You’ve probably met plenty of people like this:
- Has 800+ in TOIEC or over 8 in IELTS.
- Knows vocabulary that even native speakers don’t know (and is very proud of the fact).
- Knows all the weird grammar patterns (also better than most native speakers).
- Can’t say “good morning” in a native-like way.
Sounds really silly, I know…
… but there are LOADS of people like this.
Broad knowledge, but no depth.
In anything, there are people who get good. And people who get extraordinarily good. There has been a lot of research into why people get remarkably good at something.
Watch this video:
So as you can see, just because you “practise” it doesn’t mean you are improving. There are good ways to practise, and not very good ways.
In my book Master English FAST, I give you several “high intensity” exercises for building fluency and naturalness in English, FAST. To check out the first chapter for free, click here.
Best,
Julian