By Robby
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Hello guys and welcome back to the English Harmony video blog!
Obviously, I’m Robby and I don’t even know why I’m saying this every time I start a new video. It’s just one of those things I say, “Welcome back to my video blog and I am Robby.” Obviously, all of you who have been following my blog will know that I am Robby.
Who else could I be?
But, it’s just that on the off chance that there’s someone new to my blog and to the whole English Harmony thing who might be watching this video and they don’t know what my name is, I’m greeting you guys by letting you know my name – Robby Kukurs. Write it down.
Bookmark my website – EnglishHarmony.com – because it’s one of the best resources out there for those foreign English speakers who want to improve spoken English fluency, right?
And also bookmark my YouTube channel, of course 😉
So, anyway, today’s video is about whether – what was the question? It was a question asked by one of my blog visitors I’m pretty sure because that’s where I gain most of the inspiration for creating new videos and articles. And these days, people asking me questions – whether it was an email or a comment, I’m not really sure, but it’s irrelevant anyway. I remember now.
The question was:
“How successful can I expect my fluency improving attempts to be provided that I’m 34 years old or something like that, something along those lines, 34 or 35, basically mid-30’s”.
Am I Too Old To Improve My English?
So, the basic question is, are you too old at some stage to learn and improve English effectively?
So it all boils down to the age thing whereby some people believe that there’s the critical age for language acquisition beyond which you just cannot achieve native-like fluency.
And I’m not really sure what that age scientifically is proven to be. But, if I’m not mistaken, it’s around 16 or 17 years, right? So, basically, if you learn the second language up until that age, in your early teens, then you still have a fair chance of achieving a native-like fluency in terms of ability to express yourself, and pronunciation, and whatnot.
And, if you go beyond that, there’s no chance in hell you’re going to be speaking like a native speaker. And, obviously, if you’re in your mid-30’s, the chances are very slim indeed. Right? That’s what you believe?
It’s total BS my friends!
You Can Actually Become Quite Fluent at Any Age!
I’ve got customers in their 50’s and 60’s following the English Harmony System videos, doing them on a regular basis, and achieving very good results.
So, basically, I’ve seen people from all walks of life, all age categories achieving very good results, and your age doesn’t matter unless, of course, there is some sort of a condition that prevents your cognitive senses from functioning properly, such as Alzheimer’s Disease maybe, or some other syndromes and symptoms that I’m not really familiar with.
Dementia could be another one – if I’m not mistaken, that’s what it’s called, right? So, if you have something like that and you’re a very senior person so to speak, that’s when obviously your ability to learn new things would be hampered, right?
But, if that’s not the case, then I would say that, if you believe that you are too old for English improvement and learning, you are just creating this self-fulfilling prophecy whereby you believe something to be true and then subconsciously you take action – or quite the opposite, you don’t take action, which results in what you actually believed in the first place, therefore making the initial argument correct.
Don’t Create a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy!
So, basically, you’re saying to yourself: “Listen. I’m 34 or 35 years old, so there’s no chance I can actually improve my English.” So, you don’t take any further action. Or, even if you do, you don’t give it 100%. You’re just making a half-assed attempt to somehow improve your English.
And then a few months or even a couple of years down the line, when you discover that it hasn’t really worked, you’re telling yourself – “I knew it! I knew it was going to happen. I knew I would not improve my English, and that it was all just wasted time, and I would not achieve any results even if I tried any harder.” So, it’s not even worth doing that, right? So, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy ❗
I would say – forget about your age! I, for example, started the other blog AccentAdventure.com three years ago if I’m not mistaken, and then I was 32 or 33, right? And I started working on my American English pronunciation and British pronunciation.
To be honest with you guys, I’ve actually abandoned that blog for now because I’m very busy with coaching my clients and I’m actually quite busy at work – work that I’m going to quit next year and that’s when I’m going to be able to focus on the whole English fluency thing 100%, and I’m going to be creating more videos, articles, and everything. And who knows? Maybe I will restart blog posting on the Accent Adventure blog.
Been There, Done That!
But, anyway, the point is I started working on my pronunciation when I was 30-something, 32 or 33, right? Before that, I didn’t care about my pronunciation too much. And having said that, I have to admit I don’t care about it even now. It’s just that I’ve worked on it for a good while and it’s improved, right?
