Wrong Beliefs That Make It Hard To Learn English
November 29, 2021
“I don’t have the gift for learning English.”
“I’m afraid to talk and look like an idiot.”
These are some of the wrong things we have in mind when trying to learn English which can hinder our progress.
“I don’t have the gift for learning English.”
Some people may indeed have more facilities, but that doesn’t mean that those who don’t have that facility won’t speak English. Anyone can learn any language if the right methodology is applied.
Can you see a pattern here? Once again, the problem appears to be how English has been taught. The idea of learning English is very much linked to effort and memorization. So many people will struggle with the process. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as finding this approach boring. And, let’s face it, finding this boring is a perfectly normal reaction. Another problem here is perfectionism. When you make a mistake, you believe you are not good at English. That’s because you’ve never been told that making mistakes is entirely normal. Mistakes are part of the process and will happen.
Conclusion: each one develops their skills at a different time, and this is not a problem. There is no “gift” for learning English.
“I’m afraid to talk and look like an idiot.”
Once again, excessive error correction and the idea of perfectionism are the enemies to be fought here. It is this pair that makes this “fear of speaking” appear. When we are constantly corrected, we know that we’re not good at English, and we feel scared.
You’ve probably been told that you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes, and that’s great advice. But do you ever feel that you don’t have to be afraid of making mistakes?
Traditional English teaching only reinforces that making mistakes is “ugly.” Although we are told not to be afraid, in practice, this does not happen. The idea of wanting to be perfect adds to that. If you believe your speech needs to be perfect, you will become frustrated and not overcome your fear.
If you go to the real world, people don’t care about your mistakes, but you can communicate. The key to overcoming fear comes from applying a methodology like learning English for high school student (ภาษา อังกฤษ ม ปลาย which is the term in Thai) that will leave you free to make mistakes and learn from your mistakes.
Conclusion: the message is more important than the form. Making mistakes is part of the process.
