How To Learn English - Use the Habit of Challenge + CELPIP Prep tips for Writing Section 1

Oh, hello there! Welcome to another edition of the Speak English Fearlessly podcast. Today we're going to be talking about the habit of challenge. The habit of challenge. You know, one of the things that I noticed about my growing Spanish skills when I was living in Mexico was that there was this little time period where it felt like my Spanish was

just going up and up and up and I was getting really well I was feeling like I was getting a lot better. I was able to talk with people more. I was able to to hear things more like I was sharing with you before. I was beginning to see changes happen in my ability to interact and use and understand Spanish and I was excited about it but there came this time where it just kind of plateaued.

it became flat and I wasn't growing anymore. I felt like I was using the same words all the time or it felt like I had somehow stopped making progress and I couldn't figure out what was going on and that was frustrating. I started to feel like I know I need to learn more but I don't know how to do it. I don't know how to get myself from where I am now to the next level.

But it all came down to I wasn't challenging myself anymore. I had gotten into a comfort zone. I was using the same words and phrases. The songs that I listened to in Spanish had become the same songs. The TV shows that I like to watch, like The Chavo de Ocho. At the beginning, that show was hard for me to understand, even though it was like very simple Spanish.

Once I got used to the words that they use, it didn't challenge me anymore. Or just going to kids movies. At the beginning that was super hard, but once I got used to it, it wasn't that challenging for me anymore. Do you see where I'm getting at? you can get to a place where you've developed your skills and the things

that you do each day are no longer pushing you outside of your envelope or outside of your area of comfort where at the beginning it was super challenging but now your skills have grown to the point and congratulations by the way if this is you, now you are realizing that, hmm, I'm not making the progress that I need to

be making anymore. And a big reason for that or a cause of that could be that you have stopped doing things that challenge you. So you need to start finding ways to increase the amount of challenge that you face.

For me, one of the things that I needed to start doing was to use my Spanish to make presentations. Actually, I worked in a church. And so, there came a point where my Spanish was good enough that I could start speaking,

like giving a little talk or a little presentation or sharing what I felt like God was doing in my life or what I was learning from the Bible, for example. And I remember the pastor inviting me to share. Ah, there we go.

That was a place that was way outside of my comfort zone. I had never made a presentation or shared something for a prolonged period of time in Spanish. So I felt afraid again.

Ooh boy, did I ever feel nervous and scared leading up to that presentation. I was scared. But you know what? That's something that you need to pay attention to.

When you're doing things that make you feel afraid, when you're doing things that make you feel nervous, that's a signal that you are stepping into something that is beyond your comfort zone. And that, my friend, is great.

You want to be stepping outside of your comfort zone, especially when you're learning a language, when you're learning English. You need to keep stepping out. And for me, one of the things that popped that comfort zone moment for me was starting

to make those presentations. And it took me a while to feel comfortable doing those things. And I don't think I will ever feel comfortable doing presentations, not at all. Even me talking to you and this camera, I've had to do a lot of self-work to make me

do this because I don't do it easily. It's hard for me. I'm an introvert. I prefer to be quiet.

I prefer to be with a small group of people, not speaking in front of large groups of people. But my progress, my continued progress with Spanish was sitting outside of my comfort zone.

And my comfort zone had grown because my Spanish skills had grown. And maybe that's something that is happening to you right now.

Or if it's not happening to you right now, You can file this habit away for a little bit of time because you're gonna need it soon if you don't need it already.

The point is you need to keep making yourself afraid. We don't like being afraid, do we? I hate being afraid. Ask my wife whenever we watch a movie that's scary,

she doesn't like to watch it with me because I get super scared and I'll grab her hand and I'll squeeze it really tight. But you need to be doing that kind of thing with your English skills from time to time as a habit on a regular basis.

You should be doing things with your English that make you feel nervous. If you're just getting started, that could be pushing yourself to go to the grocery store and talking with the cashier. You know when they ask, did you find everything that you needed? That's an opportunity.

And it reminds me of a story that happened to me in Mexico. I'll share another story with you, but that very thing was a huge thing of fear for me. When I was starting to go grocery shopping by myself,

at first I was terrified for that moment of lining up in front of the cashier, knowing that was gonna be my turn next knowing that they were going to ask me if I had found everything that I needed. At first,

I didn't know what they were asking me. So I couldn't answer and I just felt awkward and shy and like I just wanted to disappear. You know, I didn't want them to ask me any questions. I just wanted them to take my money and let me go. I didn't want to talk to them. But once I found out what was happening, what they were asking me and I had to get my friends to translate for

me so I could understand what they were asking and what it sounded like, what those words were that they were using, I had to learn them. I had to learn how to recognize them so that I could