Imagine! You study with a native English speaker who has an excellent command of the living language and knows the subtleties and nuances of spoken language. And now, after 2-3 months, you speak and understand English at the native level...
This is exactly what many people think. They believe that studying with a native speaker is the only and fastest way to learn a language and speak English.
But, unfortunately, these expectations do not become reality. After all, learning English with native speakers has its pitfalls.
In the article you will learn:
- When should you engage with a native speaker?
- How to choose the right speaker for classes
- How lessons with a native speaker should be structured
- 3 reasons why training with a native speaker does not give results
So let's get started.
Who is a native English speaker?
A native speaker is a person who was born and raised in the country whose language he speaks. For example, you and I are native speakers of Russian.
However, not all native speakers can teach their native language.
Why is not every native speaker suitable for English classes?
1. Not all speakers have a sufficient level of literacy
Agree, we all know the language at different levels. Some have perfect literacy, some sometimes make mistakes, and some do not know the basic rules at all.
If a person is a native speaker, this does not mean that he does not make mistakes in his speech and writing.
2. Not every native speaker can clearly explain grammar to another person.
Even if the speaker himself is literate and uses the language perfectly in his speech and writing, it is not a fact that he will be able to clearly explain the rules to another person.
Native speakers are ordinary people, and they use the rules of English automatically, without even thinking about them. Therefore, they simply cannot explain them to you.
So how can you avoid making mistakes when choosing your teacher?
Attention: Have you been learning English for a long time, but can't speak? Find out how to speak after 1 month of ESL lessons.
How to choose a native English tutor for English classes?
To ensure that native speaker classes are effective, make sure your teacher:
1. Has a pedagogical education
Only a person who has trained as an English teacher knows all the intricacies of this language and knows how to transfer his knowledge to another person.
Feel free to ask your teacher to show you your diploma. If he is truly a teacher, this will not be difficult for him.
2. Has positive feedback from his students
The result of classes for an English teacher is students who are able to use the language, that is, speak it.
To be sure that the lessons will bring results, ask the teacher for several contacts of his students. Contact them and find out about their successes and what they think about the teacher.
3. Has a training program
Private English lessons with a native speaker should not be a friendly get-together where you just chat with your teacher and leave.
Your lessons must have a structure and plan.
If a native teacher approaches classes responsibly, he should have a program of classes according to which you will study.
Note: English is the official language in many countries. And each of these countries has its own accent and pronunciation.
Typically, students adopt the speech style and pronunciation of their teacher. Therefore, choose a speaker from the country which pronunciation you want.
Now let's look at how classes with a native speaker should take place.
How should classes with native speakers be structured?
You may be surprised, but not everyone understands what a teacher should do in class. So first, let's look at what the role of the teacher is in English classes.
Why do you need a teacher in class?
The teacher in the classroom must perform the following functions:
1. Explain the rules/ use of words
This is one of the most important functions. The English language is very different from Russian, and sentences here are constructed completely differently.
Your teacher's job is to explain the rules to you so that you understand them and know when to use them!
If the teacher explains the rules and words poorly, you will have to waste your time and figure them out on your own outside of class.
Usually, as a result of such “self-study”, people simply give up English because they do not get results.
2. Put the correct pronunciation
The teacher's task is to ensure that you pronounce all sounds in words correctly.
3. Teach conversational speech
To be able to speak, you must be able to construct sentences correctly.
Therefore, after the theory has been explained to you, you must start practicing it in practice. To do this, you need to make up your own sentences and pronounce them.
In class, you should do most of the talking and your teacher should be your dialogue partner.
4. Correct your mistakes
If you make mistakes in your speech, your teacher must point them out and explain how to do it correctly. The main role of the teacher: you speak, he listens and corrects.
If he sees that you made a mistake in your homework, then he must re-explain the material and write out a correction.
How should lessons with the carrier be structured?
Classes with a native speaker are structured in exactly the same way as with a regular teacher:
1. Teacher explains rules/words
2. You practice pronunciation
3. You practice using words/rules in your speech
4. The speaker listens and corrects
It is very important that you do most of the talking and that your teacher corrects you and maintains dialogue.
If the teacher constantly talks and you listen to him, you will not be able to improve your speaking skills.
It doesn’t matter whether you take English courses with a native speaker or individually with a native tutor. In any case, you should practice using the material covered in practice and speak 70-80% of the lesson.
