07 Way to kill your English before you even start

speaking
Over the years I keep seeing the same mistakes being made over and over again
by those who want to improve their English. But its really shocking to see that
not only is reading and writing based English learning encouraged but speaking
English is discouraged! Moreover, I ound this genius approach o improving
English by cutting out speaking on an authority website Id better not give its
name here.
!ell, it would be olly to hold the website responsible or all their contributors
posts " ater all, even !ikipedia.org is ull o wrong and misleading acts. #till
the irst point on the article I read voices the standard notion in the industry and
here it is.
1. Talk less and listen more.
Brilliant, isnt it$ #hut your mouth, oreign English speaker, dont practice your
speech but instead ocus on passive language input! %his is the gem among all
recommendations Ive read online targeted to oreigners who want to improve
their English, and I cant stress enough how !&O'( it is.
%alking less English is in act a sureire way to kill your English luency and
speech conidence in its inancy. )ou see, irst o all, theres a misconception that
by passive input such as listening youll ac*uire all relevant vocabulary and as a
result youll be able to use it in your English conversations.
+eres the kicker listening ,%-, radio, podcasts, audio books etc.. will deinitely
add to your English understanding ,passive vocabulary. but wont considerably
increase your active vocabulary that you can use when speaking. !hen language
ac*uisition happens in a natural way, all three elements mind, hearing and
mouth work in unison. )ou simply need to speak in order to retain the new
English words or phrases in your active vocabulary or later use!
I you go by the traditional way which is primarily ocused on keeping notes and
memori/ing stu by reading it, your English will relect that. )oull become a
good reader and writer but when it comes to speaking youll be no good at.
Believe me " youll go through the same vicious circle o hesitation and making
mistakes when attempting to speak English i you heed by advice o talking less
and listening more.
#o dont kill your English " give it a chance, start speaking! 0et me remind you
once more " only by speaking loud and memori/ing youll retain the English te1t
or using it in an actual live English conversation later on.
2nd i you asked me how on earth anyone can suggest cutting down on
speaking, I have a very simple answer. Its all to do with traditional English
studies which are based on memori/ing stu rom te1tbooks and notebooks, and
pushing the 3play button on the cassette or 45 player to listen to a piece o
English audio recording. #adly I have to admit the ma6or shit isnt happening
yet, and the traditional English teaching industry still remains strong. But hey
websites like this can start making dierence.
2. Speak in English as fast as you can because speaking fluently means
speaking fast.
#ure, go or it! #peak ast and start wandering why your tongue keeps stumbling
and youre orgetting words and using the wrong ones. %his is another way o
going astray rom the path to English luency and unlike the previous way to kill
your English its *uite understandable why such an assumption e1ists.
In this case I dont actually blame the English teaching industry7 I think its
rather something that oreign English speakers 6ust assume.
!hen you learn English and later try to improve it, youre always kind o aiming
or a native speakers luency and pronunciation. #o while youre still alling short
o the luency you may eel that theres one aspect o spoken English that you
can match native speakers at " #8EE5. #o you start speaking very ast thus
reassuring yoursel o your good English speaking skills.
But heres how it can turn against you. !hile some oreign English speakers can
indeed come close to natives in terms o speed ,even with making grammar
mistakes here and there., many o us can start struggling big time. Its in act
very simple " the aster you speak, the bigger the chance youll stumble upon
some word or make a mistake.
%o understand how speaking too ast can adversely aect your spoken English
luency you can look at how you speak your native tongue and ask a ew
*uestions.
5o you always speak very ast when chatting with your amily members and
native riends$ 5ont you have moments when you have to slow down when
speaking your language to make a point " especially when discussing more
serious issues$
I can deinitely answer negatively on the irst and conirm the second *uestion
and I guess its the same with most people. Its the pressure o speaking a
oreign language " in our case English " that makes us eel that were obliged to
speak ast, i.e. native. But as we 6ust igured out, theres a undamental law in
this very assumption o e*ualing native English speech to a ast speech.
By the way " the same goes with native English speakers. 9nless a person tells a
simple story, theres a high chance theyll take time to think o what e1actly to
say.
#o slow down and take your time i you dont want to kill your English, simple as
that.
. !se sophisticated language "hen communicating in English.
)ouve heard some ancy word or phrase recently and youre trying to use it
when chatting in English$ :ine as ar as you know what youre about to say! %he
diiculties may arise i youre attempting to use words and phrases out o your
passive vocabulary and thats when you can start struggling when speaking
English.
