Can learning English be easy?

The age-old question. I have been teaching English to Spaniards for the past 10 years, and all my students have wanted one thing…. the ability to inject themselves intravenously with perfect English. After studying their whole life and still not seeing the progress they desire, all they want is to be able to speak English like their international counterparts. Think Germans, Koreans, Swedes, Dutch… But why have the Spanish struggled with English for so long, and how can we improve their learning experience?

In my opinion, there are two main problems with the Spanish way of learning English. 1) Not watching TV, movies etc in English (V.O.) – this has contributed to a lack of auditory comprehension. 2) A damaging habit of cramming for exams, without actually learning the language and how it works, just the necessary parts.
Auditory memory is a real thing! How can you expect to learn a language if you do not hear that language being used on a regular basis? Countries all over the world use subtitles, whilst maintaining the original language audio. So, how can you overcome this particular issue? Start watching TV, movies, Youtube videos etc in English. They should be things that interest you (to begin with), with the objective of reaching a point where you can begin to take away the subtitles! And the best thing..? It’s free! (well, the price of your monthly internet subscription). And, don’t be afraid to watch the same video twice. I guarantee that you will catch more the second time around!

I have always likened subtitles to GPS – You get to where you are going (you understand what is being said) but you can never remember how you got there… (you missed important landmarks: context, intonation, pronunciation etc that help you to remember and associate the words with the sounds, rather than with the spelling). Subtitles becomes a reading exercise rather than a listening exercise. Given time, you will be able to watch TV in English, understand what is being said, and will also learn the correct pronunciation, context, structuring etc…
… (By the way, the Spanish generally spell better than natives! You guys read a lot of English for those exams, for work, when you travel etc).
Of course, just listening is not enough. In order to learn a language you need to be able to read, write and speak it, too. The majority of my students over the years don’t have much problem reading or writing, and they are able to make themselves understood, even if there are mistakes. However, when it comes to speaking, most feel embarrassed, uncertain, and know that they make mistakes, which makes them doubt themselves and therefore affects their fluidity. This is where a good English teacher comes into play. Students need to talk, to practice, to continue learning the language itself, not just grammar rules to pass a test, or to get a qualification. My students who work in English always make the fastest progress because they are able to listen, read, write and speak every day, and therefore have the opportunity to pay attention to the use of vocab, grammar, structure, pronunciation and context and apply what they are learning in class in their day-to-day tasks.

Learn. Repeat. Reuse. Recycle.

But not everybody has a job where they have to speak English regularly. If that is your case, my recommendation, as a complement to classes, is to read out loud. News, articles, blogs, books, anything at all! This is a good technique to help your muscle memory, making the natural syntax of the language more natural. Syntax, or the natural structuring of a language, is such an important point, especially for high levels. Knowing the difference between certain words, and understanding how they interact with each other can be the difference between «verbal vomiting» (describing point A and B, but having to talk about points C, D and E in order to express yourself) and effective communication.
I remember a student came to me for a job interview class. He had a very high level, but I had so much trouble following and understanding what he was saying because it was so clinical, informative… almost like a robot. If you want people (especially natives) to really understand you, if you really want to express yourself fully, you need to speak their language, not a fusion of both languages. As Nelson Mandela once said:
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

These days, the only thing I teach is Syntax, which is why I only deal with high levels, and all my students, without exception, have benefited from learning 8-10 rules. At such high levels, a student doesn’t need to learn more grammar, but they do need to answer their lifelong doubts, someone who can help them to understand the context of different structures – For example, the difference between «I like teaching high levels» and «I like to teach high levels». It is something that natives use without thinking (and unfortunately I have met many teachers who do not know the difference, nor do they care to investigate), but if you really want to learn a language, and to be able to use it and manipulate it like a native, it takes knowledge, practice and a teacher or coach who can guide you and find the answers to the questions that you have always had. This, along with listening, reading, consistent analysis of the English you have around you, helps to augment your knowledge and reproduction of it.

Another tip is to ask your teacher to give you a minute or two to think before answering a question. By responding automatically, you are not working on improving your English, just reinforcing your current English, mistakes and all! By taking a little time to think, plan, structure your answer, to think of new words or grammar that you have seen recently, and obligating yourself to try to use them, with your teacher, where they can correct your usage (because sure you will make some mistakes, but that is how we learn!) and give you some other examples, you will be able to organically increase your English level and actually see a difference.

So, to answer the main title question, Can learning English be easy?

The answer to this, in my opinion, is yes. There are many things you can do to immerse yourself more. Watch something in English every day, twice or even three times if needed. Read out loud… a lot! Ask yourself «Why» a lot – why have they used the infinitive? Why have they put the adverb at the beginning of the text? Why have they used «will» instead of «going to»?
And if you are receiving classes, take your time, pay attention to what you learned in the last class and push yourself to use and reproduce the new things (grammar, vocab) you are learning, rather than just using your normal, everyday English. Learn from your mistakes, rather than being afraid of making the in the first place.