This week in Vitamin V…
We’re talking about what you should do in a conversation.
And… what you should not do.
Or as we say in English, the Dos and the Don’ts.
Yesterday was Don’t #1.
Don’t ask the other person to correct you.
The main reason is, it doesn’t work.
The other reason is, it makes you feel like a loser who can’t say anything right and it kills the conversation.
Today we’re talking about Do #1.
Which is also how you can speak correctly…
WITHOUT studying confusing grammar rules. WITHOUT asking a teacher to correct you. And WITHOUT sitting in a boring classroom.
It’s the same way you learned to speak your native language correctly.
And it’s the same stuff astronaut Buzz Aldrin and cosmonaut Juri Gagarin eat for breakfast.
Mr. Vig’s English Conversation DOs and DON’Ts
DO #1 — LISTEN
Here’s a conversation where the student did not listen:
STUDENT: I watched a document on TV last night.
ME: I love documentaries. Which documentary did you see?
STUDENT: I saw a document called The Sorrow and the Pity.
ME: I’ve never seen that documentary. Was it good?
STUDENT: Yes, it was a very good document.
And on and on it goes.
I say “documentary.”
The student says “document.”
For the student to say the word correctly, he doesn’t need to learn a rule, go to school, download an app, or stand on his head.
He just needs to listen.
And you can do the same to improve your grammar, pronunciation and learn lots of new words.
Listen.
Am I saying it like the native speaker?
If the answer is “no”, start saying it like the native speaker.
Simple.
Why do so many people want things to be complicated…?