🎙️Learn Real English Fluency Through Travel & Immersion | Real English Conversations Podcast For Global Professionals

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience another country as a local rather than as a tourist?

In this special episode from the archives, Curtis and Former co-host Amy talk about their incredible three-month experience in Colombia.

They traveled to Barranquilla on Colombia's Caribbean coast to experience Carnival, but instead of simply staying in hotels and visiting tourist attractions, they stayed with friends and their families.

That allowed them to experience Colombian culture from the inside—from everyday social activities and local food to music, dancing, street parties, and Carnival celebrations.

They even had the opportunity to learn cumbia with a group preparing for the Carnival parades and were invited to participate in the festivities.

But this episode isn't only about travel.

It's also a fantastic English listening lesson.

You'll hear Curtis and Former co-host Amy naturally describing experiences, telling stories, asking questions, expressing opinions, comparing cultures, and explaining things to each other—all without the scripted language you normally find in English textbooks.

And near the end of the conversation, they discuss one of the most interesting questions for language learners:

Does living in another country automatically make you fluent in the language?

Former Co-host Amy shares her honest experience of spending time in full Spanish immersion and explains why simply being surrounded by a language wasn't enough to produce the level of improvement she expected. She realized that additional input—such as reading, studying, and getting more exposure to the language—was necessary to maximize the benefits of immersion.

That's an important lesson for anyone learning English today.