Filed Under: English Conversation, Learning English

You Don’t Get Good at English; You Simply Learn to Suck Less

March 22, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Last year I was living in Lisbon over October and November. It’s a beautiful city, and I can’t wait to go back again.

Now, apart from a few words, I don’t speak Portuguese.

I had fun with the language.

Sure.

But it would be a reeeeeeal stretch to say I can actually do anything in Portuguese other than say “hello”, “thank you”, and cause chaos and confusion with my linguistic incompetence. And that’s fine. I don’t really need the language, after all.

But one experience sticks in mind above all the rest: Going into restaurants.

I don’t mean the touristy places in Lisbon. They’re easy, ‘cos everybody speaks English. No, I mean the more local places.

Take one place I went, for example. I walked into a place not far from where I was staying where nobody spoke a word of English. And after spending what felt like an hour trying to make my order, I finally felt like I’d done a pretty good job.

Only I got something totally different to what I ordered.

And I got a beer, which I didn’t order.

And a coca-cola to go with my beer that I also didn’t order.

People think you start at zero with a language, then progressively get better while aiming for 100% proficiency. But the more I think about it, the more I think that’s wrong. You actually start at 100% Sucking at a language then progressively reduce the amount you suck until you don’t suck any more.

So you don’t get better in English.

No.

You get less worse.

The difference is subtle.

But when you think like this, every conversation is a chance to make fewer mistakes and fuck up less than last time, not yet another chance to make mistakes and look stupid.

Again, the difference is subtle.

But it’s an important mindset change.

Anyway.

Using your real-world English situations (whatever they are) is a big part of what we do in MEFA, and I’ll show you how to treat every one as a spring-board to sucking less and less and less and less.

The place to enrol is here:

https://www.doingenglish.com/mefa/

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Learning English, Living Abroad, Speaking English

Is living abroad required for fluency in English?

March 14, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

“I’ve always thought you cannot reach a good level in English unless you have some life or working experience abroad. I think it’s because everyone I know who speaks English fluently has lived in an English speaking country at least for a year.”

OK, breaking this down is easy.

Let’s start with an analogy:

If you use Instagram, you probably see all these beautiful women on there with a million followers doing their… whatever it is these Instagram women do. Take selfies? I dunno. But the point is, these “Instagram models”, they’re all hot as hell, drop-dead gorgeous.

Surely that means being on Instagram makes you beautiful, right?

Well, obviously not. That’s crazy.

It’s actually simple:

Hot women are, first and foremost, more likely to be on Instagram trying to do the Instagram Model thing than ugly women. I’m not shaming. Just stating a fact. And importantly, whether you like it or not, sexy women are much more likely to get likes, shares and promotion because people like looking at sexy people, and they respond to that. The result is a small percentage of these so-called “models” becoming highly visible.

What this means is, for the most part, you only see the drop-dead gorgeous…. but never the rest.

That doesn’t mean the rest don’t exist.

Oh, they’re there.

Somewhere.

You just don’t see them, because they’re not visible.

Here’s where I’m going with this:

“Everyone I know who speaks English fluently has lived in an English speaking country at least for a year”

This is exactly the same as the rather extreme Instagram model example, except because it’s not so in-your-face crazy to think the reason they’re so good is because they lived in an English speaking country… that’s what people believe.

But think about it.

You’re far more likely to go abroad if you love English and have put the time and effort into getting good at it, anyway. These people are predisposed to having some kind of experience abroad.

But most importantly: you wouldn’t ask someone who can’t speak English well how they got so good….. so you never realise that the amazing people are actually a minority. They might only be 1% of the people who went abroad. Could be even fewer than that. But the point is, you never see the other 99% because they’re simply not visible and so make an assumption based on bad (i.e. extremely biased) data.

This is called confirmation bias.

You believe living abroad will magically make you fluent in English (it won’t) so you search for evidence to prove yourself right.

Confirmation bias is dangerous because it makes you see things in a simplistic “A caused B” kind of way, which is simply incorrect.

In every MEFA group the members are almost always exactly 50/50 living in their home country (saying that’s why they can’t improve) and living in an English speaking country (still not improving).

Yeah, living in an English speaking country can help and can be an awesome experience. But it’s neither necessary nor sufficient to master English.

If you want some help, here’s the place to go:

https://www.doingenglish.com/mefa

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: English study, Learning English

Why the “ideal study routine” might not be best for you

March 13, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Over the years I’ve developed and optimised what I believe to be the “best” study routine for people wanting to speak (much) better English.

BUT

Although it’s super effective, it assumes people are all the same.

Which they’re obviously not.

