On Tuesday, when I am at my work, something interesting happens. Two customers come to our café. They are a husband and a wife.
The man starts to speak to me. I know that he speaks English but I don’t understand him. I don’t understand what he wants.
I think that he wants something we don’t have, so I call my boss. She speaks with the man and she sells him two coffees and two of our regular sandwiches.
I am surprised. When they leave, I go to my boss and I tell her that I am sorry I didn’t understand the man. She says that it is OK.
She says that this can happen when people speak with an accent which is new to us. She tells me that the pair was from Scotland.
The next day, I go to school and I tell this story to my teacher. I tell her that I felt really stupid that I didn’t understand our customer.
I wasn’t sure if my English was good enough for my job. I started to doubt myself. My boss was OK with it but I still needed some help from my teacher. I wanted to know what I could do in these situations.
My teacher says, “I understand. You are used to English which people speak in London, but you aren’t used to the Scottish accent. Your ears aren’t used to listening to the Scottish accent.
All you have to do is to listen more to Scottish English. You need to train your ears to this accent as well.
What happened to you, can happen to everybody. When you already speak English at some level and you go to a country where people speak with a different accent,
you shouldn’t be surprised if you don’t understand. It is OK and it usually takes two weeks to get used to this new accent.
Don’t think that there is something wrong with you when you don’t understand a new accent. With practice, you can train your ears to any accent.”
Then I ask, “So what can I do to understand the Scottish accent? I don’t live in Scotland.”
Our teacher says, “You can watch films with Scottish English or you can watch situation comedies from Scotland and soon you can understand. “I tell her, “Thank you.”
After school, I go to my work again. At about 4 o’clock, two interesting customers come to our café. This time, they are not from Scotland. They are foreigners.
They want to buy some coffee. They are two ladies and it is clear that their English is very basic. My boss is serving them. When she hears that they don’t speak English very well, she does something very interesting.
She changes her English. She uses very simple sentences with only three or four words. I can see that the ladies understand her. They buy two coffees, two sandwiches and two cakes. They are happy and my boss is happy too.
When the ladies leave, I tell my boss that it was very nice how she changed her English so that the two ladies would understand her. My boss says that sometimes she has to speak in a very simple English.
It doesn’t matter if the customers speak English well or not. They are our customers and we have to do everything possible to make them feel comfortable. If they see that they can speak English here, they can come to our café every day.
I think that our boss is a good businesswoman. She does everything possible to make our customers happy. It is true that we have a lot of customers. Our café is busy every day.
The next day at school, I tell my teacher about my experience with my boss and the two ladies who didn’t speak English very well.
Our teacher says, “Great, your boss must be a very clever young lady. It is true that you can communicate with everybody.
Even people who speak English very well can have a conversation with those who are just at the beginning of their journey.
Today, we will speak about different levels of English and what you should be able to do at these levels. Let’s start with the lowest level of 1000 words.
At this level, students can speak about some basic things from everyday life. The speaking is very limited, but it is already possible to communicate slowly for a short time with people who want to speak with you.
Your sentences are short. They have usually 4 words. If the others also speak in short sentences, you can have a basic conversation.
When students move to a higher level, which is 2000 words, the conversations are easier and the sentences are longer. This is the level most of you in this class are at right now.
You should be able to speak about many things from your life. You can speak about your family, hobbies, job and travelling.
Sometimes you can have a problem when you want to go into a deeper conversation on some topics. However, this level is usually sufficient enough for everyday use of English.
If you want to be able to have a deeper conversation on many topics, it is good to know 3000 words. Your goal, as a student of English who wants to be able to speak English well, should be to learn 3000 words.
Of course, you can learn more than 3000 words. The more words you know, the easier it will be for you to communicate in English,
but 3000 words is the level which is usually enough for communicating in English about almost everything.
I think that the two ladies at your café knew about 1000 words. Your boss went to their level, and she had a basic conversation with them.”
After my school, I go to my work. The two ladies come to our café again. They also bring two of their friends. It is my turn to serve them. I speak to them in simple short sentences. They understand me. This is great.
They tell me that they are tourists from Japan. They tell me that they like our café because people understand them here.
On Thursday, I go to school again. One student has a very interesting question. She says, “I am very shy when I have to speak English. Can you help me to overcome my shyness?”
Our teacher says, “It is true that when we use foreign languages, it is natural that we feel uncertain or shy. We are doing something which we are not perfect at. The possibility of making a mistake is great.
