Why I'm Learning English as a Developer

Why am I learning English?

English is an important skill for my career. If I want to work on great projects and have an international career, I need to improve my English.

Who I am#

Hi, my name is Iván, and I’m a senior backend developer. I specialize in PHP, Symfony, and Laravel. I’m from Spain.

I love technology, and I'm also very interested in AI and this new era of technology.

I know how to build software, but English is limiting my ability to communicate that knowledge internationally.

At the same time, I want to go deeper into AI.

So I decided to combine both challenges.

I'm going to learn AI while improving my English, and I'm going to document the entire process publicly.

Why I'm doing this#

I have several years of experience building backend systems. I work with REST APIs, microservices, hexagonal architecture, and system design.

The problem is not my technical knowledge. The problem is communicating that knowledge in English.

My current English level#

My current English level is around A2. I can understand technical conversations, but I have problems when I need to speak.

With my current English level, I don't feel confident doing job interviews or working on international projects.

What are my challenges?#

I can build backend systems.

I can work with REST APIs.

I can design microservices.

I understand hexagonal architecture.

I can discuss technical problems in Spanish.

But...

I struggle to speak spontaneously.

I struggle to understand native speakers.

I struggle to explain complex ideas.

What am I going to do?#

For this reason, I decided to focus on learning English while going deeper into AI development. I also want to document this process.

But I won't only write about AI. I will also share the challenges I face when building software, how I make decisions when designing systems, and the problems and solutions I find in my day-to-day work as a backend developer.

I will document each step. I will share the tools I use, the resources I find, and the habits I develop.

How am I going to measure my progress?#

I will use AI tools to measure my progress, and I’ll set milestones for myself.

I want to:

• Have conversations with native English speakers.
• Validate my level with English tests.
• Publish content without using translators or LLMs.

A note about this blog#

This post has been reviewed by an LLM to improve the reading experience.

However, I will include a link to the original version so you can see my mistakes, the corrections, and my writing score.