10 Simple Steps to Becoming FLUENT in English
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Keith from 'English Speaking Success' shares 10 essential tips that help learners become fluent in English. He emphasizes the importance of being intentional, giving language time to settle, exposing yourself to more English, and noticing language patterns. Keith encourages learners to accept that the learning process can be messy, to make studying fun, create habits, and repeat often. He also highlights the value of having the right mindset and using emotion in communication. Keith invites viewers to apply these strategies for improved fluency.
Takeaways
- 🎯 Be intentional: Know why you're listening, speaking, or reading in English, and set clear goals for each activity.
- ⏳ Processing language takes time: Learning and using new vocabulary is a gradual process, so give yourself time to master it.
- 📚 Expose yourself to more English: Increase your listening and reading to develop fluency—mere textbooks aren't enough.
- 👀 Notice patterns: Be curious about language structures like collocations, grammar, and pronunciation, and actively observe them.
- 🌀 Learning is messy: Language learning isn't linear—it's normal to have ups and downs, so embrace the process.
- 🎉 Make learning fun: Enjoy what you're learning to stay motivated, as fluency is a marathon, not a sprint.
- ⏰ Create a habit: Regular practice is essential for fluency, even if the routine is occasionally interrupted.
- 🔁 Repetition is key: Repeating words, phrases, and intonations will help solidify language skills and boost fluency.
- 🧠 Develop the right mindset: Have a positive attitude towards learning, accept mistakes, and progress step by step.
- 💬 Use emotion in speech: Communicate with feeling to sound more natural and engaging, moving beyond textbook language.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video presented by Keith from the Keith Speaking Academy?
-The main focus of the video is to share 10 tips that fluent English learners, not native speakers, know and use to improve their language skills and become more fluent.
What does Keith mean by 'be intentional' when studying English?
-Keith suggests that learners should be intentional by knowing why they are practicing a certain skill. For example, if they are listening, they should decide whether they are focusing on vocabulary, pronunciation, general comprehension, or just getting used to the sound of English.
Why does Keith emphasize that processing language takes time?
-Keith explains that learning new words or phrases doesn't mean you can immediately use them fluently. It takes time for the language to settle in your brain through exposure and practice, so learners should adjust their expectations and not rush the process.
Why is exposure to English so crucial in becoming fluent?
-Keith highlights that listening and reading English extensively is vital because fluency comes from prolonged exposure. Just like how children become fluent in their native language through years of listening and speaking, learners of English need the same amount of exposure to absorb the language.
What does Keith mean by 'noticing' in language learning?
-Noticing refers to being actively curious when reading or listening. Learners should pay attention to patterns in grammar, collocations, pronunciation, and intonation, rather than just passively consuming language. This helps deepen understanding and retention.
How does Keith compare learning a language to the stock market?
-Keith compares language learning to the stock market by explaining that it is not a straight line. Learning has ups and downs; some days you will feel more confident and fluent, while other days you may struggle. The key is to recognize that overall, progress is being made.
Why is it important to make language learning fun according to Keith?
-Making learning fun is important because it helps sustain motivation over the long term. Keith encourages learners to engage with content they enjoy, like podcasts, books, or movies, to make the process more enjoyable and avoid burnout.
What does Keith recommend for creating a habit of learning English?
-Keith advises learners to create a habit by scheduling regular study sessions. By consistently practicing at a set time and place, learners build momentum, which helps them stay on track and make steady progress.
How can repetition enhance language learning?
-Repetition helps activate language. Keith suggests repeatedly listening to phrases, shadowing audio, and mimicking intonation. This practice ingrains language patterns into the brain, making it easier to recall and use them naturally in conversation.
What mindset does Keith encourage learners to adopt while learning English?
-Keith encourages learners to adopt the ASEP mindset: Accept where you are, take it Step by step, Embrace mistakes as part of learning, and stay Positive about your progress. This mindset helps learners stay motivated and confident as they improve.
