How to go from B1 to C2 in English (what *actually* works) — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00You probably clicked on this video because you  feel like your English has stopped improving.
2. 0:04It's like you can have conversations, order  food, write emails, but the way you speak,
3. 0:10the vocabulary you use, your grammar, it all feels  the same it did months ago, maybe even years ago.
4. 0:16You feel stuck in this in between stage. You're  not a beginner anymore, and you're not fluent
5. 0:22either. That's what we call the intermediate  plateau. And if you're watching this video,
6. 0:27you're probably in it. This phase feels like it's  never going to end, but I promise you it will. In
7. 0:34this video, I'm going to explain why this plateau  happens. Not just from personal experience, but
8. 0:40also using brain science and language research.  And then I'll give you the exact steps to finally
9. 0:45move from B1 to C2. Hey friends, welcome back  to the channel. And if you're new here, hi,
10. 0:51I'm Veronica. Here I help you become fluent in  your target language if this is your goal through
11. 0:56real relatable researchbackpacked advice. And  today's video is honestly really special because
12. 1:02to me it feels less like a YouTube video and  more like a mini master class. So it would mean
13. 1:08so much to me if you gave this video a like, left  a comment, and shared it with someone who is also
14. 1:13stuck at B1 or B2. And if you want to download  the full presentation I created for this video,
15. 1:20it's completely free. Just use the link in the  description, enter your email, and I'll send it
16. 1:24straight to your inbox, and I'll also add you to  my free weekly newsletter. This video honestly
17. 1:30took a lot of time and a lot of research to  create, and it was only possible because of
18. 1:34today's sponsor, AUFlow. AFlow is basically  my dream productivity tool. It combines time
19. 1:41blocking, AI planning, and all your tasks from  different apps in one clean, easy to use space.
20. 1:47Lately, I've been using it to plan out my week.  I just drag my tasks directly into my calendar,
21. 1:52color code my events, and it helps me actually  stick to my plan without feeling overwhelmed.
22. 1:58You can connect Gmail, notion, Slack, and even  to-d doist, and all of your tasks automatically
23. 2:04show up in one place in what they call a universal  inbox. One feature that I really love is their new
24. 2:11AI co-pilot. It learns your habits and starts  autosculing your tasks based on how you work.
25. 2:17And if you're someone who loves tracking your  progress, AUFlow also gives you productivity stats
26. 2:23so you can see how much time you're spending on  different types of work, your language learning,
27. 2:28and where you might be getting stuck. Staying  consistent and making progress in English does
28. 2:33come down to how you organize your time. Tools  like Acflow make it so much easier. If you want
29. 2:38to try it for yourself, you can use my link in  the description to sign up. And you'll also get
30. 2:43access to a free one-on-one onboarding call, which  is a really helpful way to set everything up and
31. 2:48learn how the platform works. All right, so let's  begin and talk about what causes this intermediate
32. 2:54plateau and why it happens at this B1 B2 level  exactly. First of all, I really want you to
33. 3:01remember that the plateau is a natural byproduct  of how language learning works. So, if you're
34. 3:07stuck in this intermediate plateau right now,  please don't feel like something is wrong with
35. 3:12you. Absolutely not. Being in this stage of your  language learning journey is absolutely natural.
36. 3:18Because at B1 or B2, there are several factors  that come together that make you feel like you're
37. 3:24not making any progress. And let's talk about  these factors right now. The first one is what
38. 3:29I like to call the vocabulary wall. You know, when  you're a beginner, every new word you learn feels
39. 3:35like magic. Like you've discovered a new key, and  now you feel so much more confident. For example,
40. 3:41learning just 100 most common words in English  can help you understand about half of all of the
41. 3:47conversations. It feels really fun and exciting  and motivating, and you see progress right away.
