This week I went on a retreat through my work.

During our time together, the team I am a part of spent a great deal of time on work related topics and training sessions.

But the best parts have been what happens after those often intense times of work and learning: we talk. We listen. We laugh together. We eat together. Then we have time on our own- where we can do whatever we want.

During one of those times, some of my team and I went for a hike! This is what I saw:

What does this have to do with you, you might be wondering?

All my thinking time was in English. So were all the other activities that I just mentioned to you. One thing flowed into the other – and so did our use of English.

Are You Missing This Opportunity?

If you’re living in Canada, you have this opportunity of being immersed in English everywhere you go! English surrounds you – or it can surround you – if you have opened yourself to it.

My involvement with English was a part of everything I was involved in.

But many times, English learners don’t allow this massive fluency building opportunity to happen in their life.

Allow English Into All Parts Of Your Life.

Compartmentalizing your English practice is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

When you compartmentalize, you are separating or isolating one thing from another.

Dictionary Meaning:

Compartmentalize:  to separate into isolated compartments or categories

“Compartmentalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compartmentalize. Accessed 14 Sep. 2023.

Are You Compartmentalizing Your English?

The quick and easy way to find out is to simply ask yourself this question: when and where do I use English each day?

If you answer: I only use English when I have to. I only use English when I’m in English class. Then you’re compartmentalizing.

This is a huge problem!

If you want to see your English fluency grow and develop you have to start bringing English into everything you do.

You have the same opportunity if you live here in Canada already. (And if you don’t live in an English speaking location, you sill have the ability to bring English into your life – it will just take a little more creativity on your part.)

The big question is this: are you taking advantage of your opportunity to bring English into your day-to-day life?

One Practical Step For You Today:

What language do you think in? That’s what I was specifically thinking about today on my hike. I saw this amazing tree that was growing out of a tree that had fallen over across our path. There’s a picture of it on my blog.

Your challenge today: set a timer on your cellphone so that every hour you get a reminder to practice thinking in English.

Try to give yourself 5 -10 minutes at first. During that time, make it your goal to switch the language you’re thinking in, which I bet is your first language, to English.

Repeat this challenge every hour daily. As you get good at it, try increasing the time from 5-10 minutes to 10-15 minutes and so on. See if you can bring yourself up to a full hour!

This is just one example of how you can be making English a part of your day-to-day life.