Outlines
🎓 Becoming Fluent in English
In this introductory segment, the speaker emphasizes that fluency in English goes beyond just studying. Students who achieve fluency engage in additional practices that go beyond books and traditional methods like audio files and videos. These subtle yet crucial practices transform the way students study, leading to greater fluency. Keith, the host from the English Speaking Success YouTube channel and Keith Speaking Academy, introduces 10 essential insights that help students become more fluent. He encourages viewers to follow along and apply these tips for their English-learning journey.
🔍 Be Intentional in Your Learning
Keith explains the importance of being intentional when practicing English. Whether listening to videos, reading, or practicing pronunciation, having a specific goal in mind is crucial. He shares personal insights from his experience learning Mandarin, stressing that knowing the purpose of each activity—such as improving fluency, vocabulary, or pronunciation—will significantly enhance learning outcomes. By focusing on the reason behind the task, learners can optimize their efforts and improve faster.
⏳ Give Language Time to Process
Language learning takes time, and Keith advises learners to manage their expectations. He shares that many students expect to use newly learned words immediately, but processing language naturally takes time. He compares this process to cooking dumplings—just as dough needs time to rise, vocabulary requires time to settle in the brain. Keith emphasizes patience, encouraging learners to study, practice, and review regularly while allowing the language to develop at its own pace.
🎧 Increase Your Exposure to English
Exposure to the language is a key factor in fluency. Keith highlights that most students don’t listen or read enough in English. He draws a parallel to learning a native language, where children are exposed to countless hours of language from parents, teachers, and media. To achieve fluency, students should immerse themselves in English by reading novels, watching films, listening to podcasts, and consuming authentic materials beyond textbooks.
👀 Notice the Details in Language
Keith stresses the importance of noticing language details, such as grammar structures, word collocations, and pronunciation patterns. He advocates for curiosity and active noticing when reading or listening. He mentions Steve Kaufmann, a polyglot whose language-learning method centers on noticing, and emphasizes the power of repetition. This active engagement with language, including repeating phrases, is key to improving fluency.
📉 Accept that Learning is Messy
Keith encourages students to accept that learning a language is not a linear process. Instead, it’s messy, with ups and downs similar to the stock market. Some days students will feel fluent, and on other days, they may struggle. Recognizing that this is normal can help learners stay motivated. Keith underscores the importance of accepting the messiness of language learning and continuing the journey despite setbacks.
🎉 Make Learning Fun
Fluency is a long-term goal, and making the process enjoyable is crucial for staying motivated. Keith shares his own experience of relearning French, where he uses interactive and fun methods like group chats, audio tools, and personalized learning materials. He advises learners to explore topics they find interesting, use creative tools, and keep learning fun to sustain motivation over time.
📅 Build Consistent Learning Habits
Creating a habit is essential for continuous learning. Keith recommends setting aside specific times and days to practice, whether for reading, speaking, or studying. Forming a routine helps reinforce learning, and even if learners miss sessions, they should be kind to themselves and simply pick up where they left off. Keith reassures learners that building a habit is part of the long-term process of becoming fluent.
🔁 The Power of Repetition
Keith highlights repetition as a fundamental aspect of language learning. Repeating words, phrases, and sentences helps solidify new language in the brain and improve pronunciation. Techniques like shadowing, where learners listen to audio and repeat simultaneously, can enhance fluency. Keith encourages students to integrate more repetition into their learning routine, as it is key to mastering language.
🧠 Adopt the Right Mindset
A positive mindset is crucial for language learning, much like in sports. Keith introduces the acronym ASEP: Accept where you are, Step by step, Embrace mistakes, and Positive thinking. By accepting current language levels, approaching learning gradually, seeing mistakes as progress, and maintaining a positive attitude, learners can stay motivated and persist through challenges. This mindset is essential for long-term success.
💬 Use Emotion in Language
Keith emphasizes the importance of using emotion when learning and speaking English. Communicating with emotion makes language more natural and engaging, moving learners away from rigid, bookish speech. He encourages practicing emotional expression during language exercises, whether happy, angry, or proud. Adding emotion improves fluency and makes conversations feel more authentic, helping students communicate effectively.