42. 3:53But once you reach this intermediate level, B1  or B2, things change. You've already learned
43. 4:01all of the high frequency words like go, eat,  tomorrow, very, because, and from this point,
44. 4:09words that you still don't know, for example,  moreover, resilient, insightful, all of these
45. 4:15words are less common, and so you see them less  often. And that means that it takes more time to
46. 4:22remember them, to memorize them. And because  you don't really see these words super often,
47. 4:27your brain forgets them super quickly. And that is  exactly what I mean by diminishing returns. Every
48. 4:33new word you learn gives you less and less payoff.  There's a very interesting concept that explains
49. 4:39all of this. It's called Zips law. I really hope  I'm pronouncing this word correctly because it's
50. 4:45German and I do not speak German. If you guys know  how to pronounce it correctly, please let me know
51. 4:50in the comments if you speak German. Here's how it  works in language learning. A tiny number of words
52. 4:56are used all the time and most words are used  very rarely. It's like the 100 most common English
53. 5:03words like I, you, the is, have make up about 50%  of everything you read or hear. The next 1,000
54. 5:13words cover another 15 to 20%. But to understand  almost everything, like let's say 99% of a novel,
55. 5:21article, or podcast, you need to know 10,000  plus words. And those last few thousand words,
56. 5:28they're very rare. So you barely see them, which  means that you have to read and listen a lot more
57. 5:36to be able to memorize them. And obviously the  forgetting curve doesn't help us here at all
58. 5:41because it says that we forget things fast if  we don't see them over and over again. And so
59. 5:47to actually memorize all of those rare words that  are used at C1 or C2, you need a lot more exposure
60. 5:55like more reading time, deeper listening, space  repetition to just keep those words in your head.
61. 6:01Okay. So the next cause of your intermediate  plateau might be good enough communication.
62. 6:08Once you reach this intermediate B1 B2 level in  English, you can communicate just fine. Like you
63. 6:14feel completely okay when it comes to everyday  conversations. You can say what you want. People
64. 6:20understand you and you don't need perfect grammar  or perfect pronunciation to get your point across.
65. 6:26And so because of that, what happens is you  stop pushing yourself to improve. Not because
66. 6:32you're lazy, but because what you already know is  good enough. It helps you in your everyday life,
67. 6:39and that is enough. But here's the catch.  If you keep using the same simple grammar,
68. 6:44the same pronunciation, the same expressions, your  brain starts to lock them in. Here's how we say
69. 6:51it. Now, this is the only right way. And this is  what linguists call fossilization. It means that
70. 6:58certain mistakes or shortcuts in English become  so wired in your brain that they become automatic
71. 7:05like second nature using the same basic sentence  structures. For example, I want to go instead of
72. 7:10more complex ones like I've been meaning to go for  weeks. It's like you're pouring concrete over the
73. 7:18path you're on. Yes, you're walking this path  more confidently now because of the concrete,
74. 7:24but it's not really leading you where you want to  go. Obviously, if your goal is to become advanced
75. 7:30in English and reach this C1C2 level, the  next cause of this intermediate plateau
76. 7:36is the comfort zone. I can really relate to  this because a lot of us language learners,
77. 7:41we often fall into this comfort zone of familiar  activities when it comes to learning a language.
78. 7:49when it comes to your study time, like you do all  the same things. You chat about everyday topics.
79. 7:54You keep re-watching your favorite TV shows  and movies, and you do the same repetitive app
80. 7:59drills. It's kind of like you found this really  comfortable chair for yourself, and you stay there
81. 8:05because it's familiar, it's comfy, and you don't  really want to do anything else. And because of
82. 8:11that, yes, obviously, you become very good at what  you already know. You won't magically evolve to
83. 8:17the next level if you don't introduce a new level  of difficulty. The next cause is really funny. I
84. 8:24like to call it the honeymoon is over. Just like  in a relationship, at the beginning of language
85. 8:30learning, everything feels exciting and small  achievements give you a huge dopamine reward.
