This is an exciting day! I’m kicking off a new virtual immersion series designed to make your  English-learning strategies smarter and more effective.

And especially, it’s going to help you know if you are…stuck!

I know you put a lot of effort into your Business English.
I want that effort to pay off for you.
I also speak to a lot of smart, competent people who are trying to push themselves in their careers–and in their Business English.

And the truth is, a lot of people get stuck in their language learning.
They stop progressing.

We language coaches call it ‘reaching the intermediate plateau.’
And many of us have experienced it too!
It happens to everyone–and the trick is learning new and smart language learning strategies.

And that’s why I’ve created a special series just for you.
So that you can recognize the intermediate plateau–and push past it.

I want you to have a set of new language learning strategies that will work for you.
And I want to help you turn those new strategies into great new habits.
That way, you can keep pushing yourself toward your English goals.

Are you ready to do this for your English, and your career?
Are you ready to do this for yourself?

Let’s get started!

First…let’s see if you’re stuck or not.
I have a quiz for you.

Index:

1. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! #1 Take the quiz.
2.  Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 2 Understand why you are stuck–so you can progress.
3.  Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 3 Two smart, new strategies to start today.
4.  Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 4 Natural Learning.
5.  Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 5 Deliberate Learning.

Also check out my lesson: SMART goals to advance in English.

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1. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! #1 Take the quiz.

How can you tell if you’re stuck in your English?
How can you tell if it’s time for you to change your language learning strategies so you can push past an intermediate level?

Take a minute and see if this sounds like you:

• • You feel like your English is not improving much, even though you listen to lots of podcasts, and choose to watch movies in English instead of your native language.
  • You have difficulty remembering new vocabulary, and often use the same vocabulary you have been using for years.
  • Yes, you can communicate your message, but you feel that something is off, and it makes you uncomfortable, shy, even ashamed.
  • You have the intelligence, the motivation, and the desire to improve, but you don’t know what to do to reach a better level.

If that’s you…congratulations!

You’re probably wondering why I’m saying that, right?

Because it’s frustrating to feel like you’re not progressing.
Especially if you use your English for Business and you feel like you can’t perform quite as well as you’d like.

It’s also frustrating when you feel like your efforts aren’t moving you forward anymore.

But this is a good problem to have!
It happens to everyone–well, everyone who practices long enough to get to this level.

Let’s take a look at why we often feel stuck at an intermediate level–and what you can do about it.

Also check out my lesson: How to go from intermediate to advanced English.

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2. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 2 Understand why you are stuck–so you can progress.

Once you understand the intermediate plateau, you can push yourself past it and reach your goals.
So why do we get stuck at the intermediate level?

When you first start learning a language we improve really fast.
It makes sense. You go from only knowing a few words, to being able to express yourself in a few sentences.
It’s exciting to move so quickly.
This is where I am with my German lessons.

But then you reach a level where you don’t have to improve in order to get your basic message across.  Even if you aren’t feeling particularly confident as you speak.

It starts to feel like you are going to have to put a lot of effort into pushing yourself forward.
And you’re not really sure what to do.

Now that you’re here, there’s something you need to understand to keep improving:
The same strategies that helped you get this far, aren’t going to work for you anymore.

You need to start great new habits, so you can continue to improve.

I went through this too, when I was learning French.
I reached a decent level with my school lessons, but I had very good school French. Not fluent, real-world, advanced French.

To reach that higher level and feel comfortable just speaking, I had to change my approach!

Being a Neurolanguage® Coach does not mean you get to skip a step in your language learning.  We all have to push ourselves and try new things if we want to become advanced and feel at ease in business situations.

That’s what you need to do now, to reach that comfortable, natural, easy feeling when you speak English.

I know you can do it. Because I did.

Ready to take the first step towards going past intermediate to a place where you will feel more confident?

Let’s go!

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3. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 3 Two smart, new strategies to start today.

Today we’re going to start with two new smart and structured strategies that will help you push yourself:

• • Natural learning: “Absorbing” the language naturally by immersing yourself, “living” in English
  • Deliberate learning: studying, “doing” English on purpose and with a specific goal.

The most important thing to remember is to use resources and subjects that are interesting, relevant and helpful for YOU.

