in English these smaller goals kept me motivated because I could clearly see my progress every time I reached a goal no matter how small it was I celebrated whether it was learning those 10 new words or completing a conversation I felt proud of myself and that gave me the energy to keep going speaking of goals I once set a really big one for myself

giving a presentation in English it was for a work project and I was terrified I practiced for weeks going over my speech again and again I wanted to make sure I knew all the words and phrases I needed to use when the day finally came I was so nervous that my hands were shaking and I almost forgot some of the words but I pushed through I stumbled over a few sentences and even forgot a line or two but I managed to get through the entire presentation in English afterward I felt such a sense of accomplishment

it taught me that sometimes pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is scary but it's the only way to grow if I hadn't taken that step I wouldn't have known how much I was capable of another thing that made my English learning Journey more enjoyable was connecting it with things I loved for example I've always been a huge fan of football I realized I could make learning English more fun by watching football matches with English commentary at first it was difficult to understand the fast-paced talking but over time my listening skills improved the more I

watched the more I could understand what was being said eventually I didn't even need subtitles the key is to find something you enjoy and make it a part of your learning process it could be books movies music or even Sports when you're having fun you'll forget that you're learning and that makes it a lot easier to stay motivated one of the best parts of my journey was making friends from different countries who were also learning English we would help each other with vocabulary grammar and even pron iation since we were all at different levels we

could teach each other new things having a community of Learners made everything more fun we would laugh at our mistakes together share tips and motivate each other to keep going I remember when one of my friends from Mexico City accidentally said I have hungry instead of I amung hungry and we all laughed mistakes are a normal part of learning and having people who understand what you're going through can make the journey feel less lonely looking back I'm amazed at how far I've come there were so many times when I thought I'd never be able to

speak English fluently but here I am sharing my story with you in English if if I can do it so can you remember the tips I've shared be patient don't be afraid to make mistakes set achievable goals and enjoy the process it won't always be easy but every step you take brings you closer to fluency one day you'll look back and realize how much you've learned you might even laugh at some of the mistakes you made along the way but trust me it will all be worth it in the end after I started feeling more

comfortable with English I decided to challenge myself even more I didn't just want to know the basics I wanted to have real conversations understand jokes and even watch movies without subtitles the idea was exciting but also scary I reminded myself that this was just another part of the journey and with each step forward things that once felt impossible started to feel more reachable one thing I noticed was that the more I practiced the more my confidence grew confidence doesn't come all at once though it's like building a wall one brick at a time for example

I used to get really nervous when ordering food in English I would practice what I wanted to say in my head over and over before actually speaking if the person at the counter asked me something I didn't understand I would freeze but after doing it a few times I realized that people don't mind if you make mistakes they just appreciate that you're trying and they usually want to help there was one time I went to a restaurant in New York City and instead of asking for a spoon I accidentally asked for a spin the waiter

looked confused and I quickly corrected myself we both laughed and I realized that making mistakes isn't the end of the world from then on I stayed more relaxed when speaking English if you're too stressed it's hard to focus but if you stay calm your conversations will go much smoother another thing that helped me a lot was practicing with native speakers I was lucky enough to have a friend who spoke English fluently and they were always very patient with me we would hang out and whenever I made a mistake they would gently correct me without making

me feel bad if you don't have a native speaker to practice with don't worry there are apps and websites where you can find language Partners this really helped me improve because I was hearing real natural English with all the slang expressions and idioms that you can't always find in textbooks speaking of idioms I remember the first time I heard someone say it's raining cats and dogs I was so confused I thought they meant actual cats and dogs were falling from the sky of course I later learned that it's just an expression that means it's raining

heavily idioms like this can be tricky at first because they don't always make sense when you translate them directly but once I started learning and practicing them I felt like I had unlocked a new level of English one last thing that really changed my perspective was realizing that English isn't just a subject to study it's a tool it's a way to communicate connect with people and explore new cultures when I stopped thinking of English as something I had to study and started thinking of it as something I could use everything became a lot more interesting

so if you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed remember that learning English is a journey it's okay to take your time and it's okay to make mistakes just keep going set small goals and enjoy the process one day you'll be telling your own story in English just like I am now once I began using English as a tool for learning everything changed I used to struggle with it seeing it as something I had to learn because it was necessary but once I started reading articles watching tutorials on topics I was interested in and talking to people from

different countries it no longer felt like a task instead it became something I wanted to learn English wasn't just another subject in school anymore it became a key that opened doors to new knowledge ideas and connections