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Hello everyone! Many students asked me how I learned English.
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My answer is quite simple.
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I never paid attention in English classes in high school.
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That's not a joke!
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Don't take it the wrong way.
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I love my high school teachers. They were amazing!
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The thing is, I hated textbooks so much. They were so boring!
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So I read lots of novels. I watched TV series, especially those TV shows.
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They were so interesting.
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I loved them. I spent time on it EVERY SINGLE DAY.
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Most importantly, I was a little bit dramatic while I was watching the shows.
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We will get to that later.
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When it comes to learning English, there's an annoying myth.
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I can't speak English fluently because I have a limited vocabulary.
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And...
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Grammar it's not my friend!
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Remember how you learned your mother tongue?
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Let's say the first day you learned the word "apple."
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Your mom and daddy introduced apple to you.
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They kept chanting "apple".
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And you were like what on earth is apple?
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Then you found, hmm... it smells so good. It's tasty!
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So you happily shouted " Apple! Yummy!"
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Your mommy and daddy were so happy!
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They even posted a video of you trying apples on Facebook.
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And got thousands of likes.
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So how did you learn the word "apple"?
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It's a connection between the word and all the vivid memories.
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Including your parents' smiley faces, the taste of the apple, and you will never forget.
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To put it another way, you have to feel the language when you learn it.
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It's like when we live in a foreign country, we soon pick up the language.
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You must be thinking now...
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Great! Serena, You know what?
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I cannot move to another country,
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so I don't have an all-English environment.
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You can create the environment yourself.
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Here are some tips:
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First, don't think that you have to learn general English that you can use in all kinds of situations in like three weeks or three months.
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It will be a long journey.
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So you have to break it into small and actionable steps.
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For example, if you are a foodie, start with food, find interesting videos online about your favorite food,
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pick up those words and use it immediately.
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By doing so, you won't feel stressed out.
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Because you only need a certain amount of vocabulary to describe the items you like.
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That also means, you will be willing to practice on a daily basis.
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Second, let's talk about shadowing.
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I know you've heard that! But, did you do it right?
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Why shadowing is helpful?
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It's for us to have the connections between the situation in the TV shows and the spoken English.
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When you shadow, you not only learn what you're saying, you also have to pretend that you are the actor or actress in the TV shows.
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That's what I did when I was in high school.
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For example, when the actor shouted "I can't believe it."
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I would say "I can't believe it!"
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Why dramatic shadowing can help you learn English effectively?
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Because you will have vivid memories.
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Just like the first time you tried apples, and learned the word "apple".
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So, let's learn English together and have fun!