What Is Easy About Learning English?

So you want to know what is easy about learning English, do you? Let me think about that. I don’t think it’s easy at all, but it can be done. Follow me.

The questions I have for you are:

• How hard are you willing to work?
• How much time do you have?
• How often will you practice what you learn?
• Who will be your teacher?

Let’s get started now!

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Put On Your Thinking Cap

Like anything else, learning a new language, it’s going to take time and you must give it the time necessary to succeed.

You need to stick with it but you also need to allow yourself to make mistakes, occasionally get frustrated, and not be too hard on yourself.

Don’t compare your native language to English.  Although there may be some similarities, they are different languages.  The differences are probably more common than the similarities.

Learning to speak and understand a different language, in large part, means you will need to learn to think in that language. Translation is a good way to start but at some point, you need to forego the translator and learn to think and speak in English.

If you think you’re going to be fluent in English in a certain period of time, I won’t say it’s impossible, but it may be improbable.

Some people learn languages easily.  Others, not so much.  Everyone is different.  You will learn in your own time if you’re willing to do what it takes.

What it takes largely depends on you and some factors:

• Your age
• Your learning abilities
• Your level of commitment

There’s an old saying that I think is apropos here:

What’s the best way to devour an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Learning English does not involve devouring an elephant or any other animal, but perhaps you can understand the spirit of the saying.

I suggest that you focus on learning one thing at a time.  Commit to learning and mastering one new thing every day.

If you can learn two or three new things every day, great, but I wouldn’t suggest trying to learn any more than that.

When I say learn, I mean master it.  Learn it to the point of you will never forget it.

You Need To Commit To A Reasonable Amount Of Time

The question is, what is reasonable for you? There are 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week.

Everyone has the same amount of time.  Nobody has one second more or one second less.

Where we differ is how we spend our time.

I suggest you create a time budget and stick to it no matter what.

If you only have 30 minutes a day, then you MUST always find 30 minutes each day. If you have one hour, two hours, or more, you need to commit to it and not make excuses for not adhering to it.

Maybe you only have time on certain days and don’t have time every day.

It’s up to you

Maybe you only have time one day a week.

I will suggest that you find at the very least, 15 minutes a day to devote to learning English.  Even if you don’t think you have that, I’ll bet you can find it.

Maybe you need to get up 15 minutes earlier than normal in the morning or maybe you go to be 15 minutes later than normal at night.

You need to do what’s best for you.

Whatever you decide, you need to stick to it no matter what.

You Must Practice Practice Practice

Even professional athletes and musicians must practice often.

Why?

Because that’s how they remain sharp and at the top of their profession.

Learning English is no different.  You must practice what you learn or you are just wasting your time and will never fully learn what you need to learn.

The best teacher in the world can only help you as much as you help yourself.

Practicing means you need to get out of your comfort zone.  You need to review and practice everything you learn whether you think you need to or not.

If you don’t, you’re fooling yourself.

What I’ve observed with many ESL students is that they continue to speak their native language even when in class.

That’s not a good idea.

If you’re going to take the time and pay the money to learn, you need to focus.  Furthermore, when class is over, you need to review and practice what you learned in order to truly learn and remember what what you’ve been taught.

That means you need to talk to people you meet on the street, in the grocery store, at work, your family and friends in English as much and as often as you can.

I’ve observed that too many ESL students want to wait until they’re fluent in English before they use it in public.

That’s not a good idea.  The truth is, that thinking will keep you from never being fluent, or if you are every fluent, it will take much much longer.

As stated earlier in this lesson, you need to break out of your comfort zone and you need to focus on learning one new thing a day, or maybe two or three.

If you only know one thing, that’s what you practice.  Each new thing you learn, you need to practice it with whatever else you learn.

You need to keep doing that again and again.

• If all you know is to say hello, say it over and over again.  By the way, in English, you can also say hi and it means the same thing.  There are also other ways to say hello or hi:
• Good morning
• Good afternoon
• Good evening
• How’s it going?
• Hey there!

Keep adding on as you go.  One day, you’ll wake up, look back and realize how much you’ve learned.

Pat yourself on the back and keep going.

Choosing The Right Teacher Is Important

As stated earlier, the best ESL teacher in the world who teaches adults online can only teach you what you’re willing to learn and practice.

On the other hand, not all teachers are created equally and neither are all students.

If you’re not comfortable with your teacher, find a different one.  However, if after trying a few teachers, you’re still not comfortable, you may be the problem.

• Some questions you may want to consider when looking for an English teacher:
• How qualified is s/he?
• Is s/he a native speaker?
• How comfortable does s/he make you feel?
• How well does s/he understand your needs?
• What is his/her rapport with other ESL students?

• As for myself:
• I have a degree in language arts, communication, and education.  I’ve been teaching English since 2006.  I’ve been teaching ESL to adults since 2017.  I’ve been teaching ESL to adults online since 2020.  I’m a certified ESL teacher in California.
• I was born in California, in the USA and have spoken English my entire life. I decided a long time ago that if I’m to only speak one language, I will be a master of that language. I am a master of the English language.
• Students have told me time and time again that I make them feel very comfortable because I encourage them to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and because I encourage them to do their best.
• Before I work with students, I always pre-test them to find out their level of English and why they want to take my class.  Is it for a job, is it so they can help their kids with their homework, or is for any of a number of other reasons?
• I have a great rapport with my students. They love me and I love them. Many of my students and I, both current and past keep in touch long after they are in my class. I’ve had many beginner and intermediate students who went on to be advanced students. Many of my advanced students have worked with me in meetings with legislators years after being in my class.

Conclusion

What is easy about learning English?

I guess it depends on what and how you define easy.

It’s my opinion that it’s not easy at all.

I’ve provided some suggestions that I hope mitigate some of the stress of learning this crazy language we call English.

I hope they’re helpful.

Leave comments and questions in the comments section box below.  I will promptly respond.