원어민도 놀라게 한 영어 공부법! 영어에 미쳤더니 인생이 바뀌었어요!

I honestly thought you were gyo po.

Don't try to be gyo po because you're Korean. You need to make as many grammatical errors as possible. I watch for over 5 hours every day. Every day.

That is truly natural English. Welcome back to Lunch Hour English. Today's guest teaches English at Google, RealClass, and more, and she is going to teach you how to overcome English in a fun and natural way.

Hi! Hi everyone! I'm Tina. Nice to meet you.

Can you please introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Tina. I'm very happy to be here. I love Callie Anderson.

I love you!

I've been teaching English for over 11 years. Age range would be from 20 to 80 years old.

That speaks volumes about you as a teacher.

I once worked as an interpreter, event organizer at US Embassy. All those experiences let me to be who I am.

So we taught together at RealClass. I don't think I ever met somebody like you. You always came in with a big smile on your face, brought great energy to the table.

I felt the same way about Callie! People now know your energy, and that's what we need in this era, I would say, because, you know, there is artificial intelligence, but at the same time, certain things are irreplaceable, like you, Kelly! The videos are very inspirational because they're not just there to teach English, but they're there to help students enjoy their English journey with you, build healthy English habits.

I watched your content. You are in a situation and then you teach English that applies directly to what you're doing. That's something I try to do in my videos as well because people see what's actually happening and can apply it then to their own life. I just wanted to ask you a little bit about how you think that can help students learning English.

Learning English is all about like real-life training. What eventually helped me improve improve my English was watching Oprah Winfrey talk show. I watched for over 5 hours every day, every day. All the conversations they had inspired me to learn English. It was not about the English sentences I learned from the textbook. It was like, wow, people actually say that? That's what led me to improve my English and at the same time have more fun.

The start of your English learning journey was with Oprah Winfrey?

Yes. She doesn't know that I exist. Hi, Oprah!

Oprah, please! That is truly natural English.

Even though you get good grades on TOEIC and everything, it's like different when you speak with native speakers. So you gotta have practice.

Did you ever study abroad? Tell me about your English learning journey.

I studied abroad, you know, short period of time. So I would say like 7 and a half months in total.

I honestly thought you were gilpo . You've only spent 7 months abroad, so you've done the majority of your English learning right here in Korea. Yeah. What's your advice for people doing the same? How can they practice speaking English speaking and how can they improve? Watch Callie's videos.

I used to talk to myself in English a lot. If that becomes your habit, then when you are in the real life situation, you just naturally speak English in that way. But for some people, they could feel awkward. I feel like I'm making a lot of grammatical mistakes. That's what I'm talking about. You need to make as many grammatical errors as possible. Those experiences can be a really firm foundation for you to know that, oh yeah, it's okay to make Right? I'm just a human being who enjoys speaking English. That growth mindset really helps you to learn English, to go the extra mile in whatever you do.

I'm not speaking perfectly 100% of the time. Natural everyday English is not 100% grammatically correct.

My students have been asking me, "How can I speak like Kyopo? How can I speak like American?" Don't try to be Kyopo because you're Korean. Students have like high standard. That high standard can sometimes make you feel frustrated. I always say English is not not just about learning it for 10 years or 5 years. It's like a lifelong journey.

I'm guilty of this because I am often a perfectionist. I get afraid of making mistakes. I do. Perfectionism is such a hindrance when you want to get better at anything in life.

As you know, there are so many students in my class from different, like, backgrounds, and they have different jobs, and they come to my class and tell me, "Oh, my English is not good." First is perfectionism, and second is competition. This life is not about competition. This life is also about teamwork. When it comes to learning English, it's important to find a good teacher, a good learning partner.

How has learning English changed your life?

Everything. I didn't have much courage to initiate conversation with other people. Thanks to this learning process, I got to like start a conversation with strangers. I could open up more about my personal life. That's how I got to connect with my students, and I relate to what my students are going through. I don't mainly focus on study this, you gotta do your homework. I first listen to my students about how they feel in their lives these days, and I ask them how they have been learning English. That's why every class that I have feels very different. It's kind of personalized for each person.

Have you had any experiences with some of your students where they opened up to you about how English changed their life?

Every day. Yeah, every day. One of my students. She's a pediatrician, and she texted me, Tina, like, there are patients from other countries, and in the past I would use my translator, but these days I just naturally speak English and can make jokes and interact with kids. So she said, wow, this is such a wonderful experience. There are a lot of students who have children, and they tell me when their kids ask them questions They would go like, "Ask your dad!" "I'm gonna look it up!" But now they answer! They give their kids answers in English!

What is a Tina Koo pro tip for learning English?

Find the one that you enjoy the most. If you're in a medical field, start watching medical TV series. What I did in the past is I always memorize at least 3 sentences every day and repeat the same sentences. Every day. Don't just do it 3 times or 5 times. You gotta do it every day. If it's too much, just 1 per each day so that you can build healthy habits. So when students ask me about good tips, I ask them, what are the English sentences that you say these days? Hi, good evening, have a great day, good night, thank you. I'm like, no, no, more than that, more than those. And they're like, I can't remember any of the sentences now. Then that's where you're gonna have to start. Even though you watch a lot of videos in English and you study with English books, it's about what you can say out loud. When you watch English videos for an hour and you feel like, oh yeah, I studied English.

Mm-mm, not yet.

You gotta think how many expressions remain in your mind. So for basic level students, they should repeat the same 3 sentences for a week, but for intermediate students, they can do more. Do not memorize just words. For example, "I'm rooting for you." You should memorize words chunk by chunk. Root for. And I help my students visualize the structure itself. So root for. I'm rooting for you. Students can think of those expressions whenever they want to cheer people up. What I focus on is how to make the most of what you know and what you already learned. I encourage my students to review what they learn. If it's too much, just one per each day. But what I mean is you got to say those sentences with confidence. So there are 3 steps. First, how many sentences do you know? Can you make the most of what you learn? Can you say those sentences confidently? You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. This is what Martin Luther King said, just take the first step and this step will will lead you to the next step and the next step. So that's how you build good habits, and at the same time, that's how you improve your English. That's true.

You're full of quotes.

I love it.

Tina, thank you so much for today. I am feeling so inspired, and you're such an incredible teacher. Can you just let people know where they can find your class?

You can follow me at @tinakoo. You can sign up for classes at Google Campus, which is for free, so you can take the business class. I have my online classes but I'm also coming up with new projects. Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can. And I want to tell you, you're doing a great job. You can do more than you think. And study English with Callie and Tina. Yes! Goodbye!