English Podcast For Learning English | English Leap Podcast | Episode 2 | My Secret to Learn English — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01I remember watching a movie and missing
2. 0:02half of what was being said I'd have to
3. 0:05rewind several times just to understand
4. 0:07a single sentence
5. 0:10[Music]
6. 0:12but hello English Learners and welcome
7. 0:15to speak English with class the podcast
8. 0:18where language learning meets
9. 0:19inspiration I'm your host Marco and
10. 0:22whether you're tuning in from your
11. 0:23morning commute a Cozy Corner of your
12. 0:25home or anywhere in between we're here
13. 0:28to make your English learning Journey
14. 0:30not just educational but enjoyable each
15. 0:32week we dive deep into the experiences
16. 0:35of real Learners like you exploring
17. 0:37their triumphs their struggles and the
18. 0:40strategies that help them succeed we
19. 0:42believe that learning English is more
20. 0:44than just memorizing grammar rules or
21. 0:46expanding your vocabulary it's about
22. 0:49connecting with others embracing New
23. 0:51Opportunities and expressing yourself in
24. 0:53ways you never thought possible so grab
25. 0:56your favorite beverage sit back and
26. 0:58let's dive into today's conversation
27. 1:01today we've got an incredible guest
28. 1:02lined up who has navigated the highs and
29. 1:04lows of learning English with resilience
30. 1:07and creativity she's here to share her
31. 1:09story packed with insights and the
32. 1:11hard-earned wisdom that only comes from
33. 1:13real experience so without further Ado
34. 1:17let's dive in please join me in
35. 1:19welcoming Maria to the show hi everyone
36. 1:23it's such a pleasure to be here thanks
37. 1:25for having me Marco we're thrilled to
38. 1:28have you so Maria let's let's get
39. 1:30started can you tell us a little about
40. 1:32where you're from and what initially
41. 1:33sparked your interest in learning
42. 1:35English of course I'm from Barcelona
43. 1:38Spain MH and to be honest English wasn't
44. 1:42always a priority for me growing up in
45. 1:44school it felt more like a subject I had
46. 1:46to pass rather than something I
47. 1:48genuinely wanted to learn I remember
48. 1:50sitting in English class and feeling
49. 1:52overwhelmed by the grammar rules the
50. 1:54exceptions to those rules and then the
51. 1:57exceptions to the exceptions it all
52. 2:00seemed so complicated and I just
53. 2:01couldn't see how it would be useful to
54. 2:03me but that changed when I started to
55. 2:05realize how much English was around me
56. 2:08whether it was watching movies listening
57. 2:10to music or even scrolling through
58. 2:12social media English was everywhere I
59. 2:16began to feel like I was missing out on
60. 2:17so much by not understanding it and then
61. 2:21during a trip to London with my friends
62. 2:23I felt completely lost I couldn't
63. 2:25communicate effectively and it was
64. 2:28frustrating that trip was a turning
65. 2:30point for me I knew I had to take
66. 2:33learning English more seriously I can
67. 2:35imagine how eye openening that must have
68. 2:37been so after that trip what was your
69. 2:39plan how did you approach learning
70. 2:42English when I got back from London I
71. 2:44was determined to improve my English but
72. 2:47honestly I didn't know where to start I
73. 2:50knew that traditional methods like just
74. 2:53sitting down with a grammar book weren't
75. 2:55going to cut it for me so I decided to
76. 2:58approach it differently
77. 3:00the first thing I did was to immerse
78. 3:02myself in the language I started by
79. 3:05watching my favorite movies and TV shows
80. 3:07in English at first I used subtitles in
81. 3:10Spanish but gradually I switched to
82. 3:12English subtitles and then finally to no
83. 3:15subtitles at all it was tough though I
84. 3:19remember watching a movie and missing
85. 3:21half of what was being said I'd have to
86. 3:23rewi several times just to understand a
87. 3:25single sentence but I kept at it because
88. 3:28I knew that listening to native speakers
89. 3:30was crucial for improving my
