- Anyone can become good at English. You can become good at English. Race does not matter. Millions of Americans speak fluent English, yet thousands of them are biologically exactly the same as you. Where you were born does not matter. Most of the English speakers in the World today learnt English as a second, or even third language. Even in your country there are many, many highly proficient English speakers. Where you live does not matter. Whilst going to live 5 years in Hawaii may make you fluent more quickly, in this age of the internet, TV and travel it's quite possible to get fluent at English simply by living at home. Just look at how many foreigner speakers get along so well here without speaking the local language at all! It's not where you live, it's how you think.
- Do you think English is difficult? If you do you will never learn to speak well. But what are you comparing this to? If you think that English is more difficult than your own language, then how can you know if you don't speak English yet? The key to being good is to realise that English is easy. Is English brain surgery or quantum mechanics? No. It's simply a foreign language, something spoken effortlessly by millions of people everyday without a second thought. Truly great speakers of English treat English as a secondary thing, not something to think about, and certainly not to worry about, it's simply another skill, like riding a bicycle or driving a car. It is something you can achieve. And you can achieve easily. All it takes is a little effort and the right way of thinking. English is easy.
- You must love to learn English. You don't see it as work, but as play. To achieve this the key is to do what excites you, but do it in English. Do you have a passion for fishing, or fashion? The latest stock prices or the hottest music? What about your family or children? What gets you going? What's the one thing that if taken away from your life would have the biggest influence on you? Now imagine reading, listening and talking passionately about that subject, but in English.