But training with a native speaker is not suitable for everyone. Let's look at when it will be useful for you to study with a native speaker.
When is it worth studying with a native speaker?
Classes with a native speaker are suitable for you under the following conditions:
1. You know English quite well (at least intermediate level)
2. You know the basic rules of grammar
3. You can speak English
If you meet all the criteria, you will be able to:
- Improve pronunciation
- Improve listening comprehension
- Improve your speaking skills and practice them
- Expand your vocabulary with colloquial phrases and delve into the nuances of spoken language
That is, in order to effectively engage with a native speaker, you must already have knowledge and skills. Otherwise, you simply will not be able to understand and communicate with the teacher, and your classes will not bring you results.
3 reasons why training with a native speaker is not beneficial
Many people, having read on the Internet that teaching English with a native speaker is very effective, begin to look for English courses with native speakers.
But often such lessons do not bring the expected effect.
The reasons for this are:
1. You have a low level of English
It is difficult for beginners to study with native speakers. After all, they can neither understand English by ear nor speak it.
Accordingly, the carrier will not be able to perform one of its main functions - to explain the rule so that it is understood.
As a result, you will have to do a lot of work on your own:
- Understand all the house rules
- Practice speaking skills
- Learn to understand English by ear
Only then will you be able to somehow interact with your teacher.
If you don't do this, your classes will be ineffective. As a result, you simply will not make progress in English, and you will waste a lot of time and money.
A little story:
One day, a girl came to our courses who had a beginner level and had been studying English with a native speaker for almost six months.
During this time, progress in English was very small, because during the classes she did not understand the teacher well, but she liked the classes themselves.
As a result, she considered 2 ways out of this situation: 1 - go to English courses with a Russian-speaking teacher, 2 - pay for a native Russian language course...
Don't repeat her mistake. If your level of English is below intermediate, then you should not study with a native speaker.
2. Your teacher speaks in class, not you.
The main goal of learning English is to learn to speak.
No matter how much you listen to the ideal speech of a native speaker, if you do not open your mouth and pronounce words and sentences on your own, you will not learn to speak.
Therefore, in class, first of all, you should speak, not the native speaker.
3. Rare activities
Some people think that since they are training with a native speaker, once/twice a week will definitely be enough.
However, training with a native speaker does not work wonders. Just like with a Russian-speaking teacher, to get results, you need to study often and regularly.
Therefore, study with your teacher at least 3-4 times a week, doing homework in between.
Conclusion: when is it worth learning English with a native speaker?
Individual training or courses with a native speaker are suitable for you if:
- Your level is above intermediate
- Do you know grammar
- You can speak.
The purpose of such classes will be to improve skills and expand vocabulary.
If you decide to work with a native English-speaking tutor, make sure that he is a teacher by training and has a training program.
Remember that your classes should be structured so that you talk for most of the lesson. Otherwise, you will not train your speaking skill, and your classes will be ineffective.
Scientists conducted one of the largest linguistic studies in history, surveying more than half a million people. To do this, they created an online English grammar test Which English.
The test gained enormous popularity: a hundred thousand people took it a day, 300 thousand shared a link to it on Facebook, the topic went to the main page of Reddit and for a long time was one of the most read on 4chan. Scientists explain the success of the test by the interest of users in a small “gift” from scientists: based on the test results, the algorithm predicted the user’s native language. “If the computer guessed right, people admired: “Science is cool!” If not, they laughed: “Stupid robot!” In any case, users were interested. In addition to questions about knowledge of English grammar, users had to talk about at what age they began to learn it and whether they lived in English-speaking countries, if so, for how long, and answer other similar questions.
Having processed the results, scientists came to the conclusion that the ability to master grammar at the level of a native speaker does not persist until 7-8 years, as is commonly believed, but up to 18 years, after which a sharp decline in learning ability is observed. This may be due to the fact that after 18 years of age people leave school and stop learning English systematically - or to changes in the cognitive abilities of the brain, most likely, both, the study authors write in an article published in the journal ___. However, it is still better to start learning a language before the age of 10, scientists conclude; those who start later rarely master the intricacies of grammar at a native level. In addition, the test results showed that those who communicated a lot with native speakers have the best command of second language grammar. “If you have to choose between early learning and learning in a language environment, I would recommend choosing the environment,” explains one of the study authors.
