I read somewhere that hospitals used to be very dangerous places.
If you were sick, it was safer to stay home.
I feel the same way about language schools.
I’ve met many people who just “picked up” English through video games, TV, or travelling.
And I’ve met many people who are still not confident English speakers but who take class after class after class…
Here’s why:
Three Ways English Classes Make Your English WORSE
1. You’re joining an evil science experiment
Remember the story of Pavlov’s dogs?
When he fed his dogs they drooled.
Then he added the sound of a bell.
Finally, he removed the food, but noticed that the dogs still drooled when they heard the bell.
The same thing is happening when you go to a group class.
In a classroom you feel stress.
Add English and you connect the negative emotion to the language.
Remove the classroom, and now when a tourist asks you for directions your heart starts beating faster and suddenly you forget English, where the metro is, and your own name.
2. You’re practicing perfect
Take a test, do a listening exercise, answer the teacher’s question…
In school the goal is to always be perfect.
And that’s what we practice for years.
But that’s not the real world.
Native speakers don’t understand everything…
Native speakers don’t say everything correctly…
And there is no reward for being perfect.
Perfect does not exist in the real world.
What does exist is a fear of not being perfect.
And when you feel fear you speak worse, you avoid speaking, and finally your progress slows or just stops completely.
3. “You do it for me”
You walk into a language school, you hand them your money, you sit down at a desk, and you follow instructions.
If this was a commercial, which slogan would be more accurate:
“Just do it.”
Or…
“You do it for me.”
Being passive is the choice most people make because it’s the safer option.
It’s safer for our egos.
If you fail, if you don’t get the results you want, well, it’s not your fault; you were just following instructions.
But, if you make the harder choice and take responsibility, read a book on how the brain works, watch videos on how humans learn languages, talk to your bi-lingual friends about how they became fluent, and then actually do what you learn… that will be when things finally start to change for you.
As we say in English, that will be your “turning point.”