English Learning Tips & Challenges: Stories from International Students
In today's English lesson, let's discover the unique English learning journeys of four international students as they share their personal stories. In this video, they provide practical tips on how they mastered the language, from the best resources to effective study strategies. Whether you're just starting or looking to improve, their insights will guide you on your path to English fluency.
Each student also opens up about the challenges they faced while learning English, from cultural barriers to language difficulties. Their experiences highlight the obstacles many learners encounter and how to overcome them. Watch now to gain valuable advice and inspiration for your own English learning journey!
Our lovely guests in this video:
Iliana (French)
Andrew (Chinese)
Nadja (Swiss)
Abdulwahid (Saudi)
As always, let me know what you think in the comments below!
I hope you enjoy this lesson!
Welcome to Language Institute Pro, your ultimate hub for language learning and English education. Our channel provides a rich array of resources to help you learn English effectively, from English grammar and English vocabulary to English pronunciation and beyond.
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Explore our interactive English exercises and English learning videos for engaging ways to enhance your English skills improvement. Our English tutorials offer clear explanations and English language tips for more effective learning.
Beyond English, we also provide valuable insights into language learning in general, with cultural insights and tips for effective communication skills. Our channel supports language proficiency and language fluency tips to help you master any language you’re interested in.
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Each student also opens up about the challenges they faced while learning English, from cultural barriers to language difficulties. Their experiences highlight the obstacles many learners encounter and how to overcome them. Watch now to gain valuable advice and inspiration for your own English learning journey!
Our lovely guests in this video:
Iliana (French)
Andrew (Chinese)
Nadja (Swiss)
Abdulwahid (Saudi)
As always, let me know what you think in the comments below!
I hope you enjoy this lesson!
Welcome to Language Institute Pro, your ultimate hub for language learning and English education. Our channel provides a rich array of resources to help you learn English effectively, from English grammar and English vocabulary to English pronunciation and beyond.
Our English language courses offer something for everyone, including free English lessons for those just starting out and online English classes for more structured learning. Whether you’re an English for beginners or looking to refine your skills, our English grammar lessons and English vocabulary building exercises are here to support you.
Improve your skills with practical English speaking practice and English listening practice. Our content includes English fluency exercises, English writing tips, and advanced English grammar to help you gain English proficiency and boost your English language practice.
Explore our interactive English exercises and English learning videos for engaging ways to enhance your English skills improvement. Our English tutorials offer clear explanations and English language tips for more effective learning.
Beyond English, we also provide valuable insights into language learning in general, with cultural insights and tips for effective communication skills. Our channel supports language proficiency and language fluency tips to help you master any language you’re interested in.
Subscribe to Language Institute Pro for comprehensive content and start your journey toward mastering English and other languages with confidence!
Transcript
00:00So just overall, I enjoyed that.
00:01To be able to really tell others what you really want to say.
00:04I loved the new songs, I care.
00:06But other than that, it was fine.
00:08I mean...
00:09Yeah, everything is fine.
00:13Hello, my name is Mati from POC English.
00:16Learning English can be challenging.
00:18It requires consistency, discipline, a good teacher, and plenty of resources.
00:23But if you power through and overcome these challenges,
00:26it can drastically change your life.
00:28Now, in this lesson, I have some amazing guests for you
00:31who are going to share their journey of learning English with us.
00:34First, let's get to know them.
00:36Hi, my name is Nadia and I'm Swiss.
00:38Hi, my name is Eliana and I'm French.
00:40My name is Andrew and I'm from China.
00:42Hi, my name is Abdulwahid, I'm from Saudi Arabia.
00:44Can you tell us briefly about yourself?
00:47Yeah, sure.
00:48Grew up in Switzerland, studied business,
00:51then came to London.
00:54Again, studying business, basically.
00:58What else?
00:59Where are you studying right now?
01:01At Imperial.
01:02Forgot to mention that.
01:03It's a big thing.
01:04I was born and raised in China.
01:06I've only been to the UK for my second year here.
01:10And I have a fitness fashion clothing brand back in China.
01:16I did it since 2018.
01:18And overall, I'm a fitness active person,
01:22but with a passion for entrepreneurship.
