Why, after 10 years of studying English, are you still ‘Tongue-Tied’?
It seems almost everyone has a friend like this (or perhaps, that friend is us):
From primary school right through to university, they never missed an English lesson. They devoured vocabulary books one after another, and could reel off grammar rules effortlessly. Yet, as soon as they met a foreigner, they'd instantly become ‘speechless’, struggling for ages, only able to awkwardly blurt out an embarrassing "Hello, how are you?"
We can’t help but ask: why, after spending so much time, do we still struggle to learn a language? Is it because we lack a talent for languages?
No, the problem isn’t with you; it’s with the way we learn languages.
You’re Not Learning to Swim; You’re Just Memorising a Swimming Manual on Dry Land
Imagine you want to learn to swim.
But your coach doesn't take you into the water. Instead, they hand you a thick tome titled, 'Comprehensive Swimming Theory'. Every day, they make you memorise the principles of buoyancy in the classroom, study the angles and power techniques for various strokes, and then hold regular exams where you have to write out verbatim 'The 28 Key Points of Freestyle'.
You know this book by heart, and you score full marks on every theory exam. But one day, someone pushes you into the water, and you discover, to your horror, that you can’t swim at all – you’d sink immediately.
That sounds absurd, doesn’t it?
But this is precisely how most of us learn languages in school. We aren't using the language; we're merely studying it.
We treat language as a subject like Physics or History, focusing on memorisation and exams, yet neglecting its core function – communication and connection. We're like that person on dry land who knows the swimming manual inside out but has never truly felt the water's temperature.
The Three Major Traps of Classroom Learning
This ‘learning to swim on dry land’ approach can lead you into three exhausting traps:
1. Tedious Grammar Rules
In the classroom, we spend vast amounts of time dissecting grammar, much like studying butterfly specimens in a lab. We know what the present perfect continuous is, and what the subjunctive mood means, but we don’t know how to use them naturally in real conversations.
True language experts don’t rely on memorising rules; they rely on ‘language sense’ – just as when we speak our native language, we don’t consciously analyse grammatical components. This ‘language sense’ comes from extensive immersion, just as a swimmer instinctively feels the water's flow rather than mentally calculating buoyancy formulas.
2. Snail-Paced Learning
Classroom lessons need to cater to everyone, so the pace is always frustratingly slow. The teacher might spend an entire week repeatedly explaining words you understood on day one.
This is like a coach making an entire swim team practise the same stroke for a month. For those already ready to swim freely, it’s undoubtedly immense torment and a waste of time, and slowly but surely, your enthusiasm dwindles.
3. An Isolated Practice Environment
The most detrimental aspect is this: in the classroom, you have almost no real conversational partners. Your classmates, like you, are afraid of making mistakes and are translating sentences using a Chinese mindset. Your conversations are more about completing tasks set by the teacher than genuine sharing.
When you pluck up the courage to say a more authentic, more complex sentence, you might not be met with appreciation, but rather blank stares from classmates, or even a dismissive eye-roll, as if to say, ‘speak plain English!’ Over time, you prefer to remain silent.
How to Break Free from the Traps and Truly ‘Dive In’?
So, how can we escape this predicament and truly learn to ‘swim’?
The answer is simple: Find your own ‘swimming pool’, then jump in.
Stop being merely a language ‘researcher’ and start becoming a language ‘user’. Transform language from a dry subject back into an interesting tool, a bridge connecting the world.
- Swap grammar books for your favourite songs. Listen enough, and you’ll find those ‘correct’ expressions just stick in your mind.
- Swap exercise books for a good film. Turn off the subtitles and try to feel the real emotions and context.
- Turn memorising vocabulary into real communication. Remember, the ultimate purpose of language is conversing with ‘people’, not with ‘books’.
I know, it’s easier said than done. We don't have that many foreigners around us, nor do we have opportunities to practise speaking anytime, anywhere. We fear making mistakes, and we fear embarrassment.
Fortunately, technology offers a perfect solution.
Imagine if you had a ‘private swimming pool’ in your pocket? A place where you can safely and easily communicate with native speakers from around the world anytime, anywhere. Here, you don't have to worry about making mistakes, because AI will act like your personal coach, correcting and translating for you in real-time, giving you complete confidence.
This is what Intent is doing. It’s not just a chat tool; it’s a language ‘swimming pool’ tailor-made for you. It allows you to skip all the tedious theory and go straight to the most crucial part – having meaningful conversations with real people.
With a tool like Intent, you can easily find a French friend to chat about films, or ask an American friend about the latest slang. Language is no longer just questions on an exam paper; it’s a key to exploring the world and making friends.
Stop lingering on the shore.
The best time to learn a language is always now. Forget those rules and exams that give you a headache. Find someone or something you’re genuinely interested in, and then bravely utter your first words.
You’ll discover that when language returns to its essence of communication, it’s not difficult at all, but instead full of joy.
Dive in now; the world is waiting for you.