Do yourself a favor. Stop studying English. Yeah, I said that me,
your humble English teacher. In this podcast English Lesson, I'm going to
explain why I suggest you stop studying English and what you can do instead to
practice and improve your English. Let's jump in. Welcome to another Happy English
podcast, coming to you from New York City. And here's your English teacher,
Michael. All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's
Michael here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. And this
is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven nineteen. Stop Studying English. Do you
have questions like this, How can I improve my English? How can I
practice speaking English by myself? How can I learn English more efficiently? And
you'll notice I didn't say how can I learn English faster? I said more
efficiently. Today, I want you to rethink what you do in English.
I want you to move from the I study English to the I use English
mindset. Here's how I study English versus I use English. Think about that
for a moment. The mindset is totally different. I study English. The
word study itself means using time and focus to gain knowledge about something. Study
has the nuance of preparing now for some future use. Or application. I
study English means I'm working hard now so that someday I will be able to
communicate in English. Whenever I hear the words study, I feel like I'm
getting ready for something in the future. I use English. That feels like
I'm doing something now. It's a totally different mindset, isn't it. I
use English. I read in English, I listen in English, I think
in English, I speak in English, and I write in English. I
use English. That sounds like right now, doesn't it? Now that you
understand the difference between I study English and I use English, let me show
you a few things that you can do right now today to shift your focus
from study to use. One of the easiest and best ways to use English
is to read. Now. I'm not talking about reading a huge novel like
Harry Potter or Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Reads something anything you
like and anything you are interested in, and do that a little bit every
day. What's that you say you don't like reading? Let me tell you
a quick story. One of my students I'll call her Snoopy to protect her
privacy, basically told me that she doesn't like reading, and it's not her
thing, But she pushes herself, steps out of her comfort zone and does
a little bit of reading every day, either something from a book, a
social media post, whatever. She makes sure that her eyes and brain connect
to English every day. Even her phone's main language is set to English.
And like I mentioned before, reading helps you use English. Reading helps you
use grammar and vocabulary that you've already learned. That's called review. And it
also helps you pick up new words and grammar patterns. And here's a tip.
You can find over seventy thousand free ebooks free books online at a website
called Project Gutenberg located at gutenberg dot org. Project Gutenberg is a place where
you can download or read books online. Oh yeah, and it's free.
Another way you can use English is with your ears. Thanks to the Internet,
you can listen to anything you like in English, from podcasts like this
one, social media videos, streaming TV series, and movies. The world
is your oyster when it comes to listening. Here too find something you like.
If you are interested in soccer also known as football, look for a
YouTube channel where they talk about soccer, or find an Instagram account where they
talk about soccer, or listen to a podcast where they talk about soccer or
gardening, or cooking or baking bread or whatever peaks your interest. One podcast
that I like where you can hear people using English in an energetic, fun
and conversational way is the All Ears English podcast. All Ears English. That's
the place where my friends Lindsey, Michelle and Aubrey focus on connection, not
perfection, with real and natural English conversations. It's where they use English and
help you learn to use English. The All Years English podcast has one point
three million followers on Apple Podcasts and Spotify worldwide. They've been ranked number one
in US Education language courses in Apple, and they've got five new episodes a
week. This week's topics include the difference between call out to someone and call
someone out, and how to connect with someone who has the same name in
English. Sounds interesting, right? All you need to do is open your
search bar right now, type in all Ears English and hit follow. They'll
have you using and speaking better English in no time. And since you are
now reading and listening to English, why not take out your notebook and write
something. Writing in English is a great way to use the English you've already
learned. Writing is output, even if you just write one or two sentences
a day to start. That's something, and something is always better than nothing,
isn't it. You can write about something you read or listened to.
You can keep a journal or a diary. Keep your writing short, simple
and casual. Write as if you were writing a text message to a friend
about something you did or saw or heard. Lastly, and maybe most important
is to speak English. Now. I know what you're thinking, Oh,
Michael, I don't have anyone to talk to. Nobody speaks English around me.
I get that. But let's not dwell on what you can't do.
Let's look at what you can do. A can do attitude goes a long
way in second language learning. My Japanese language teacher told me once that in
order to improve my reading skills in Japanese, I need to believe that I
can read. Believing that you can do something goes a long way to helping
you actually do it. So go get a book, a website, a
social post, anything, and read aloud. Reading with your voice helps you
exercise your English mouth muscles. Sing a song in English. Singing helps your
fluency, and it's fun. It also forces you to read faster if you
sing while looking at the lyrics. You can also talk to your self and
English. Use English to narrate your day, talk about what's on your mind,
or make observations about the world around you. Doing this helps you practice
anytime and anywhere. By the way, can you imagine getting the chance to
practice this kind of English with me directly? You can get more practice using
your English when you join my podcast Learner's Study Group. There you can make
new friends, join us for live group coaching every week where we practice these
podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to the pdf, transcript and audio
download for every Happy English podcast in the past and in the future. And
on top of that, each episode has exercises where you can practice these English
points with speaking and writing checked by me. To learn more or to see
some of the example sentences from this lesson, just visit Myhappy English dot com
and choose podcast lesson seven nineteen. Remember, learning another language is not easy,
but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey.
This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please visit Myhappy English
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English, Get Happy, Happy English.