And now this way of pronouncing English words and speaking English has become my second nature, right? But, previous to that, I was speaking with a harder accent. And let me reiterate once more, there’s nothing wrong with the accent. I was just challenging myself basically to see if I’m able for it.
And it turns out that it was quite a successful attempt despite some people bashing me and telling me that I sound nothing like an American and that my pronunciation is total crap, right?
I know for a fact that it’s quite good compared to the way I spoke before, right? And I could achieve these results at the age of 32 or 33 but if we believe the critical language acquisition age believers, I should not have been able to achieve those results because I was way beyond the 16 or 17 or 18 years’ mark, or whatever it is.
I’m not really sure, but I believe it’s in the late teens, right? So, there we go my friends. It just goes to show that you just have to do it and don’t allow such biases, some beliefs, some doubts to stand in your way. Just dismiss it all.
You’re never too old ❗
It’s Never Too Late to Start Learning or Doing Something New!
Recently, for example, I started going to the gym – eight weeks ago or thereabouts, right? I’m 35, 36 next year and for some time, I was thinking I’m too old to change my ways.
I have one particular sports discipline that I’m familiar with. I am running, right? I’m a runner. That’s my thing. And why would I bother myself going to the gym because I’m not going to improve my physique at such a late age, right?
And then, one day, I just realized, “Why am I telling me this?” It’s always been my dream to get fitter and to look like I go to the gym, right? But, I want to do it. I’ve always been dreaming about it. So, why would I allow this age factor to hold me back?
I can just go ahead and do it!
And the same applies on just about anything in life. You don’t have to compare yourself with someone who is by far superior. And, obviously, when it concerns your language improving routine, you don’t have to compare yourself to a native English speaker.
Obviously, if you’re 34 and you start working on your English, and you start practicing your spoken English, your first attempts are going to be bad, right?
But, if you go about it in a way whereby you compare yourself to some native speaker or someone who is much better than you, and then decide that you’re not obviously on par with those people, it’s going to demotivate you.
Develop the Tunnel Vision!
Instead, you just have to focus on what you’re doing. You have to have the tunnel vision.
Here’s your goal – you are aiming for fluency.
You define fluency for yourself, which is ability to speak about things that are relevant in your life, right?
And then you have to obviously choose the right tools. The English Harmony System would be one of them. Another tool, another technique which I used up until now, even in this day and age when I’m quite fluent and I have my customers and everything, right, I still engage in a lot of self-practice.
And that’s another very powerful tool, and you can do it for free. Nobody requires you to pay someone for having a conversation with you. You can just do it pretty much at any stage during the day, you know? As you go about your daily business, you have a chat with yourself, right? And I’ve been going on about this on my blog multiple times and I’m not going to revisit it in every detail.
But, basically, let me tell once you have the goal set, you have the tunnel vision, you ignore everything else, you have the right tools obviously, if you want to improve your fluency and if you don’t speak, there are very, very small chances indeed that you are going to achieve that goal at some stage down the line, right?
But, if you choose the right tools, you speak a lot, whether it’s a software product, such as the English Harmony system, or you speak with yourself and you write down things, you write a short story, read it out loud a good few times, and then every time you read, you basically try and look away from the paper.
That’s when you’re achieving speech automation ❗
Some of those speech patterns just imprint in your mind, in your mouth, and all of a sudden, you’re able to produce all that by a way of speaking, not just by reading. That’s another powerful method, right, reading out loud. And it’s actually something that I haven’t touched upon my blog yet, so it’s definitely going to be one of my future articles, right?
So, that’s about it, my friends.
Here’s the Perfect Formula:
- You have to set your goal,
- Ignore everything else,
- Have the tunnel vision,
- Choose the right tools,
- And then just stick with it!
- And the success will come!
Sooner or later, it’s going to come, right, unless, as I said, there are some health-related factors that prevent you from learning new things, such as Alzheimer’s’ Disease, or dementia, or whatnot. But, for as long as you’re healthy, and fit, and strong, and you have good mental facilities and abilities to function in the real world, there’s nothing to prevent you from achieving English fluency regardless of your age. Believe me, my friends!
Alright, thanks for watching!
Obviously, if you’ve got any comments or questions in relation to this subject, or maybe in relation to English fluency improvement in general, please don’t hesitate to publish them in the comments section below!
Thanks, my friends, and chat to you soon again!
Bye-bye!
Robby
P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!
P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!
P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!