I will teach you to become a confident English speaker without schools and rules
I left my apartment and tuk tuk, taxi and scooter drivers slowed down to offer me rides.
I turned the corner and waitresses wanted me to come into their restaurants.
Another street and it was Thai massages, tours of temples that aren’t on the map, or “Nike” shoes for a whole lot less than you can find in Foot Locker.
Here was my answer… Hi Javier,“How can I easily remember English words and adopt them to my daily language?”
Well, there’s easy and then there’s realistic. I think the problem starts with students not being realistic.
Many students expect new words to become old friends the first time they meet.
But that’s not realistic. According to the research I’ve read, it takes adults between 8 and 11 repetitions to learn a word. That’s realistic. But unfortunately, that’s not easy.So does the magic combination of realistic and easy exist?
Traveling back to Prague.
Just spent nine days in Bangkok.
Three exploring the city: sweating, eating street food, trying not to get ripped off.
What does an English teacher do when he arrives in a foreign land?
Portugese explorers used to get off the boat and look around for gold.
When I get off the plane I usually start trying to find signs with crazy English mistakes.
Go to work… do some exercise… sit in traffic… walk the dog… play with the kids… talk to your husband/wife… go to sleep… repeat.
You’re busy.
We all are.
Maybe the answer is simple.
Maybe there is no mystery.
Maybe… you’re just doing it wrong.
“Be careful what you wish for.”
Have you ever heard that expression?
Here’s an example.
Here’s something you don’t see very often in the States.
Teenagers in a bar on Saturday night.
But in Prague, that’s every Saturday night.
Josef wrote and asked, “Is it important to know all the irregular verbs?”
My answer: No.
The reason: There are 638 irregular verbs in the English language. And some are so irregular, if you say them in conversation people will look at you like you have an extra arm growing out of your head.
“It’s about 100 kilometers…”
But then she stopped.
She looked embarrassed.