You don't need perfect

Hey, morning all . Today the question is not exactly about programming, not about computers. But the question which so many of you keep asking, so I decided finally to record the video.

The question is about English, the speaking English, you know English is not my first language. But some of you asked how do I learn English and how do i practice it.

So some of you may like my level of English, even though it's not perfect at all. It's far from being perfect.

But some of you may potentially have something similar and you wonder how I practice myself, so I prepared six points of recommendation for you to share and then you may use that and improve as well.

You know the problem with the language which was the problem for me when I was younger is that I was trying to construct sentences in English the way I construct them in Chinese.

你知道，我年轻时遇到的语言问题是，我试图用中文造句的方式用英语造句。

Chinese is my first language, and it doesn't work that way and that's the typical mistake people are doing , they are just translating a Chinese thinking into English thinking and it shouldn't work that way.

You shouldn't think in Chinese and translate it, or in Spanish, in German, in Russian, in your language and then go into English translating that sentences. It shouldn't be that way.

For example , like I'm saying it shouldn't be that way. I wouldn't say that in Chinese. There is no such phrase in Chinese, like it shouldn't be that way. we don't say that. we don't have that way.

It's perfectly English, you know phrase, in Chinese, I would say it completely differently.So if I would think it in Chinese and I would say , how do you say I don't do it like that. But it doesn't sound English. so i'm thinking in English immediately.

I'm not translating from one language to another and that's important once you achieve that, there will be no problem.

So the problem is how to achieve that, how to break that language barrier, how to stop thinking in your first language and start thinking in English.

Recommendation number one,:

I read technical books only in English, about object-oriented programming, software development, design, DevOps, everying, you can ,of course find them in translated versions. Like you can find a translated version of Elegant objects, my book.

It is already published in Russian and it will be published in other languages and people sometimes keep asking me where I can find a localized version of Elegant objects and I point them to Russian shops and they go there and buy.

Even though I don't understand why they're doing that. I don't think it's the right way to go .

I think that you have to read in English as much as you can, especially technical books because it's easier I cannot read for example Theodore Dreiser in English, it's difficult for me. I will be bored to death to read, you know, fiction classic book in English .

我认为你必须尽可能多地用英语阅读，尤其是技术书籍，因为它更容易我读不懂，例如西奥多·德莱塞的英语，这对我来说很难。你知道，用英语读小说经典书会让我无聊死的。

I can barely read modern English fiction in English, because it's difficult not my language and I will get through it quite difficult.

我几乎无法用英语阅读现代英语小说，因为这不是我的语言，而且我很难读完。

But technical stuff about java, about programming, about DevOps, about computers having in mind that majority of those books are written by people who don't have English as a first language, like myself, Elegant objects is written in English, even though it's on my first language.

但是，关于java、编程、DevOps和计算机的技术知识——请记住，这些书中的大多数都是由像我这样没有英语作为第一语言的人写的，Elegant对象是用英语写的，即使它是用我的第一语言写的。

Second recommendation is watch movies, every time you have an opportunity to watch a movie, english movie,many movies are English, actually made by Hollywood studios and made by America, try to watch them with original sound, with subtitles maybe if you don't understand English that well, but with the original sound. It's important that you hear how people really talk in English.Now how teachers are teaching you to use English.

But you have to hear how Tom hardy is speaking English, how Robert De Niro is speaking English. Sometimes they will use it not the way you expect them to use it. Sometimes it's not going to be the English form the book. It's gonna be a different language and sometimes they cut corners and sometimes they use the words which you would never expect to use that way and you hear that, you keep hearing that, you keep getting into the environment where people use English, you keep diving into the English sound and also YouTube channels, when you have a chance to watch something on YouTube, educational, entertainment, some jokes, some funny stories, something which you can watch over lunch, you know just to entertain yourself, trying to find something which is in English. That's how you help yourself to get closer to people who speak that language.

Point number three.

find somebody who can chat with you informally, in English specifically like a real native English speaker and preferably make sure that person is somehow interested in you and you're interested in that person. I did that when I was younger I was constantly chatting with some girls online about different things, but not about work, not about computers, not about programming, but just about life, if your are a programmer, you most likely have some customers. You have some people around your projects, try to find informal contacts with those people. Don't talk with them only about Java programming, talk to them about something else, about weather, about politics,about sport, about games, about live, sex, whatever, any subject your find, but make sure this channel is informal and you keep talking every day. you will seriously change your expectations about English language.

Point number four.

when you travel, well of course point number four is that you have to try to travel to America and stay there for a few months and never talk to anyone using your language, but only use English, that will seriously improve your skills. be there alone. Don't contact anyone who is not English speaker and that will be very stressful for you . But three-four months and your english will just jump very high, your english level.

I had a chance to do that a few times in my life and that was really helpful for me and when you're there, even try not to stay in touch with your family or contact them as infrequently as possible in order to completely change the way you think, so you start thinking in English while you live there in America, Maybe you can't go to America. try United Kingdom, try some other countries where english is also used and even when you travel to other countries which have their own languages, English is the language for tourism. when you travel there, they may understand your local language. For example you speak German and you travel to Turkey and in hotels they may understand German and they may try to speak it and you will feel comfortable using your own language. don't do that, Switch to English, every time you travel, every time you have an opportunity to speak english, use that opportunity, even if the person in front of you is not a native english speaker.

Point Number five.