5ont take me wrong " Im not trying to persuade you to keep using basic
English vocabulary and not learn new words. !hat Im saying is " i you eel
youre getting a bit carried away in the wrong direction when having a chat7 go
or simpler language to e1plain yoursel 7;.
0et me bring you an e1ample. 0ets say, youve heard or read a phrase 3on the
brink o insolvency. %he phrase has stuck in your mind, but i you havent put a
conscious eort in memori/ing it, the chances are it will remain in your passive
vocabulary. %hat is " youll recogni/e it and youll know what it means but you
wont be ully comortable with using the phrase in a conversation.
#o lets imagine youre having a chat with your co;workers about the economical
situation in the country at the moment. )ou start a sentence saying 3Many
companies are< and then you kind o know that you want to inish o the
sentence with 3< on the brink o insolvency but you 6ust cant say it out loud. Or
it could be that you manage to speak a couple o syllables but you cant say the
rest o the phrase. %his can start driving you mad due to the obvious
contradiction between the act that you actually know the phrase but you cant
use it!
In act the reason behind this phenomenon is *uite simple " anyone has
diiculties with using passive vocabulary when speaking. #o go or a simpler
phrase instead " 3Many companies are almost bankrupt. It conveys the same
message yet youre much more comortable with using it! 7;.
2lso you have to bear in mind that written English and spoken English are
dierent. !ritten English is generally more ormal whereas spoken English has a
whole lot more phrasal verbs and collo*uialisms in it. %hereore its are to say
that spoken English is a bit simpler than written language and you shouldnt eel
compelled to use the same vocabulary when speaking as youd do when
writing =!=
!hat you write on a 6ob application letter is more ormal than what you speak
when speaking with your uture employer, or instance. 4ompany meetings are
conducted using simpler language than company procedures described or I#O
standards. 2nd even English language proessors substitute their usual way o
speaking with a more riendly and easy;going manner when on a night out with
their riends or colleagues ,do they really$
#. $ut the main focus on reading English books% maga&ines and
ne"spapers.
I dont *uestion the necessity o reading " illiteracy isnt my goal and it shouldnt
be yours either. Moreover Im a keen reader mysel and I en6oy a good English
iction book as much as anyone can.
%he point Im trying to make here is that by reading 20O'E your English will
remain 6ust right there " buried deep within countless pages o your book
collection.
!hat so ew people seem to reali/e even in this day and age is that any
language is supposed to serve as means o verbal communication. #o i you like
the old;school approach " stay inside and read all day long. +owever, i you want
to en6oy lie, meet new people and make lots o English speaking riends get
outside, chat people up and start e1periencing what speaking English really
means!
+ere I have to touch once more the topic about most o advice about improving
English being ocused around passive language input like reading and listening.
)es, speaking is also mentioned ,sometimes. as one o ways you can improve
your English. But Id rather give English speaking the top place on the activity
list with all other aspects like reading, writing and watching %- programs
subordinated to it.
#o i you want to kill your English " do nothing but read. )oull become brilliant
at reading and useless at speaking. But i you think theres no way your spoken
English wont develop considerably i you read a lot " listen to my story.
Back in the days when I was struggling with speaking to others in English I used
to ocus on reading. I had already achieved a complete luency at reading but
still I couldnt igure out why my spoken English is alling behind by a million
light years.
I can still clearly remember mysel chatting with my team;leader at work on one
occasion. I was trying to tell him about an interesting moment rom a novel I
was reading at the time, but I was struggling a lot. I had everything on the tip o
my tongue but I 6ust couldnt orm a luent, coherent story about the events in
the book.
%here you go " absolute reading luency vs hesitant and broken spoken English.
!hich one youd go or$ %he irst one$ !ell, i thats what you want your English
or " good or you! %he second one$ B/////<..! 2lso wrong!
#urprised$ 5ont be " because you can easily achieve BO%+ i you dont put too
much ocus only on one aspect o English improving " in this case, reading.
'. (ocus on studying grammar in order to improve your English.
%raditionally this is what English studies in school are about " English grammar.
:air enough, i not or one drawback " its *uite boring. )ou see " once past the
initial basic grammar, theres no need to make grammar studies your main
English improving eort.
>ust delve a bit deeper into grammar with me and youll reali/e what Im talking
isnt such non;sense at all!
!hat is grammar$ Im not going to look up the correct deinition on !ikipedia
but will use my own. I understand grammar as naturally occurring relations
among words in a sentence. (rammar determines in what order the words are
spoken, how they change and also " what words are spoken. (rammar is an
inseparable part o any language and I think theres no need to look at it
separately in order to learn the intricacies o a language.
