Today Josh Plotkin from Brazilian Gringo is going to show you how copying a celebrity and creating an English character can help you improve your English.
You’ll also learn how to learn more about the culture as well as the language when you try to become fluent in English.
If you want to get fluent in a language you have to think about the people with whom you’ll be using the language.
Josh’s tips for learning culture and language:
- Think about the culture within the larger culture: Do you want to understand office culture or dance culture or hip-hop or entrepreneurial culture within the United States? Don’t just learn “American culture” but break it down into small cultures that you need to learn and communicate within.
- Look for materials made by people within the sub-culture that you have chosen: If you are an entrepreneur and you want to learn enough English to do business in the United States you should download podcasts and get materials that discuss entrepreneurship in the US.
- Model someone in your target language: Choose a TV or movie character that you can relate to. Stop being your normal self in the new language and become the character that you are modeling. This is also helpful when you switch between languages.
Don’t be afraid to play with your personality and develop new characters to feel more confident when you speak a new language.
You could also try this trick in the IELTS Speaking test.
By pretending to be someone else, you can reduce some of the pressure and self-consciousness that you might be struggling with.
Josh is a language teacher from California who is fascinated with exploring other cultures.
He helps the world discover Brazil and learn Portuguese with his site: Braziliangringo.com
Say hi if you’re planning on going to Brazil.
Let us know your opinion!
Have you tried using a celebrity character when you speak English?
Do you think it could work for you?
Which celebrity would you choose?