Hey everyone and welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
I'm Oliver and today we are going to look at a very cool topic and that is language learning myths.
And what is a myth?
So a myth is something that lots of people believe, but it isn't actually true.
So, for example, some people have lots of myths around health.
So things that you should eat or do to make something better.
But it's just a myth.
It's something that is made up and lots of people believe.
And the same applies for language learning.
And that's what we will look at today.
We'll look at some language learning myths.
So grab a coffee, get comfortable, relax and prepare to have an interesting discussion and learn something new, hopefully.
Okay, so the first myth and this is something I have talked about before and looked at this method of learning and it does work for many people but the myth is that you have to learn English like a child.
Or you have to learn English or a language when you're a child to properly learn the language.
And I hear this all the time.
The idea is that kids pick up languages naturally, so it's much easier to learn languages as a child, so adults should try to do exactly the same.
But there is a key difference, and that is that kids and adults learn languages in completely different ways.
When we're children, we are basically forced to learn a language.
Children are surrounded by it 24 seven.
They hear their parents, they watch TV in that language, they listen to conversations and they have no choice but to learn.
But as an adult, you already have a fully developed brain.
And you can actually learn, perhaps in a more effective way than a child, because you can study and understand grammar structure and patterns.
So really, the truth here is that you don't have to learn like a child.
You just need a good mix of input, listening, reading, speaking and writing to build fluency.
And unlike a child, you can apply logic and memory techniques to learn even faster in some cases.
Now, I made a separate podcast episode on this before called, i think, learn like, like a baby, and this is still true.
So the key concepts of input, so comprehensible input audio reading listening um, all of these things are extremely important, even for adults to learn english.
But as an adult, you should be using other methods and you should be using your advantages as an adult to learn.
Unfortunately we, especially once we've grown up, we don't have that same developing brain advantages that children have.
So we can't learn in exactly the same way.
And often for children, it is just enough to have lots and lots of input.
But as adults, we not only need this input, but we also need explanations and other ways of learning.
For most people,
Now, there are so many people that are able to learn based on input, but I would say from the vast majority of my students over the years, people need some structure as well.
They need proper lessons, proper materials, as well as just input.
The next myth is that grammar is the most important thing.
So let's talk about grammar.
A lot of learners, particularly at the beginning, think that grammar is the key to fluency, to sounding correct, to building sentences and getting things right.
And while it is important, in my opinion, it is definitely not the most important thing.
So just think about it.
How did you learn your first language?
A little bit like this learn like a child thing.
Grammar was not really the key focus.
And although you should be learning it as an adult, it shouldn't be number one on your list.
If anything, I think vocabulary is much more important for beginners and intermediate than grammar.
Grammar is up there, definitely.
It's important.
But don't place it as number one in your study routine.
Often people pick grammar because they feel comfortable with it.
So they focus lots and lots on grammar.
And as a result, they tend to avoid speaking and writing.
They avoid speaking and other difficult tasks that maybe they're a little bit worried or nervous about doing.
So do get out of the comfort zone and don't just focus on grammar.
And grammar as well.
I don't think it's the most important thing, because it can actually hold people back if they're too focused on grammar and making mistakes, but do have a healthy grammar routine as well.
Now the next myth is that you have to live in an English-speaking country to become fluent.
I've heard this a lot about other languages too.
People say oh yeah, I've heard that you need to move to another country where the language is spoken to really properly speak that language.
I'm sure you have heard something similar too.
Now of course being in an English speaking environment does help.
If you're surrounded by English, of course, you will hear it more often, you'll be forced to use it, and it speeds up your learning.
But does that actually mean that you have to live in the UK or the US or Australia to become fluent?
Absolutely not.
And I've seen this time and time again.
I have met so many people from all around the world. that speak amazing English.
And I'm always so shocked when I find out that so many of them have never visited or travelled to an English-speaking country.
And that's because you can find all of the resources and the practice required in your own country on the internet, in books, on audio tapes, in podcasts.
You have so many options.
And I would also give my example.
So I find when I was living in Russia for study, I did get a lot of practice with Russian because I was studying Russian at university there.
After university, I was working in Moscow.
And, to be honest, during that time I had way less practice in Russian than I did in the UK when I was at university in the UK.
Because in the UK, I had Russian classes every week.
I had lots of exams, tests, structure.
And when I was working in Russia, in Moscow, I was working in English.
I was teaching Russian.
I was speaking in English all the time.
I was explaining English rules.
And when I met people, most people wanted to practice and try to speak English with me.
And I did fall into a bit of a routine of speaking lots of English.
And as a result, I actually felt my Russian progress really slow down when I was living in Moscow.
Of course, a big element of that was my fault with my job, my routines, maybe my friends.
But it just shows you that you can make just as good progress in your own country.
And even if you were living in an English-speaking country, It's very easy to have your own routines, your job, whatever you're doing, and to not be working very hard on your language.
And I think this is something that a lot of people can actually relate to and agree with.
So it's about that effort and the routine and the work that you put in, no matter where you are. the next myth i've heard from so many students and that is that adults can't become fluent particularly older adults into middle ages and above and people will often say ah it's too late for me to learn or speak english fluently And that is just not true.
Sure, kids do have an advantage when it comes to pronunciation because their brains are still developing.
But when it comes to grammar vocabulary, conversation skills, I think that adults often have the upper hand.
They have an advantage because we can study more effectively and in a more structured way.
I have met people studying language, studying English fluently, and they're speaking fluently right into their 50s 60s, 70s and even 80s.
So the real key is consistency, regular practice, daily exposure and the right mindset.
Age is not a barrier to learning English unless you believe it is.
So that is the final point I wanted to talk about with language learning.
And I just add in as an extra one that you don't have to be perfect to speak English.
A lot of people feel or have this belief inside that they need to say something correctly to start speaking or to speak.
And what happens with that?
You just wait and wait and you never actually practice speaking, because you're quite afraid to make mistakes.
But native speakers make mistakes all the time.
We forget words, we mix up grammar, we even make our own words up sometimes.
So fluency is definitely not about being perfect.
It's not about having perfect grammar or pronunciation.
It's only about being able to communicate your ideas clearly and naturally.
That is what being fluent is.
It is not about speaking with perfect grammar and advanced vocabulary.
It's about communicating freely.
That's it.
If these myths are in general not true, what do I think actually works?
And just briefly, I can summarize it quite easily.
And that is consistency, exposure, and confidence.
With consistency, that is practicing a little bit every day.
It's way better than once per week with a big session.
And the next point, exposure to surround yourself with English as much as you can, wherever you are.
Music, podcasts, books, movies, and talk as much as you can.
And the final is confidence.
Don't be scared.
Speak and practice.
Use your language and you will improve so much faster.
Learning English should be fun, not stressful.
So make the most of it, make it fun, make it interesting and enjoy the process.
So, before I finish the podcast, I want to tell you that I have a new website easyenglishpodcastcom.
That's easyenglishpodcast.com.
There you can sign up for a free weekly English newsletter with learning materials and also access some blog posts that I write for each podcast episode so that you can practice your reading.
So that's easyenglishpodcast.com.
Thank you for listening and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day.
Goodbye.
