How much English do you actually need as a developer?

• • Read English documentation slowly. Go docs, AWS docs, Stripe docs — they're all written in plain English. Use Google Translate for hard words. That's enough.
• • Type clear sentences. Subject + verb + object. “The API returns 500 when the user_id is empty.” Done. No grammar exam needed.
• • Ask for clarification. “Can you share an example?” “What is the expected output?” — these 6-word sentences will get you 90% of what you need.
• • Listen to slow English. YouTube has a 0.75x speed. Use it without shame. Foreign accents will get easier over 4–6 weeks.

• ✗ Perfect grammar. Native speakers themselves write “u” instead of “you” in Slack.
• ✗ A British or American accent.
• ✗ A vocabulary of 10,000 words. Tech communication uses ~500 words 95% of the time.
• ✗ Confidence to do a 30-minute small talk. Most remote work is async — Slack messages, Loom videos, GitHub PRs.

• • Google Translate / DeepL — for any sentence you don't understand. Don't feel bad about it.
• • ChatGPT / Claude — “Rewrite this in clear, polite, simple English” — for every important email or PR description.
• • Grammarly — free version is enough for fixing obvious mistakes.
• • Loom — record a 60-second screen video instead of writing a long message. Your face does half the work.
• • YouTube subtitles at 0.75x — practice for interviews. Then 1x. Then 1.25x.

My founder in New York spoke fast American English. I spoke broken Haryanvi-English. Here's exactly what I did, no filter:

1. I said upfront: “Sir, my English is not strong. I will ask you to repeat if needed.” He respected the honesty.
2. When he asked technical questions, I drew on paper, showed it to the webcam, and explained in 3–4 simple sentences.
3. When I didn't know a word, I described it. “The thing that runs many functions at the same time” → he said “goroutine”. I nodded.
4. I asked for a 1-day task to prove myself. He agreed. I delivered. He hired me the same day.

English is a tool. Code is the product. Ship the product — the tool will sharpen itself.