I was also very shy when I learnt foreign languages. I remember well how I was afraid to make a mistake. When I made a mistake, I felt stupid and sometimes I blushed.
Now, it is different. I use languages for communication. I care only about communication. You know that I am learning Spanish these days.
Embarrassing situations can happen, but they can’t stop me from using Spanish. It is true that sometimes I still feel shy when I have to speak Spanish.
I also sometimes blush but I don’t care much about it. It is a natural human feeling and it never lasts forever. I continue using Spanish because I know that only by using it I can improve.
I also try to see things as they are. I am a student and I am on the way to good Spanish. It is not possible to skip several levels in one day. The beginner can’t become a perfect speaker in one hour.
I also see what I mean to people around me. When I already speak some Spanish, I have a value to people who speak Spanish. You should see the same.
When you already speak some English, you can have a conversation with other people in English. That’s great. Look at what you already know. You know 2000 words. You have already gone from 0 to 2000 words. Appreciate it.
Some students have a feeling that to know English means to be able to speak like a native speaker, to have perfect pronunciation, perfect grammar and just speak perfectly without any mistakes.
They think that if they are not doing that, then they don’t know English. They are embarrassed because they are not perfect.
These students are very hard on themselves. And it is not necessary. You are great because you already speak some English. Continue working on your English and your shyness can gradually go away.”
I like what our teacher tells us. I am also sometimes shy. I know that I should practice speaking a lot but in some situations, I don’t want to look stupid and I don’t speak as much as I should.
I decide to be a bit more brave in these situations and use them to practice more.
Then one student says, “Sometimes I want to say something but I don’t know the word which I want to say. Then I stop and I don’t know what to do. In these situations, I feel very stupid.
Then the next time when I can speak English, I don’t want to speak because I don’t want to be in this stupid situation again. Can you help me with this?”
Our teacher says, “When you start to speak English, you have to prepare for one thing. There will be moments when you don’t know a word which you want to say.
In such a situation, you will need to learn how to describe the word. This ability is very important when learning a new language.
Since you are not a native English speaker, you will probably never know the same amount of words as you know in your native language.
I can tell you that you can describe almost every word. You only need to train this skill. You will have to train how to express ideas within the vocabulary you have.
For example, you don’t know how to say the word “key”. You can describe it as a small thing for opening a door.
You also describe words in your native language without realizing it. If you don’t know the word for something, you just describe it to the other person so that he or she understands what it is.
You can do the same thing in English, but you need to train this ability. Thinking aloud is a very good technique to use when you want to be able to describe well. Use thinking aloud every day and your ability to describe things will improve.”
The next day is Friday and I go to school again. I am happy that I go to this class not only because of our teacher. I like this class because there are students from many different countries in our class.
Some students are from Europe. Some students are from South America. There is also one student from Japan and one from South Korea in my class.
This is good for me because the students don’t speak my native language. When I speak to them, I have to use only English. It is very good for my practice.
Today, we have another new student in our class. Her name is Sofia. She is from Argentina. At the beginning of the lesson, Sofia says that she thinks that she doesn’t have a talent for studing languages, but she wants to work hard to improve.
My teacher asks her, “Why do you think that you don’t have a talent?” She answers, “I think that I don’t have a talent because my sister learns English very fast but for me it is difficult.”
Then our teacher asks everybody in the class, “Do you think that you have a talent for learning languages? Please put your hand up if you believe that you have a talent.
I look around the class and nobody puts their hands up. My teacher smiles, then she says, “Now, I want to tell you something. Many people think that you need to have a talent if you really want to learn a new language.
I agree. Yes, you need to a have talent if you want to learn a new language, but I also believe that you already have a talent for learning languages.
Why do you have a talent? You have a talent because you already learnt one language, which is your native language.
You were successful at learning your native language and you speak that language fluently. All people who are able to learn their native language have a talent for learning languages.
Why do many students believe that they are not talented? The reason is this. There are people who are super-talented.
Yes, it is true. These super-talented people remember new words very fast and for a longer time. Maybe you know these people. Maybe it is somebody at your work or in your family.
There are not many of these people but they exist. I believe that this can be Sofia’s sister as well. Learning a new language is fun for these people and they can do it easily.”
Sofia says that it is true, that her sister is really better than everybody else. Our teacher continues, “It is true that these super-talented people exist.
It is a fact and we cannot do anything about it. And it is not a problem. The problem is that we compare ourselves to these people and if we don’t learn as fast as they do, we think that we are not talented.