Not all colleagues of the study authors believe that the results are completely reliable; Thus, Elissa Newport from Georgetown University disputes one of the conclusions - that it takes almost thirty years to fully master the grammar of a foreign language. The scientists made this conclusion on the basis that respondents who indicated that they had studied English for 30 years often performed “excellent” on the test. Newport points out that this conclusion is not supported by the results of other studies, and the statistics may be due to imperfections in the methodology.
While academics find out whether the results of Which English can really be interpreted one way or another, the rest (especially teenagers) can only rejoice: the experience of half a million Internet users gives reason to hope that English grammar can be learned at a native level - even if you start learning a little late. In the future, scientists plan to do the same tests for knowledge of the grammar of Spanish and Chinese.
Surely many have heard about the international system of English language levels, but not everyone knows what it means and how to classify it. The need to find out your level of English proficiency may arise in some life situations. For example, if you need to pass an interview at work or at the embassy, if you need to pass some kind of international exam (IELTS, TOEFL, FCE, CPE, BEC, etc.), when entering a foreign educational institution, when getting a job in another country, and also for personal purposes.
The international system for determining knowledge of the English language can be divided into 7 levels:
1. Beginner – Initial (zero). At this level, the student knows practically nothing in English and begins to study the subject from scratch, including the alphabet, basic reading rules, standard greeting phrases and other tasks of this stage. At the Beginner level, students can usually answer questions easily when meeting new people. For example: What is your name? How old are you? Do you have brothers and sisters? Where are you from and where do you live? etc. They can also count to one hundred and spell out their name and personal information. The latter in English is called spelling (pronouncing words by letter).
2. Elementary. This level immediately follows zero and implies knowledge of some basics of the English language. The Elementary level gives students the opportunity to use previously learned phrases in a more free form, and also instills a whole range of new knowledge. At this stage, students learn to briefly talk about themselves, their favorite colors, dishes and seasons, weather and time, daily routine, countries and customs, etc. In terms of grammar, at this level there is an initial introduction to the following tenses: Present Simple, Present Continuous, Past Simple, Future Simple (will, to be going to) and Present Perfect. Some modal verbs (can, must), different types of pronouns, adjectives and their degrees of comparison, categories of nouns, and forms of simple questions are also considered. Having firmly mastered the Elementary level, you can already take part in the KET (Key English test).
3. Pre-Intermediate – Below average. The level following Elementary is called Pre-Intermediate, literally translated as Pre-Intermediate. Having reached this level, students already have an idea of how many sentences and phrases are constructed and can speak briefly on many topics. The Pre-Intermediate level adds confidence and expands learning potential. There are longer texts, more practical exercises, new grammar topics and more complex sentence structures. Topics encountered at this level may include complex questions, the Past Continuous, different forms of the future tense, conditionals, modals, infinitives and gerunds, repetition and consolidation of the Past Simple (regular and irregular verbs) and the Present Perfect, and some others. In terms of oral skills, having completed the Pre-Intermediate level, you can safely go on a journey and look for every opportunity to use your knowledge in practice. Also, a solid command of English at the Pre-Intermediate level makes it possible to participate in the PET (Preliminary English Test) test and the BEC (Business English Certificate) Preliminary exam.
4. Intermediate - Average. At the Intermediate level, the knowledge acquired at the previous stage is consolidated, and a lot of new vocabulary, including complex ones, is added. For example, personal characteristics of people, scientific terms, professional vocabulary and even slang. The object of study is the active and passive voices, direct and indirect speech, participial and participial phrases, phrasal verbs and prepositions, word order in complex sentences, types of articles, etc. From grammatical tenses, the difference between Present Simple and Present Continuous, Past Simple and Present Perfect, Past Simple and Past Continuous, as well as between various forms of expressing the future tense is examined in more detail. Texts at the Intermediate level become longer and more meaningful, and communication becomes easier and freer. The advantage of this stage is that in many modern companies employees with knowledge of the Intermediate level are highly valued. This level is also ideal for avid travelers, as it makes it possible to freely understand the interlocutor and express himself in response. Among the international exams, after successfully passing the intermediate level, you can take the following exams and tests: FCE (First Certificate in English) grade B/C, PET Level 3, BULATS (Business Language Testing Service), BEC Vantage, TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), IELTS (International English Language Testing System) for 4.5-5.5 points and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) for 80-85 points.