01:25So, I'm French.
01:26I've been raised in France, in Paris.
01:29In the 16th arrondissement of Paris,
01:33I played piano my whole life.
01:35So, it's been almost 22 years.
01:37I'm 24, but it's been 22 years that I'm playing.
01:42I studied here at Imperial this year,
01:45before I did ESCP, a French business school.
01:48So, I traveled, I lived in...
01:51So, the first year was in London.
01:52The second year was in Torino, in Italy.
01:55The third year was in Berlin.
01:57So, it was really nice.
02:00What else?
02:01Yeah, I love London.
02:04I really love this city.
02:06And this is part of my identity.
02:08I really, really feel good here.
02:09Are you planning to stay?
02:10Yeah, I'm doing everything to stay here.
02:13My name is Abdul Wahid, as you know.
02:1528 years old.
02:17One of the oldest in class.
02:19Nobody beats me.
02:20Okay.
02:22I studied product design.
02:26I graduated in 2019, before COVID.
02:30So, I'm one of the golden age ones.
02:34No COVID graduating.
02:36And I worked for sales for four years.
02:40And I decided to take a turn in my life
02:44and take a master's degree in Imperial.
02:47And now it's all finished.
02:50We go back to the professional work.
02:52How did you learn English?
02:54Long journey.
02:57So, in Switzerland, when I used to go to school,
03:01you start learning English at age 13.
03:05Now it's earlier.
03:08So, 13 at school.
03:09Before that, I tried reading books,
03:12like Winnie the Pooh, for example, stuff like this.
03:15So, children books in English,
03:18because I have an older brother.
03:20And he, well, he was able to speak English.
03:23So, I wanted to be able to speak English.
03:26Watched loads of movies, first with subtitles.
03:29Afterwards, I, well, learned to switch them off.
03:33All the grammar theory and all of that.
03:35Been in school for six years.
03:38And then I went to uni.
03:42Also had one English class,
03:44which helped.
03:45And then I started doing,
03:48like engaging in extracurricular activities
03:52where international people were involved.
03:54So, I actually learned to apply English.
03:58By that time, I had already taken my Cambridge Advanced exam.
04:02But that was in a very, like, setting that was very fixed.
04:07But if you, as soon as you actually make international friends
04:11and just, like, engage, this helped.
04:14And then, well, I came to London last year.
04:17And that helped a lot.
04:19Just because you use English on a daily basis from morning till night.
04:24It was tough because, well, your brain stops working sometimes
04:29with your native languages.
04:32But because it's such an international environment,
04:35people are used to that.
04:37So, I'd say the best thing or the most helpful thing I did
04:42was go live somewhere where you need this language.
04:48Same with French.
04:49I went to Geneva.
04:50Had to use, or got to use French on a daily basis.
04:53And this is actually where you notice you, like,
04:58you notice big improvement.
05:00Of course, theory helps from school.
05:02But the actually important thing for me was application.
05:06I don't know, from TV shows?
05:08Or, like, yeah, just picking up, like, learning from others.
05:12Because, like, I will observe how others speak their English
05:15and, like, sort of try to learn from them.
05:17Did you go to any classes or institutes or online courses?
05:21Nothing?
05:22Yeah.
05:22So, just by watching movies, TV shows?
05:25And listening and learning actively, I think, yeah.
05:28Interesting.
05:29But for how long were you learning in this way?
05:32I mean, we do have an English class, like, back in high school and middle school.
05:37So, like, if that does count, so it should be a long time.
05:39Okay.
05:40Yeah.
05:41I think I've been obsessed with this language since I'm very young.
05:45I really, like, you know, I was watching interviews of, like, celebrities, actors,
05:49and I was like, oh my God, I need to speak this language.
05:51I'm obsessed.
05:52And then I went to, I was selected because I was one, like,
05:55I was one of the best students in my high school.
05:57I was selected to do an exchange with the Westminster School.
06:02And so, when I came here, it was like I was 16 years old, something like that,
06:07or even, like, younger.
06:09And I was like, this is my dream.
06:11I want to live here.
06:12So, when I came back, I asked my mom to buy me journals, you know, English journals.
