How I learned English by myself for free without studying

Summary

In this video, Judy, a first-year medical student from Turkey, shares her unique self-taught journey to English fluency without formal classes. She starts with her A2-level English background and describes her struggle with the language, which was overshadowed by her focus on German. Inspired by YouTubers like James Charles, Judy outlines her method of learning English through daily consumption of English media, gradually increasing the speed and complexity of content. She emphasizes the importance of thinking and expressing oneself in English to build 'an English brain.' Judy's approach is fun, cost-free, and can lead to fluency, though it may not improve grammar. She also mentions the limitations of her method and teases upcoming evidence-based language learning tips.

Takeaways

• 😀 Judy is a first-year medical student in Turkey who shares her experience of learning English without formal study.
• 🏫 Judy attended a regular private school in Turkey and learned basic English up to A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
• 📚 In high school, she focused on German as her main foreign language, which led to a decrease in her English proficiency.
• 🌐 Judy's motivation to improve her English came from watching YouTube videos, particularly those of James Charles, and wanting to understand what was being said.
• 🎬 The method Judy used for learning English involved watching English content on platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and TV shows, initially with subtitles.
• 📱 She emphasized the importance of consuming media in English and making English a part of daily life, such as changing phone settings to English and reading news in English.
• 🗣️ Judy recommends watching videos without subtitles once you start understanding them and practicing explaining what you've watched in English.
• 📚 Reading in English is also crucial, and summarizing what you've read in your own words can help reinforce learning.
• 🔝 Judy suggests increasing the speed of videos to 1.25 to 1.5 times the normal speed as you get more comfortable with understanding English.
• 📆 Consistency is key, and Judy advises continuing these practices for at least a year to see significant improvement in English fluency.
• 🚫 Judy acknowledges that her method might not be suitable for complete beginners or those learning English for academic purposes, as it may not focus on grammar.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video transcript?

The main topic of the video transcript is Judy's personal experience of learning English by herself without formal study.

What is Judy's educational background in English before high school?

Judy attended a regular private school in Turkey where she took English lessons as her main foreign language and reached an A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Why did Judy's English proficiency decline during high school?

Judy's English proficiency declined during high school because she attended a German-Turkish international high school where the focus was on German, and she only had two to four English lessons per week.

What motivated Judy to improve her English skills?

Judy was motivated to improve her English skills to understand the fast-speaking YouTuber James Charles, whom she was interested in.

What is the first step Judy suggests in her method for learning English?

The first step Judy suggests is to choose what to watch in English, which can be a Netflix show, YouTube videos, or TV shows.

How does Judy recommend watching English content initially?

Judy recommends watching English content at normal speed with subtitles on, focusing on understanding what is being said.

What is the purpose of watching English content daily for at least one hour according to Judy?

The purpose is to make English a part of daily life and to improve understanding and fluency through consistent exposure.

What does Judy suggest doing after becoming comfortable with videos without subtitles?

Judy suggests explaining the content of the videos in English to oneself without translating any words, to practice speaking fluently.

How does Judy incorporate reading into her English learning method?

Judy suggests reading in English, such as books, newspapers, or online news, and summarizing what has been read in one's own words.

What is one of the cons Judy mentions about her self-taught English learning method?

One of the cons Judy mentions is that without extra studying on grammar, one's English grammar may be poor.

What does Judy plan to upload in the coming weeks related to language learning?

Judy plans to upload a series of evidence-based language learning tips from a polyglot in the coming weeks.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Self-Taught English Mastery

Judy, a first-year medical student in Turkey, shares her personal journey of learning English without formal education. She discusses her English background, starting from A2 level and her experience in a German-focused high school which led to a decline in her English proficiency. Judy's motivation to improve came from wanting to understand fast-speaking YouTubers like James Charles. She outlines a disclaimer that her method is based on personal experience and may not be backed by scientific evidence, and recommends viewers to have at least an A2 level of English before attempting her techniques.

05:02

🎥 The Entertainment-Education Method

Judy introduces her method of learning English through entertainment, emphasizing the importance of consuming English media daily. She suggests starting with videos at normal speed with subtitles, then progressing to watching without subtitles and explaining the content in English. Judy also recommends integrating English into daily life by changing phone settings, reading news, and singing along to songs. As understanding improves, she advises speeding up video playback to enhance listening skills. The method requires a commitment to daily practice and avoiding the use of translators to foster thinking in English.

