From Zero to Fluent — How I Taught Myself English

Introduction

I’m a guy born in a non-English speaking environment. In my family, we didn't speak English at home, and I also didn’t learn much English at school, and had no tutor.

Yet today, I speak fluent English, and just scored 67/100 on the EF SET test — a solid C1 Advanced level, just 4 points away from full proficiency (C2).

And I got there without any of the “normal” methods — no grammar drills, no boring textbooks, no teachers.

Just me, a clear goal, and the discipline to push through. Here’s exactly how I did it.

Why I Decided to Learn English, No Matter What

I’ve always believed that I should aim for the best things in this world, since we only live once ;)

For me, that meant going GLOBAL:

Traveling the world
Living abroad
Meeting and communicating with people everywhere
Building international businesses
Have access to the biggest source of content

And for all that, English is the key. Why stick with a language 10x fewer people speak — when I could learn the global language of opportunity?

So I made a decision: I must learn English fully.

Step 1: Total Content Switch

The first and biggest step — I changed everything I consume to English. I mean everything:

Made a new YouTube account — kept recommendations in English only
Watched TV shows and movies in English only
Read only English articles and newsletters
Set all my devices to English
Wrote all my notes in English
Listened only to music in English — even though I had favorite songs in other languages, I gave up 99% of them

And at first, I understood almost nothing. I had to use a translator to do any search query, or the content. But I've been slowly adapting.

And yes — it’s hard to give up your favorite creators, songs, and apps in your native language. But stick with it, because eventually, you’ll find new favorites in English — and honestly, they might even be better.

Step 2: Practice Speaking and Texting Every Day

I didn’t wait for perfect grammar to start using the language.

I asked some friends to text me in English only
I chatted with ChatGPT every day
I recorded voice memos while walking alone — talking about my day
I narrated my work out loud like I was streaming it
I read books and articles aloud, even if I didn’t understand everything

Reading aloud and self-talk were huge for me — they trained my pronunciation and made English feel natural.

Bonus tip: You can customize ChatGPT to give you English corrections every time — super helpful for learning as you go.

Step 3: Staying Disciplined

The beginning phase was brutal.

It's like discovering a whole new world, and couldn’t understand most of it. No matter how frustrating it got, I stayed consistent:

Never switching content back, no matter how tired you are
Daily practicing, no days off
Translated what I didn’t know, and repeated it until I remembered

It was uncomfortable, yes. But the results came faster than I expected.

Step 4: I Made English My Default Language

After some time, English wasn’t something I study — it became just how I live:

I started thinking in English
Dreaming in English
Reading code docs and debugging in English
Watching English content for fun — not just for study
Having more English friends naturally

Once that switch happens, things accelerate exponentially.

Extra Tips That Helped Me a Lot

A few other things that made a big difference:

Set your phone, browser, and apps to English
Use an English keyboard with autocorrect to adapt faster
Join English-speaking communities (Discord, Reddit, forums)
Shadow native speakers — repeat what they say with their tone and rhytm
Don’t fear mistakes — no one ever got fluent without messing up a lot

Final Words

Right now, I write this article fluently in English. I travel, speak with people around the world, and work internationally, and this is only the start — all because of the decision I made a year ago.

I had no money. No classes. No teachers. No ideal setup.

But I had one big reason — and that’s what pushed me through.

If you want to speak English — or do anything big — there’s a way. You don’t need perfect conditions.

You just need to start. And not stop. It’s 100% worth it.

P.S. And just because I did it this way doesn’t mean you have to follow it 100%. You can still mix in school lessons, grammar books, Anki flashcards, voice shadowing — whatever helps you. This method works on its own, but it works even better when combined with other smart techniques.