Sep 17, 2026 · 6 min · 5 segments
If you already have a good level of English, you probably know a lot of language that you don't always use. In this episode, I talk about why advanced learners need opportunities to experiment with…
Clare WhitmellHost
When you learn a new word or expression, you might understand it perfectly and you might even think, yeah, that's exactly the word I want to use.
But then when you're actually having a conversation, you go back to the words that you know, the familiar words, the ones that come easily.
If you're in an important meeting, if you're giving a presentation, or you're talking to someone that you don't know well, you want your English to work.
You need to get out of your comfort zone, but you don't necessarily want to do that in important situations.
So where can you experiment? Where can you get out of your comfort zone? On the one hand, you probably don't want to try a new expression for the first time in an important meeting.
And on the other hand, if you're studying on your own, you don't always have someone to tell you whether that new word or new structure sounded natural.
This sort of feedback is really useful information because you can change your English and then use it again.
And then gradually, something that was once unfamiliar becomes part of the English that you use.
This is a very different process from just learning another word and recognising it when you see it.
When you learn a new word or expression, you might understand it perfectly and you might even think, yeah, that's exactly the word I want to use.
But then when you're actually having a conversation, you go back to the words that you know, the familiar words, the ones that come easily.
If you're in an important meeting, if you're giving a presentation, or you're talking to someone that you don't know well, you want your English to work.
You need to get out of your comfort zone, but you don't necessarily want to do that in important situations.
So where can you experiment? Where can you get out of your comfort zone? On the one hand, you probably don't want to try a new expression for the first time in an important meeting.
And on the other hand, if you're studying on your own, you don't always have someone to tell you whether that new word or new structure sounded natural.
This sort of feedback is really useful information because you can change your English and then use it again.
And then gradually, something that was once unfamiliar becomes part of the English that you use.
This is a very different process from just learning another word and recognising it when you see it.
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3 of 3
The Practice-Feedback Loop
Progress needs experimentation, feedback, and repeated practice
Recognition Isn't Usable Fluency
Recognition alone cannot turn knowledge into fluency
Why Advanced Learners Get Stuck
Comfortable English can quietly limit your progress
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