Tomorrow’s illiterate will not be the man who can’t read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn.
-Alvin Tofflerauthor of the book “Future Shock“
VIRGINIA, USA – Do you know how to learn?
Not “what to learn.”
Not “when to learn.”
How to learn English….
If your answer is, “Go to a language school” then your answer is “No.”
LEARNING HOW TO LEARN
Greetings from a rainy Virginia.
This is my last week in my home country.
Next week I’m returning to my second home in Europe, in Prague.
I’m glad I decided to stay a little longer.
There’s a Halloween party tomorrow I’ll get to go to.
I was going to dress as a vampire-viking-cop. But the costume store was sold out of viking helmets, so I guess I’ll just have to go as Count Copula. (Get it? I’m a vampire AND a cop…? Maybe I’ll send a picture next week… )
Also, last night was quite interesting.
My dad and I drove about two hours into Washington D.C. to attend an event to remember those who fought against communism.
It got me thinking about how some people want to take care of themselves and others want someone else to take care of them.
The main speaker for the evening was a retired college professor.
One of the stories he told was about how Americans don’t know their history.
But there was one exception, he said.
In his college classes, the students who knew the most history were not the students who went to high school…
The students who knew the most history were the students who taught themselves.
(In the U.S., children who learn at home instead of going to a traditional school are called “home-schooled.)
That’s not what you would expect, right?
Well, I’ve noticed the same with English students…
THE ONLY WAY TO MASTER ENGLISH
The adult who waits for his employer to hire a teacher so he can get free lessons…
The adult who once a week drives to the language school and sits in a crowded classroom…
The adult who is still reading her text book from when she was a child…
These are the adults who never reach their goals.
This is the difference between being active and passive.
It’s the differnce between taking responsibility for your future or handing your future over to someone else.
Honestly, it’s the difference between an adult and a child.
When you’re a child, you must trust others to take care of you.
But when you become an adult, you must take care of yourself.
That includes taking care of your dreams.
And if fluent English is your dream… then it’s up to you to wake up every morning, chase it and, as we say in English, grap it by the horns.
No one else can do that for you.
Not the government… not the experts… not the schools… not even me…
It’s up to you.
Now go grab some English by the horns!