Cultivating your English #20(of 20): Golden rules and thank you
❤️"A language cannot be taught. One can only create conditions for learning to take place."❤️ Wilhelm von Humboldt (Un idioma no puede ser enseñado. Solo se puede crear las condiciones para que el aprendizaje se produzca)
So, this is it…. The last of the 20 newsletters! I hope you have found them useful on some level at least. Maybe I have helped you plant some seeds to nurture. Thank you for reading this far!
This quote from Von Humboldt is very special to me. I read it in my first year of teaching I think- in about 1998. It has guided my idea of what English teaching and coaching should be more than anything else
……………………………………………...
I thought I would write down a few golden rules for your journey ahead with English.
🌞 Once you start learning English, as long as you continue having contact with English, the learning literally never ends. This should be a really positive, motivating thing- as Einstein said “once you stop learning you start dying”.
🌞 Be creative, imaginative and daring. Don’t let anyone (and certainly not me!) tell you how you should learn or what strategies to use to improve your English. Just be open to ideas that you can try and apply the principle of trial and error.
🌞 Maximise the contact you have with English. It’s not rocket science- remember? +More contact = more progress +Better quality contact = more effective progress +More enjoyable contact = more likely to progress now and into the future in a sustained way.
🌞 Build English into your day to day. Try to develop good habits… For example, breakfast time could be English time, sing in English in the shower, brush your teeth listening to a 6 min English episode, speak to Alexa in English, have your devices in English, chat to some of your friends in English on whatsapp etc, share your learning experience with others. Try to have a little bit of contact every single day- even if it’s just 5 mins.
🌞 Don’t beat yourself up! (no te automachaques!) Be kind to yourself and focus on what is going well and all the progress you have made- not what you “can’t do” yet or what you still find challenging. If you forget to have your bit of English one day or for a few days- no automachakating! (no, that word doesn’t really exist😝)
🌞 Patience and consistency are key to staying motivated. You can’t expect to make huge amounts of progress in short amounts of time. You can make steady progress over a long time. Remember that learning is an infinite game- strive for progress, not perfection.
🌞 You are the majority!! For every native English speaker there are about 6 English speakers like you who “speak bad English perfectly”, remember?! So, who speaks “correct” English? Having “good English” is when you can communicate effectively with the English you have.
🌞 Pleeeeaaaaase watch things in original version! Put the subtitles in your language if you need to but please put the audio in the original version. If you have children don’t ask them to improve their English or watch things in original version if you don’t watch things in OV!!
🌞 Try to feel proud of your English. It’s a result of many hours of hard work, focus and dedication. If you find English difficult then you should feel EXTRA PROUD of yourself. (I am not going to mention any names Janet, don’t worry.😅) The reason you should feel extra proud of the capacity you have to understand and communicate effectively in English is simple…. Other people you know might have a similar level to you but many of them haven’t had to work as hard as you to get there.
Do you have any other ideas for “golden rules” when it comes to improving your English? I’d love to hear them!
Thank you all for reading and for your feedback over the last few weeks and an extra special thank you to Janet and John-Paul who inspired me to do this newsletter challenge. 🙂🙏🙂