🔁 Episode 68 - Are you learning English the right way for you?

Generally speaking, people have great difficulty personalizing their language training.

Well, I say language training, but it's the same for any kind of learning or training really.

A lot of people think they need a piano teacher or guitar teacher or a tennis coach to be able to improve at those activities.

There's a fair argument for that.

I mean, I'm a teacher.

I'm not denying the value of being guided by someone who has experience in a particular field.

This is the way I see my job as an English teacher.

I almost always tell all my students I can only really do three things for them.

Number one, I can play the role of an advisor, giving them advice and motivation and encouragement.

I can organize resources for them and give them a sense of direction.

Number two, I can give them a good place to practice.

Practice is often undervalued.

We tend to value the intellectual work of learning more, but practice is very, very valuable.

And number three, I can tell them what is good and what is not good, or what is right and wrong about what they say and about what they're doing, which goes back to number one, to give them advice and direction.

That's it.

Pretty simple really.