You are trying really hard to speak fluent English, but your English is not improving or it’s simply not going anywhere beyond the beginner English level. Are you wondering, why is that? Have you tried to find reasons why is your English not improving? In spite of taking so many efforts such as taking English classes, watching English lessons online and may other advices that your teachers give you regularly. Well, you are not alone, there are these 07 things you should stop doing immediately if you want to learn English faster and speak English fluently and confidently. It would take some time, but the end result would be great. Watch this English lesson carefully until the end with Michelle, as she gives you some useful insights based on her experience with English students.
Complete Video Transcript –
Are you scared of speaking in English? Do you make mistakes? Does it happen that you fumble and stutter sometimes? Don’t worry; it happens to everyone, even me sometimes. In this lesson today, I am going to tell you what are the things that you should not do when speaking in English. Welcome to Let’s Talk and I am your tutor for the day.
The first thing that you should not do ever when you’re speaking in English is, to be ashamed of your English. Why should you really be ashamed? We all make mistakes, isn’t it? What if you don’t have much vocabulary? And what if your pronunciation is wrong? Are you afraid that your friends will make fun of you? See, even I stumble, even I stutter. It’s absolutely normal. You don’t have to worry but the question is why is it really important to not be ashamed? See as long as you don’t speak in English, you will not develop your oral fluency, which is very important and if at all you’re aiming at the IELTS exam, then it’s even more important to develop the oral fluency. And trust me; there is just no other way to learn English except to open your mouth and to speak it out loud. If you tell yourself, I just can’t speak in English, that’s very bad because you know that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’re just discouraging yourself. So you must say, I can speak English. I will surely speak English. Don’t worry, go ahead, talk it out and there should be no fear and no shame at all. So what have you learnt? The first thing that we should not do when speaking in English is, to be ashamed about it.
The second thing that you must do when speaking in English is don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Who doesn’t make mistakes? What do you think is the trait of being human? Making mistakes. We all make mistakes. We all fumble, it’s absolutely fine. You shouldn’t be scared of making mistakes. It’s okay and the most important thing is, make as many mistakes as you can because if you do that, you’re actually speaking English and you have the opportunity to improve. However, if you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t improving either. That’s sad, isn’t it? So speak more, make more mistakes but the important thing is, to be aware of your mistakes. So that you can learn from them and improve. The second thing that you must not do when speaking English is, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Make mistakes, be free, learn from them and get better.
The third thing you shouldn’t do when speaking in English is, to apologize for your level. Why should you apologize for your level? You’ve spent so much time working hard to achieve the level you are at. You know I feel really upset, when somebody tells me, please excuse me for my English. I’m just a beginner. It’s alright, I never get offended at someone’s level of English and if your friends do, then that’s very saddening. However, you must not be discouraged. Its fine, whatever level you have of English, you must understand that learning English is a long process. Not that long really but it takes time. Surely it does not happen overnight. So give yourself that time and prepare yourself to get better. You don’t have to apologize for your level of English.
The fourth tip that we have today that you shouldn’t do while speaking in English is or maybe while learning English instead is, don’t get frustrated with yourself. Of course, I understand, it may happen that sometimes, you don’t find the right word that you need to use or maybe sometimes, you’re not able to express yourself fully. Like, you can express yourself in your native language. Then what? It’s alright, don’t get frustrated. It happens with everyone but I think, one major reason for this could be that if you use English only twice a week at your language school, then it’s a problem. Try to use English more regularly. The only way to solve this problem is to practise, practise and keep on practising. Don’t get frustrated with yourself. What you should do is, embrace the frustration and use it effectively to learn more. We are going to overcome frustration, fear and everything else that stops you from learning English.
This is the fifth thing that you shouldn’t do when you’re trying to speak in English. Do you feel bad when someone doesn’t understand you? Then stop doing that. You must not feel bad when someone is not able to understand you. There could be two reasons for it. The first one could be that person is a native speaker and they have a different accent. You know there are so many English speakers worldwide with different accents and it gets very hard to understand an accent which you are not familiar with. So maybe that person has not met too many foreigners and is not aware of your accent. You know like me, I also sometimes have problems with an understanding Irish accent, sometimes, yes but what is the other reason? The other reason could be that the person listening to you could have a lower level of English than yours. Maybe they have a lesser vocabulary so they are not able to understand your advanced vocabulary. It’s quite possible but doesn’t forget you were once at their level and you must encourage them to be like you. So, don’t take it personally when someone does not understand your English.
Now, we have the sixth and a very important thing that you shouldn’t do while you trying to learn English and that is, don’t, do not compare yourself to other English speakers. You’ve worked so hard to be where you are. They don’t know how much time you’ve spent on learning English. They don’t even know the struggle that you’ve gone through. It’s said, don’t judge a book by its cover. You can say this to them if they judge you. However, it is very important that you don’t compare yourself to your friend who is in London and who’s spent three years there and is speaking absolutely fluently. This doesn’t mean that you are not on the right path. Everyone is different. Some people learn quickly, some people take some time. It’s absolutely fine, take your time, learn the language and don’t compare yourself to other speakers.
This is the seventh and the final thing which you must not do when you’re learning English and trust me, this is very important. Don’t get cocky, which means arrogant, if you think that you’ve become a fluent speaker of English. Think of yourself when you started and if you aren’t, then you shouldn’t be discouraged. Just to remind you, learning English is a journey and it’s not a destination. If you think that you’ve already learnt English, then you’re living a lie because it’s a never-ending process. even for me, I just cannot say that I’ve already learnt English, I’m still learning but I’m also teaching just to help you guys become much more fluent than you already are. So, don’t get cocky, don’t get arrogant. Be merry and encourage those around you who cannot speak too well.
This brings me to the end of today’s session and I hope now you know exactly what you should not do when you’re trying to speak in English. Try to follow the things that I’ve taught you and I’m very sure that your destination is not too far, very soon you’re going to very fluent. Please do subscribe to our channel and come back for more videos. I’m gonna see you again in the classroom. This is Michelle, signing off for this lesson, bye.
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