When you decide to practise speaking English, who do you look for?

A teacher? A native English speaker? Someone with “better” English who can help you improve?

And if the other person is learning English too, you might wonder: What's the point of practising together if we're both making mistakes?

It's a reasonable question. But it can also leave you waiting for the “right” person to practise with while barely speaking English at all.

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In this episode of the Confident English Podcast, Emma challenges the idea that you need a teacher or native speaker beside you to become fluent.

Because nobody else can make you fluent. A teacher can guide you. A native speaker can talk to you. But fluency is a skill, and the words still have to come out of your mouth.

Emma also explores a question that matters just as much: if you don't need a teacher or native speaker, who should you practise with?

And why might another person learning English actually be one of the best practice partners you can find?

If you've been avoiding conversations with other English learners because you're worried about their mistakes, or waiting until you can find a native speaker or teacher to practise with, this episode is for you.

A great practice partner isn't simply someone with “better English”. It's someone who gives you space to speak, supports you when you get stuck and feels comfortable making mistakes alongside you.

And when you're both there for the same reason, something important changes: you both get something from the conversation. You both get to practise. You both get to improve. And that makes it much easier to come back and do it again. [TRANSCRIPT] Nobody Can Make Yo…

💬 About Emma

Emma is the founder of Hey Lady! and creator of the YouTube channel mmmEnglish, trusted by millions of English learners around the world.

Hey Lady! is a global community where women practise speaking English through real conversations and build genuine relationships with women around the world.

✨ Try Hey Lady! free with a 7-day Guest Pass. No credit card needed.

🎙️ Have a question or challenge you'd like Emma to talk about in a future episode?

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There was a time when you and your kids were learning English together.

You helped them with their homework. You looked up words together. Maybe you even practised reading English together.

Then somewhere along the way, something changed.

They made friends. They developed their own jokes, music and conversations in English. And one day, you realised: their English had become better than yours.

For one listener, there's another side to this story too. As her children became more fluent, she felt like her own English was getting worse.

So what happened?

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In this episode of the Confident English Podcast, Emma explores what can happen to your English as your children grow up, why living in an English-speaking country doesn't necessarily mean your English will keep improving, and what your kids might actually be able to teach you about becoming fluent.

If you're raising children in an English-speaking country and you've ever wondered how they raced ahead while your English seemed to stay in the same place, this episode is for you.

💬 About Emma

Emma is the founder of Hey Lady! and creator of the YouTube channel mmmEnglish, trusted by millions of English learners around the world.

Hey Lady! is a global community where women practise speaking English through real conversations and build genuine relationships with women around the world.

It's a place to use English for more than appointments, work, errands and getting things done. You can talk about your family, your weekend, your work, what you're watching, what's annoying you, or whatever else is happening in your life.

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🎙️ Have a question or challenge you'd like Emma to talk about in a future episode?

You can send a voice message or share your experience below.

🎤 Share your question or challenge

Does this sound like you?

You freeze in a conversation. You forget a word. You can't say what you wanted to say.

So you think, “I need to learn more English.”

You watch another lesson. Learn more vocabulary. Make more notes. Maybe start another course.

It feels like you're fixing the problem. But what if more study isn't actually what you need?

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In this episode of the Confident English Podcast, Emma shares a trap that even she recently caught herself falling into while learning Spanish: studying more because actually speaking felt harder, more complicated and more embarrassing.

Emma explains why you can know a lot of English and still struggle to use it when you need it, why so much of what you study seems to disappear, and how your real conversations can show you what you actually need to learn next.

And if you think you don't have enough time to practise speaking, you might be surprised by how little you actually need.

If you've spent years learning English but still don't feel fluent when you actually need to speak, this episode is for you.

💬 About Emma

Emma is the founder of Hey Lady! and creator of the YouTube channel mmmEnglish, trusted by millions of English learners around the world.

Hey Lady! is a global community where women practise speaking English through real conversations. We organise the people, times and conversation topics so you don't have to find a speaking partner or plan everything yourself. You just need to show up and speak.

✨ Try Hey Lady! free with a 7-day Guest Pass. No credit card needed.

🎙️ Have a question or challenge you'd like Emma to talk about in a future episode?

You can send a voice message or share your experience below.

🎤 Share your question or challenge