Do you want to brush up on your English performance dramatically?
This post is intended to let you know what is really acquired to become fluent in English.
I have 3 solid ideas which I'm sure mean to contribute to improve your comprehensive English performance.
Here we go.
1. Your job title is "an English speaker", not "an English learner"
The right attitude to learning English can make a huge difference between failure and success. Just stop thinking of yourself as an English learner. You should define yourself as someone who just speak English.
Most of people have a tendency to become blind to this vital attitude and, I'm sure, this way of thinking will exert huge effects on your English performance.
When it comes to drawing a line between "speakers" and "learners", what you should concern the most is the reason why you learn English.
Let's take a look at the situation in japan as a pragmatic example. Japan is often counted as a nation where a load of people struggle with conducting a high English performance even though English is a part of the requirements for finishing academic courses in Japan just like other countries and Japanese learn English for at least for six years through the process of compulsory education. In addition to that, you won't fail to come across a bunch of chances which enable Japanese to improve their English skills in their daily life. It is just obvious that they are exposed to opportunities as much as others who live in a country where English is not spoken as a first language. Nevertheless, Japanese can't do English. How come?
The biggest reason is all about their attitude to learning English. Japanese are "learners", not "speaks". Learners just focus on their English scores. Speakers may somehow pay attention to their academic success, but what they really care the most is about the the meaning of learning English: they have essential motivations to let them stick to English.
Here is my favorite motto
"English is just the mean, not the end"
I think this represents the difference between "leaners" and "speakers".
Why don't you try to figure out the main reason why you learn English again?
2. Don't be afraid of making mistakes.
What holds you back when you learn English is the fear of making mistakes. That's like some kind of disease most of us suffer from. So, where does this mindset come from?
I think we can trace it back to our school days. Probably you got scolded when you didn't pronounce a verb correctly. Maybe you felt embarrassed because of your academic background. Or even you got slammed by your parents because you couldn't continue to the university they would have expected you to go.
These are memories most of us carry as arduous opportunities. When you think you might make mistakes, what comes into your mind first is pictures your classmates laugh at you, you get some extra assignments and you feel silly about it.
Something even much worse can happen then. It means that you try to stay in your confort zone, memorize 10, 50 or 100 phrases and use them over and over. That's just epic fail which don't ensure your fluency.
I'm convincing that there is not such a thing like overnight success. When you look up the meaning of failure on the English dictionary, it is defined by just three words: Lack Of Success.
However that doesn't mean we don't value learning itself. It doesn't mean we don't value growth.
It does mean being able to be fluent in English is not up to your innately academic takent, it is up to YOU.
Failures are only failures when we don't learn from them because when we learn from them, they become lessons. So how about not feeling humiliated about your mistakes because making mistakes takes you to the next level.
3. Please understand there is no "Magic Bullet"
That means there is no super effective or secret formula to guarantee instant fluency at all. Don't dive into weird advice or something sounds like magical. I beg you they are not helping you out.
Plus, different methods will appear to different people. Some may do well with memorization, others may have trouble memorizing a lot. Some may be able to pick up words easily, maybe others don't.
Therefore, I want to let you know various ways to improve your English performance through my blog though they are included any baby steps, expecting to take time and practices to reach your ultimate goal.
I'm reluctant to do every step forward we take, we are taking three backwards every time.