Today, we're gonna have a very informal video.

We're gonna be chit chatting and I'll share my experience

learning English to a pretty high level.

On my channel, I already have a couple of videos

sharing my experience of English learning, where I started,

how old I was

and how I managed to learn English to an advanced level.

But today, I guess I'll give you some tips

on how you can reach C2 in English

or become advanced or fluent in English.

And again, I also share my story

because I feel like sharing my experience

will really, really help you understand that it's possible.

Everything is possible,

especially if you wanna learn a language

to a very high level.

So let's start with my English learning journey.

It's very common in Russia to start learning English

when you are in elementary school and I wasn't an exception.

But when I was a kid, I hated English guys.

You have to understand that I did not like English

and I didn't want even study English at all.

My favorite foreign language was French.

And I spent all my time,

I think when I was in middle school, studying French.

I was in love with the French culture,

with the French language.

And English was like, okay, it exists,

but I don't really care about it.

So my English was never that good.

My French was way better than my English.

But then when I was in high school,

I realized that I actually really do need English

because English is everywhere and French is not everywhere.

So I kind of pivoted and I decided to study English instead.

I didn't know why?

Maybe I was a teenager and it was like,

I need a change in my life.

And this is how I discovered American YouTube.

To be honest, first of all,

I obviously did not understand anything

because people were speaking so freaking fast.

But I was just so thirsty for knowledge,

because I realized that if you know English,

there are so many more books you can read.

There are so many cool YouTubers you can watch in English.

And I was just completely fascinated with American YouTube.

And it started subscribing to a lot of American YouTubers.

But at first, obviously I did not understand anything.

I was using subtitles all the time.

Sometimes they weren't accurate.

But I never gave up because I really, really loved it.

And also I was preparing for graduation exams.

So I needed English to go to university.

And it was like, I might as well study English really hard.

And slowly, but surely, I started to fall in love

with English more and more.

And then when I went to college,

English was just a part of my life.

I loved English.

I guess, as you can see,

I never went to an English speaking country.

The first time I went to an English speaking country

was last year.

So yeah, the main progress was made

before I even went to New York

because a year ago I visited New York.

It was amazing, but I almost never talked to anyone

because it was during COVID

and obviously I didn't really have a lot of friends there.

So me being there

didn't really help me learn English at all.

It was just a very interesting experience,

but I believe in this thing

that helps me learn English every single day,

it's just you sitting at home, maybe talking to someone.

And that's why I think it's such a myth

that you can only learn a language

if you go to an English speaking country,

because a couple of years ago I had a student and he told me

that he thinks that he will never learn English

just because he doesn't live in an English speaking country.

I mean, of course, it's better if you have this opportunity

to go and travel and especially live

in an English speaking country.

But if you don't have this opportunity, it's fine.

It doesn't mean you will never learn English.

But also guys understand that there are so many people

who move to an English speaking country

and they never learn a language to a good level.

Moving to an English speaking country is not enough.

You actually need to learn the language by yourself.

So as you can see from my journey,

what really helped me is making English a part of my life.

In almost every single video, I always tell you guys

try to make English a part of your life.

It's very easy to do.

Maybe at first you might think

it's a little bit challenging, it's difficult,

but then you'll realize that it's actually very, very easy.

For example, if you're like playing video games,

you can play them in English

instead of in your native language.

If you like reading, for example, like me, I love reading.

So I always read in English.

I only, I exclusively read in English.

I don't read in my native language

because I just don't want to,

and I wanna improve my English.

So that's why I do that.

And also right now, my job is 100% in English

because I make videos in English.

I prepare for my videos in English.

I have my own English speaking club.

So all of this helps me improve my English too.

And I obviously hope you're also improving

your English with me.

And before we move on to our next step,

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Okay, guys, let's move on to my tip number four,

in my English learning journey from beginner to advanced.

You have to learn the basics of English.

I know that there are so many people who hate grammar

and they just don't like memorizing all the rules.

They find it boring but guys,

without the basics of the language,

you will never be able to become advanced.

because being advanced is not just communicating freely,

it's also having their right grammar, right?

Grammar is extremely important

because you might be a great communicator,

but if you wanna take your English one step further,

you need to work on your grammar.

And guys, I always mentioned this grammar series

called "Essential Grammar In Use"

because they helped me so much with my grammar.

And all the links to the books,

to order the resources are gonna be in the description.

Tip number five.

Don't stress about speaking: focus on the input.

Speaking is output, but listening and reading are input.

So what does it mean?

When you speak,

you're ready to use the knowledge you have, right?

And you try to speak in English, but when you read,

when you listen to something, you're learning something new.

So you didn't even need to do much.

Because at the very beginning,

when you first start learning a new language and especially

if you don't live in the country where English is spoken,

you will have a lot of trouble finding opportunities

to speak the language.

And it's totally okay.

And instead of complaining about it, and instead of saying,

oh, yeah, I don't live in an English speaking country,

for example, right now,

I don't live in an English speaking country,

but I don't complain.

Instead, I try to focus on the input.

And I know that if I have this opportunity

where I'll be able to practice English, I will,

I will start speaking English.

But every single day,

it's totally fine to just read something

or listen to something without speaking.

I have an interview on my channel with a polyglot

and guys you should definitely check this interview out.

It was absolutely amazing.

And one of his tips was that you shouldn't worry too much

about the output.

Input is the most important thing.

But obviously if you wanna become fluent in the language,

output is also very, very important.

And so if you feel like right now,

you really lack the speaking practice in English,

I highly recommend you check out my English speaking club,

because there, we all practice English.

You practice English with me,

you speak English with me and a lot of other students.

So it's a great opportunity for you to speak,

to focus on the output from the comfort of your own home.

The link to my English club will also be in the description.

Tip number six that I can give you is that I believe

that listening is the most important part

of language learning.

So listen to as many podcasts as you can.

Watch as many movies as you can,

because I think this is the most important thing.

Because when I was a student,

so like in middle school and high school,

I only focused on grammar.

And I still remember

how my listening comprehension was absolutely terrible.

I could not understand anything.

I thought people were speaking too fast.

I thought their accent was different, but in reality,

I just didn't spend any time listening.

So if you also feel like your listening comprehension

is not that great, it means you have to do it more.

When we feel like we're not good at something,

it just means that you have to keep on doing it,

and you will become great at it later on, in the future.

And here again, a really good thing you can do

is just watch YouTube.

YouTube videos are free.

You don't need to pay to watch them.

And you can find so many different YouTubers