This is why I constantly tell my boys and girls in MEFA:

  1. The best-practice, “ideal” routine needs to be modified for you personally, customised to fit what works for you, in your life.
  2. Getting just 60% of the potential benefit from your daily study routine is better than getting 0% because your current situation can’t support perfection.

Hell, even 1% is better than 0%.

So yes, while I do believe using the correct “Method” is important, and that doing it in the ideal way can get the fastest results, the truth is your life is a complex balance of priorities and doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing.

Now, what is this “ideal” routine?

That’s for my clients to know, and for you to wonder about. Unless of course, you choose to become a client:

https://www.doingenglish.com/mefa/

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Culture

This is Just a Boring English Tip

March 9, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Language is a funny old thing, isn’t it.

When you visit someone in Japanese you give a “boring gift”. Something that would confuse English speakers (why give it if it’s boring?). The Polish aren’t a number of years old, but “have” a number of years. In Russia it doesn’t rain; the rain “goes”, just like a train or someone out the door to work.

English uses the past simple almost as much as the past present.

But Italians rarely use the past simple.

Brazilians lend and borrow with the same word.

And the Spanish “take” decisions.

Your native language and English aren’t the same, and one of the big challenges of mastering a language is overcoming this.

But how do we do it?

I STILL have trouble with the words “come” and “go” in Japanese ー they simply don’t work the way they do in English.

Well, I’ll tell you what WON’T work.

Knowing the grammar rules and thinking that will help you in conversation.

Nope.

You see, while languages are different, there’s a REASON they’re different, and if you want to master English you’ve got to start with that reason.

Luckily that’s what MEFA Week 9 is all about. Follow what I say, and you’ll learn how to stop making mistakes in English. It won’t be quick or easy, but it is very simple.

Now, Week 9 is a fair while away.

But don’t worry, because you can get started right away: many years ago I did a seminar all about the three essential ingredients for speaking intelligent sounding, sophisticated English that includes an overview of this topic. I recorded the event, but it was never for sale… then eventually I forgot all about it. Well, no longer. This “lost event” is included as a bonus when you enrol for the next MEFA group, and you’ll get access immediately after enrolling.

Which you can do here:

https://www.doingenglish.com/mefa/

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Learning English, Reading

“I Read 35 Novels a Year but My English Doesn’t Improve…”

March 6, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

If your English isn’t improving, you’re doing it wrong.

For example, take this person:

“They say reading improves your English. I have been reading 30-35 novels per year, but I don’t think my English has improved. Why?”

Who says?

And did they actually say just reading 30-35 novels a year is enough?

Unlikely.

Or if they did, they don’t have a clue what they’re talking about (be careful who you listen to advice from).

Yes, reading will help.

But the keyword there is “help”.

It’s not enough by itself.

Reading will expose you to English—and if you’re reading novels, there’s lots of conversational language in there—and it’ll give you interesting topics to talk about.

But that’s it.

It’s still never going to fix all of your English problems by itself.

If you want me to show you a better way, and help you go is enrol here:

https://www.doingenglish.com/MEFA/

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: English practise, Speaking English

How to practise English with people?

February 24, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

This question comes up fairly regularly in different places, and different ways.

Here’s my answer:

Don’t.

Forget about “practising” English, and do stuff (real stuff) in English instead. While constantly learning more and more new English.

That might sound like I’m being pedantic.

But I’m not.

Yes, a lot of people mean “do real stuff” when they say “practise” … but that’s not always how it’s understood or executed in the real world.

First, the idea of “practising with native speakers” is, at its core, selfish and rude. Nobody wants to be used to help you practise. And that’s how it feels when your on, say, the train or whatever and someone walks up to you and says, “Can I practise my English with you?”.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

But it’s true.

It’s kind of like a guy asking a girl to practise having sex with him so he can improve his technique.

Not really the most effective approach, right?

Like sex, people want to have real conversations WITH you. Whether that’s casually, or because a job needs to get done in the office.

Doesn’t matter.

If you want to practise technique, there are things you can do at home by yourself.

More:

When people talk about “practise” they normally end up looking for easy, comfortable ways of doing it. This is why the English conversation school industry in, say, Japan (where I lived for 13 years), is booming… as is the online Skype teacher gig and, well, you get the idea.

How often do people who go to that kind of conversation school get good?

Not often.

The problem is, we get good at what we do.

And if you’re only practising with teachers or conversation partners, well, that’s all you’ll get good at doing. Teachers are trained to understand you. No matter how bad your English is. So that doesn’t really prepare you for the real world.

The long and short of it is, there are better ways to approach mastering English. And the only time I advocate “practise” is with specific exercises, done alone, and as part of your focused, intensive learning time.

If you want my help transforming your English, go here:

https://www.doingenglish.com/MEFA

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook