LIVE IN ENGLISH

The biggest mistake people make when learning English, and probably one of the most common misconceptions, is that people think that they need to study English. I say don't study English, live English, and now let me explain what I mean.


What does studying mean and how do people usually approach this process and how do people perceive studying? It means getting knowledge about something by reading, examining it in detail, or researching. We usually perceive studying to be hard and boring and something that you can usually complete and leave behind, like a course or when you study in school. You can't wait to finish it and forget about it.


When people think that they need to study English, they usually think that they need to take a course or work with a teacher one-on-one for some time, and that'll be enough when they finish it. They will know English and they won't need to go back to learning it again. To be fair to each individual, if your goal is just to pass a test like IELTS, then yeah, you pass a test and you forget about it.



That's why it's important to determine your goal. Do you need English to pass an exam or do you learn it for fun? Are you serious about it? Do you want to truly become fluent in English? Do you need it for work or do you have an intention of moving to an English-speaking country?



A lot of people do it to just pass the IELTS exam, so they study for that, they get their band, and they just relax and stop because that was their goal. If you just quit practising and using English, your skills will worsen. Of course, you can take breaks from learning. If you go a month without saying a word in English and without listening to anything in English, you'll be fine, but if this period expands to a year, you're most likely going to have to work on some skills once again, especially speaking, and you might forget some vocabulary.


That's why I prefer to live in English. What do I mean by living in English? You need to surround yourself with the English language so that you have no choice but to use it. You need to incorporate it into your life so much. So that it doesn't feel like learning anymore but is just a part of your everyday life and part of your routine. This way, you will not forget English and you will not lose your skills. On the contrary, you will improve every day, little by little.


You probably won't even notice your progress because it's going to be a constant thing, but mark my words. One of these days, you'll be told that your English is great and you'll be amazed by your English and you'll think to yourself. But wait, how did this happen? That wasn't hard at all, and that's the beauty of living the language; you improve while not even realising it. Although it might not be easy at the beginning because it takes a bit of discipline, it'll be so worth it because you can't just stop learning and using a language and expect it to stay at the same level.


Have you heard the saying, “If you don't use it, you lose it"? Skills need to be maintained when people go to college. They can't wait to finish their studies, and they do, but when they do, they usually proceed to apply everything they learned at their jobs, which helps them maintain and enhance their skills. You need to maintain a language so as not to lose it.

Just like with any other skill, be it playing an instrument or driving a car, after a big break, you need to work on your skills once again. You don't forget them completely, but they get worse. That's why people always find themselves in this vicious cycle of learning English but never becoming truly fluent in it.


The goal of becoming fluent in English is a goal for a lot of people, but the road they choose to get there oftentimes isn't the one that's going to get them there. By the way, I mean the mindset with which people approach learning a language and the approach itself.



I wanted to say that one very important thing you need to learn to do is to enjoy English. Learn it, speak it, and find ways to have fun with it. If you think that doing all of this is too much and it feels like a burden to you.