5. Upper Intermediate - Above average. If students reach this level, it means that they can understand fluent English and communicate easily using the vocabulary they have already acquired. At the Upper-Intermediate level, it becomes possible to use English much more in practice, since there is a little less theory, and if there is, it basically repeats and consolidates the Intermediate level. Among the innovations, we can note Narrative Tenses, which includes such difficult tenses as Past Continuous, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous. Also covered are the Future Continuous and Future Perfect, the use of articles, modal verbs of assumption, verbs of indirect speech, hypothetical sentences, abstract nouns, causative voice and much more. The Upper-Intermediate level is one of the most in demand both in business and in the educational sphere. People who are fluent in English at this level can easily pass any interviews and even enter foreign universities. At the end of the Upper-Intermediate course, you can take exams such as FCE A/B, BEC (Business English Certificate) Vantage or Higher, TOEFL 100 points and IELTS 5.5-6.5 points.
6. Advanced 1 – Advanced. Advanced 1 level is required for professionals and students who want to achieve high fluency in English. Unlike the Upper-Intermediate level, many interesting phrases appear here, including idioms. Knowledge of tenses and other grammatical aspects previously studied only deepens and is viewed from other unexpected angles. Topics of discussion become more specific and professional, for example: the environment and natural disasters, legal processes, genres of literature, computer terms, etc. After the Advanced level, you can take the special academic exam CAE (Cambridge Advanced English), as well as IELTS with 7 and TOEFL with 110 points, and you can apply for a prestigious job in foreign companies or a place in Western universities.
7. Advanced 2 – Super advanced (native speaker level). The name speaks for itself. We can say that there is nothing higher than Advanced 2, because this is the level of a native speaker, i.e. a person born and raised in an English-speaking environment. With this level you can pass any interviews, including highly specialized ones, and pass any exams. In particular, the highest test of English proficiency is the academic exam CPE (Cambridge Proficiency Exam), and as for the IELTS test, with this level you can pass it with the highest score of 8.5-9.
This gradation is called the ESL (English as a Second Language) or EFL (English as a Foreign Language) level classification and is used by the ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) association. The level system may vary depending on the country, school or organization. For example, some organizations reduce the 7 levels presented to 5 and call them a little differently: Beginner (Elementary), Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Lower Advanced, Upper Advanced. However, this does not change the meaning and content of the levels.
Another similar system of international examinations under the acronym CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) divides the levels into 6 and has other names:
1. A1 (Breakthrough)=Beginner
2. A2 (Waystage)=Pre-Intermediate – Below average
3. B1 (Threshold)=Intermediate – Average
4. B2 (Vantage)=Upper-Intermediate – Above average
5. C1 (Proficiency)=Advanced 1 – Advanced
6. C2 (Mastery)=Advanced 2 – Super advanced
For anyone who studies a foreign language, the concept of “native speaker” always has a special attractive force: something like an unattainable ideal. Immediately, associations come with a scout who has penetrated the enemy’s camp and whom no one can “figure out” due to the fact that he not only speaks their language perfectly, but also speaks completely without an accent. But as we know from the films, even an agent has to invent some kind of story for himself and memorize a certain minimum of facts from the mythical past, which he must certainly know from this legend.
If we count from the moment I entered the Institute of Foreign Languages, then I devoted almost forty years to the study and active professional use of the German language, and over these 4 decades I had the opportunity to try myself in a variety of types of translation activities. And all these years the question of a “native speaker” has never ceased to excite me. What is it? And why is it so good to be a native speaker?
In Soviet times, when there was an Iron Curtain and there were no modern computer and multimedia technologies, many foreign language teachers and translators were often, for various reasons (political, material), deprived of the opportunity to travel to the country of the language at least once, to live in a language environment. And communication with foreigners who came to the Soviet Union was strictly regulated and limited to official communication under the supervision of various authorities.
If we ignore the intelligence officers and return to ordinary people, then in those distant times there seemed to be only one realistic option to become a “native speaker”: to repeat the entire life path that real native speakers go through: German kindergarten, German school, German institute, German family, etc. But no one is given the opportunity to live two lives. This means that the only thing left is to completely immerse yourself in the linguistic environment of the language you are learning for 3-5-10 years.
At the same time, the language environment and the effectiveness of immersion in the language environment are also a controversial issue. Much depends on ability, age and motivation. Life in Russian military garrisons on the territory of the GDR or in some closed Russian colonies on the territory of other countries cannot be considered a full-fledged language environment.