10:05

🚀 From A2 to Fluency in a Year

Judy details her year-long process of becoming fluent in English, which involved daily exposure to English media and self-explanation of content in English. She highlights the pros of her method, such as its enjoyable nature, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to achieve fluency without formal classes. However, she also acknowledges the cons, including potential weaknesses in grammar and the method's unsuitability for absolute beginners or those with academic English learning goals. Judy concludes by discussing her YouTube channel's upload schedule and invites viewers to subscribe for upcoming language learning tips.

Keywords

💡English language learning

English language learning refers to the process of acquiring the ability to communicate in English. In the video, the theme revolves around the personal journey of Judy, a first-year medical student in Turkey, who shares her experience of learning English without formal education. She mentions her initial A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and her struggle with fast-paced English conversations.

💡A2 level

A2 level is a descriptor used in language learning to indicate a basic level of proficiency. Judy describes her English proficiency as being at an A2 level, which means she could understand and communicate basic information about herself and engage in simple conversations. The script mentions her possession of a '2 certificate in English' from elementary school.

💡German language

German language is another foreign language that Judy studied, particularly in high school, which became her main focus to the detriment of her English skills. The script indicates that she found German and English similar, causing her to mix up words between the two languages, which led to her decision to focus on German.

💡YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing platform that played a pivotal role in Judy's self-taught English learning process. She was inspired to improve her English to understand content creators like James Charles, who speaks very fast. The script details how she used YouTube videos as a medium for language immersion and practice.

💡Subtitles

Subtitles are text versions of the dialogue in videos, which Judy used as a tool to aid her understanding of English content. In the script, she suggests watching videos with English subtitles to help grasp the language and later, watching without subtitles to improve comprehension.

💡Daily conversations

Daily conversations refer to the routine exchanges of information that occur in everyday life. Judy mentions that at her A2 level, she could understand and participate in basic daily conversations but faced challenges when people spoke quickly.

💡Self-study

Self-study is the process of learning without formal instruction or the guidance of a teacher. Judy's method of learning English was through self-study, which involved watching videos, reading, and speaking to herself in English. The script outlines her step-by-step self-study method.

💡Fluency

Fluency in a language refers to the ability to speak and understand it smoothly and effortlessly. Judy's goal in learning English was to achieve fluency, which she describes as being able to speak about more complicated topics with confidence, even though she may not be a native speaker.

💡Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret written material. In the script, Judy emphasizes the importance of reading in English and summarizing what she has read in her own words as a method to improve her English language skills.

💡Speaking practice

Speaking practice involves the act of using a language to communicate, which is crucial for developing speaking skills. Judy talks about the importance of speaking English to herself as a way to practice and improve her fluency, even if it felt strange at first.

💡Grammar

Grammar refers to the set of structural rules governing the composition of sentences, phrases, and words in a language. Judy acknowledges that her method may not improve grammar skills, as she herself admits to having poor English grammar due to not studying it formally.

Highlights

Judy, a first-year medical student in Turkey, shares her experience of learning English independently.

She had an A2 level in English from her elementary school, which allowed basic conversations.

In high school, she focused on German, which led to a decline in her English proficiency.

Watching YouTube videos, particularly those of James Charles, motivated her to improve her English.

The method involves choosing English content to watch, such as Netflix shows or YouTube videos.

Initially, watch with subtitles to understand the content and gradually move to watching without subtitles.

Consume media in English daily, including reading news, listening to songs, and watching videos.

Practice explaining what you watch or read in English, even if it feels strange talking to yourself.

Start reading in English, summarizing what you read in your own words without using a translator.

Increase video playback speed to 1.25 to 1.5 times to improve listening comprehension.

Continue this routine for a year to build fluency and confidence in English.

The method is fun and doesn't require additional costs beyond an internet connection.

It allows for fluency without formal classes, which Judy finds to be a significant advantage.

However, this method may not improve grammar skills, which Judy acknowledges as a drawback.

It's not suitable for total beginners or those learning English for academic purposes.

Judy emphasizes that this is not an evidence-based technique and results may vary.

She plans to upload a series of evidence-based language learning tips in the future.

Judy's channel uploads study videos on Tuesdays and general content on Fridays.