5o you see where Im coming rom$
I believe that i you go the traditional way and study English grammar as a
sub6ect on its own, youre putting your spoken English at risk. !hat tends to
happen ater a long period o time spent studying grammar is " you become
really good at understanding +O! grammar works but youre not that good at
real English speech$
)our mind has got so used to analy/ing the English language that you start doing
it on the go. !hen you speak, you want to produce perect sentences by
applying grammar rules that you know so well. )ou try to stick separate words
together using the grammar rules the very same way youd do in your notebook
while studying English grammar.
In real lie, however, it doesnt happen that way. &eally luent speech isnt
ormed by sticking words together, its supposed to low rom your mouth
automatically. )ou see " when youve ac*uired naturally occurring English
language patterns by learning phraseology, collocations and idioms and such,
you dont necessarily need to know the grammar rules behind them =!=
%o speak correctly and luently you dont need to know why a certain thing is
said in a certain way. +ave a look at this e1ample " 35o you mind looking ater
my dog while Im doing my shopping$ #o the *uestion is " do you really need to
go through a list o words that re*uire the gerund orm ending with "ing to
igure out that you have to say 3do you mind looking instead o 3do you mind to
look$ 'ow Id say it would be madness!
But guess what$ %hats e1actly how I spoke back in the days when I was
improving my English by studying English grammar e1tensively!
I used to hammer lists o words that go with certain grammar orms in my head.
I learned when certain grammar tenses are used and when theyre not used. 2nd
Im not saying that it wasnt helpul " it was to a degree!
But you can also ac*uire essential English grammar by learning %+E language
instead o learning 2BO9% the English language. I you learn the phrase 35o you
mind looking ater$ " you dont really need to know that 3looking is gerund.
9nless youre a linguist.
). !se your native language as medium to learn English.
%his is deinitely one o the most powerul ways o killing your English.
Memori/e every new English word by its translation in your native language.
4onstruct sentences in your native language in your mind irst and then translate
them into English as you speak. In other words " think in your language and do
the translation in English. 2nd " dont be surprised i youre being told that you
speak broken and incorrect English! =shock=
%he key to understanding why you cant use your native tongue as a medium
when improving English and why direct translation doesnt work is grasping the
ollowing. 2bstract meaning conveyed in any language can be translated across
any other language, but you cant translate directly because every language has
its uni*ue ways o describing things and abstract concepts =!=
I I were to translate directly rom my native 0atvian, then 3candles also become
3spark plugs, but idioms like 3go to great lengths dont make any sense in my
language i translated directly!
2nd i you improve your English by writing new words in your notebook ollowed
by description in your language " youll always get stuck in translation! )oull
always keep reerring to your native tongue when speaking in English and that
will make you hesitate a lot and use wrong words as well. )ou wont be able to
get rid o the monkeys in your mind 6umping around and chattering away in
#panish, 4hinese, &ussian or whatever your language happens to be!
!henever Im asked by other 0atvians 3&obby, hows < in English! " I always
answer reply with " 38lease tell me the whole sentence, I need to hear the
conte1t! 2nd when I hear what the person wants to say, I dont translate every
0atvian word into English. I 6ust convert the whole 2B#%&24% meaning into
English simply because i I dont, the resulting sentence is oten totally wrong or
at least it sounds terrible!
+ow to avoid using your language as medium or English$
!ell, its *uite simple! 2void e1plaining new English words, phrases and concepts
using your native language. 9se other English words instead and look things up
in English to English dictionaries. I always use websites like 5ictionary.com or
%hereedictionary.com where you can ind plenty o e1amples how a particular
word or idiom is used!
By the way " an eective way o getting rid o monkeys in your mind is to
develop a habit o speaking with yoursel in English or ?@ " ?A minutes daily.
)ou can also comment on routine things you do at work, or instance, to make
English 3soak into your system. 5uring long hours at warehouse I used to say
out loud the product numbers I was picking o the shelves in English. Eventually
I got mysel thinking in English and i you can achieve it " youre halway to
luent spoken English.
7. (ocus on building huge English vocabulary by memori&ing long
English "ord lists.
I you want to become a luent English speaker you surely want to build up a
huge English vocabulary, dont you$ !ell, not really!
+ammering thousands o English words wont actually kill your English ,sorry or
the hype!. but it wont drastically improve your spoken English either. )oull add
to your active vocabulary, but how many words o those you learn will be any
good or you or later use$
+eres what I can suggest you do instead o memori/ing any word you come
across!