✅ Actionable Steps for Fluency
In the conclusion, Keith summarizes the 10 insights for becoming fluent in English and urges students to take action. He recommends choosing one or two tips to implement immediately and provides a downloadable PDF to help track progress. Keith encourages learners to continue practicing with his YouTube videos and consider joining his IELTS Speaking GOLD Course for more in-depth guidance. He reassures students that their fluency journey is ongoing and that he will continue to support them.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Intentional
💡Processing Language
💡Exposure
💡Noticing
💡Learning is Messy
💡Make it Fun
💡Create a Habit
💡Repetition
💡Mindset
💡Emotion
Highlights
Fluency in English is more than just studying; it involves doing additional small things that enhance learning.
Be intentional with your learning—know why you're reading, listening, or speaking, and set specific goals for each activity.
Processing language takes time, like letting dough rise—don't expect immediate perfection when using new words.
Expose yourself to more English through listening, reading, and watching authentic materials to increase fluency.
Notice the language as you listen or read, paying attention to patterns, grammar, and intonation to improve understanding.
Learning a language is messy and non-linear, with ups and downs similar to the stock market—embrace this reality.
Make learning fun to stay motivated, as enjoying the process makes the marathon of becoming fluent more manageable.
Create habits for consistent practice—choose specific times and places to regularly work on your speaking, listening, or reading skills.
Repetition is key—whether it's shadowing, repeating phrases from movies, or mimicking intonation, repetition helps activate new language skills.
Cultivate the right mindset for language learning with ASEP: Accept where you are, take it Step by Step, Embrace mistakes, and stay Positive.
Incorporate emotion into your learning to make grammar and vocabulary more engaging and to communicate more naturally.
To become fluent, combine knowledge with consistent practice and make use of fun resources like podcasts, films, and interactive classes.
Fluent English speakers use a mix of structured learning and real-world exposure to language for well-rounded skill development.
Students should focus on meaningful goals when practicing—whether it’s fluency or accuracy, knowing the purpose improves the effectiveness.
Fluency is built by recognizing that learning isn’t just about words—it’s about processing, noticing, and repeating language over time.
Successful learners embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth and progress, especially when experimenting with new language.
Transcripts
Students who become fluent in English
are doing more than just studying.
Let's find out what they are doing
and get you on the road to English fluency.
(upbeat music)
Students who become fluent in English
are doing more than just studying,
whether it's studying with books,
word lists, audio files, videos, whatever.
Yes, they're studying,
but they know certain things
and they're doing certain things in addition to studying.
And these are very small things,
small nuggets of knowledge,
but once you know them,
it's gonna change the way you study
and help you become a lot more fluent in English.
My name is Keith.
I'm from the YouTube channel English Speaking Success
and the website the Keith Speaking Academy,
helping you to develop your speaking skills
in a fun and professional way
so you can become a more confident speaker of English.
In this video, I'm gonna tell you 10 things
that fluent speakers of English,
and I mean students, not native speakers,
things that they know and they do
that mean they study in a different way.
And once you know these things,
it's really gonna help you become more fluent as you study.
Let's jump straight into it.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number one, be intentional.
(air whooshing)
I mean, when you are reading or listening to English,
do you know why you are doing it?
(air whooshing)
See, many students just turn on a video
and they start watching, "Oh, I'm listening to English."
But why?
Are they listening to learn certain vocabulary on a topic?
In which case, probably subtitles would be a good idea.
Are they listening just to repeat some words
and improve their pronunciation?
Are they focusing on listening for the general meaning?
In which case, turn off your subtitles.
Or are you just listening kind of as background music
to get the melody and the sound of English to relax?
There's different reasons why you're listening
or practicing any skill,
and you need to know what your goal is.
Why are you doing it?
Be intentional.
Don't just listen, know why.
You know, when I was learning Mandarin,
I listened to Mandarin Chinese for a month,
more than a month without understanding a word.
I just I had my earphones and my cassette.
All right, yeah, my cassette,
it was last century, (laughs) literally 1999,
and I would just listen.
I had no idea what they were saying,
but I just got the sound and the melody.
My goal was to get the sound and the melody of Chinese
and it revolutionized my listening skills
and my pronunciation in the long term.
It's the same with speaking, right?
When you're speaking English, what's your goal?
To practice fluency or practice accuracy?
