by Keisha Centa Putri
Let’s take a look at your learning progress so far. You’re comfortable in passive roles of the learning process, such as listening and reading. You understand English when you’re watching a movie or going through a book. Yet, you still struggle when you’re actually talking or writing. The root cause could be your role in the learning process. You are comfortable in the position of a ‘spectator’. This month, why don’t we try to change that? How about becoming more active in your learning process and see the improvements? Let’s try to change your position, from ‘spectator’ to ‘actor’.
The most common problem experienced by learners is that they are too comfortable consuming English instead of trying to produce it. You feel productive and see that you are improving from watching YouTube videos or reading long articles in English and you’re right! You now can understand 80-100% of the person speaking in the video. You’re also able to watch longer forms of content and looking forward to watching movies without subtitles. In addition to that, you’re can also listen to music and catch the lyrics without looking it up (maybe one or two words that you still need to confirm).
Those are amazing progress! However language is not one way. You also need to be able to give back in that language. Within that progress, you need to notice that you’re only in the passive phase of the learning and still lacking a crucial part of this process: becoming an active user of the language. Let’s try changing that this month!
Try to change that by being more involved and give back! For example, after watching that YouTube video, try explaining or summarizing its contents in your own words. You can record yourself or write it down, keep a journal to see your progress. Or with that song that you listened just now, share the songs to your friends and recommend it in English. You can also write down a review for those movies that you loved! There are so many things to help you improve your active phase of the learning process (also to keep track of it). It is this kind of production that ultimately forces your brain to process and ground the understanding you gained from the passive learning stage so that it can be tested in real situations. You will also be able to test out how the words feel in your mouth when you try to say it and practice your muscles to speak it!
If you’re feeling brave, you can also try speaking English with others! Don’t wait until you feel ‘ready’ because the right moment is now. When you start speaking, even if you don’t feel fluent yet, you are practicing your spontaneity and confidence. Learning the tempo of a conversation. It’s okay if you make mistakes, it is precisely from these mistakes that you know which parts needs to be improved and what needs to be reviewed again, to be studied more diligently.
Changes like this may feel challenging at first because you are not used to them. You should try it either way! Once you actively use English in your daily life, you will realize that you already have the basic skills; you just need to activate and test them! Let’s see how you do this month.
Source:
- Razzaq, B. (2025, October 16). Active vs. Passive learning: Which helps you learn English faster? Jolii. https://www.jolii.ai/active-vs-passive-learning-english/
- Steve. (2025, May 15). The best way to learn a new language. Steve Kaufmann. https://blog.thelinguist.com/best-way-to-learn-a-new-language/
Coursera. (2025, December 3). How to learn a new language: Tips for beginners. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/articles/how-to-learn-a-new-language
