20th year

This year will be my 20th teaching…so I thought it would be a good time to take stock of all that I’ve learnt. One of the most powerful lessons I can share with any student or teacher is that if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it. I can say so because I have seen myself accomplish things I never thought possible simply because I chose to never give up or accept defeat. All of my years teaching has shown this to be 100% true. But there is an important difference between saying you can do something and actually doing it. I have met many people that told me they could do something but never actually did. The key is in the doing, not the talking. In fact, the more time people spend talking about doing something the less time they have to work on achieving it. So if your goal is to learn magic, speak English or become wealthy the key is to first decide to do it and then devote your heart and soul to accomplishing it.

Another thing I’ve learnt is that it’s best to keep things simple. People have an amazing ability to complicate the easiest tasks. English is no different. English has rules and if you learn them and then apply the correct vocabulary you WILL master English. It will take time, and you will get confused because of the different rules but the key is to learn one at a time. Don’t expect to learn English overnight. It will take time and it requires dedication.

Here’s a good note for both students and teachers to remember. The 4 most common mistakes I have come across in learning English are

1. A / THE

2. using S (third person / plurals)

3. Verb tense

4. Prepositions

Out of these prepositions are by far the hardest to master as they have so many uses, and we must memorize each one. Patience and repetition are the keys in learning them.  The difference between A and THE is hard to explain but with some practice most errors can be corrected.

The last thing that I’d like to share with everyone is that in learning a language we need to change. Learning a language isn’t just words put together but rather a way of thinking and living. Languages often determine how we act in certain circumstances. My big breakthrough in learning Japanese came when I started to understand that culture and language we intertwined.

I wish all of you the best of luck on your goals.

Adrian