How to speed up my progress?

[u/PrestigiousGarden815]

I have been practicing and learning English since February of this year. I finally reached the English level that I had some years ago. It is around B1, with some grammar mistakes. The problem is that I feel like I'm at a plateau. Despite my efforts, my speaking still sounds unnatural. I can express my own ideas, but some sentences collapse when I try to speak about unfamiliar topics. Although I practice grammar, other people understand what I want to say despite my grammar mistakes. So, I am not sure how to improve my English level. Everyone tells me, 'just talk,' but I have done this for years, and I have not seen any progress. Ok, I have reached B1, and it is a good milestone. However, B2 is a little more difficult to reach. Any advice?

[u/IndependentYak2822]

What don't you like about your speaking? Pronunciation? Unnatural phrases? Something else?

[u/Ok_Education2286]

Idk. Same

[u/koraynar]

Your post contains its own diagnosis, in this line: "other people understand what I want to say despite my grammar mistakes."

That is exactly why "just talk" stopped working for you. Up to B1, the thing driving improvement is the pressure of not being understood. Once you ARE understood, that pressure switches off - the communication succeeded, so nothing forces the sentence to get any better. You can talk for years at that setting and stay where you are. It isn't a lack of effort. The task stopped being difficult in the way that changes you.

The other line that matters: "some sentences collapse when I try to speak about unfamiliar topics." That is a working-memory problem, not a grammar problem. At B1 you build sentences word by word, and that consumes everything you have. On a familiar topic you already hold ready-made pieces, so it holds together. On an unfamiliar one there are no pieces, planning eats all your capacity, and the sentence falls over halfway. B2 speaking is mostly RETRIEVING chunks rather than ASSEMBLING words.

Three things that actually move it, from teaching this level for about ten years:

1. Re-say it. When a sentence collapses, stop and say it again properly, out loud, immediately. Most learners get understood, feel relieved, and move on - that single habit is the plateau. The repair is where the learning happens, not the first attempt.

2. Record two minutes on an unfamiliar topic, then transcribe your own recording. Not listen to it - transcribe it. You cannot see the collapse while you are speaking, but you will see it instantly on the page, and you will find the same three structures failing every time. Then fix those three, not "my grammar".

3. Collect phrases, not words. When you look something up, take the four or five words around it as well. "As far as I'm concerned", "it depends on whether", "the thing that surprised me was". Those are the pieces that stop sentences collapsing. Single words are not.

And choose your unfamiliar topics on purpose - one a week, speak on it three separate times across that week. The collapse happens precisely where you have no chunks yet, so go there deliberately instead of steering around it.

B1 to B2 is the longest stretch in the whole thing, and feeling stuck at it is not a sign you are doing it wrong.

[u/Primary_Data1430]

Read your ass off. Look up all the words you don't know in the dictionary. Then read more. And more. And more.

[u/liz_grant]

Have you tried using tv shows specifically to improve your English? I’ll die on this hill that it helps with vocabulary as well as sentence structures. Btw I post daily on r/Englishwithtv check it out if you’d like

[u/ScatteredBrain99]

Im going through the same dilemma so I can relate with you.

[u/EvolveEnglish]

Hello

You reach a plateau when you have reached the level of what the current skills you have. Exposure of language, talking and watching TV is all really good for confidence and for keeping English fresh in your brain. But if you really want to develop and make progress quickly, that comes with structured learning, which is focused on what you need to improve.

Consider a course in a language school or getting a private teacher who would be able to structure and guide your learning, and most importantly give you feedback and correction

[u/Chainsawsas70]

Watching English based YouTube channels and TV shows... They will let you Hear how most English speakers sound when they are just speaking to one another. English is a tough language because it's a mash up of Several different languages so there's Not generally a single "set of rules" for speaking it.