90. 3:33comprehension I also started listening
91. 3:35to English songs and tried to sing along
92. 3:38even if I didn't understand all the
93. 3:40words music became a fun way to practice
94. 3:43pronunciation and learn new vocabulary
95. 3:45that sounds like a fun and engaging way
96. 3:47to learn but I'm sure it wasn't all
97. 3:49smooth sailing what challenges did you
98. 3:52face during this immersion phase oh
99. 3:55there were definitely challenges one of
100. 3:57the biggest was the feeling of being
101. 3:59overwhelmed English has so many nuances
102. 4:03idioms phrasal verbs slang and it felt
103. 4:07like every time I learned something new
104. 4:10there was another layer waiting for me I
105. 4:12remember being particularly confused by
106. 4:15phrasal verbs they're tricky because
107. 4:17they don't always make sense when you
108. 4:19translate them directly for example I
109. 4:22couldn't understand why give up meant to
110. 4:24quit or why bring up could mean both to
111. 4:27mention something and to raise a child
112. 4:30it was confusing because I'd study these
113. 4:32phrasal verbs but then I'd hear them
114. 4:35used in different contexts and feel lost
115. 4:37all over
116. 4:38again another challenge was speaking I
117. 4:41was so afraid of making mistakes that I
118. 4:43often hesitated to speak at all I'd
119. 4:45rehear sentences in my head but when it
120. 4:47came time to actually say them I'd
121. 4:50freeze my confidence was really low and
122. 4:53I felt like I was stuck I think a lot of
123. 4:56people can relate to that being afraid
124. 4:58to speak because of the fear of making
125. 5:00mistakes speaking of mistakes do you
126. 5:03have any funny language Mix-Ups you'd
127. 5:05like to share there were plenty of
128. 5:07moments once I was trying to say I'm
129. 5:10full after a meal but I accidentally
130. 5:13said I'm full my friends burst out
131. 5:16laughing and started calling me fool for
132. 5:18the rest of the day let's just say I
133. 5:21learned the difference real quick that's
134. 5:23hilarious it's moments like those that
135. 5:25make learning memorable so how did you
136. 5:27overcome the fear of making mistakes
137. 5:30it took time but I eventually realized
138. 5:33that making mistakes was a necessary
139. 5:35part of the learning process I started
140. 5:38small by talking to myself in English
141. 5:40I'd narrate my day things like now I'm
142. 5:43making breakfast or I need to go to the
143. 5:46grocery store it sounds silly but it
144. 5:49helped me get comfortable with speaking
145. 5:51without the pressure of someone
146. 5:52listening once I felt more confident I
147. 5:55joined an online language exchange
148. 5:57Community where I could practice
149. 5:58speaking with native speakers ERS at
150. 6:01first I was really nervous I'd worry
151. 6:03about sounding foolish or not being able
152. 6:05to keep up with the conversation but I
153. 6:08quickly learned that people were patient
154. 6:10and understanding they knew I was
155. 6:13learning and they didn't expect
156. 6:15perfection in fact they appreciated the
157. 6:17effort I was making that gave me the
158. 6:20confidence to keep practicing and over
159. 6:23time I noticed that my speaking skills
160. 6:25improved significantly it's great to
161. 6:27hear that you found supportive envir en
162. 6:29Ms to practice in were there any
163. 6:31specific strategies that helped you
164. 6:33improve your speaking and listening
165. 6:35skills absolutely one strategy that
166. 6:38really helped was shadowing where I'd
167. 6:41listen to a short clip of native
168. 6:43speakers and then try to repeat it
169. 6:45exactly as they said it mimicking their
170. 6:48intonation Rhythm and
171. 6:51pronunciation I found it incredibly
172. 6:53useful because it forced me to pay
173. 6:55attention to the details of how English
174. 6:57is
175. 6:58spoken I'd often use clips from movies
176. 7:01or TV shows because the dialogue felt
177. 7:03more
178. 7:04natural for listening I started
179. 7:06incorporating podcasts into my routine
180. 7:09I'd listen to them while commuting or
