TJ Walker argues that the fastest way to become fluent in a language (illustrated with English) is to speak daily and accept making mistakes as part of learning. He recommends creating immersive, high-frequency speaking opportunities (in-person or video calls), choosing low-stakes practice settings, and prioritizing communication over perfection to build confidence and reputation.
What do you do if you've been studying English perhaps a year, two, three, you understand reading English, you can even understand hearing people speak in English, but you still feel like you're not fluent, you're not really good at talking to people in English. You're holding yourself back, you're tentative. How can you get fluent in English to the point where you're confident speaking up in social situations, in professional situations, whether you're talking to one person, five, ten, fifty, one hundred, or a thousand, well, I'm here to tell you, you do it by fail. What do I mean by that? The fastest way to become really good at a language, any language, is to speak a lot every single day in that language you're trying to acquire. And you've got to do it knowing you're going to make mistakes. You're going to use the wrong verb, you're going to use the wrong tense. Occasionally you may say something that is offensive to people and you're going to see a look of horror. That is how you learn when you look at super learners of languages. They may have different intellects, education backgrounds, even IQs. But one thing most of them do is they go to a country or a place where they can surround themselves with people who just speak that language. They do not surround themselves with friends and colleagues from their native country or people who speak their native language. If you want to be more successful, then improve your communication skills. The best way to do that, smash the subscribe button right now. So they created an environment where they are forced to speak that language and then they do it. They don't stay at home and hide behind their laptop or their cell phone, just taking more courses and doing more duolingo, although that can be a great app. They actually get out in the real world and they talk to people in that new language. And let's say it is English. Go to a coffee shop, order coffee, order your breakfast. You might get it wrong. Occasionally you order a omelette and they bringing you fried chicken, and that's not what you wanted for breakfast. You, you're now going to learn exactly the proper way of saying fried chicken and an omelet because it's a powerful lesson. Talk to people in bookstores, talk to people in meetups, go to restaurants, go to bars if that's your thing, and talk to as many people as possible. Don't worry about getting it just right. Worry about communicating some idea. Look into their eye. Are they nodding and looking at you like, oh, I get it, I understand what you're Saying that means you are learning. Are they looking at you like, huh? What? Then you have to tweak something. You're using the wrong word. Ask them for help. Are they asking you questions about something you just said? If so, that's a fantastic sign. It means they understood what you were saying. Becoming fluent in a language involves speaking. You have to speak to become fluent, to become a great swimmer. It's not enough to watch videos of Michael Phelps winning Olympic swimming races. It's not enough to watch other videos and how tos from coaches. It's not enough to read books and autobiographies by great swimmers. No. You have to get in the pool every day. You have to swim every day. You have to work on specific things to get faster, better, different strokes. It is exactly the same thing with becoming fluent in any English or any other language. Now, let's talk about what's really holding you back, holding most of us back. Well, T.J. i'm afraid my vocabulary isn't good enough and I'm going to look stupid and people are going to laugh at me. Well, you know what? They could. That is the price to pay if you want to become truly fluent. Now, English is my native language. People still laugh at me. Occasionally. They still think I said something stupid. So no matter how fluent you become, there is no way of completely eliminating the risk that someone could make a negative judgment of you. You got to get over that and realize that the reward is worth the risk. The risk of occasionally saying something wrong, using the wrong word is pretty low. It's very rare that you're in a coffee shop and you think you're asking for coffee and you get water and somehow it's the end of the world and you've destroyed your reputation. That doesn't really happen even in an academic situation. Let's say the teacher is teaching in English. It's not your first language. You want to ask a question. If you use the wrong word or you say something that doesn't quite make sense, what's the worst thing that's going to happen? Do you really think your teacher is going to flunk you in that course because you used the wrong word? No, that's not going to happen. Even in the business world, you have an opportunity to give a speech, a presentation, a talk, or even ask a question at a major conference. If you get a word wrong but people can understand the general gist, that's what they'll remember. That will build your reputation, not bring it down. Yes, there is risk of saying something stupid or Wrong. There is a risk of someone saying, oh, that person isn't 100% fluent. But you know what the other risk is? The risk of staying silent is people ignoring you, never knowing you exist, never having any opinion of you, or holding the opinion that you have nothing interesting to say. You have nothing to contribute here. You have nothing to add here. You're not adding any value. Why should we invite you here next time? That is a very real risk that people discount in an irrational way. So I am begging you, I'm urging you. If you studied a language, whether it's English or anything else, and you still don't feel fluent, you've got to find ways of talking to people every single day. Now, it could be in an online forum, it could be in a meetup that is about model airplanes, and it's a passion of yours, a hobby. But that's not your profession. Therefore, if you say something stupid, it will never, ever, ever affect you professionally. Find something if you're nervous about this, that has low stakes, a low threshold. Maybe it's just getting together with people who their first language is English or the language you're trying to learn, and all they do is get together and talk about soccer or football, and you happen to follow the same teams. The stakes are low because people are always going to argue about sports anyway. You can be perfectly fluent and someone can disagree with you and call you a moron, right? So the stakes are very, very low. That is the first step. Figure out some arena where you get away from your friends and family who speak to you in your native language where you can speak every single day and see them. You could be online, but you need to see the person's face. They need to see you. Even better if you can do it in real life. That way people can see your body language if you get one out of ten words wrong. But all of your body language is in sync and your facial expressions are in sync and your voice is in sync, chances are they'll still understand you. Now, you can't get nine or 10 words out of 10 words, but the occasional misplaced word, if everything else is in sync, probably still understand you. So that is far and away the most important tip. Find a way to speak every day. Make mistakes, embrace your mistakes and learn from them. And have fun talking to people about any subject you like.
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