I struggled with English too!

Feb 25
I remember my first day in Loughborough (it's been my home for almost 17 years) well because I got  by a taxi driver. I knew he was going the wrong way (I had a map on me!) but I was too nervous to say anything to him. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to find the right words, the right grammar. 'What if he laughs at me?. So I decided to stay quiet and accept that I would have to pay a few extra pounds...

When I moved to the UK in 2007, I was desperate to speak English fluently AND to sound like a native speaker AND to know all of the sophisticated words that everybody else knew AND I wanted all of this quickly. Honestly, I thought that if I don't sound like 'them', if I don't have an English accent, then my English isn't good enough!
Struggle #1
People will laugh at me
Struggle #2
I have a foreign accent
Struggle #3
I don't know enough words
Struggle #4
I make grammar mistakes
In my head, I also never knew enough words, phrases and idioms and my grammar was too basic - that was also a biiiiiiig struggle for me. I used to think that if I don't know some words then people will laugh, that if I don't use idioms in every second sentence, then my English will be 'basic' and I'll look stupid. And you know what ... all four struggles stopped me for a long time from pursuing my dream of becoming an English teacher!

So what's helped me?

The way I think about my English changed around 7 years ago, when I realised that: 
  • We all have an accent and it's absolutely wonderful!
  • If I don't change something, I'll keep getting conned by taxi drivers!! :)
  • I don't know every single word in my native language (Polish) and I'm OK with it, so why stress about not knowing words in English?
  • I make grammar mistakes in Polish too, and it's not a big deal.
  • If I don't know what something means, I can just ask, right? Or Google it. Just like I do in Polish!
  • I need to communicate as best as I can - as long as the message is clear, then life is good!
  • Life is too short to worry and to potentially miss out on great opportunities because I'm too embarrassed or too nervous to do or say something. If some people laugh at me (which trust me, only two people ever did!), then they're NOT my friends!
  • With hard work and dedication I can achieve all my language dreams!

    My private IELTS students and general English students remind me every single week that it was worth pursuing my dream of becoming an English teacher. Now I get to see them achieve not only language but life dreams too (getting a better job in the UK and enrolling onto their chosen university course are just some of them). And getting messages like the below (sent by one of my lovely private IELTS students, Luciana, who is preparing super hard for her upcoming IELTS exam), always puts a massive smile on my face. 
Write your awesome label here.
Write your awesome label here.
Write your awesome label here.

If you're struggling with English, then I want to help you change it. Here's how:

  1. Through helping you prepare for your IELTS exam to give you the best chance to get the IELTS band score you need. Click here for more info. 
  2. Through 1:1 general English lessons. 
  3. Through my online Vocabulary Booster Course - that's helped tons of people from around the world transform their English vocabulary learning. 

Do you have any questions or thoughts? Send me an email at paulina@psenglish.net. I'd love to hear from you!

Created with