06:18I was, like, having my tea in the morning with my journal, and I was learning like that.
06:21And also Harry Potter.
06:22I'm a fan.
06:23So, yeah.
06:24Cool.
06:24How did I learn English?
06:25Yeah, it's interesting because in my country, they don't teach you English from early age.
06:32So, I had to start from high school, and then before university,
06:37I went to an English school for about a year to get the IELTS certificate to enter university.
06:45So, I spent some time.
06:47And I would say my English was really good after three years of practicing,
06:55and it was through university.
06:57Next question is, what motivated you to learn English?
07:02So, as a child, everyone around me emphasized how important English is and will be in the future.
07:12So, definitely this, because as a young child, I would never realize myself, basically.
07:17And also, I'm very much into languages.
07:20So, just overall, I enjoy learning languages.
07:23And I'd argue where I live in this part of the world, English is the most important language to learn.
07:32And now, even more, I want to go into the whole business startup world.
07:38If you don't speak English, it's tough.
07:41And also, English just helps you to bridge gaps and talk to everyone, everyone and anyone.
07:49Of course, it's cool if you know the local language,
07:51but English already helps you to approach and, yeah, just like approach people.
07:57You said you like learning languages. How many languages do you speak?
08:02I'd say four languages, well.
08:05So, I'm bilingual, so two native languages, then English.
08:09French is conversational, and then I understand and speak some Spanish and Italian.
08:17And then you can decide for yourself if you want to treat Swiss German and German separately.
08:22So, six or seven, but well, only four.
08:27I mean, it's a quite useful means to, like, know more people.
08:31Like, you can really be able to know the culture, communicate with them, rather than just say, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:38I think my love for this language, the fact that I wanted to be understood by the people that are living here.
08:46Yeah, I think I really, really love this language.
08:49Well, basically, because I wanted to study in the UK, so I did my undergrad in the UK.
08:54So, that's the main part. And other than that, also, it's the language of science in this age.
09:02So, you have to learn English to basically know about everything you want to, on the Internet or anywhere.
09:09So, it's very important.
09:11What part of learning English was the most challenging for you?
09:15Well, different things.
09:17If you want a content answer, then I struggled a lot with choosing the tenses to use.
09:28So, this was just something that our teacher was very strict on, which is good.
09:34But I struggled a lot with learning when to use what tense.
09:38And also, I struggled choosing which and what.
09:43But on a more general basis, because I'm a bit introverted, conversational English, basically.
09:52Just because, well, I was ashamed a bit of my accent.
09:56And of course, it got better, but I was ashamed of my mistakes and all of that.
10:01Back home, it's no problem, because everyone has the same accent or speaks the same.
10:07But if you then go abroad, then people speak better English.
10:10And you're like, oh, well.
10:12But that's normal, I guess.
10:15But I'd actually say, for all the languages I've learned, actually go out there in the real world and apply it.
10:24Because, for example, via text, you can think about it.
10:27You can use Deeple, Google Translate, whatever.
10:30But if you're at the store and you need to ask the shop assistant something, you need to react in the situation.
10:42Which can be tough, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you feel.
10:46You brought up your accent.
10:48Have you ever tried to lose your accent or change your accent to American or British?
10:55Well, as you can hear, I tend to speak more British English.
11:00But, I mean, there's a decision at some point that you can take.
11:05I mean, my teacher back in high school was British.
11:09So that's for sure some influence.
11:12But then most movies are in American English.
11:16And would I never have adapted, let's say, proper English?
11:21I still have an accent, but it's better English than if I just would naturally pronounce the words with a Swiss German or Romance pronunciation.
11:32I would sound differently, but wrong.
11:35So I'm not trying to hide it.
11:37But, of course, you want to speak proper English.
11:42At first, I would say it was the grammar, because we were quite strict on the grammar, because we were preparing for all kinds of exams.
11:53So we were quite strict on that.
11:55But then after a certain phase, I started to understand it's just a language.
11:59So the main purpose here is that you need to be able to really tell others what you really want to say, instead of just focusing and struggling with the grammar.
12:09So I would say it would be last year when I first came to the UK.
12:14It was a bit difficult for me to understand the accent.
