This week’s English lesson comes to you from the deep, dark Virginia woods.
Yes, the forest.
So pour a cup of coffee and have a seat.
It’s a lesson you probably need…
DELAYED DEPARTURE FROM THE U.S.
Greetings from the US!
I”m still here.
You see, there’s a big Halloween party next week.
Last year it was cancelled.
And this year it looked like it was going to be cancelled for the second year in a row…
But at the last minute the organizer changed his mind.
And now it’s back on!
And since I haven’t been to a party in a long time….
I’m going to stay just a little longer.
And then I’ll return to my second home in Prague.
A LESSON IN THE WOODS
Last Sunday I went hiking with a friend.
We were in the Shenandoah National Forest, which is right in my backyard here in Virginia.
By the way, if you’re ever visiting the US, and you’ve already seen New York and California, I can really recommend Virginia. It’s a lovely place.
So we were hiking in the woods, and after about an hour, we bumped into some lost hikers.
My friend, who knows the woods better than me, gave them directions.
Then, when he was finished, the lost hiker asked him, Sprechen sie deutsch?
Well, obviously three decades wasn’t enough time for my friend to lose his accent.
Because he, in fact, did sprechen the deutsch.
And off they went! Speaking German in the Virginia woods.
Now here’s the lesson.
I understand almost no German.
But here’s what I could understand.
One, the lost hiker wasn’t exactly fluent.
He spoke slowly.
He spoke with an American accent.
And like most students, I’m sure he made plenty of mistakes.
But did he care?
He didn’t.
Did my friend care?
He didn’t.
Should you care?
You shouldn’t.
Here’s why…
ONE FOOT ON THE BRAKE
All my nervous students believe the same thing.
“First, I’ll get perfect,” they tell themselves. “Then I’ll feel confident.”
Well, it doesn’t work that way.
First, you’ll never be perfect (No one is.)
Second, when you practice English with a negative emotion, like being nervous, it’s like driving with one foot on the brake.
Get rid of all negative emotions, and suddenly you’re in the fast lane on the autobahn — everything is easier and faster.
Think of something you’re good at.
Now think of the emotions you had when you were a beginner.
My guess is, they were probably positive.
And you probably were rarely, or never, nervous.
And that’s my wish for you.
Be like the fearless German-speaking American in the woods.
Be like my German-American friend who doesn’t judge others who speak his language poorly.
And be like this guy who thinks he’s fluent in Spanish after one semester.
Just have fun with it!