On the other hand, in the era of the Internet, satellite television, mobile phones, Internet telephony and all kinds of multimedia gadgets, physical living in a language environment has ceased to be the only effective way to immerse yourself in the language being studied. Of course, there are realities that can only be learned in the country of the language being studied. But otherwise, the language environment with any intensity of linguistic communication can today be simulated, as they say, without leaving home.
But let’s try to break down this mysterious concept of “native speaker” into its component elements? What is so valuable for a professional translator in the set of qualities and skills that a native speaker possesses? In fact, the whole fuss is due to one single aspect, described by the concept of “language proficiency at the level of a native speaker.” What is it?
First, let's look at some ideal collective image of a native speaker.
Cultural and educational aspect
An ideal native speaker is a person who was born and raised in the country of the language, who has received a modern education (if we talk about Germany, this should probably be a university diploma), who knows the culture and history of the country well, who knows the laws of the country and political realities. Such a person should generally have a fairly good understanding of the entire life of the country today, including the work of institutions, transport, shops, customs and holidays, and much more.
Purely linguistic aspect
An ideal native speaker should have a good command of standard German, both written and spoken, as well as common colloquial expressions. He must be able to read and understand classical and modern literature in his native language. He must also master business language etiquette (writing business letters, filling out forms, etc.). He must finally speak foreign languages (those and at the level that is typical for a given country at a given stage of its development).
Now let’s try to fit the 80 million modern residents of Germany into these strict frameworks of an ideal native speaker. It turns out that at best 20-30% of the adult population meets the requirements we formulated.
Because not everyone graduated from university, not everyone speaks and writes German competently, not everyone is interested in politics and history. As a result of that unsuccessful spelling reform, which has been going on for 10 years, the number of spelling errors among schoolchildren has not decreased, but has increased by an order of magnitude.
According to recent surveys, books in Germany are read mainly by educated migrants (for better social and professional integration). Original Germans read books only on the Internet and from the monitor screen. In terms of sales in Germany today, books about the cuisine of different countries are in first place.
But what about the remaining 70% of the population, who do not meet our strict requirements and at the same time, for the most part, according to their passports, are “Germans”. Approximately 15-20% will be native speakers of other languages (Turkish, Russian, Croatian, Polish, etc.) or bilinguals, i.e., people who speak two languages at approximately the same level.
But still 50% of the population remains. Are they native speakers or not? At the everyday level, probably more likely yes than no. If, as in the old days, the level of proficiency in the German language is assessed by the ability to order beer in a beer hall, pronouncing words with a deliberately Saxon or Bavarian accent. This may still be useful today when translating feasts, but in general it has very little relation to the level of language proficiency required from a professional translator.
And what is left in the bottom line for the average native speaker of a language that a professional translator working with a given language does not have, if he was not lucky enough to know this language from early childhood?
Here again, a clear distinction should be made: in cases where we are talking about translating stylistically complex texts on a general topic, colloquial expressions, slang vocabulary, regional words, the average translator is not able to compete with a native speaker, even if he does not have a university education and he is sure that Mozart is the name of a dog or the surname of a football player.
Moreover, here we are not even talking about the direction of translation (from the native language or into the native language), but about the lack of knowledge of certain realities and entire layers in the lexical composition of the language by a non-native speaker. The more peripheral these layers are in everyday business communication, the less likely it is that the translator will be fluent in them.
But if we are talking about the translation of specialized texts of medium and high complexity, then a native speaker, even if he is a philologist and a professional translator of average skill, does not have any particularly great advantages here over an experienced non-native speaker translator. After all, when translating technical and business texts, knowledge and correct translation of terms, strict compliance with what is written in the original come to the fore - even to the detriment of style, which in this case recedes into the background. The style of a professional translator when translating into a non-native language should be clear and precise and not impede the correct perception of the content. Beauty and bows are not needed here.
The question of whether a non-native translator can approach the level of a native speaker in business and technical translations is closely related to understanding how the translation process generally works. The basis of translation, as well as the basis of any communication activity, is the repetition of words, expressions and phrases, subject to the laws of linguistic statistics.
If we take a very large array of text (a model of such a large array can, for example, be an array of texts indexed by any search engine on the Internet), then any word or expression, unless it is occasional (a one-time find of a given author), has a certain frequency . And, if you sift through such a huge array (a person cannot do this, but search engines do just that), then every known word or phrase will be repeated over and over again with a certain frequency.