181. 7:12doing chores around the house at first I
182. 7:15chose podcasts that had transcripts
183. 7:17available so I could follow along and
184. 7:19check any parts I didn't understand
185. 7:23gradually I moved on to podcasts without
186. 7:26transcripts and it became easier to
187. 7:28follow conversation without needing to
188. 7:30see the words one thing I realized was
189. 7:34that even if I didn't understand every
190. 7:36word I could usually get the gist of the
191. 7:40conversation and that was okay over time
192. 7:44the gaps in understanding became smaller
193. 7:47shadowing and using podcasts are
194. 7:48excellent strategies it sounds like you
195. 7:51were really dedicated to improving your
196. 7:52English what about vocabulary that's a
197. 7:55big challenge for many Learners how did
198. 7:57you tackle that the vocabulary was
199. 8:00definitely one of the most challenging
200. 8:02aspects for me I'd learn new words but
201. 8:05then I'd forget them just as
202. 8:07quickly to tackle this I started keeping
203. 8:09a vocabulary journal every time I
204. 8:12encountered a new word whether in a book
205. 8:14a podcast or a conversation I'd write it
206. 8:17down along with the sentence it was used
207. 8:19in that way I could see how the word was
208. 8:22used in context which made it easier to
209. 8:25remember I also used a technique called
210. 8:27spaced repetition I'd review my
211. 8:30vocabulary Journal regularly first after
212. 8:33a day then after a week and then after a
213. 8:35month this helped to reinforce the words
214. 8:38in my memory but what really made
215. 8:41difference was actively using new words
216. 8:43in my
217. 8:44conversations even if I wasn't entirely
218. 8:47sure I was using them correctly I'd try
219. 8:49to incorporate them into sentences the
220. 8:52more I used a word the more natural it
221. 8:54felt and eventually it became part of my
222. 8:57active
223. 8:58vocabulary as another fun strategy I
224. 9:00used was to create associations with new
225. 9:02words for example if I learned the word
226. 9:06meticulous I'd think of a meticulous
227. 9:08person in my life like my aunt who's
228. 9:11always very detailed about everything
229. 9:14these associations help me remember the
230. 9:16meanings of words better that's a great
231. 9:19approach using context and personal
232. 9:21associations to make vocabulary stick
233. 9:24were there any particular resources or
234. 9:26tools that you found especially helpful
235. 9:28in your Learning Journey
236. 9:30yes there were a few resources that
237. 9:31really stood out for me one of them was
238. 9:34an app called Ani which uses space
239. 9:36repetition to help you remember
240. 9:39vocabulary I created my own flashcards
241. 9:41with the words I wanted to learn and the
242. 9:43app would prompt me to review them at
243. 9:45intervals designed to optimize memory
244. 9:48retention it was really effective
245. 9:50because it kept the words fresh in my
246. 9:52mind without overwhelming me with too
247. 9:54many at once another resource that I
248. 9:57found incredibly useful was YouTube
249. 10:00there are so many great channels
250. 10:02dedicated to English learning covering
251. 10:04everything from grammar to pronunciation
252. 10:06to cultural
253. 10:07nuances I particularly enjoyed channels
254. 10:10that focused on everyday English like
255. 10:12the phrases and expressions that native
256. 10:14speakers use in casual
257. 10:16conversation these were often the things
258. 10:18you don't find in textbooks but they're
259. 10:21so important for sounding natural in
260. 10:23English I also subscribed to English
261. 10:26language newsletters and followed blogs
262. 10:28that were written in English
263. 10:30this way I was constantly exposed to the
264. 10:32language in a variety of contexts and it
265. 10:35helped me see how English is used in
266. 10:36different
267. 10:38situations it sounds like you made the
268. 10:40most of all the resources available to
269. 10:42you now that you've made so much
270. 10:44progress what's your current strategy
