1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,559 Speaker 1: Hey, can you believe it? This is episode nine hundred 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:11,679 of the Happy English Podcast, nine hundred episodes. I can 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:17,600 hardly believe it myself. Here's what I've learned along the way. 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from 5 00:00:24,199 --> 00:00:28,039 New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael. 6 00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:33,119 Speaker 1: All right, thank you, Jan and thanks everyone. It's Michael 7 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:37,520 here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:44,399 This is Happy English Podcast Episode nine hundred. Thank you, 9 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:50,039 and what I've learned from nine hundred podcasts. Hey, thanks 10 00:00:50,039 --> 00:00:52,880 for tuning in. I just wanted to take a moment 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:58,640 today to say how grateful I am to you. Whether 12 00:00:58,719 --> 00:01:03,560 this is your first time listening, your fiftieth, or if 13 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,200 you've been here since episode one A cup of Joe, 14 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:13,159 thank you. The fact that you listen, learn and grow 15 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:17,120 with me is what keeps me showing up here week 16 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,920 after week. So today I want to share a little 17 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,040 bit of my story, what I've learned from doing nine 18 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:29,879 hundred episodes, and some advice for you on your English journey. 19 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,680 So let's go back to the beginning. I launched the 20 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:40,560 Happy English podcast back in the early summer of twenty fourteen. 21 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,079 At the time, I just wanted to help my students 22 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:50,159 outside of class. I thought, Hey, a podcast might be 23 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,640 fun and useful. But if you had told me back 24 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,799 in twenty fourteen that I'd still be doing this nine 25 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:04,040 hundred episodes, I probably would have said, no way. But 26 00:02:04,159 --> 00:02:06,959 here we are, and again I just wanted to say 27 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:12,360 thank you, seriously thank you. I recorded the first few 28 00:02:12,439 --> 00:02:16,520 episodes in my home office with the built in mic 29 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:22,439 of my MacBook twelve and no real plan other than 30 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:28,240 let me try this out. And honestly, those early episodes 31 00:02:28,759 --> 00:02:34,560 not perfect. The sound quality was ify, my voice was 32 00:02:34,599 --> 00:02:39,759 a little stiff, and I had no idea how podcasting 33 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,879 really worked. But I stuck with it, and you know what, 34 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,439 people started listening, not just in New York, but all 35 00:02:48,479 --> 00:02:55,280 over the world, Japan, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, Italy, Mexico, Vietnam, 36 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:01,919 listeners everywhere, And suddenly it wasn't just talking into a microphone. 37 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:07,599 I was building a global classroom. That still blows my mind. So, 38 00:03:08,199 --> 00:03:11,919 after nine hundred episodes, here are a few things I've 39 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:19,840 learned about English and about learning English. First, consistency matters 40 00:03:20,199 --> 00:03:24,000 more than perfection. You don't have to be perfect, you 41 00:03:24,319 --> 00:03:28,680 just have to keep going. One word, one phrase, one 42 00:03:28,719 --> 00:03:33,960 sentence at a time. That's how fluency is built. Practice 43 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:41,520 makes progress. Second, grammar is important, but it's not everything. 44 00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:48,759 Real examples, natural speech, phrasal, verbs, idioms, these things bring 45 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,960 English to life. That's why I teach English the way 46 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,840 I do here on the podcast. You can learn the 47 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,639 present perfect tense anywhere, but I want to show you 48 00:04:00,719 --> 00:04:06,759 how we use English in the real world. Third, connection matters, 49 00:04:07,439 --> 00:04:11,719 whether it's a story, a joke, or just sharing a 50 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:16,399 little bit about life. Connecting through language is what makes 51 00:04:16,439 --> 00:04:21,399 it stick. We remember language that has a feeling behind it. 52 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:26,360 That's why I teach group classes every week. People just 53 00:04:26,639 --> 00:04:31,279 like you come from all over the world to connect, 54 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:39,399 learn and laugh. And finally, English learning is a journey. 55 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:46,279 It's not a race. There's no finish line. There's just progress, 56 00:04:46,959 --> 00:04:53,240 and every little bit of progress you make is worth celebrating. 57 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,800 Every day you get better and better, isn't that awesome? 58 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,120 So let me share a few quick tips from what 59 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:07,839 I've learned after recording nine hundred episodes. Don't try to 60 00:05:07,879 --> 00:05:14,879 be perfect. Instead, become better and better at communicating. Practice 61 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,800 speaking out loud, even if it's just to yourself. The 62 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,639 more that English comes out of your mouth with your voice. 63 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:29,279 The more confident and fluent you'll be. Listen to natural 64 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:35,839 English every day TV programs, podcasts videos. You're lucky to 65 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,360 live in the Internet age, so do what you can 66 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,639 to make the most of the resources you have. Don't 67 00:05:43,639 --> 00:05:48,160 be afraid to take small steps. Progress little by little 68 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:54,560 adds up over time. And always remember to celebrate your progress. 69 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:59,680 Your English is constantly improving. You speak and use English 70 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,360 much better now than you did some months ago. Give 71 00:06:04,399 --> 00:06:09,920 yourself a round of applause. Yeah, you deserve it. Also, 72 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,319 one of the coolest things for me is when listeners 73 00:06:14,399 --> 00:06:17,639 send me a message or an email saying they've used 74 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,199 something from the podcast in real life, like in a 75 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,319 meeting or a chat with a friend or during a 76 00:06:25,399 --> 00:06:30,480 trip abroad. That's the best reward. And feel free to 77 00:06:30,519 --> 00:06:35,279 reach out. I reply to every message I get personally, 78 00:06:35,879 --> 00:06:40,160 and again, thank you, thank you for being here, and 79 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,639 thank you for learning with me, and thank you for 80 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,000 being part of this community. Here's to the next one 81 00:06:47,079 --> 00:06:51,519 hundred episodes and beyond. And hey, if you want to 82 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,600 keep practicing the English from this podcast and all of 83 00:06:55,600 --> 00:07:01,240 my podcast lessons, come check out my podcast Learners study group. 84 00:07:01,639 --> 00:07:04,759 We meet once a week, talk about these episodes and 85 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,279 learn together. Just click the link where you're listening to 86 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:13,800 this podcast right now, or visit Myhappy English dot com 87 00:07:13,839 --> 00:07:18,920 and choose episode nine hundred for the details. Thanks again 88 00:07:18,959 --> 00:07:23,439 for being here, thanks for listening, and remember learning another 89 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,959 language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm 90 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,720 here to help you on your journey. 91 00:07:32,399 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 92 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:40,120 visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy 93 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,920 English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy, 94 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:58,439 Happy English.