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My new student walked in to my apartment and sat down on the couch.
She looked confused.
As I started asking questions I felt like the policeman in the movie who interviews the victim after the crime.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Well, I was walking down the street, minding my own business, when I saw an advertisement for a language school. It said “Learn English.”
She blew her nose into a tissue.
“That was ten years ago…”
“And did you learn English?” I asked.
“No. Yes. A little. I don’t know….”
She looked out the window.
“Can you describe the language school?”
“There were text books…lots of grammar…group classes…the teachers always corrected me…”
There was silence.
I waited for her to finish her story.
Finally, all she could say was, “I don’t know what happened.”
But I did.
I’d seen it before.
Many times before.
This innocent English student was a victim of…
THE TWO BIG LANGUAGE SCHOOLS LIES
Lie #1
FACT
One more course. Two more courses. A thousand.
You’ll never be done with English.
Of course, schools want you to take courses forever.
But you secretly hope this next one will be the last.
And that secret hope sells the courses.
Yes, you can become fluent, but there is no end.
Because the second you stop using your English you start forgetting it.
Just like you can lose weight and get fit, but you’re never finished with exercise.
That’s why it’s much better to focus on the journey and not the destination.
So ask yourself, how can I listen more? Read more? Speak more?
And how can I make it more enjoyable?
LIE #2
FACT
A student attends class every week and does all the homework. Then wakes up a few years later, scratches his head, and wonders why he’s still not fluent.
But I’ve never met a fluent English speaker who only learned English in school.
They’ve all watched lots of TV, or read lots, had foreign friends, or played lots of video games or lived abroad.
The new Aqua Zumba class at the gym can help you get fit. But when you get home you can’t eat donuts.
No school, no teacher, no computer program will make you fluent.
But your daily routine will.
So ask yourself, how can I listen more? Read more? Speak more?
And how can I make it more enjoyable?