86. 8:36But unfortunately, by the intermediate stage, the  initial thrill peters out and learning can start
87. 8:43feeling like a slog. And that is exactly why a lot  of us face this crisis of confidence, we know a
88. 8:50lot about the language. But when it comes to those  more difficult conversations, we really struggle
89. 8:56using the language at higher levels. And that  leads to frustration and self-doubt. And also,
90. 9:02if you're an adult learning a foreign language,  you have to juggle so many responsibilities like
91. 9:07your work, family, and all of that really limits  how much time and mental energy you have left for
92. 9:14language learning. And the final thing that might  be causing your intermediate plateau is the gap
93. 9:20between your active and passive skills. At B1 or  B2, a lot of you often say, "I understand a lot,
94. 9:28but I struggle to speak. I struggle to  express my thoughts clearly. Of course,
95. 9:34I can use simple sentences to express what it  is I want to express, but I don't want to. Like,
96. 9:40I know that I know more, but for some reason, it  feels so hard to actually say all of this because
97. 9:47when I start speaking, I don't remember anything  all of a sudden. The reason why this happens is
98. 9:52because at this intermediate level, we haven't yet  done enough intentional practice when it comes to
99. 9:58your writing and speaking to activate the full  range of vocabulary and grammar that you have
100. 10:04absorbed. Thus, you plateau because you only use  the things that you feel comfortable using. You
101. 10:10quietly understand more complex language, but  you never try to actually produce it. And this
102. 10:15can create the illusion of stagnation. I feel like  I know more but I still sound the same. Now let's
103. 10:23talk about how you can actually overcome this  intermediate plateau. And here I really want you
104. 10:28guys to remember these two things. First, everyone  hits the plateau. It is absolutely normal and
105. 10:36natural. And second, it can be overcome with the  right mindset and the right strategies. And so now
106. 10:43let's talk about the strategies. And the first  thing that I really want to share with you is
107. 10:48find your why. Those of us who persevere, we all  have a very strong personal purpose for learning.
108. 10:56Because if you have a very strong why, it becomes  easier to overcome all of those crises of faith
109. 11:03that you're inevitably going to encounter on your  journey. Try to recapture that fun you had at the
110. 11:09very beginning of your language learning journey.  Ask yourself why did I start to learn this
111. 11:13language in the first place. Try to revisit and  reinforce your reasons for learning. Try to look
112. 11:20for your why and make your why extremely personal  and extremely powerful. The next strategy that
113. 11:27is going to help you overcome the intermediate  plateau is deliberate practice. At this level, if
114. 11:33you continue doing the same things over and over  again, you won't really see a lot of improvement.
115. 11:39You need to start focusing on your specific  weaknesses, on your personal pain points when it
116. 11:45comes to your target language. For example, maybe  it's this very specific grammar rule that you kind
117. 11:51of understand but always avoid using yourself.  Or maybe you have some fossilized errors,
118. 11:57like the things that you say incorrectly pretty  often. Deliberate practice doesn't mean that
119. 12:02you only do things that you're good at. It means  being uncomfortable pretty often because you're
120. 12:08growing. You're learning. You're putting yourself  back into this student mindset. You're not just
121. 12:14doing things you're already good at. Okay. So, the  next strategy here is increasing your immersion
122. 12:20and native input. You're going to flood your brain  with much more input and at a higher level. Let's
123. 12:26use reading as an example. Obviously, I'm always  talking about comprehensible input here. I don't
124. 12:32want you to overwhelm yourself with something  that is way beyond your current level. Personally,
125. 12:38reading is something that took me to a very high  level in English. I think one of the reasons I
126. 12:44have the vocabulary range I do right now when it  comes to my active vocabulary, when it comes to my
127. 12:51passive vocabulary is exactly because of reading.  Let's be honest, in books the words they use are
128. 12:57so different. the level is so much higher and that  is extremely important if you want to reach the C2
129. 13:04level in English. I'm going to show you guys.  I just finished reading this book, The Anxious
130. 13:10Generation. The iPad nearly fell out of my hand,  but that is okay. So, I just finished reading this
131. 13:15book, The Anxious Generation, and there are so  many words that I actually highlighted that were
132. 13:21new to me. for example, inoculation, glumness,  cubersome. Like I have definitely heard the word
133. 13:29cubersome before, but obviously I don't really  see myself using it and that is okay. Galvanized,
134. 13:36salient. Enscononed. I need to check how to  pronounce this word. Ensconceed. Ensconce.