She encourages viewers to subscribe and like her videos to support her channel.

Transcripts

hi guys what's up it's me judy i'm a first  year medical student in turkey and today  

we're gonna be talking about how i learned  english by myself without even studying it  

so let's get started okay so i'll mention about my  english background a disclaimer about the method  

and pros and cons of the method everything  that i mentioned will be timestamped down in  

the description below so that you can skip to  the part that you're interested in so let's get  

started so let's start with my english background  i went to regular private school in turkey until  

i got to high school i've never attended to an  english international school before high school  

i took english lessons as my main foreign language  and when i got into high school i got german as my  

main foreign language in elementary and middle  school i learned basic english i was like around  

a2 level according to cefr i got a 2 certificate  in english when i was in elementary school i  

guess i don't know i don't remember that but  i didn't try to get b1 diplom because i kind  

of didn't need it i was able to understand daily  conversations and explain like basic things about  

myself and kind of like have a basic conversation  with people but i was having like kind of struggle  

when people speak very fast so what can you do  with an a2 level in english is here if you want  

to read that stop the video and read it english  was one of my favorite subjects back in the day  

until i got high school i went to serve at german  turkish international high school in istanbul and  

we had pretty intense german lessons in prep class  we had like 40 lessons per week german and we only  

had like two to four lessons of english in a week  at that time only thing that i cared was german so  

i wasn't really focusing in english lessons i was  sleeping throughout the lessons all the time sorry  

teacher but yeah of course there are a lot of  differences between german and english but i find  

them pretty similar to each other and i realized  that whenever i study english or german after that  

i kind of mix up the words in these languages  and like in german lessons english words pop up  

to my mind in english lessons i say like and so  i decided to focus on only german for a while and  

then maybe work on english later on by studying  only german my german got better and better but  

the sad thing is my english got weaker and weaker  i knew that i had to do something but i didn't  

know what to do and where to start and it's been a  long time since i've studied english and all that  

stuff and our school was like german kind of like  school and all students were focused on german  

so nobody was caring much about english actually  back in the day i was watching so much youtube  

and one day youtube recommended me a video from  james charles and if you know him you know that he  

speaks very very very fast it was the first time  i saw guy doing a makeup i was really interested  

in him so i really wanted to understand what he  was saying but i couldn't but i was watching him  

anyways i decided to improve my english skills  to understand james charles which is kind of like  

funny to me and i'll show you guys throughout  the video how i did that okay so quick disclaimer  

since this video is about my experience it does  not contain any evidence-based tips from me so if  

you want some evidence-based tips then stay tuned  because i will be uploading science-based language  

learning tips so you know wait for that video next  week videos are coming so second disclaimer is if  

you are below a2 level i would recommend you to  come at that level first because i think it helped  

me quite a lot okay so let's talk about the method  the method itself is very basic okay so step  

one choose what to watch it can be a netflix show  or youtuber or tv show whatever but it has to be  

in english you don't need to watch every single  day exactly the same video or something you can  

alternate between netflix youtube tv shows and  all that stuff but don't forget to consume it in  

english okay so after deciding it we're moving to  step two step two is watch them at at normal speed  

and put the subtitles on try to understand what  they're talking about and focus on that video  

don't forget you're doing it for educational  purpose now for your fun all right watch every  

single day at least one hour of youtube netflix  whatever you have chosen i was watching about like  

three to four hours every single day in english  so yeah do that and also consume media only in  

english turn your phone settings into english  read news in english listen english songs sing  

them along try to understand what they're talking  about make english a part of your daily life use  

english when you start to understand the videos  without subtitles move on to the next step so step  

3 congratulations so you have to be understanding  the videos without subtitles now watch videos in  

english without subtitles at least one hour every  single day choose something that you enjoy it's  

a perfect opportunity to watch on educational  things without any guilt i don't know if you  

guys feel guilt but whenever i watch something  uneducational for like fun purposes i kind of  

feel guilty so yeah after watching one episode or  one video try to explain it to yourself in english  

by your own words what you have just watched and  also try to explain it without translating any  

words you suck at beginning and it's kinda feels  weird to talk into yourself but trust me it will  

help you so much in the long run and you will be  able to speak fluently i was talking to myself  

in english whenever i'm showering doing my makeup  do my skincare like all the time i was basically  