I want to ask you for one thing. Please do not compare yourself to these super-talented people. Yes, they are lucky and they have an advantage, but you can be lucky too and you are super-talented at doing other things. Maybe you are more talented than others when you learn to sing, swim, play tennis, count numbers, cook, or repair cars. People are not all the same. It is a beauty of this world.
Now, you can believe that you are also talented, maybe not super-talented, but talented. When you believe that you are talented, learning English will be easier for you.”
These words from our teacher are very helpful for us. I know that I am talented at plaing football and tennis. Now I know that I am also talented at learning English. It is great.
What is also great is that there is a school party in the evening. I really look forward to this party. I know that some girls from our class are going there.
I hope that our new student Sofia is also going to the party. I know Sofia for only one day, but I like her a lot.
On Monday, I go to school again. Our teacher asks us how Friday’s school party was. One student says that the party was great. We had a lot of drinks and a lot of fun.
The girls from our class enjoyed the party as well. I enjoyed the party a lot because Sofia was there. I could talk to her and we danced together. It was all very nice.
There were also two boys from my football team at the party. These boys were from Brazil. Their English was simple.
They could speak only in short sentences, but they were extremely funny at the party. They made a lot of jokes about life in England, about other players from our team and about girls from their class.
Everybody laughed. Their sentences were very short with only three or four words, but they were able to speak fluently.
When we speak about the party, I tell my teacher, “It was really interesting to see that somebody who doesn’t know many words can already speak fluently.
I know some students who are at a much higher level and have a hard time speaking.”
My teacher says, “This is really interesting. I can tell you that the two boys from your football team showed you what all students should do.
The boys used what they knew. They cared only about what was really important. It was communication.”
Then one girl asks, “So, what should we do if we want to speak English fluently? Should we go to parties and make jokes?”
My teacher says, “First, let me explain what fluent speaking is. Many students think that fluent speaking is fast speaking with a lot of words and perfect grammar.
But there is a better, more correct definition of fluent speaking. Fluent speaking is speaking without long pauses.
Some people can do it at 1000 words, some people can do it at 2000 words. But there are also people who know 3000 words and aren’t able to speak fluently.
If you want to speak fluently, you have to practice speaking. There is no other way to improve your fluency. Speaking is a physical activity. It is like playing a musical instrument.
If you want to play a violin, you need to train the connection between your brain and the muscles on your fingers. When you want to speak well, you need to train the connection between your brain and the muscles in your mouth.
If the connection between your brain and your mouth is not often trained, you can’t speak fluently no matter how many words you know. You can’t complain that you can’t speak fluently if you don’t practice speaking often.
You can have this experience. You meet a foreigner who wants to speak with you in English. You want to say ideas which are in your head, but you aren’t able to do it.
You can’t find the right words. Then, when you end the conversation and play it back in your head, you realize that you actually know the right words, but the conversation is already finished.
Why do you experience such situations? Because you have little training. Your speaking isn’t automatic. It is not automatic because you don’t practice it often enough.
When you want to speak fluently, I recommend speaking for at least 30 minutes a day. You can speak to a real person. If you don’t have a real person to speak to, you can do thinking aloud.
It is necessary to really think aloud and not only think in your head. You need to practice the connection between your brain and your muscles. You can do this by thinking aloud. Does it make sense?” “Yes,” says the girl.
At the next lesson, one of the students asks an interesting question. She says, “Next week, I am going home. I would like to continue studying in my country.
I don’t know how to choose a good school there. Could you help me? How do I know if the school is good or not?
My teacher says, “This is a very good question. I believe that when you read, listen and speak a lot, you don’t have to go to a school. You will learn English naturally by using it. But if you want to pay for your education, a good teacher can help you speed up the process of learning.
After 5 lessons at the new school, do the test again and you can see how many new words you learnt. If you are happy with your progress, you can continue paying for your lessons.
It is also important that you enjoy every lesson and you look forward to the next one. It is important to enjoy every activity which you do with English.
This is great news for me. I didn’t know that it was possible to have a private lesson with my teacher. Soon, I am also going back to my country and I want to have private lessons with my teacher.
It is Wednesday and I go to school again. At the beginning of the next lesson, Monica has a question for my teacher. She asks her, “How do you know all of this? Where did you learn information about studying languages?”
Our teacher says, “There are many ways to get knowledge on how to learn and teach languages. The first one is experience. I have been teaching for more than 7 years.