135. 13:42Okay. Yep. Ensconed. This is exactly what I was  just talking about. C2 vocabulary. But as you can
136. 13:49see because it is comprehensible input probably  all of these words that I highlighted I don't
137. 13:54know 10ish words. So it becomes very easier  for me to actually memorize them. My brain is
138. 14:00not flooded with like a thousand new words after  reading just one book. When it comes to listening
139. 14:06here aim to listen to English daily. Obviously at  first you might need to rely heavily on subtitles
140. 14:13and transcripts and that is absolutely okay. But  if you can go through the same video, for example,
141. 14:19and first watch it with subtitles and then watch  it without subtitles to test your comprehension,
142. 14:25that is going to be amazing. If you still  realize that fast speech is pretty hard
143. 14:29for you to understand, try narrow listening and  narrow listening and narrow reading are amazing
144. 14:36strategies. Basically, what it means is, let's  say you pick a series on Netflix or maybe one
145. 14:43YouTube creator that you really like. You like  their accent. You like the way they make their
146. 14:48YouTube videos and you just watch a lot of their  videos. you focus on that narrow listening so that
147. 14:55you can understand this creator really well or  this Netflix series really well because this way
148. 15:02you get used to one accent, you get used to one  topic style. Probably this one creator is going
149. 15:08to use the same vocabulary over and over again  and so it becomes easier for you to memorize new
150. 15:15words that they're using and then gradually you  can diversify. This is personally what I did when
151. 15:20I was at the intermediate level. I practiced  narrow reading. Reading one series of books
152. 15:26and also narrow listening, watching one YouTube  creator and watching all of their videos. The
153. 15:33next little principle here is shadowing. And it  basically means that you listen to native audio
154. 15:38and then you simultaneously repeat it word for  word. You essentially shadow the speaker like
155. 15:45an echo. I made a whole video about shadowing  about a week ago. So I will leave the link in the
156. 15:51description for you to check it out later. Also  try to think in English and practice self-t talk.
157. 15:57Try to immerse your mind in English even when  you're alone. Narrate your actions or thoughts
158. 16:03internally. I like to use this rule. Everything  you have in your room, in your apartment,
159. 16:09in your house, you have to know how to say them  in English. So when we talk about immersion,
160. 16:14the main principle here is English has to become  a part of your daily life. It has to become a part
161. 16:21of you, something that is just so integral  to your everyday life. The more hours your
162. 16:28brain spends engaged with authentic English,  the more progress you will see, even if it's
163. 16:33gradual. Remember the vocabulary math I shared  with you at the beginning of this video? To pick
164. 16:39up all of these rare advanced words, you need  to encounter them many many times and immersion
165. 16:45ensures that you are getting those repetitions.  It also helps you develop this intuitive feel for
166. 16:51the language that textbooks alone can't provide.  It's, you know, when you ask a native speaker why
167. 16:58this phrase has to be constructed this way, like  a specific grammar rule, they say, "I don't know.
168. 17:04It just sounds right." The reason why it sounds  right to them is because they have this intuitive
169. 17:10feel for the language. And as a non-native  speaker, you can develop it, too. Strategy
170. 17:15number four that you can use is try to speak and  write beyond your comfort level. That can mean you
171. 17:22find conversation partners or tutors. The most  important thing is try to ask for corrections.
172. 17:29If you're trying to improve, if you're trying to  work on your fossilized mistakes, for example,
173. 17:34practice topic challenges, which means that  you choose a very interesting topic for you,
174. 17:40but a topic that you know you can go very deep on  and that basically helps you expand your overall
175. 17:46proficiency. Right now, the approach that I like  to follow is switching the topics very quickly.
176. 17:52For example, I just share with you guys, I read  this book about social media and anxiety. After
177. 17:57this book, I started reading a book on free diving  and the ocean, like a completely different topic,
178. 18:03and I'm switching them very often because I want  to practice those topic challenges. Also, public
179. 18:09speaking is a great example here. If you don't  have those public speaking opportunities at work,
180. 18:15you can just do it with your phone. Just record  like a 3inut video of yourself giving a talk on
181. 18:22something that you really like. You can talk  to Chad GPT. Ask ChBT to challenge you. And
182. 18:28finally here, try to write more. When you're  journaling your thoughts, try to include all
183. 18:34of the new words that you have memorized. I know  sometimes it is going to be difficult. Like today,
184. 18:40I mentioned that I learned the word incons like I  don't think I'm ever going to use it when I talk
185. 18:47about my daily life. But you can just say, "Oh,  you know, when you're journaling, today I learned
186. 18:53this new word and here is what it means." And you  know, maybe when I'm writing about something or
187. 18:59having a very professional conversation, I can  use it there at university, for example, or in
188. 19:04my research paper. What we're trying to do here  is we're trying to transfer all of your passive
189. 19:10vocabulary to your active vocabulary, at least a  little bit. Strategy number five is try to change
190. 19:18your learning methods. The idea is to continuously  surprise your brain with new stimuli so that
191. 19:24your brain can't go on autopilot. And novelty  can really restore the sense of progress and
192. 19:31achievement and excitement because you're trying  new things. So your brain is like, "Oh, we're
193. 19:36doing something new. We're trying a new learning  method or maybe watching a new YouTube creator."
