3 days, 10 talks by 10 teachers, and just under 4000 participants…

Those are the ‘essential’ numbers from the Advanced English Summit – a collection of talks from English teachers and podcasters to help people move from intermediate to advanced level of English.

But it was also much more than that. It also became a safe and welcoming place for people to exchange their experiences of learning, to meet each other – and to feel part of a warm and friendly community.

Read on for more discoveries from the Advanced English Summit!

Why I organised it

There are lots of online events for people learning English – but there’s nothing for people at intermediate and above level. There are particular challenges at this level too, such as:

– you’re often studying alone, without a teacher who can guide you
– you feel that progress has slowed down (or even stopped) because you’ve hit the ‘plateau’
– you’re good at English, but some areas are still challenging (especially listening to native speakers)
– you might need to pass a high-level exam for study or work, and this causes anxiety

What it included

We had 10 talks at the summit, with ‘something for everyone’. The 10 talks were:

How to get past intermediate level / Why emotions help you learn English / How to pass any exam / How to really learn vocabulary / How to make grammar your superpower / Fluency and advanced communication skills / How to improve your listening in advanced exams / The write way to fluency / How to improve your listening skills / From B2 to C1

The talks were all recorded so people could watch later, and we also had a community Facebook group for discussion and interaction with the teachers.

The discoveries

The teachers
Many people came to the Summit because they already knew and followed a teacher who was talking at the Summit. (I heard from many people who follow Luke Thompson, or Craig Wealand, or Ben Gill, for example.)

But they also appreciated the other teachers who they didn’t know before. I got a lot of positive comments about the importance of mindset and emotions, and how writing can help your fluency.

New ways to learn English
We discovered some exciting tools for English:
– ChatGPT / Co-Pilot (AI for learning vocabulary, improving your writing and grammar)
– Youglish (English for pronunciation and vocabulary)
– apps like Anki and Quizlet (for vocabulary)
– TalkPal (Interactive spoken conversation)
– Meetup (English conversations in your own town or city)

And some great methods / strategies:
– how to use exam questions to help with listening
– how writing helps with fluency and vocabulary
– different ways to learn vocabulary actively
– how to become an ‘explorer’ in English

What people thought

People loved it! The summit was free, but it was also packed with useful tips, strategies and mindset coaching. Here are just three of the comments I received:

“It was a window into English.” (There was so much to discover about English, and how to learn it.)

“It gave me the confidence to speak English and not worry about my accent.”

“I’ve learned a lot from all the talks. It’s been an excellent experience.”

What next?

People want more summits like this – and not just once a year! If you’d like to join our next one, click the link below to leave your email, and you’ll also get the recordings from the 10 talks:

The Advanced English Summit