Hi, I’m Nick Simcock, an English Language coach. I help Italians to unlock their English. This podcast is an extract from my free email entitled “The Importance of REAL English Practice”, July 2023. A full transcript can be found in the description.

Nick here from Speak with Nick. I hope you're well and practising your English! 

I want to share something really important with you, which will save you a lot of time with your English learning!

You know, you can't learn anything in life unless you actually do it! How did you learn to ride a bicycle, for example? You had to practise lots of new things, find your balance and confidence, and you probably fell off a few times! There was no rule book.

Richard Branson said:  “You don't learn to walk by following rules.You learn by doing, and by falling over."

So, you have to put yourself through the motions with positivity and curiosity, and yes you'll make many mistakes along the way.

But the simple fact is, you can become good at anything in life if you do the right practise. So what is the right practice for English?

Language is physical and practical, just like driving a car or riding a bicycle. If you want to understand and speak English you've got to make new physical movements with your mouth everyday, to reproduce the sounds and rhythms you hear. You must listen everyday to real speaking, on YouTube for example, to get used to the new phrases and words you want to understand. Just like you did when you learnt your first language when you were a child.

We need language to communicate with the world around us, to do the things we want to do in our lives. Things like ordering a coffee, asking for directions, talking to our future partner, or negotiating a business deal. But if it has no real use, or has little meaning to you, it will be very hard to remember the new words and structures.

This is why, 'grammar textbook English' that is constructed to demonstrate grammar rules in books, is a waste of your time. It has no real meaning to you and so it's quickly forgotten. Grammar is important, but the only time you should look at grammar is when you need to apply it to a real life situation to communicate a message with the right meaning.

So the right way to practise speaking is ... out loud while you are doing real things in your life, like cooking or walking your dog for example. You can do this by yourself or with family and friends. The magic combination of personal meaning and physical action will make it so much easier for you to remember the language. It will create strong connections in your brain. And it will normalise the process of using English.

To put it very simply, we learn by having experiences doing real meaningful stuff!

The importance of having real experiences with English is why I offer monthly online LIVE Events. If you want to find out more about my next LIVE event visit my website:

https://www.speakwithnick.it/index.php/eventi/ 

And then come and have a real experience with me!

That in a nutshell is why real practice is so important.

Do you have any questions for me? I’d be so happy to hear from you, simply reply to this email.

Speak to you soon, ciao for now!

Nick.

This podcast is an extract from my free email entitled “The Importance of REAL practice”, July 2023” To learn more about me visit my website speakwithnick.it