trying to explain things in english whenever i  think about something i was like trying to explain  

it in english to myself it's kind of weird because  you're talking all the time to yourself and you  

kind of feel like insane person but it's all right  you know it's gonna help a lot so trust me okay  

so when you kind of got better at understanding  videos without subs and talking to yourself move  

on to next step so step four is start to read in  english if you don't love reading shame on you you  

are losing so freaking much things so um you know  if you try to love reading and if you failed at it  

i can make a video about of it if you guys want  but for now if you hate reading books then read  

maybe news papers or you know news on online  on apps whatever after reading one chapter  

or one news try to summarize it in your own words  try to explain it in english to yourself it can be  

very basic you don't need to speak like a native  speaker but try to explain it yourself every  

single time it will help you and don't forget to  continue watching english videos as well at least  

one hour a day don't forget it after doing those  move on to the next step you should be able to  

understand youtube videos without subtitles and  able to understand what you read at this point  

speed up the videos to 1.25 to 1.5 read more  make it a habit to use english in your daily life  

i usually watch youtube videos at double speed  um in english in germany in japanese in turkish  

whatever it doesn't matter but i watch all of  them in double speed and i easily understand  

what they're talking about and all that stuff okay  so next step is continue it for a year all of them  

like reading every single day it can be one  chapter or so on i mean you can read one news  

edit right so read in english listen to english  songs watch youtube at least for an hour and  

every single time after watching something after  reading something after hearing something try  

to explain it to yourself in your own words in  english and don't use ever translator it's very  

important we're kind of trying to make english  brain in our brain so you have to create that  

english brain you have to think in english and  you have to express yourself in english in this  

process you're not gonna use any other language  than english that's very very important it took  

me about a year to become fluent in english at  that time i was like talking very basic stuff  

but i got better and better with the time i'm able  to speak right now about more complicated things  

and i'm i'm not like native speaker whatsoever  but i'm kind of confident in my english i guess  

you can of course visit some language courses and  cut that time out but i was wanting to do at home  

and i didn't want to spend some money on so if  you're broke that's for you okay so let's talk  

about the pros and cons about this method so let's  start with the pros firstly it's fun i mean you if  

you choose something that you enjoy to watch then  it's really fun i was like watching james charles  

jeffrey star uh mini amy way and patrick star and  all that stuff and they're talking fast and i was  

like kind of enjoying the process because with  the time i kind of started to understand them so  

it was very fun to me and the second pro is  it doesn't cost you anything extra if you have  

internet connection in youtube on your phone  and if you're watching this video it does mean  

that you have both of them so you know if you're  broke like me it's perfect for you pro three is  

basically you will be able to speak fluently so i  mean i'm just a proof of you don't need to visit  

classes to learn english so i think it's very cool  i think it's a huge flex when you say to people  

like i learned english by myself without studying  it you know i don't know maybe that just me being  

narcissistic but yeah so let's move on to cons so  if you don't do any extra studying on grammar you  

will suck at english grammar like me my grammar  is pretty bad in english because i just didn't  

study it but you know if you want to improve your  grammar as well study it i don't regret it i mean  

i can always study english grammar but i'm not  studying it i don't know why though i think i'm  

satisfied with it but yeah if you don't want  to like me then study english grammar cons too  

as i said earlier in this video if you are a  totally beginner then it's not for you because  

you need to have a bit of information about basic  knowledge in order to do my techniques so at least  

reach to the a2 level also third one it's  not for you if you're learning english for  

academic purpose if you study grammar for extra  for academic purpose maybe it will work for you i  

don't know but yeah if you're using this technique  for academic purpose i don't recommend because  

you're not gonna be good at grammar and fourth one  is this is not a evidence-based technique so this  

worked for me but it might not work for you if you  want some evidence-based tips then stay tuned as i  

said the videos are coming so stay tuned i'm gonna  make a series a complete series of evidence-based  

language learning tips from a polyglot alright  so stay tuned before ending the video let me  

talk about my uploading schedule every tuesday  i upload a study with me video and every friday  

i upload a video that i'm talking about whatever  i want at that time so for coming next month it's  

gonna be about language learning tips so if you  love these topics subscribe to my channel you know  

smash the like button help the youtube algorithm  to pop up my video more so yeah i will be happy  

if you do that okay i guess that was it give  me a feedback i love you guys bye for now

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