The silliest method I've ever tried was hoarding free Bilibili resources and joining check-in groups for half a year to save tuition. I spent barely any money, but I still could only stutter out single words when speaking, and couldn't even finish a complete self-introduction. After wasting almost 20,000 RMB on various useless courses, I realized: when learning spoken English, you can't just look at the listed price, you have to calculate the real value of every penny you spend.
01Step 1: Calculate the sunk cost of time first, don't just look at the unit price of courses
Many people's first reaction when choosing courses is to compare the unit price, click and pay for 100 courses at 99 RMB, and finally end up with less than 5 courses completed before they expire. The wasted money is nothing compared to the half a year of time you lost.
Avoid these pitfalls when calculating sunk cost:
- Don't fall for gimmicks like "100 courses for 100 RMB", first calculate how likely you are to finish all courses spontaneously
- Think twice before choosing courses longer than 40 minutes each, adults can't stay focused that long, most of the time will be wasted
- Don't choose courses without mandatory booking reminders, you will most likely forget about them until they expire
Frankly speaking, the 3 months you waste dawdling is enough for you to go from being afraid to speak English to being able to hold simple business meetings with foreign clients with a reliable tutor. A Ze, who works in cross-border e-commerce, made this mistake before: he bought 99 RMB pre-recorded courses, didn't take a single one for half a year, and finally missed the window for a job promotion. We analyzed 1200 student profiles before, and Is Practicing English Every Day for Everyone? We Analyzed 1200 Student Profiles to Tell the Truth shows that 80% of people can't stick to unsupervised self-study for more than half a year.
02Step 2: Calculate the effective input per unit time, this is the core reference standard
This is the core measurement item in the spoken English practice method I personally recommend more: how many real speaking opportunities do you get for the money you spend?
The core logic of Karen's Teaching Method at KuaKu English is: high-density effective speaking > low-frequency ineffective ear grinding.
For example, KuaKu's 25-minute high-frequency short courses are all 1-on-1 online foreign teacher courses, there's no time wasted on raising hands for speaking turns or slacking off like in group classes. The effective speaking time in 25 minutes is much more than the time you spend memorizing words and watching dramas for 2 hours by yourself. Besides, all KuaKu's foreign teachers are directly hired from our physical campus in Manila, Philippines, with stable teaching quality, no unqualified teachers. With the same budget, you can take 3 times more courses than with European and American foreign teachers, and your speaking opportunities double directly.
You see, many people ask how to practice spoken English the fastest, the essence is to increase the number of effective speaking times per unit time, everything else is useless. If you want to know how to make the most of 25 minutes per day, you can read 25 Minutes a Day for Spoken English: 3 Tested Steps from a Long-term Student.
03Step 3: Calculate the兑现 speed of long-term benefits
Don't struggle over 10 or 20 RMB more per class, calculate how soon you can monetize what you learn.
Xiao Xia, who works in foreign trade, took courses at KuaKu for 25 minutes every day. After 3 months, she could hold meetings with foreign clients independently, and got an extra 20,000 RMB commission that month, which directly covered the 3,000 RMB tuition she paid. If she had chosen cheaper courses that barely gave her speaking opportunities, she would have lost enough commission to pay for a whole year of tuition by waiting 3 more months to be able to talk to clients.
This cost-calculation type of spoken English practice method has been tested by at least a dozen of my friends, and none of them have wasted money on useless courses since. KuaKu now offers free 1-on-1 trial courses, if you are interested, you can book one to experience the intensity of the 25-minute short course first before deciding whether to sign up.