Because if you're practicing fluency,
don't worry about mistakes.
But if you're practicing accuracy,
don't make mistakes, get it right.
But you can speak more slowly.
So, be intentional.
It's really important when you are listening,
speaking or reading, know what your goal is.
Why are you doing it?
I could probably write...
Write, I could probably make a whole video about that,
just being intentional.
Maybe I will do that in the future.
This is point number one, be intentional.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number two, processing language takes time.
You can't just study a word
and use it straight away.
Some of my students on the GOLD course,
they come to me and say, "Keith,
I've just learned these new phrases.
I'm trying to use them today in a conversation
in the breakout rooms and I can't,
I can't use them properly."
And I say, "I know because processing language takes time."
When you learn a word, it comes into your head.
It takes time to settle and to be there.
And it will be influenced by your listening,
your reading, your speaking,
and over time it settles and you can use it better,
but it takes time.
So, yes, learn words, practice them,
but review and come back
and give the words and language time to settle, right?
What you need to change is your expectation.
Don't expect to use it perfectly straight away.
It's a bit like cooking.
I don't know if you've ever made,
my wife makes these baoza, these steam dumplings.
You get the flour and the water and the yeast
and you make the dough, right?
You have the dough like your vocabulary,
but then you leave it covered for about two hours to rise,
and then you can use it.
If you try and use it straight away,
(groans) it's all doughy, it doesn't work.
It's like language and vocabulary.
It needs time to settle,
it's the same thing.
So, be aware, processing language takes time.
Study, practice, but just change your expectation.
It will take time to use fluently.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number three, expose yourself to more English.
The chances are you are not listening enough
and reading enough in English.
Very, very few students read enough and listen enough.
The ones who do become fluent.
Think about it.
Think about learning your own native mother tongue.
(air whooshing)
The hours and hours of watching TV as a kid,
the days and days of listening to your parents talk to you,
the years of listening to teachers educate you
all in your mother tongue.
All of that time, that exposure helps you become fluent.
And it's the same in English,
you need lots of exposure,
listening, and reading, watching films.
Remember I talked about processing
to help the vocabulary and the language settle in your brain
and become you?
It takes time and it's influenced by exposure to English,
listening, and reading, and watching.
So, if you're a student,
just using your coursebook is not enough.
When you get to that intermediate level and above,
you need to be reading novels,
watching films, listening to podcasts,
authentic material in the language.
Expose yourself to more English
and then you have a chance to become fluent.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number four, notice.
What I mean by notice is really be curious
and look at things and notice things.
There's a famous polyglot, Steve Kaufmann,
and I've done a few videos with him,
you can check them out up here.
Part of his methodology is noticing,
and I couldn't agree more.
It's when you read and listen, notice the language.
Don't only read and understand,
but notice, notice the collocations,
"Ooh, that's interesting."
Notice the grammar,
"Ooh, interested in not interested on."
Notice the patterns of language.
Notice the word stress, the intonation.
Be curious about all of these things and notice them.
So, you're not only passively reading,
you're actively noticing things about the language.
And to help you absorb that,
sometimes it's a good idea just to repeat.
If you read and go, "Oh, interested in English.
Interested in, it is the preposition,
Interested in, interested in,
I'm interested in English."
And just do some simple repetition,
whether it's the grammar, the collation
or the pronunciation, right?
Be curious, notice, and do a little repetition.
And this, wow, it's one of the most powerful ways
you can improve your English,
and I think that's why it's the the cornerstone
of Steve's methodology, notice.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number five, learning is messy
so accept it.
Messy, I mean untidy, right?
When we begin learning a language,
you began learning English.
At the beginning you're learning words
and maybe you're building the words and sentences
and you're getting better.
And we think, well, learning is a linear line.
You know, you start with the present tense,
then you learn the past tense,
and then the future tense,
and then the present perfect, and it goes on.
But actually, learning is not a straight line.
Remember, processing takes time
for the language to settle.
And so, actually what happens is some days you feel great
and you learn lots of words and you can speak fluently
and then the next day you forget
all the words and you can't, you just can't speak.
It's messy, it's normal, accept it.
Actually, learning a language is more like the stock market.
