How to Improve Your English Skills: Tips from a LATAM Developer

The last decade has seen a huge boom in U.S. companies hiring Latin American developers. Through this, it’s become clear that one of the most important skills LATAM developers can develop to further their careers is a great level of English.

As an Argentinian in the upper quadrant of the millennial generation, my first introduction to English was about 30 years ago: I picked up a Gameboy and a copy of Pokemon Red, only to find that the words didn’t make any sense to me. But hey, I was a boy on a mission to catch ’em all, so I pushed my way through. Somehow, I figured out the meaning behind the game controls, the actions, and even the general Pokemon story on the way.

This approach — learning English playing video games — while unorthodox by every measure, was the driving force that allowed me to learn five languages over time. And learning languages has been paramount to gaining experience working with international companies.

In this article, I want to share some of my favorite techniques for improving language skills.

First Things First: What Does “Fluency” Mean?

As developers, many of us share a common goal to reach fluency in English, but defining that goal can be tricky. What does “fluency” even mean…