In Case You Didn't Know, I Learned English Before Coming to the U.S.

I didn’t learn English in an English-speaking country.
In fact, no one in my family spoke English.

But I still became fluent—and you can too.

Do you want to find out how I became fluent in English?
Here’s how:

1️⃣ I Made Podcasts My Classroom 🎧

I listened to podcasts daily—repeating, mimicking, and taking notes. If you’re not listening to ESL podcasts, you are missing out.

Podcasts are the best and easiest way to improve your English on the go.
Best part? They’re free! (By the way, I just dropped a podcast episode on this topic—listen here!

2️⃣ I Practiced with Friends, Not Just Natives 👥

In college, some classmates and I spoke only English almost all the time. In the beginning, we spoke broken English, but soon our English got better and we became more fluent and confident.
Start an "English-only" WhatsApp group— with some friends and push each other to improve!

3️⃣ I Joined Online Global Communities 🌍

I was a part of several Facebook groups and group chats. This helped me connect with so many people from other countries. I actually made some genuine friends from a few different countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Indonesia and more. You can do the same. Join Telegram chats, WhatsApp groups, Instagram channels, language apps—engage, ask, and make mistakes!
The more you participate, the faster you’ll learn.

4️⃣ I Recorded Myself (Yes, I Know It’s Awkward!) 🎤

I recorded voice notes reviewing my week, talking about my day and sharing random stuff. This helped me become more aware of my own mistakes and weak areas in pronunciation.

By the way, some of those old recordings make me cringe. 😬
But hey, it worked.

So you need to do the same! Record your voice and take videos of yourself and play them back—you’ll spot mistakes and improve fast.

5️⃣ I Created an English “Bubble” 🛋️

I switched my phone, laptop, and everything to English. I even used my dorm’s windows as a vocabulary notepad to practice new words on. I would write down the news words with a marker and keep them until I had learned them by heart.
You can do the same. Watch movies with English subtitles, read short stories, write new words on sticky notes and stick them to the fridge and the walls in your room—immerse yourself!

Fluency isn’t about perfection.
It’s about progress, consistency, and effort.

Try these for 6 months—then look back at how far you’ve come!

🎧 Listen to this episode [Five Free Things I Did…] on the same topic where I share more details about these strategies.

Comment something that you learned in this newsletter! 💬