194. 19:42Strategy number six is using neuralarning hacks.  Is basically using space repetition to memorize
195. 19:48new vocabulary. The app that I like to use is Ani.  I've talked about this app for so so many years
196. 19:56because I personally use it pretty much every  single week. The reason why this is a neuralarning
197. 20:02hack is because space repetition helps us fight  the forgetting curve. Because if you only see a
198. 20:10word once and then you never ever see it again.  This is what happens with your memory. Slowly
199. 20:15but surely you will forget this word. But space  repetition does something like this. You learn
200. 20:20the word, you start forgetting and then you see  it again and then you start forgetting and you
201. 20:24see it again. So basically you start acquiring  this word naturally because of space repetition.
202. 20:30Also when it comes to pronunciation a really nice  neuralarning hack is doing minimal pair training.
203. 20:37When you see words like sit and seat and you  try to pronounce them correctly like you know
204. 20:45the difference in pronunciation. Also please be  mindful of cognitive load. When you push yourself
205. 20:51to try new things to expose yourself to more  advanced content your brain will tire more quickly
206. 21:00and that is absolutely okay. So give yourself  enough rest, take breaks, and please sleep well.
207. 21:07Strategy number seven is getting a mentor. At  the very beginning of your language learning,
208. 21:12self-eing with free resources works amazing. But  at this intermediate plateau, what might really
209. 21:19help you is expert guidance. Maybe it's formal  classes or maybe it's purchasing a course that
210. 21:25you can take or finding a knowledgeable mentor  or coach like a person who has been through what
211. 21:31you're experiencing right now who has reached  this native like fluency because they can give
212. 21:37you tips. They can correct your path and they  can inspire you. I think that is absolutely
213. 21:42okay to seek help and seek guidance to stand on  the shoulders of experts rather than constantly
214. 21:50reinventing the wheel. That is what I do for  example in my handstand practice right here.
215. 21:55You guys can see my handstand kings. Yes. Um I  want to join a circus. No, I'm kidding. Obviously,
216. 22:04practicing handstands is something that gives me  a lot of joy. And yes, there are a lot of free
217. 22:10resources, free YouTube videos, but sometimes  what I need is another person to encourage me,
218. 22:16to mentor me, and to tell me that, you know, the  plateau I'm experiencing right now is absolutely
219. 22:23normal. Okay. And finally, our last strategy here  is going to be maintaining a positive mindset.
220. 22:30And honestly, I know it is hard. I know that  when you're stuck in this intermediate plateau,
221. 22:36trying to embrace it sometimes feels impossible.  In reality, hitting this intermediate plateau is
222. 22:44completely natural. It is a part of your learning  experience. And being stuck in this stage doesn't
223. 22:51mean that you're a failure. It doesn't mean that  you're failing. It is okay to be intermediate. It
224. 22:57is enough. It doesn't mean that you should stop  improving if your goal is becoming advanced,
225. 23:03but it does mean that you should stop  beating yourself up for not being C2 yet. So,
226. 23:09I think it's going to be it for today's video.  If you liked it, please don't forget to give it
227. 23:14a thumbs up and subscribe to my YouTube channel.  Don't forget that you can get access to the
228. 23:18presentation I shared in today's video by using  my link in the description. In today's video,
229. 23:23I talked a little bit about shadowing as an  amazing technique to improve your language skills.
230. 23:28If you want to learn how to shadow efficiently  and how to practice English speaking this way,
231. 23:34I highly recommend checking out this video right  here. Just click right here and I'll see you