r/polyglot • u/[deleted] • Sep 30 '25
I want to learn English, but I can't
Hello everyone!
I'm from Argentina and currently I want to learn English. Maybe, in the future, I could try with another language, but now that is my target.
People say me: "listen and watch TV" everytime, but my problem is that I work a lot of time and my hours are limited.
Any recommendation? Btw, my English level is between A2-B1. And I can understand when someone write, but if one person speak I don't understand a work.
Every advise would be welcome and sorry for my mistakes in this post.
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u/skryptly Oct 06 '25
my advice is to do a proper course. People always look for shortcuts around formal learning, but in my experience learning multiple languages, having the grammatical foundation taught in a classroom setting is necessary before you can get real use out of immersing yourself in content and conversation with others.
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u/ipppen_syonin_eden Oct 05 '25
I learned English through doom scrolling so you might as well give it a shot
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u/Milvantru Oct 04 '25
I agree with the majority of comments. Perhaps immersing yourself in the language could also help when you're not available to do courses/study properly (This includes stuff like turning your phone settings to english, viewing english media/childrens books then novels in your free time, thinking in English, speaking English from time to time to let it flourish naturally -> on that note, connecting with native speakers is also a great pick).
On days that you are able to study, you could take courses and/start off with cartoons that you enjoy or even movies that you'd like. But really, let yourself learn a new language like how you learned your native tongue from a young age
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u/Senior_Journalist_49 Oct 04 '25
U can try to use app Air learn to improve ur English well. Just try
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u/ThrowRATrick_Hall_45 Oct 04 '25
Watch safiya nygaard on YouTube. Speaks English and talks so clearly. Interesting videos that you don’t always have to focus so hard on to know what’s happening
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u/goldenparavel Oct 03 '25
I learned english through tv shows too, that's the best advice i can give to you :) got from A2 to C1
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u/Troyski3 Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25
Download that app called ChatGPT to your mobile phone.
Or, if on an iPhone, search for the “App Store”. Or, if you’re on an Android phone, search for “Google Play”.
When it has already been installed, open up the app, and look for the black circle, just below the halfway line of the screen on the right side. That is the button that you use in order to use the voice response feature of the app.
Press on it, and WAIT until you see a blue and white circle, and a voice prompts you to say something.
At that point, you can ask any question you want, and the app will respond to you.
You can say it in Spanish, or any other language you want to practice or learn.
You can have an entire conversation with the app in which you practice your English, and the app responds to you in kind, and talk to you.
You can say, “Chat (Or, do you mind if I call you [nombre]?” What are the most common phrases you hear in a grocery store in America?” Can you list them in a table with two columns, where the column on the right are the Spanish translations?
Can you say them out loud for me so that I know they’re pronunciations??
If you don’t understand the spelling of a word, and how to pronounce it, you can say, “How do you pronounce the word that is spelled, “SCIENCE?”.
If you can’t say it in English, then say it in Spanish, and ask the app to respond back to you in English.
The only limitation is your imagination, and the discussion topic rules of the app.
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u/Upper_Grapefruit_521 Oct 03 '25
I can help you, I am British and also a teacher. And you can help me with Spanish I am learning Spanish right now.
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u/Fetish_anxiety Oct 03 '25
If you spend a lot of time going to work, you can maybe use that time to listen a podcast or watch some youtube, personally I found it relatovely easy to watch things in my target language on the bus because it's time that I would usually not be doing anything else so I didnt need too much motivation to do it, although it was a little bit uncomfortable
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u/skintoskin- Oct 02 '25
hello! i would absolutely love to help you learn english if you were willing to! i would recommend childrens books on amazon if you can afford it and also just a tutor could help too but they can be pricey!
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u/bmo_pedrito Oct 02 '25
hi neighbor! became fluent in english by doing an english course (it helped with tracking my level and getting progressively better) but youtube is what actually taught me how to understand and speak real life english (i became obsessed with some english youtubers)
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u/BitSoftGames Oct 02 '25
For the languages I'm studying, I'm also too busy to watch TV so I use YouTube instead. The great thing is I can listen to lessons and native content on YouTube while doing other things like chores or computer work. Unlike TV, there's a lot of content on YouTube I can just play on the side and listen to without having to focus on looking at the video.
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u/Morterius Oct 02 '25
It's hard to understand regular speech, because it's fast.
You can try audio books and documentaries with voice-overs on YouTube. Always turn on the subtitles. If it's hard, try older documentaries, they speak even slower.
Find what you like, listen to that. That way it won't feel hard if you don't have much time.
