Filed Under: English Conversations, English learning, English Speaking

Can I predict English conversations before they happen?

September 8, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

It depends on what you mean by ‘conversation’.

If it’s formal conversations (i.e., interviews, presentations, etc.), then yes, it is predictable.

But if you mean casual conversations and small talk… no, you can’t really predict what’s going to come up. And this is simply because topics can vary when you do small talk… there are just so many things that you can talk about.

But what I do recommend is instead of thinking predictively, think “retrodictively”.

What I mean by this is that if you’re talking to someone about a particular topic, chances are, you’re going to repeat the same thing with someone else. That then becomes the thing that you’ve prepared in your head. Because you’ve done it once, and now you can do it again quite easily this time.

Especially if you’ve taken the time to think about your mistakes in that previous conversation and fixed them ready for next time.

So, don’t worry too much about what topic may come up. Instead, my advice is to look back at what you’ve talked about in the past.

And you know, even if you have no idea what the topic you’re talking about with a person, there are still ways to keep the conversation going.

Here’s an example of this:

When I was in Lisbon, I went to get a beer and I got to talk with this absolutely fascinating Australian guy. He works as some kind of a technical engineer at an oil rig, and he basically works three months on and off at an oil rig. And I know absolutely nothing about oil! I have no idea how it works, how it affects the stock market, etc. But, despite not knowing anything about oil, we still had a very, very long conversation. I mean, it was basically a one-way conversation where I just asked him questions and he just explained everything.

There was no way I could have predicted that conversation. There’s no way for me to guess that I’ll pop out for a quick beer and two hours later, I’ll talk about how the price of oil affects the stock market. It just doesn’t work that way.

So the point of this is, the best approach is to always think about similar conversations you’ve had in the past instead. Again, when it comes to casual conversations, don’t think predictively, think retrodictively.

By the way, if you’re learning English (or want to improve your English more), check out my free daily email to get more English tips to speak better English.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: English Grammar, Speaking English

How can I improve my English grammar?

September 7, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Improving your English grammar is probably not something that you should ONLY focus on.

But you also have to ask yourself these questions:

What do you struggle with?

Why are you having problems with grammar?

If you’re like most of my coaching clients (high-level English as a second language speakers)… the reason you’re struggling with grammar is probably – ironically enough – is that you’re TOO focused on grammar.

See, there’s this misconception that when you learn English grammar, you’re automatically going to be fluent in English.

But that’s not the case at all.

The reality is, most native speakers don’t bother too much with grammar rules at all. Instead, we store blocks of English called “chunks” in our long-term memory. We then pull these chunks out when we need to use them (this video talks more about this in detail), which is how we sound natural when speaking English.




But again, I’m not saying grammar rules are totally useless. They’re not. But there is a correct time and place to use and study them (and that’s usually when you’re already fluent and natural-sounding in English) as a way to deepen your knowledge of what you can already do.

If you want to take this further and learn English without focusing too much on grammar, have a look at the free training I created. It’ll teach you the top 5 things you need to know about improving your English (that’s more than just grammar).

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Learning New Language, Vocabulary

How can I retain vocabulary when learning a new language?

September 6, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Making vocabulary your primary focus is not something that I recommend. And this goes the same as memorising new words, too.

When I was studying for the Japanese Proficiency Test, I worked with a tutor who made me memorise loads of words. Sure, it worked. But it was painful and I hated it. And I ended up forgetting most of it in 2 months… so it’s basically useless. So I don’t recommend memorising words.

Instead, focus on speaking well in conversation in general — on blocks of English. See, if you concentrate on learning these blocks of English or what I call “chunks”  (which you can learn more about in my free training here), you’re going to sound more natural when you’re speaking.

But there are exceptions to learning vocabulary. If your goal is to get good at a very specific topic, then yes you should focus on new words. If, for example, you work at a car company. You’re at a meeting that’s being held primarily in English. Of course, you’d want to learn the English words like, “seatbelt” or “brakes” or any other English word you might need in your English meeting. The point is vocabulary learning is definitely better done in specific topics. Memorising words isn’t that useful in terms of general conversation, but it will be a huge help in specific topics.

And instead of memorising and retaining vocabulary, the best way is to learn from context. Find high-quality samples of English and learn what you see (or retrodiction).

There’s a section in the free training I mentioned about the best materials you can use (and what you can avoid) when it comes to chunking and retrodiction.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Accent, Pronunciation

If you speak English as a second language, how much does your accent matter?

September 3, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

No, your English accent doesn’t really matter when you’re speaking in English.

What matters is how you can express yourself in English clearly and naturally.

See, most people misunderstand what an accent actually is. They have this thought that learning a native speaker accent will magically make them sound natural in English… it won’t.

Japanese, for example, has a lot of different accents. English accents are more so, you have British English, American English, Australian English, and more. In fact, in the UK alone, you have around 46 main English accent types. And this just means that you’re always going to encounter different types of accents.

But those accents (no matter how many and confusing) won’t really matter. Instead, focus on how you can express yourself well in English. In fact, if you want to start learning how to sound like a native English speaker, I can help you.

I have a free guide on how you can stop sounding like an English learner and sound like a native English speaker.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: Accent & Pronunciation, English learning

How to know if my English pronunciation is good

September 2, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

Pronunciation is really about the knowledge of how words, chunks, and blocks of English should sound. And combined with good motor skills, to be sure.

But really, native English speakers speak fluently because we “chunk” English. We articulate English in blocks, not in individual words.

Let’s take for example the phrase “at the end of the day”. This isn’t pronounced as “At. The. End. Of. The. Day” but “athendvthaday”. It’s articulated as a single unit, as a chunk so it sounds very, very natural. Whereas if you pronounce it using individual words, it’s going to sound super strange and awkward.

But if you’re still struggling with your English pronunciation, ask yourself: Is it because you’re TOO focused on the pronunciation of each individual word? Are you ignoring the chunked nature of English? And aside from that, you also have to learn the rhythm intonation, and flow of English, too.

So, learn how to chunk your English words well. And if you need help with your pronunciation, you can start with The Good Shadowing Guide that I created. It helps people build this rhythm and intonation, together with good chunking skills.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook

Filed Under: ESL, Learning English

How can I adhere to learn English every day as a Chinese person at a busy work?

September 1, 2021 , by Dr Julian Northbrook

One of the most influential books I’ve read in terms of getting shit done is a book called “How to Write a Lot” by Paul Silvia.

Now, this book is actually about academic writing.

It’s for academics who need to do a shit load of writing to get ahead of the game. He wrote in the book that if you’re an academic, you must publish or perish. But, many academics will still procrastinate… and it’s tempting to just do everything else that’s not writing. But this is actually a huge mistake. Because as an academic, the thing that defines your success is the quality and frequency of what you’re putting out in the world. So, you have to prioritise your writing. Treat your writing time as something super important, sacred.

Silvia says for academics, writing time should be scheduled like a meeting or appointment that’s totally fixed and inflexible.

This principle is true when you’re learning English as well.

If you need English in your life, and it’s a barrier to you getting ahead… then improving your English needs to be given top priority. It needs to go in your calendar, and it needs to be sacred.

No changing the time.

No letting other people say, “surely you can do that later?”

No.

Your English learning time is more important than anything else.

For more on this and ideas for what to do in this time, you might like to sign up for my daily email tips for speaking better English. The place to go is here.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook