Do you want to learn English to get high scores on IELTS, TOEFL, or any other tests? Do you want to learn English, so you can write better emails?

Do you want to learn English to pass job interviews?

Why do you have to study English? Why do you have to struggle? Why do you have to go through the pain, the embarrassment, the rejection?

The core reason it takes others longer to learn English has to do with not knowing exactly why they have to do it.

Pinpoint your one biggest WHY right now before you get started. I'm telling this, especially to students who are impatient.

These are the type of folks who frequently ask what I think is the most enduring question in the ESL world: "How soon can I get better at English?"

In all honesty, I don't know. The only person who knows what you can do is you. Only you can tell. Only you know how dedicated you are and how fast you can learn new skills.

But one thing is certain though. No matter how difficult you think learning English is, as long as you don't quit, you'll get good at it. I promise. It's not rocket science.

Think about how you have mastered your native language. Was it so difficult? Did it give you sleepless nights? Did you pay a huge amount of money to get good at your own language?

Just like how you have learned your own language, learning English requires you to go through the stage of speaking like a baby.

And every baby does not learn everything overnight.

Just because you may be a respected 40-year old business executive doesn't mean you're not supposed to make grammar or pronunciation mistakes.

Once, I looked stupid. Each time I spoke I would embarrass myself. My colleagues made fun of my accent. Fast forward, I'm still amazed at how much I've changed today.

I don't discount the notion that miracles happen if you know what matters to you. We are no longer babies so obviously our ability to learn is much faster than them.

What a five-year-old will have learned in 2 years, we can learn in one minute. Joke. One day is fine. Do you want to learn spoken and written English in 6 months or in 1 year?

Take a closer assessment of yourself. What. Are. You. Doing? Again, what are you doing? Again,

Do you think it's backbreaking or you are just sleeping? Buckle down, my friend! I've read somewhere. You need to possess three things to get good at something:

The third one is something you probably have an issue with. How many times do you have to say this, "Kenjie, I can't do it. I'm too busy!"

Are you kidding me? Why don't you incorporate English into each activity you do? There are people all over the world who are fascinated by the English language.

But what do you usually hear from them?

I'm too busy to study.

I have no time to read books.

I have no time to watch films, no time to listen to music. I have no time to sing.

I am lonely.

I am missing somebody.

I need a handsome teacher.

I want a pretty teacher too.

They will give you a host of reasons why it seems so hard for them to learn English. Are you one of these folks?

Are you, right now, sitting here reading these words, hoping, wishing, dreaming you can speak and write in English well?

What could you give up in order to make more time for learning English? Thirty minutes of Internet browsing every day?

Fifteen minutes of staring into nothingness perhaps? Still wondering why you are not making any progress at all? Three words explain it: LACK OF ACTION!

If you want to learn English fast, do something. Do it with an incredible amount of obsession, passion, motivation, dedication! Yes, all the "tion" in the world! And don't forget— repetition, repetition, repetition!

Here's the kicker. The fastest way to learn English be it spoken or written is to make slow, but nevertheless constant and impactful changes.

Knowledge absorption takes time. You must get out there and speak, get laughed at, get hurt. You must speak again and again and again. You must write, write, and write more.

Most importantly, listen to feedback. You must be able to absorb the shock, reflect on the wrongs and get them righted. The harder your effort, the faster you learn. There is no other way.

Mistakes happen. It happens to you. It happens to me. If you do not make one, then you must be doing nothing. Making mistakes is not wrong.

(Making mistakes again and again and again is sooo wrong by the way! Do your best to do it right the first time.)

What is wrong is when you're always afraid of doing something resulting in learning nothing.

C'mon, you must understand that acquiring English proficiency is not going to be easy. Nothing in this world worth having comes easy.

Let me tell you upfront. The likelihood of you learning English overnight is damn near zero. Learning English is like any other skill.

It is like playing basketball or playing a musical instrument. You must practice religiously and tirelessly every day.

Do you hear me? Every day. And after many months of doing it, you'll see that you've gotten better.

Come to think of it. To improve their skills, professional athletes practice and meet up with their respective coaches every day.

Every single day. They don't just show up out of nowhere to win a competition.

My heart breaks when someone who can hardly speak books my class to pass a TOEFL or IELTS exam that will take place in 5 days.

Seriously? In five days?! I knew right away there's not much I could do about it.

Do you see the trouble here? Some people seem not genuinely interested in English. They are not taking learning it very seriously.

They just want to study today to pass tomorrow's test. They only care about learning English when they have job interviews, entrance exams, and TOEFL tests to pass.

They are just after instant and yet fake results. They do the same thing and expect different outcomes. They do so little and demand big rewards.

If you are this kind of person, stop now. You are simply wasting your time and money.

You've probably been attending online classes (when you feel like it) for many years along with millions of other people around the world.

You've probably spent so much money. I'm curious. How good at English are you now?

The key is: Build a strong foundation. Give yourself at least a year, a year of insane obsession with English.

Go build and strengthen that relationship between you and your sweetheart English every day without gaps. Commit to learning anything English at least one uninterrupted hour every day for one year.

Read. Read. Read. Watch, watch, and watch. Listen, listen, and listen. Write, write, and write. Most importantly, speak, speak, and speak.

Read old English. Excel at idioms. Study American slang. Learn the differences between British and American English.

Learn what's right. Learn what's not right. Do what is right. Get embarrassed. Get rejected. Just get started.

As a result, TOEFL test becomes easy. Job interviews become easy. Entrance exams become easy.

My friend there simply are no shortcuts. Teachers are not wizards. I wish I could turn you into Shakespeare right now, right here. But it just doesn't work that way. Transformation takes time.

So, one piece of advice: Never take on learning English half-hearted. You won't make it. When I started out, I was perhaps more like you or maybe even worse.

But as you know, getting to where I am today did not happen by luck. I have worked on it and worked on it fuckin' hard even if others thought I was crazy.

It's been one hell of a struggle, I'm telling you.

I neither claim to be an expert nor the best. I still make mistakes and keep learning from them.

Over the years, and especially today, I have continued to consume an enormous amount of material.

I have read, Googled, researched, asked questions, studied, read more, and watched more instructional YouTube videos than I can count.

In terms of speaking and writing in English, I've got friends who are way better than me. They probably have their own story too. I don't know.

What I know about is there is something more I can do. What about you? Do you believe you can do better? Do you believe you can be more?

Do you accept who you are right now is who you really are? My friend, be the first person to have faith in yourself.

A useful rule of thumb is never ever ask yourself, "Can I do it?" Rather, tell yourself, "I can do it!"

By the way, writing this book is one of the scariest decisions I've ever done. And even now I am hesitant while I'm typing these words thinking about how this book affects this and that person.

Seriously, I feel responsible for more people. You see, it took me tons of courage to put this book out there.

I did even ask myself, "Why are you doing this? Why do you have to spend so much time contributing your thoughts and words?"

"Why do you have to spend days and sleepless nights and months crafting this book, improving it, editing it? Why?"

Because I CARE! I can't help but F***ING care!

I am seeing ESL students—from the richest to the least privileged—who have trouble with English, and they're getting worse. To help, I wonder if I could share a bit of my story.

This book may not have all the answers, but I do believe it has a fighting chance of being the answer to one of your needs.

By the way, in 1999, a little more than a year after, I got a God-sent opportunity that allowed me to attend college.

I did get a scholarship that helped me get through the first three years of my college education.

Not to mention, over the years, I ended up holding leadership positions such as editor-in-chief in a school publication and being president of the English Club, knowing how to build websites, working for big American firms, to name a few.

I never imagined my life would turn out the way that it has. I had seriously thought I would have a jobless future. I have screwed up and stumbled and stood up and learned and lo and behold—today, teaching English is my full-time career.

Despite who I was and what I only had, I would say I have made it. Why can't you?

Visit my website:

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Kenjie is now living in China. He's happily married to a Chinese national from Zhengzhou, Henan province. When he is not teaching, he builds websites and writes blogs. He also helps teachers obtain a TESOL certificate and get a teaching job in China.