Hello and welcome to my podcast My Life and Other Funny Stories. My name is Dagmar Tomášková, I am an English tutor and coach and I created this podcast for English students who want to improve their oral comprehension. As always you can find the transcription of this episode and vocabulary list in the notes of the podcast.

Today, I have a special message for you. And I don’t say this lightly… Learning English is basically the same as going to the gym. Or eating healthy. Really, let me prove it to you.

If you’ve ever bought a gym membership in January and never returned after February, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

So, let’s break it down. Why are these two things – fitness and language learning – basically twins? I was thinking about it, again, when I was listening to a fitness podcast and fitness coaching and how much of fitness coaching I can see in language teaching and coaching too. It is really interesting. I feel like when you make this connection, it really makes learning languages more tangible – tangible is that it is real, you can basically touch it, feel it, experience it – what I mean by that is that speaking a language is a skill, it is invisible, it is in our mind – the results are difficult to track if you don’t write a level test every other month. But with working out, you can see physical results in the real world after a while and maybe, if I give you this connection, it will help you visualize what learning a language looks like in our head. So imagine that learning a language is something like working out for our brain. Why? Let me explain…

1.Results take time.

You don’t do ten sit-ups and suddenly have a six-pack. Or eat one salad and have a fitness body. And unfortunately, you don’t do one vocabulary quiz and suddenly speak fluent English.

This is where a lot of people give up – with fitness and also with English – they expect quick results. But English, just like fitness, is a long game. You won’t feel different after one or two workouts, and you won’t feel fluent after one week of practice. But if you keep going, little by little, one day you look back and realise – wow, I understand so much more than I used to. It’s like when you suddenly notice you can walk up four flights of stairs without stopping 7 times. It’s a proud moment.

2. You need to do it regularly.

Let’s say it together: once a month isn’t enough. I know, I’m sorry. I don’t make the rules, I just learned them and follow them.

You can’t just go to a gym once in a while and hope for magic. The same goes for English. Regular practice is what builds strength. Even 10 minutes a day is better than 2 hours once a month. It’s about momentum – and staying in touch with the language so your brain doesn’t forget that it’s important.

I tell my students: You don’t need to study for hours every day. But you do need to show up. Like brushing your teeth. You don’t always enjoy it, but you do it because you want to keep your teeth. Same with English. You want to keep your progress? Show up.

3. You need to sacrifice cheap dopamine.

Oof. This one hurts a little. First of all, what is cheap dopamine you might ask – that’s the instant pleasure we get from scrolling TikTok, eating sweets, watching 5 episodes of Netflix when we should be asleep… you know exactly what I mean. And I am no stranger to it, believe me. I know I should go to sleep but sometimes I just say to myself – just three more videos and then I’ll go. Yeah, I do it too.

Anyway building real skills? That’s slow dopamine. It doesn’t feel good immediately. But when you finish that lesson, or you understand a podcast episode without subtitles, or you finally get what “present perfect continuous” actually means – it feels SO much better than a bag of chips. This is basically the principle of the last episode – choosing something that feels

4. You need a structured plan.

Going to the gym and randomly lifting some weights without knowing what you’re doing? You’re just wasting energy. Same goes for English. A lot of people “study” by watching shows or using three different apps but they don’t actually have a system.

A good plan should include: knowledge of where you are right now, what you want to learn, how often, and how to review. And if you don’t know how to make one – ask for help. That’s literally my job. I can be your language personal trainer. And you don’t even need to do burpees. 

5. If you’re not making progress, check your consistency.

Before you say: “This doesn’t work!” and change everything about what you are doing, look at how consistent you’ve been. Have you been practising every week? Or have you been thinking about practising every week? That goes also for eating and training. People change their whole diet and training plan because it doesn’t work but then you look at it and they weren’t even consistent. The plan was fine, they just weren’t following it consistently. 

