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Filed UnderEnglish fluency

Does getting drunk increase English fluency?

August 16, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Interesting question.

Yes, getting drunk can increase your English fluency… but only within reason. Because once you reach a tipping point (i.e., if you drink too much), you’ll just rapidly descend into a mumbling mess. You’re just not going to make any sense in English or even in your native tongue for that matter.




Now, the reason having a drink helps with your English fluency is the same reason why having a drink helps with social anxiety. See, alcohol switches off a part of your brain that stands in the way of your self-sabotage. Alcohol helps block that part of your brain that makes you think stuff like, “I’m not good enough!” or “I better shut up, they’re going to think I’m stupid!”

Alcohol, in a way, is kind of like an anaesthetic. It suppresses that part of your brain that overthinks, so you’ll naturally feel more confident to just go for it. You give far less of a shit about your mistakes. You get to focus on the DOING of the process rather than the self-destructive analysis and what people might think of you.

So, yes. Essentially, in terms of fluency (and if you want to look at it on a table for scale)… getting drunk does reduce your cognitive load. (Cognitive load is what we call the multiple things happening in your head, you can learn more about this in my coaching classes).

Once you remove self-destructive thoughts in your brain, you’re going to find yourself caring less about your English. Then it will no longer hamper your English fluency.

But if you want to sound like a native English speaker (even when you’re sober), you can start with the free guide I made here.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

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