I’m generally happy with my level of English. I’m fluent at speaking, I’ve been using the language at work for the past 24 years. I’ve spoken at conferences and read a good number of books rarely resorting to a dictionary. I believe that my first job as a junior developer at Philips was granted to me for being garrulous at the interview, rather than for any other skills.
About 3 weeks ago I realized it was not enough any more.
The expression “resorting to”, which I used a couple of sentences prior, would not just pop up in my head in the middle of an otherwise lively English conversation. I actually had to look it up.
In Russian, I would use the expression “to resort to” without even thinking.
This puts together my main point. When speaking my mother tongue, I’m used to expressing my thoughts in somewhat more sophisticated ways. I enjoy myself trying to keep an engaging conversation, using resonating words and phrasal expressions, putting in an occasional wordplay, or cracking a joke. And all that is mostly hidden from me when I use English. So, I plan to change that.