Consistency is sneaky. We always think we’re more consistent than we are. But very often it is not so. My advice? Make yourself a list – what is being consistent? 20 minutes of English everyday? Then you need to do it to actually say – okay, I did it today and maybe put a check- done – into your calendar. And then see how many days in a month you actually did it. Because you might feel like you are consistent feel like you devoted to it a month but then you look at it and you did a proper session of 20 minutes only 15 times in that month. Which is only half of the days. The same goes for nutrition and workouts.

6.You need to do it even when you don’t want to.

Let’s be real – motivation is unreliable. I’m not always excited to work out. But I do it anyway. I don’t ask myself if I want to do it, I just do it. And with my French learning, I do the same.

Because discipline beats motivation every single time. And the good news? Motivation often comes after action. So if you start – just a little – your brain goes, “Oh hey, this isn’t so bad!” and suddenly, you’re doing it.

Also, you never regret studying after you do it. You regret not doing it. Just like the gym.

7. There’s no one-size-fits-all.

In fitness, there are hundreds of ways to get strong – running, yoga, swimming, lifting weights. Same with English. Some people love grammar books. Some love talking. Some need to write. Others need to move while they learn. It’s all okay.

The key is: find YOUR way. Find what makes you excited. Find what works for your brain, your schedule, your personality. That’s how you stick with it.

8. Mix it up for overall progress.

But doing only one thing in the gym or while learning English won’t get you far. You wouldn’t only do push-ups at the gym, right? You’d mix it up – a little cardio, a little strength, a little stretching for overall health. I am now not talking about a situation where you are preparing for something specific or you focus on a specific goal.

If you want to improve your English level in general, it needs the same variety. Read, listen, write, speak. Watch series, chat with friends, write a journal, read a short story. Each skill supports the others. And it keeps things fresh.

Plus, it keeps you from burning out. If you’re sick of grammar, take a break and do some listening. If you hate writing, try recording yourself instead.

9. Use it or lose it.

This is the painful truth. Muscles shrink if you don’t use them. And words? They disappear. Ever learned a word and then forgotten it 2 days later? Yeah. Same. Because we didn’t use it.

The key is repetition. Say the new word out loud. Write it in a sentence. Use it in a message. Talk about it with your friend. Make it part of your life – or it will leave.

And that brings me to one more point for this topic.

Here’s what no one tells you – when you’re a beginner, you make progress super fast. Every word is new. Every sentence is a win. It’s exciting! Like in the gym- it is very normal to see quick results when you have just started working out.

But later? The better you get, the harder it is to keep improving. And even harder to maintain what you already have. Just like in fitness – once you’re strong, you need to keep working out just to stay at that level. Because if you stop, you’ll not only stop improving but you’ll start losing muscles. The same goes for your language level – if you are at an advanced level, it is not only about learning new words but it takes a lot of time to not lose what you already know. I understand, it is not easy – but that is why we feel like we don’t progress that fast. If you feel like you’re stuck – you’re not. You’re just in a harder stage. And that’s okay. It’s normal. Keep going.

10. It should feel good. 

We always talk about discipline and hard work… but we forget the most important thing: it should be FUN.

You should enjoy learning English. Just like movement – it can and should feel good. Dance, walk, play volleyball – that’s still exercise. You don’t need to suffer on a treadmill for it to count.

Same with English. Watch your favourite movie. Laugh at memes. Read Harry Potter out loud with a friend. Use it in a way that feels good. That’s what will keep you coming back.

Because when learning becomes something you enjoy – it doesn’t feel like homework anymore. It becomes a part of your life and you will do it because you enjoy the process, not just for the result.

Those are my points, do you agree with me? Or not? Let me know.

I will probably have some free coaching and conversation spaces during the summer, usually a few of my students want a break so if you want to work on your English and come back stronger in September, send me a message, I would be delighted to work with you.

Thank you for listening! If you liked this episode, please leave a five-star rating and share it with your friends. Don’t forget, you can find the transcript and vocabulary list in the podcast notes. See you next time.