It's the same with translation. In his translation activities, a translator is regularly faced with the need to translate words and expressions that he has previously translated. The more frequent these words are in the language as a whole or in the area in which the translator specializes, the more often they occur to him. So the translator gradually develops certain translation options for these repeated words and expressions.
As a result, a moment comes when for the translator a significant percentage of what he is translating turns out to be familiar (the “déjà vu” effect) and as a result he translates this familiar part “automatically”. And the more such developments and clichés a translator has in his memory, the higher his chances of successfully competing with a native-speaking translator.
It's a myth that native speakers don't make mistakes. They just make these mistakes less noticeable. In oral speech, this is greatly facilitated by better pronunciation and more natural intonation. And the attitude towards native speakers (I mean speakers) is less biased than towards a translator in general, especially a non-native speaker.
In my opinion, a professional translator should not give in to a native translator. Indeed, in fact, in business translation the main thing is not the beauty of the style or the lack of accent, but the accurate capture and transmission of the content, no matter how complex it may be.
If expressed in terms of modern linguodidactics (methods of teaching foreign languages), then, for example, this is the topic that teachers of the Department of Linguodidactics of the Altai State Pedagogical Academy are working on:
"Formation of a secondary linguistic personality in various conditions of teaching a foreign language."
That is, everything falls into place: a native speaker is the primary linguistic personality. And a translator or a person who simply has a good command of a language that is not his native language is a secondary linguistic personality.
There is a technique that can reduce the time it takes to learn any language from several decades to several months. Also, many teachers will not tell you the whole truth about the learning process, not wanting to discourage you at first. Many teachers, moreover, often do not speak the language properly themselves. But once you decide to learn a language, you must be clear about your ultimate goal and the path to achieving this goal:
1. Learning a foreign language is a journey. And you must clearly understand its length.
The statistics for English language learning are dismal: just four percent reach an advanced level after three years. 96% either give up studying completely or show very poor results.
Many people draw two wrong conclusions from this:
1) Learning a language is very difficult.
2) Some people have a natural ability to learn a language, others do not.
This is not true, all people have the same ability to learn a language, if you do not take into account individual individuals who have unique abilities, but such people exist in all areas, not only in linguistics. You have already learned one language - Russian, so you have a talent for languages, you just don’t remember how long it took you to learn it.
So learning English is not difficult, it is just LONG. Longer than you think. At the most conservative estimates, this will take you from 500 to 1000 hours or more. By performing simple arithmetic, it is not difficult to calculate that, for example, if you spend one hour a day, every day, then in one year you will accumulate 360 hours. You can create your own plan based on your capabilities, for example 2 hours every other day and 4 hours on weekends.
Increase the duration of your classes, study every free minute - and you will shorten the path and get closer to your final goal: to learn English.
2. Understand the biochemistry of the process of learning English.
Many people give up learning English because they stop feeling progress. As you know, in the first two to three months a person progresses rapidly: he learns new words and expressions, grammatical forms, and pronunciation features. But then progress slows down sharply. There comes a so-called “plateau”, stagnation, during which it is necessary to show persistence and continue studying, try other approaches and techniques, increase the volume of material, the number of hours. After all, it is during the plateau period that the brain processes the information received and creates new connections between neurons, called synapses. It is necessary to understand that the main progress in learning is laid precisely in moments of plateau. Consider the period of stagnation as an integral part of the process, as a necessity. Many give up at this moment, but this is wrong. It is necessary to understand that a new area is being formed in the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for the ability to speak English.
And during the plateau period, the brain devotes its main resources to the formation of this area. This is the reason for the apparent decline in learning the material.
3. Ensure uninterrupted flow of input.
But this does not mean that during such a period it is possible to weaken the flow of information or input it differently. Input is the volume of English-language material entering the brain for processing through listening or reading. The brain accumulates information and then processes it from short-term memory to long-term memory, and it is necessary to ensure an uninterrupted flow of information during the period the brain processes the received information, since the process of accumulating input during the plateau period continues. It is necessary to maintain this cycle and avoid long breaks, since there is a high probability of losing input from short-term memory before it is processed and consolidated.
In general, draw parallels between learning English and mastering any other skill, such as playing the piano or sports technique. Analyze the skills you have: what approach you used to master them, what speed and intensity.
Because speaking a language is a skill, and you need to develop a methodology for mastering this skill based on your individual characteristics.
Note: the earpiece will help you learn to listen to English even in the most difficult situations.
