The Recipe to Work Hard and Learn English
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Recently, I shared my job change with my friends. To their surprise, the big change in me maybe my English skill improved a lot in a year.
I already share the article about how to learn English. Let me summarize my total effort to learn English after graduating from high school.
7 years to use Google search to read English websites. Half a year to play in TikTok or Youtube Shorts for at least 6 hours. Watch Netflix for around 100 TV shows and movies. Read about 30 English books. Use English to work in an international big company. Listen to Google Podcast for at least 4 hours in half a year.
See, these are my total effort. Does it seem that it is really hard work? It may seem like a lot of work. However, I don’t feel any pain in this process. Do you learn your mother language painfully? No, you don’t. So I just make learning English like learning my mother language.
I think everyone in Chinese can reach the level I got. It helps me to pass the English technical interview at a big company. I heard that only in 1 of 50 developers, there is just one guy who can speak English fluently.
I joined a big Singaporean bank as a contractor. Before I joined the company, my reading is good, my listening is not so good, and my writing and speaking is poor.
I know that when at the first day of my work, I only type English words for 5 words in a minute. However, after several months, I found that I can type 20 words in a minute. I still have some grammar errors in my writing. However, at least, I can express what I want to say and my colleagues can understand well.
My colleagues say that the English environment is really important. Yes, it is. However, these days, we can use the Internet to mock the English environment. Youtube, Netflix, and Google Podcast is really good.
So I took a TOFEL Exam. However, in the process of taking the exam, my computer adapter isn’t plugged in and the screen is turned off. After I plug in the adapter for 15 seconds, the teacher can’t see me. So I canceled the test. I will retest the exam in the golden week. In a mock exam, I can get 80 to 90 scores of 120. However, I am afraid that in the real exam I can get that points. Listening and reading are hard. Also, I don’t like to prepare for the exam. The idea that we sit before the computer and practice for the exam as a student will kill me. It is so painful. I don’t have that kind of self-discipline.
I can use my way to learn English and I feel that my English skill improve a lot. So why do I try to prepare for the exam to do better in the exam? I know there are a lot of reasons. But I don’t like that way.
So when I feel that my English ability improve a lot. However, the test beat me. So I begin to listen to podcasts during my daily commute. So I try to walk for 2 or 3 hours daily to wear Bluetooth earphones to listen to podcasts. The Lex Friedman Podcast is really good. I listen to the speeches of Steve Jobs and Tony Fadell a lot.
So I just listen to podcasts for around 5 hours a day. After several months, I notice my brain had changed. I can use English to express myself faster. When I want to say something, my brain quickly knows how to say it. Just like using Chinese.
So then I think if I can use this way to learn English, why not Japanese or Hardware? or whatever you like.
My insight is that your brain is easy to distract. So if you let your brain in an environment, then it can focus sometimes. So if I let my brain emerge in 5 hours of English talk, then my brain can focus to listen to it for about 2 hours. Then I can feel that I learned fast!
So this is my recipe to work hard. And I start to learn hardware and chips. I listen to the capacitor and transistor the whole day. So I can think about it again and again. The electricity is just like a flow, the electrical component is just like the software library. The electrical parameter is just like the API of the software. You can gain more insights after thinking and listening to them for long hours during the day.
I am a very lazy person. If I can do it, anyone can do it. In the modern highly competitive day, you need to work hard to be great. I am glad that I find a way to work hard. And it is very funny. I don’t feel pain.
See, I just use one hour to write this article. And just half a year ago, I feel very painful to write one sentence myself.
Let’s end with my recent favorite quote.
The difference between a good student and a great one is that a good student is concerned more about the outcome while a great one is fascinated by the process of learning.
And, friends, long time no see, hope you guys all doing well.