Why do so many New Year’s language goals fail by February? In this episode, Oliver reflects on goal-setting, motivation, and why unrealistic ambitions can sometimes work better than sensible ones - especially for language learners. You’ll hear a practical example of a SMART listening goal, alongside a more personal (and slightly contradictory) approach: using big, impossible goals as pressure, while relying on small, repeatable habits to make real progress. If you struggle with consistency, m...
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Why do so many New Year’s language goals fail by February? In this episode, Oliver reflects on goal-setting, motivation, and why unrealistic ambitions can sometimes work better than sensible ones - especially for language learners. You’ll hear a practical example of a SMART listening goal, alongside a more personal (and slightly contradictory) approach: using big, impossible goals as pressure, while relying on small, repeatable habits to make real progress. If you struggle with consistency, m...
Sounding Native is Overrated | Intermediate English Podcast
English and Beyond: Intermediate English Podcast
10 minutes
6 months ago
Sounding Native is Overrated | Intermediate English Podcast
Have you ever felt frustrated that, no matter how long you’ve been learning English, you still don’t sound like the Queen? Or Hugh Grant? Or anyone remotely British? In this episode, I share my personal journey with pronunciation - from crying in a French oral exam as a teenager, to getting over perfectionism through Mandarin, German, and now Spanish. We talk about why trying to sound native can sometimes hold us back, and why the real goal should be clear, confident communication in your own...
English and Beyond: Intermediate English Podcast
Why do so many New Year’s language goals fail by February? In this episode, Oliver reflects on goal-setting, motivation, and why unrealistic ambitions can sometimes work better than sensible ones - especially for language learners. You’ll hear a practical example of a SMART listening goal, alongside a more personal (and slightly contradictory) approach: using big, impossible goals as pressure, while relying on small, repeatable habits to make real progress. If you struggle with consistency, m...