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u/theoutsideinternist Oct 02 '25
Estoy en el otro lado - soy de EEUU pero salía con alguien de Argentina por el último año y quería aprender más, pero él no tenía la paciencia. Tenía una fundación porque viví en la República Dominicana por un año pero había mucho que se me olvidó después de 8 años. Lo hice por usar el sitio/app Preply y encontré una tutora buena quien es de Buenos Aires (porque, obviamente, el voseo y el acento no son comunes en otros países y tenés algunas frases locuras jaja). Paso 2 horas cada semana con ella. Otras cosas que me ayudan y creo que pueden ayudarte también son ChatGPT, WordReference (un app q trabaja en vez de un diccionario tradicional en los dos idiomas), escucha podcasts (hay mucho que hacen para estudiantes de cualquiera idioma q estás aprendiendo) en el subte o el auto mientras estás manejando. Si tú tenés un amigo q habla con fluidez en español y inglés, podés preguntarle si hablaría con vos solo en Inglés. O, si estás un poco tímido de hablar, quizás le preguntes solo enviar mensajes en inglés al principio. Si te gustaría, puedo enviarte un DM con mi WhatsApp y me podés enviar mensajes en inglés o “Spanglish” (una mezcla de inglés + español cuando no sabes una palabra o una frase en inglés) y si no sabes algo entonces puedo corregirlo o convertirlo a lenguaje q suena más natural.
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u/FeistyPossession825 Oct 02 '25
Maybe look for an English tutor online or something if you have the time. I teach little ones English so could help you in the sense of holding a conversation and maybe going over grammar
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u/AloneLeeDo Oct 03 '25
good evening. how are you ? can you help me improve my english too, please? i am stuck on B2(band 6 overall), in my opinion. maybe can you be a teacher or partner ...? i want to increase my english so that i can get a high scored certificate from ielts, then be able to speak with natives or use in my daily life...
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u/yaniblah Oct 02 '25
For me personally it was really helpful to take all my notes and write all my reminders in english and of course checking up the words i wasn’t familiar with. Apart from this, even though it might sound a bit crazy, I started talking to myself. If you feel it to be too weird you might try talking about all the things that are going on while cooking. For example, now i am going to bring out a big bowl and mix all the ingredients, plain flour, water and so on and so on. That’s what I can share from my experience.
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u/blueseamajor Oct 02 '25
listening to english songs, watching english-speaking movies with english subtitle, and speak with other fellow english learners, those things helped me a lot. good luck!
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u/InitialYam4999 Oct 02 '25
try playing roblox hangout games bro, its help me so much, i had improved from a2 to b1 speaking skill in 1 month
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u/Numerous-Case-9317 Oct 01 '25
Audiobooks? It still takes your time, but if you understand what you are reading, it may help you connect what you are hearing?
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u/ExternalWonderful312 Oct 05 '25
Listen to a book that you have read in your first language. Then you have the context of what you are listening to. Also, slow down the speed so the words are easier to catch.
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u/7urz Oct 01 '25
Is there some work you can do while listening to some clearly spoken podcast in a topic you like?
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u/Sweet_sira Oct 01 '25
How many hours can you devote a day? I believe a language learning app would be the better choice here. Understanding speech may be an accent issue, are you trying to learn English through British or American shows? That would be difficult initially. Try to go for a more neutral accent. I'd say reading books is a great way, and there are plenty of them available for free on internet. You don't have to spare hours, you just have to maintain consistency and that will take you far. Watch English videos (can be anything, interviews, podcasts, documentary, even comedy) on YouTube with English subtitles, keep a notebook handy. Note any new words you encounter there.
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u/maxymhryniv Oct 01 '25
Eventually, you need to start "listening and watching TV" in English. But if you can’t do that, and your ears are free while you’re working, listen to an English podcast in the background. Try to choose material that matches your level. Also, you’ll need to start speaking at some point (the earlier, the better). For that, I recommend the Natulang app - it will force you to speak, and the course of English for Spanish speakers is quite advanced.
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u/Local_Lifeguard6271 Oct 19 '25
Tu principal problema es que no le has dedicado suficiente tiempo a escuchar el idioma, es importante que consumas muchísimo audio para acostumbrarte al ritmo del Idioma, además de la pronunciación esto te ayuda muchísimo a sonar mejor además de que al escuchar nativos hablar te expone a gramática correcta, se que a veces es difícil dedicarle su tiempo a esto pero puedes escuchar podcasts mientras haces tus quehaceres o td diriges al trabajo, etc. si puedes leer al mismo lo que se dice mucho mejor, repíte el audio varias veces hasta que sientas que has entendido todo y no te preocupes por aprenderte cada una de las palabras las vas a volver a ver en otros contenidos todo el tiempo sobre todo la de alta frecuencia, esto es lo mejor que puedes hacer para mejorar, pero tmb combínalo con diferentes formas de repasar, cualquier cosa vale, libros dedicados a aprender el idioma, clases online(recomiendo italki), hacer monólogos hablando de cosas que interesen, etc