I have many years of experience. When I teach you, I observe what works and what doesn’t and then I use only things which help.
I also study materials about learning languages on the Internet. When I find something interesting, I test it in one of my classes. If it works, I use it in all other classes.
There is also another way I get information. It is usually during moments when I have a question but I can’t find an answer. During these moments, I go and visit my magic park and I get the answer there.”
Monica tells my teacher, “This is interesting. How do you get the answers in the magic park. Where is the magic park? Can we go there too?”
My teacher says, “What I am going to tell you is not real to everybody. If it sounds crazy, I am sorry. But you asked for it, so I am giving you the answer.
I believe that if you have a question and you ask the universe for an answer, the answer comes. When I have a question, I go to the magic park.
I sit on a bench. I relax my body. I slow down my breathing and I try to free my mind. Then I ask the question. This is all.
Sometimes the answer comes as a new idea in my head. Sometimes somebody who I speak to later tells me something which helps me get the answer.
Sometimes I watch an interesting video on the Internet and I find the answer there. Sometimes the answers come the next day in the morning when I wake up.
What is interesting is the fact that the answers keep coming. I am so grateful for them. As I said, you don’t have to believe what I am telling you, but this is what I do and how it works for me.
The park is not very far from here. It is a ten minute walk. A lot of people go to the park to relax. It is beautiful. It has a very nice atmosphere. I call it a magic park because it is magical for me.”
My teacher’s words are very interesting for me. I didn’t know that people can ask the universe for answers. Maybe in the future, when I have some interesting question, I can go to the park and also ask for an answer.
The next day, one girl asks our teacher an interesting question. She says, “Thank you for the information you are giving us on how to learn English.
Could you give us a summary with some rules on what we can do every day to learn English well?” Our teacher says, “OK, I will try to give you a simple summary.
If you want to speak English well, you need to do 3 things. You have to read, listen and speak. You already know that.
What is important is that you do all these 3 activities about the same amount of time. If you leave one out, then your progress will not be as fast as it could be.
From my experience, I can say that it is important to use English every day for at least 90 minutes. You don’t have to study, but you should use English actively.
Now, I will explain every activity in more detail. Let’s start with reading. You should read for at least 30 minutes every day. It is the minimum. Don’t read to study English.
Read to get some new information. Read to enjoy an interesting story. I know that I repeat this information again and again but it is really important.
Then, you should listen to English for at least 30 minutes every day. Again, it should be something which you are interested in. You should enjoy getting the information.
You should start to listen to simple audio books or news first. Then you should go to a higher and higher level of books and news. When you know 2000 words, you should start watching films and videos on the Internet.
Then there is speaking. You already know how important it is to speak when you study English. Again it is important to speak for at least 30 minutes every day.
Of course, the best way is to speak to real people. It can be your teacher, your classmates, colleagues or friends.
Try to find somebody who is at your level of English or a little bit better and speak with this person. However, if you have nobody to speak to, with shadowing and thinking aloud, you can also get a lot of speaking practice every day.
I use these techniques very often when I learn Spanish. I don’t have any native Spanish speakers in my life who I would meet every day. I use these two techniques to improve my Spanish.
As you can see, studying English is simple. All you have to do is read, listen and speak. This is all. Now, you know how to do it.” “Thank you”, says the girl. “This is what I needed to hear. You are the best.”
I am also very glad that the girl asked this question. It is my last day at school and I needed some kind of summary on what I can do.
During the four weeks I have spent with my teacher, I have learnt a lot. I have also improved my English very much.
My teacher knows that this is my last day at school. She asks me if I want to say something to the other students in the class.
I say that I was very happy to be a part of this class, and I met a lot of nice people. I give everybody my email address and I tell them that they can contact me if they want to.
Then I say goodbye to everybody. I am a little sad but I know that I have to continue with my life. I can’t be at school forever. Now, it is up to me to improve my English. I have all the tools I need.
Now, it is one year after my last day at school. I used English every day. I used the techniques from my teacher. Now, I know 4000 words in English. It is great.
I also have a new job. I start to teach English. I teach beginners. They know only 500 words. It is good for me because I know that I need a lot of practice as a teacher before I can teach at higher levels.
I have one great advantage in my new job. I had a great teacher in London. I learnt a lot from her. Now, I am trying to give all I learnt from my teacher to my students. I want them to be successful as well.
Hope you have enjoyed the reading.