It goes up and down,
up and down, up and down, up and down,
but the trend is going up,
that's the important thing.
Once you know that, you can accept it.
But just learning is messy, (laughs) accept it.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Make it fun.
Of course, make sure your learning is fun
'cause if you are enjoying your learning,
you're gonna be more motivated and your learning is deeper.
We know that from research.
So, enjoy your learning.
You know, becoming fluent, it's a marathon.
And if you're not enjoying it,
you're going to give up.
At the moment, I'm learning French.
Well, I'm relearning French,
I'm brushing up on my French that I learned years ago,
and I make it fun.
I've joined a course.
Every week we have these groups that we go in online
and chat to each other.
I take the topic of the week,
for example, media.
I go to ChatGPT
and in French I ask for a list of 10 essential words
for that topic with some sentences,
ba-ba-ba-ba.
Then, I take those and I put it into a voice software.
There are some free ones, I use play.ht.
And in a French voice, I get the audio of those sentences.
Then, I listen to those
and I practice speaking them.
Then I go into the class
and use them and it's great.
It's so much fun, it's awesome.
And on top of that, I'm looking for podcasts
where I like the voice,
I'm interested in the topic.
Read things you're interested in,
watch things you're interested in.
Just enjoy the learning 'cause it is a marathon.
And if you're not enjoying yourself,
you're gonna give up.
So, if you wanna become fluent,
make your learning fun.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number seven is create a habit.
This can be a reading habit,
a study habit, a speaking habit, whatever it is.
Create the habit by saying
or choosing a time, a day, and a place
where you're always gonna do the activity.
Maybe it's every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
8 o'clock in the morning for an hour,
I'm gonna practice speaking.
And you do that and you do it again, again, and again.
And once you've got the habit, it's gonna carry on.
Don't worry if sometimes you miss it.
You know, be kind to yourself, it doesn't matter.
Sometimes learning goes in cycles.
You do really well,
you have the habit for three months
and then you drop out for a month.
It's fine, pick up the habit again,
start and carry on on that cycle, so important.
By the way, all of these,
this is number seven, right?
We've got 10 things you should know about becoming fluent,
if want the PDF of all of these with the explanation,
you can download that through the link below.
Just click on it and you can get it for free
and help you on your journey to becoming fluent.
Right now, let's go and have a look at number eight.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number eight, repetition.
Again, this is something students don't do enough.
A key part of language learning is repeating.
And that can be simply listening to an audio
and repeating a word,
repeating a word, repeating a phrase.
You can be repeating and noticing the intonation,
noticing the word stress and just repeating.
You can do it anytime.
You can try shadowing
where you listen to a short audio
and repeat at the same time.
Even when you're just watching a film,
you may hear something,
and go, "Oh, that's interesting,"
and just repeat it, right?
Sometimes I'm watching French films and I'll be like,
(Keith speaking French)
(Keith speaking French)
and just repeating the words,
and it's such an important part of activating the language.
So, you've got the language that is settling in your brain
and you need to be activating and speaking it out.
Repeating and repeating,
such an important part of language learning.
In fact, I based one of my courses just on repeating,
the Fluent Grammar Course for IELTS Speaking.
It's all about repeating,
noticing aspects of pronunciation and repeating.
It's a key part of language learning.
You're probably not doing enough, go and do some more.
Here's the next point.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
Number nine, create the right mindset.
In language learning as in sport,
it's hugely important.
I talked about learning a language,
becoming fluent is like a marathon.
When you run a marathon, you can't just run,
you need the right mindset.
When you're training, when you're running,
when you are competing, you're thinking, "I can do this,
I'm going to do this.
There will be problems,
that's okay, I will continue."
Things like that.
So, the mindset for learning a language,
I have an acronym, which is ASEP.
You may have heard of ASAP, as soon as possible,
ASEP, right, stands for Accept where you are,
step by step, embrace mistakes,
and positive, you can do this.
So, first of all, accept where you are.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate,
whether you know something or not,
accept where you are.
I do tell students, don't think about my English is weak,
my English is poor.
No, there are things you know
and there are things you don't yet know,
but you will know them in the future.