:irst you have to separate between vocabulary you need to use on a daily basis
and the rest o English words and phrases.
)ou see what I used to do a ew years ago was I wrote 200 new English words
in my notebook and memori/ed them. +ad I reali/ed that big part o that
vocabulary would never be used Id probably not go the way I went. But I was so
determined to improve my English back then that I was doing all I could
imagine and building a huge vocabulary was one o those things.
%o build your vocabulary eiciently you need to be selective. 9se your 6udgment
to determine whether a word or a phrase is relevant or your personal lie ,work,
studies, interests etc... I it is " write it down in a notebook with an e1planation
in English. 2nd its very important to use the new word in a word combination to
see how its used in real lie. 0ets say, you heard a word3impeccable. !rite it
down with a word it was used with, or e1ample, 3impeccable record. :ollow it by
e1planation in English 3perect, aultless record.
'e1t thing " memori/e the phrase by repeating a number o times over the ne1t
ew days until it settles in your mind. 'ow youll be able to use the phrase
3impeccable record and similar ones ,as you know the meaning o the word
3impeccable. in your English conversations!
2s or other words you hear but youre not really sure what they mean " on
many occasions youll guess their meaning rom the conte1t alone. I its not
*uite clear " ask others what it means. %he best way is to ask a native English
speaker or an e1planation, but you can o course use a dictionary. 2nd bear this
in mind you dont have to necessarily make an eort to memori/e the word .i
you come across it again and again, itll settle in your brain eortlessly as part o
your passive vocabulary.
#o the bottom line when building your vocabulary is to memori/e words and
phrases that are relevant to your liestyle " that way youll use them when
speaking English and theyll make up a big part o your active vocabulary.
%here were times when I used to memori/e nearly every word I came across
when reading English antasy novel 2s you can imagine, most o them arent
used in everyday lie, so I could do 6ust as ine by simply looking them up in a
dictionary
$roblems in learning English and ho" to improve
them
2re you having diiculty learning English$ 2re you saying to yoursel BI only I
could learn English better, I could do so much more.C$ I you are answering yes
to these *uestions, Im sure youre wondering how you can do that. In this
article, I would like to e1plain some problems many English learners ace, and
ways to improve your English that are simple and can be un at the same time.
$roblems in *earning English =
$oor English +ocabulary
-ocabulary is important when learning a language. 2ny language, o course
including English, has thousands and thousands o words. In many cases, even
those native speakers o the language do not know all the words o that
language. there are 6ust too many to learn. In act, according to many sources I
have come across, there are only D@@ words that you must know to converse in
English. %hat list is too long to display here, but a good start is to read through
that list and see how many words you know. )ou may surprise yoursel in the
amount o words you are amiliar with. I have posted a vocabulary list on !orld
English 4lub, and you can go to it and use our English vocabulary learning
method described below. 2nother problem people ace in learning English
vocabulary is that they learn new words, but they tend to orget what they have
learned *uite soon ater the 6ust learned them. #o what can you do$
,o" to -mprove your English +ocabulary =
%here are games to play and methods to learn to improve your English
vocabulary. %he best simple method I want to suggest is this7 6ust make a list.
'ow there is more to it than 6ust making a list, so keep reading. Once a week,
make a list o twenty ive words using the !orld English 4lub -ocab lists, or
choose words rom other popular websites. 2s you are compiling ,or making.
your list, make sure to write down the deinitions i you are unsure o them at
the time. 5o your best to study and learn these new words. 'ow break the list
down into ive words a day. On your irst day, study your irst ive words. On
your second day, study your ne1t ive words. 'ow heres the trick7 ater your
second day o your ive vocab words, try to write down yesterdays words. On
your third day, study day threes words, and then try to remember and write
down day twos vocab words. 2re you seeing a pattern yet$ I hope so. 5o this or
ive days, and on your si1th day o vocabulary learning, try to write all your
vocab words or the last week. %ake your time, and do your best. !hen you are
done, review those words and see what you remember. I you use the method
above, I guarantee you will improve your english vocabulary and not orget the
words you have learned.
$oor English Speaking Skills .
One o the biggest complaints I hear about when one is learning a new language,
is their inability to communicate successully. !hether it is an issue with
reducing their accent, or not knowing the vocabulary or grammar to create a
decent conversation, many people struggle with poor speaking skills. 8eople
assume that learning grammar in a classroom or studying vocabulary words will
help them speak a english as a language. But those actors only gain you
knowledge o the English language and cannot translate into real conversational
English skills. 2re you having problems with English speaking skills$ +ere are
ways to improve your English speaking skills.