Start with your own interests. After all,

• • You are taking language learning into your own hands.
  • You are competent in your business and highly motivated.
  • YOU are the expert in what topics will capture your interest and fit with your goals
  • YOU are the expert in what will make language learning interesting and memorable.

Language learning is more effective if it’s interesting.
Your brain just works better when you are fascinated with what you are doing.

I’m sure you can feel that already.

You have also probably experienced the opposite feeling in a traditional school setting.
You know, when you try to force yourself to memorize lists of vocabulary.
It’s hard to remember words with no connection to your life that are out of context.

If there is one thing I know as a Neurolanguage® Coach it’s that the old ‘school model’ of being forced to learn the same thing in the same way as everyone in the class…doesn’t work.

Maybe you’ve suffered through many long years of traditional English classes and it didn’t work for you.
Now it’s time to move past that. It’s not you, it’s the strategy.
You’re going to start using strategies that work.
I think you’ll see that it’s also more fun and motivating too!

Continue reading for some specific suggestions for getting started.

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4. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 4 Smart, new strategy: Natural Learning.

If you’re ready to push past the intermediate plateau, it’s time for some natural learning.
Again, in this kind of learning you are the expert in what keeps you motivated and interested.

Natural Learning means living life the way you want to–but in English!

Here are some great natural learning activities for pushing towards an advanced level:

• Listening to podcasts that interest you. Here’s one I love: Lewis Howes’ School of Greatness
• Reading books or magazines in English because you are interested in those topics. I read and enjoyed: Wild. What books do you think you’d be interested in?
• Watching TV shows that you enjoy. One of my recent favorites: The Queen’s Gambit
• Participate in social media–in English (You can participate in my free Intermediate Plateau Challenge, on Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or YouTube)
• Have interesting conversations in English with people you enjoy being around. Don’t worry about improving or a specific language focus. Just speak and enjoy.

Enjoy immersing yourself in the language in a way that you feel passionate about.

Then, let’s move on to addressing some of your specific language learning needs–with deliberate learning.

Also check out my lesson: Christina’s Favorite Podcast for Advanced English

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5. Push past the intermediate plateau for advanced English! # 5 Deliberate Learning.

Deliberate learning means working on or studying English with a specific goal of focus.
The great thing is that you can decide what you’ll do based on where you need to improve right now.

Deliberate learning activities could be:

• • Reading the transcript of a podcast to increase your understanding: Both the Faster Fluency Conversation Club and All Ears English podcasts provide transcripts for members.
  • Making flashcards: I suggest Quizlet.  I use it to create vocabulary cards for my Faster Fluency Conversation Club podcast. Or you can create flashcards by hand!
  • Listening exercises: Here’s a list of listening exercises & activities I’ve selected for you.
  • Working with an experienced language teacher, like in one of my programs: Faster Fluency Conversation Club, or Business English Mastery

One of the most rewarding things about the work I do is seeing clients choose a focus that is relevant to their lives.
And then helping them find deliberate activities that will help them move closer to their goals.

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Let’s push your English forward together!

I hope that understanding why we get stuck on the intermediate plateau will help you change the way you think about your language learning.
I hope you will see yourself as someone who can reach your language learning goals.

It’s a question of using smart and efficient strategies.
And of being an expert in your own priorities and your own passions.
That’s something you can do!

I’ll be back later this week with the second episode in this series.
Because there is nothing I love more than helping you find confidence in your Business English.

 

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Take the next step: Improve your English in the comments

The best way to become more confident using Business English is to practice!

Here’s my question for you:

1. Are you stuck on the intermediate plateau? How do you feel about it?
2. Tell us about your experience in the comments.

If you learned something from this lesson, please share it with your coworkers & friends. You can send your message to them in English for more practice!

Click here to share this article on LinkedIn
Click here to share this article on Facebook

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Are you trying to get off the intermediate plateau?  Don’t miss out on the rest of the lessons in this virtual immersion.

Are you ready to try some new and smart English-learning strategies and finally go beyond intermediate?
I’m passionate about making and sharing new lessons to help you reach your Business English goals, so you can reach all your goals.

If you want to get all my future lessons, videos, virtual immersion challenges, plus my English Habit Starter Kit to make it feel easier to learn more each day, sign up here.

See you for the next step in this virtual immersion!

Christina

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