Welcome to Speak English Now podcast with your host Georgiana, the podcast that will help you to speak English fluently with no grammar and no textbooks.

As you may know, certificates in English are something important.

For example, everybody knows about the Cambridge University certificates.

The first certificate is probably the most famous one.

If you prefer American English, you have the TOEFL certificate, which is also quite popular.

You'd be amazed about how many students prepare themselves to get one of these certificates.

The problem here is that people tend to confuse having a certificate with the real level of English they actually have.

For example, for someone who has gotten the first certificate, can you be totally sure that this person can speak fluently?

According to the advertising, of course, that's what you paid for,

and that's why you have spent so many hours doing all kinds of boring exercises.

Some students, after studying very hard, travel to England or the United States to practice.

Do you know what often happens? It's dramatic. They can barely understand the native speakers.

They say they speak too fast, or that they use casual expressions, etc. So, why does that happen?

Here's the thing. When you prepare for exams, you train yourself for the specific exercises you find in those exams.

However, when you find yourself in a real conversation, it's totally different.

You don't have time to think or translate.

It's an entirely different experience.

You can't stop a conversation for a few seconds just to think about the

meaning and what you say next. Certificates don't prove the level of the language. It just shows that

you've been able to pass an exam. Let me tell you something.

Native speakers can't speak English without any effort.

They have zero problems having a conversation.

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