271. 10:46for continuing to improve your English
272. 10:49even though I've come a long way I still
273. 10:51consider myself a learner and I'm always
274. 10:54looking for ways to improve one thing I
275. 10:56focus on now is refining my
276. 10:59understanding of more advanced aspects
277. 11:01of English like idioms and cultural
278. 11:04references these are the things that can
279. 11:06make a conversation really come to life
280. 11:09but they're also challenging because
281. 11:10they're not always
282. 11:12intuitive I continue to immerse myself
283. 11:15in English as much as possible I read
284. 11:18books in English watch English language
285. 11:21news and of course listen to
286. 11:24podcasts I've also started writing in
287. 11:26English more whether it's journaling
288. 11:28writing emails or even just posting on
289. 11:32social media writing forces me to think
290. 11:35carefully about the words I choose and
291. 11:37how I structure my sentences which has
292. 11:40been great for reinforcing what I've
293. 11:42learned one thing that's been really
294. 11:45helpful recently is joining a book club
295. 11:47where we discuss books in English it's a
296. 11:50great way to practice speaking and it
297. 11:52also exposes me to new vocabulary and
298. 11:55ideas plus it's a lot of fun a book club
299. 11:59sounds like a fantastic way to combine
300. 12:01learning with social interaction before
301. 12:03we wrap up do you have any final tips or
302. 12:05insights for our listeners who are still
303. 12:07on their English learning
304. 12:09Journey absolutely the first thing I'd
305. 12:12say is to be patient with yourself
306. 12:14learning a language is a journey and
307. 12:17it's okay if you don't see immediate
308. 12:18results consistency is key so try to
309. 12:22practice a little every day even if it's
310. 12:24just for a few minutes also don't be
311. 12:28afraid to make mistakes
312. 12:30mistakes are how we learn and every
313. 12:32mistake you make brings you one step
314. 12:34closer to
315. 12:35fluency another tip is to find ways to
316. 12:38make learning fun whether it's through
317. 12:41music movies podcasts or language
318. 12:44exchanges find something you enjoy and
319. 12:47use that as your practice tool when
320. 12:49you're having fun you're more likely to
321. 12:52stick with it lastly surround yourself
322. 12:55with English as much as possible create
323. 12:58an environment where English is a part
324. 13:00of your daily life whether it's changing
325. 13:03the language on your phone to English
326. 13:05following English-speaking influences or
327. 13:08even talking to yourself in English the
328. 13:11more you immerse yourself in the
329. 13:12language the more natural it will become
330. 13:15those are fantastic tips Maria thank you
331. 13:18so much for sharing your journey with us
332. 13:20today your story is truly inspiring and
333. 13:23I'm sure our listeners have gained a lot
334. 13:24of insight and motivation from your
335. 13:28experiences thank you for having me
336. 13:30Marco it's been a pleasure to share my
337. 13:32story and I hope it helps others on
338. 13:34their own Journeys remember learning
339. 13:37English is a journey not a destination
340. 13:40keep going and you'll get there
341. 13:43absolutely that brings us to the end of
342. 13:45today's episode once again a big thank
343. 13:48you to Maria for sharing her Incredible
344. 13:50Journey and valuable insights with us I
345. 13:53hope her story has inspired you and
346. 13:55reminded you that every step forward no
347. 13:58matter how small all is progress if you
348. 14:01enjoyed today's episode be sure to
349. 14:04subscribe to speak English with class so
350. 14:06you never miss out on more inspiring
351. 14:08stories and practical tips until next
352. 14:11time keep learning keep practicing and
353. 14:14keep speaking English with class take
354. 14:19care your progress doesn't end here to
355. 14:22continue advancing your English skills
356. 14:24click on the next video or explore the
357. 14:26additional videos we've thoughtfully
358. 14:27selected for you
359. 14:29[Music]