,o" to improve your English Speaking Skills =
+ave you tried to watch a movie in English$ Im sure you have. It is one o the
easiest things to do while studying and learning english. But what is it about
watching movies that is a good idea$ Ill tell you7 its hearing the words spoken
out loud. #o there is one thing that Im sure you havent thought o to mirror this
learning eect, but it will make a bigger and better improvement on learning
English speaking skills. &ead a book. !ell, it doesnt have to be a book, but it
needs to be in English. 'ow heres the trick7 2s you are reading this book, read it
O9% 0O95. )es, it is as simple as that. &eading out loud will let you hear your
English and at the same time, help you gain more conidence in speaking
English. It does not have to be or a very long time. But you should read out loud
or at least ive minutes a day. 5o not give up on this. I think this is an important
method to practice and not enough people practice in this manner. Make sure
you are pronouncing your words, and i you have to read slowly, thats ok as
well. %he point is that you are speaking out loud and practicing speaking English.
#ince many English learners do not have the opportunity to interact with native
English speakers, this is one o the best methods to help improve your english
speaking skills. !hich brings me to my inal learning English problem.
/ot enough interaction "ith English speakers =
'ot being able to have interaction with native english speakers can be a great
hindrance on one who is learning English. But there are many things you can do
to help improve your interaction with native english speakers, or at least to
simulate this e1perience. !hich, lets ace it, is probably the most important part
o learning a new language. Interaction. #o here are some things you can do.
2s you all are aware, watching movies is a good idea. )ou can learn slang words
and, i you are interested in learning to speak like an 2merican, there are a lot o
collo*uialisms and 2mericanisms ,as I like to call them. that are diicult to learn
about simply by reading. to learn collo*uialisms, a person must hear the words
and phrases in conte1t. #o by watching movies, there can be no way in which
you, as a learner, can mistake or misunderstand the meaning o words or
phrases.
One way ,and I think this is the best way. that many English learners do not
think o, is inding an native English speaker in a chat room or English learning
website and chat with them via #kype or other internet voice service. %here are
plenty o people who would love to 6ust talk with you over the phone or internet
to help you learn. Or maybe you can oer to teach them a little o your language
in return. %hat way everybody gains something rom the e1perience. I you are
in a country or city where you do not have the opportunity to ind a native
english speaking riend, chatting on the phone or internet is the ne1t best thing.
I you are lucky enough to know an english speaker that you can meet with ,and
it should be someone you are comortable with so as you are trying to speak,
you will not be shy., try to meet them in a comortable place that you can hear
each other speak and 6ust spend about an hour talking about any topic that
comes to mind. )ou can also plan some topics to talk about so you dont waste
your time thinking o things to say. Maybe write down *uestions you have or
have them ask )O9 *uestions so you can practice answering them.
%here are plenty o other problems in 0earning English but I think these are the
three main reasons. I guarantee that i you know these pitalls and know how to
avoid them, every aspect o your English learning will be improved. 2nd you will
be a native English speaker in no time. (ood 0uck.
English Speaking Skills
Improving your English speaking skills will help you communicate more easily
and eectively. But how do you become a more conident English speaker$
$ractise "here you can% "hen you can. 2ny practice is good " whether you
speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
-t0s important to build your confidence. I possible, use simple English
sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on
getting your message across.
Try to e1periment "ith the English you kno". 9se words and pharases you
know in new situations. 'ative English speakers are more likely to correct you i
you use the wrong "ord than i you use the wrong grammar. E1perimenting
with vocabulary is a really good way o getting eedback.
Try to respond to "hat people say to you. )ou can oten get clues to what
people think by looking at their body language. &espond to them in a natural
way.
Try /2T to translate into and from your o"n language. %his takes too
much time and will make you more hesitant.
-f you forget a "ord% do what native English speakers do all the time, and say
things that EillE the conversation. %his is better than keeping completely silent.
%ry using um, or er, i you orget the word.
3on0t speak too fast4 ItEs important to use a natural rhythm when speaking
English, but i you speak too ast it will be diicult or people to understand you.
Try to rela1 when you speak " youEll ind your mouth does most o the
pronunciation work or you. !hen you speak English at normal speed, youEll
discover that many o the pronunciation skills, such as linking between words,
will happen automatically.
5emember% "hen speaking English6
Try to become less hesitant and more confident.
5onEt be shy to speak " the more you do it, the more conident youEll become.
&emember to be polite " use 7please7 and 7thank you7 i you ask someone to
do something or you.