Accept where you are.
Second, step by step.
Don't try and learn everything in two weeks.
Step by step, do things one step at a time.
Thirdly, embrace mistakes.
There will be challenges, you will make mistakes.
Actually, that's great,
mistakes are a sign of experimenting and trying and pushing,
and that's what you need when you're learning a language.
Embrace, embrace is to hug your mistakes.
Finally, positive.
Think, "I can, I can do this."
As with running a marathon,
if you think, "Oh, I can't do it," you probably can't.
If you think you can, you probably can.
Never a wiser word spoken.
So, remember ASEP,
accept where you are, step by step,
embrace your mistakes, be positive.
(air whooshing)
(air whooshing)
And number 10 is use emotion.
Do you remember when you were at school
and you had to learn the grammar of English
and the vocabulary
and the teacher would show you something like this,
"Present tense, I eat fast food.
Negative, I don't eat fast food.
Another negative, I never eat fast food,"
and it's so boring.
It's because often teachers forget to tell us
that learning English or a language
is about communicating ideas
and communicating emotion.
Your feeling, whether you're happy, sad, angry,
that emotion should be in your voice.
So, next time you're learning some boring grammar,
make it fun.
Do you remember, make it fun?
So, instead of this,
you could say, "I eat fast food."
Very proud.
Or maybe you're guilty,
"Oh, yeah, I eat, I eat fast food, sorry."
I don't eat fast food.
I do not eat fast food.
I don't eat fast food, are you crazy?
You can change the intonation.
I never eat fast food, how dare you? (laughs)
You can get angry.
The great thing about practicing on your own at home
is nobody can hear you.
You can exaggerate the emotion, right?
You can make it loud, soft, angry, funny.
(laughs) I eat fast food.
(laughs) Whatever, right?
It makes it interesting, makes your learning fun.
But more importantly,
when you're communicating with people,
you sound more interesting,
you're becoming more fluent
because you're using emotion.
And also, of course, by using emotion,
you're gonna go from bookish English,
sounding like a book, to real English.
And that's what you need to become fluent,
to do well in your IELTS speaking,
to communicate with people around the world, right?
(air whooshing)
So, there you have it,
10 things that can help you become more fluent.
Which one do you like?
Leave me a comment below to let me know.
So, now that you know
the 10 things that students who become fluent speakers know,
what are you going to do about it?
I suggest you start putting it into practice.
Choose one or two of these things
and tomorrow or today, start implementing it.
In fact, download the PDF
and just mark off one or two you want to practice
and start doing.
And over time, come back to the PDF
and implement others.
Start doing it, right?
And as you're implementing it,
well, I hope that my videos on YouTube can support you
and help you become more fluent.
If you are enjoying these videos
and you can understand me
and you're learning more,
then you're probably already on your way
to becoming a more fluent speaker.
If you want to continue
and you want to speed up the transformation
and do it in a fun way,
you might want to think about joining my GOLD course,
IELTS Speaking GOLD Course.
It's for students preparing for IELTS,
but there are lots of students
who are not preparing IELTS
just because the focus is to develop your speaking skills
in a fun and professional way.
On the course, you've got live lessons.
We have two live lessons a month,
a bit like the ones on YouTube, but even better.
We have two Zoom meetings
where you can interact with me
and ask me questions with other students.
We have breakout rooms where you can practice speaking
to other students around the world
in small groups of two or three students.
We've got quizzes, we've got novels,
songs, recorded videos you can practice with.
Oh, there's so much.
And the great thing is you pay once
and you get access to everything for a lifetime forever.
It doesn't get any better.
Well, actually it does get better
because you can also get, if you're a YouTube fan,
click on the link below,
you can get a discount off that course.
So, if you're thinking you want to take the next step
to transforming your English to become more fluent,
come and join me on the GOLD course.
Whatever you decide,
I'm always gonna be here to help you
and be by your side on your journey
to becoming a more fluent and confident speaker.
Thank you so much for watching me today.
It's been great fun,
I've really enjoyed it,
and I look forward to seeing you maybe in the course,
maybe also in the next video.
Take care, my friend. Bye-bye.
(upbeat music)
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