10 - Start Where You Are: Finding the English That Moves You Forward

I want to show you two different people with one common interest:

to communicate in English to get a promotion at work.

Let me give you a bit of context here:

Both of them live in the US.

They know a lot of people who speak Spanish, so to socialize, they don’t really need English.

And right now, they each have a job where their current English level — even though it’s basic — is “enough.”

But both of them feel they could be in a different position within the same company if they improved their English.

Person #1 is Cinthia. She works in a restaurant, in the kitchen. She prepares desserts. She makes them look good and delicious. The job is OK: good hours, good salary.

But where she thrives is in customer service. She loves interacting with people. She’s really good at it. It’s her charm, you know? She’d really like to get a floor position as a hostess: welcoming customers, managing reservations, leading people to their seats.

Person #2 is Alejandra. She works for a pharmaceutical lab managing stock and supplies. She doesn’t need to interact with others that much. There’s a small stockroom team. But she’s interested in becoming a team leader. She’s been a leader before, back in her country, and she knows she’s very good at it: getting to know her team members, interviewing applicants, evaluating performance, optimizing processes. She loves that.

Both of them have tried English courses, but they feel they don’t make progress.

They feel the urgency to improve their English communication skills to apply for those positions in the near future.

They know they need to improve their English.

But how do they do that?

What do you think they need as a next step to make this dream a reality?

For me, it’s getting help to learn English. But not just “taking action” for the sake of it.

For me, the key is getting specific about the English they need.

And this is the second key to English fluency:

To learn the English that is directly connected to your needs, interests, and the communication scenarios you’re involved in.

Let’s go back to Cinthia for a moment.

She needs English for restaurants. That’s her urgency.

But let’s say she signs up for an English course and starts learning about travel, hobbies, and places around the world. She probably won’t find this useful right now. Because, taking into account her urgency and her motivation, that content is not directly applicable.

And don’t get me wrong. English courses are great and all. I’ve taken English courses (they worked for me), and I’ve taught English courses.

I don’t know if I’ve told you this:

when I was like 23 or 24, I was crazy: I was studying at uni and working as a preschool teacher, but the salary wasn’t good enough for me, so I took a second job in a call center. I hated it. I survived thanks to my friends Gustavo, Ana, and Jose... love you guys! And the payment was good. I doubled my teacher salary.

Anyway, before starting the actual job, I spent 2 or 3 weeks in their English training. I mean, I already spoke English, but they sent new hires to learn the English specific for call centers. Brilliant, right?

And I think this is essential for most adult English learners:

Define the English you really need right now. Learn it. Speak it. Apply it.

And grow from there.

I have this vision of English learning, for it to be more effective.

And I mean time-effective and cost-effective.

Close your eyes and try to visualize this with me:

I see you, English learner, standing at the center of a group of concentric circles.

A big circle with smaller circles inside, but all of them have you at the center.

The smallest circle, the one closest to you, is the English you need to learn with more urgency. Because you need it at work or because it’s a topic you’re really interested in.

That’s the English you need now.

Once you’re confident communicating with this English (because REMEMBER: it’s not about memorizing — it’s about using these words, grammar, and expressions in communication), you can move to the next circle:

other scenarios where English would be useful for you.

And so on.

And this is exactly what I do as a Neurolanguage Coach with my clients in Focus&Flow: my personalized coaching process.

Let’s take Cinthia again:

She needs English for restaurants.

Let’s make it more specific:

She needs restaurant vocabulary: parts of the restaurant, things you find in the kitchen, things the waiters use, understanding a menu, etc.

She needs to know common expressions to welcome customers. She needs to manage reservations.

You see where I’m going with this?

Getting very specific about the language and skills you need to master now.

And this is what we call mechanical goals and mastery goals in NLC. I start with this with all my coaching clients.

Once Cinthia communicates confidently in these scenarios, she can “jump” to the next circle. Maybe now she wants to feel more confident when she goes to an electronics store. She wants to know what to call different electronic items, ask for prices, warranties, return an item…

The English learning process begins with the real needs of the learner.

In the previous episode, we talked about the first key to English fluency, which is emotional regulation: how you need a calm brain to use the English you know in a conversation, and how to get there. If you haven’t listened to it, go check it out. I even invite you to watch my free masterclass "Bye Bye Nervios", which is so useful to manage nervousness and anxiety when speaking English.

And today, I invite you to clearly define the English you need to master now, the English that will make a difference in your life.

And I don’t mean big changes.

I mean small shifts that’ll make you feel more capable and confident in English.

Like, you’re a parent.

And you know some English. Let’s say you’re B1, intermediate.

And you want to help your child with their English homework.

Here, you have a specific scenario.

You can start improving your English from that.

Just imagine how you’d feel if you helped your child with their homework in English: instructions in English, questions in English…

sharing a moment in English with your child.

This builds confidence for you. A small scenario that makes a difference in your life.

And once you’re confident helping your child with their homework, maybe you want to interact with their teacher in English, to know how the day was.

You know, that brief end-of-day chat when you pick up your child at school.

You can totally do it.

And you don’t have to wait 2 or 3 years to get there.

All the opposite.

You start from there:

from your need,

from what you’re interested in doing.

And you can do it by yourself too.

We have access to tons of information now.

And we can even use AI for this.

You know… this just gave me an idea.

Maybe I could create and test a ChatGPT prompt for you to get specific vocabulary for specific situations: the most common and natural ones.

Would you like me to do that?

It wouldn’t be easy, because I’d have to test it first, but if it’s something you’d find helpful, send me a DM on Instagram and let me know.

I love creating resources that are useful for you, and if this resource would help you take a step toward your fluent-self, I’ll be happy to help.

English can be the obstacle or bridge to your dreams.

I’m sure you’ve tried to get where you want with English.

Maybe you’re getting there

Or maybe you feel stuck ,lost, and you don’t know what else to do.

So far, I’ve shared with you two keys to English fluency.

And what they have in common is that you are the center of them.

Speaking English fluently is not like a cooking recipe you just follow and that’s it.

Your English journey cannot be replicated by someone else.

It’s a self-discovery process:

What you need

What works for you

and what doesn’t.

So, before we close, I invite you to think about:

What’s your current situation with English?

What’s the thing you want to do or have in your life that’s connected to speaking English fluently?