12:17And we think that people who speak really fast at that time couldn't really adapt to that.
12:21But now I think it's better.
12:24I think the most challenging is learning the grammar.
12:29It's not that difficult, but learning the grammar, but practice it, to really apply it in everyday when you're talking fast, for example.
12:37Sometimes when it's not natural, you forget your grammar when you're talking, because you don't think every second of the day when you're talking.
12:45And also the vocabulary is really important, because the more you know, the more you can actually express yourself.
12:52So it's really important.
12:54Reading.
12:56So I generally dislike reading.
12:59But it was the most challenging one, especially in IELTS.
13:04It was the lowest score, because of the time constraint.
13:08But other than that, it was fine.
13:12Everything is fine.
13:14How important is learning English these days?
13:16It's really, really important, because most of the world is speaking English for the business and to make yourself understood.
13:27So I think it's really, really essential.
13:31I think it's still quite important, though.
13:34Although you have the AI and everything, it sort of decreases the barrier for language.
13:40But still, you are the one doing the talking and listening.
13:44So if you have a machine in between, it still works, but it's not that convenient, though.
13:51How important?
13:52I think it's very important.
13:54But most importantly, in my opinion, is not to forget your original language, your native language.
14:02Some people just focus on English so much, they actually are not that good in their first mother tongue.
14:12What advice would you give someone who's just started learning English or is trying to improve their level of English?
14:20Immerse yourself as soon as possible.
14:26If you like to, in the culture, but at least just in general.
14:32Try to get as many touch points as you can.
14:35Listen to English music.
14:36If I'm saying English, I mean American, British, Australian, whatever.
14:40But English music, movies.
14:43Try to read something.
14:44You can start off with children's books or just articles.
14:48And then move your way up to more complex things.
14:54If you can, find people that you can use English with on a daily basis.
15:00Don't be ashamed, because at the beginning it will be hard.
15:04But if you never overcome your comfort zone, then you won't speak English.
15:11And if you have the chance, it's best to actually go to a place where English is spoken.
15:20Advice? Listening more, I think.
15:22I think listening is the key thing here.
15:25Because when I watch those TV shows, I try to turn off the subtitles for a while.
15:30Just to try to see if I can catch up.
15:35I would say to read a lot.
15:39As much as possible.
15:41To listen to English for podcasts, news.
15:44I was listening to news every morning in my shower.
15:47I love the news.
15:48So I was always putting the news on my TV with my breakfast.
15:53Or listening in the shower.
15:54And listen to English a lot.
15:57Also learn the lyrics of some songs that you love.
16:01So you can really memorize the vocabulary.
16:05And try to create a notebook with the vocabulary.
16:10It's really important to have one notebook that you can bring everywhere you can read before going to bed.
16:14And then you can learn the vocabulary like that.
16:17Just focus on the language so much that you stop speaking your own language.
16:24For this time, for this period of time.
16:26Because any time you stop practicing, your language gets weaker.
16:31It's like the muscles.
16:32So if you stop practicing, your muscles get weaker.
16:35But as soon as you get back to practicing, it will get stronger.
16:39I want you to teach us something in your mother tongue.
16:44Say it again because I want to repeat.
16:45Not bad, not bad.
17:08The second part is 好的一天.
17:09The first part is 祝你有 好的一天.
17:16Something simple so I can also say.
17:18Simple.
17:19No, I can say...
17:24Yeah, perfect.
17:25Which means I love Paris, I assume.
17:26Yeah, exactly.
17:27Cool, cool.
17:29This is in my dialect, Saudi dialect.
17:31Okay.
17:32So it's...
17:33Let's go step by step.
17:34Tell me what to say.
17:42Again.
17:45I hope you found the stories and tips from our incredible guests insightful and helpful.
17:51A huge thank you to everyone for sharing their unique experiences and advice.
17:56Remember, learning a language is a personal journey with its own challenges and rewards.
18:02Reflect on what you've learned today
18:04and think about how you can apply these insights to your own English studies.
18:09And don't forget, our guests might be checking the comments,
18:12so feel free to show them some love.
18:14As always, don't forget to give this video a thumbs up.
18:17And if you're new to my channel, click subscribe.
18:19See ya.