If you’re struggling to speak confident English… don’t worry. You’re not alone. In this article, I explain why you fear speaking English, and what to do.

One of the best books I’ve read…

… is “Don’t sleep, there are snakes”, by Daniel Everett.

Everett was a Christian missionary. He went to live in the jungle with a tribe of Amazonian Indians called the Pirahã to spread the word of god. But his experience was so profound that he gave up Christianity and become a linguist.

One of the things Everett talks about is “phatic” language in Pirahã. Phatic communication is a very important part of English.

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The Pirahã is an extreme (and very rare) case.

But this is important because no matter how you try to translate “how’re you?” into Pirahã, it’ll never make sense. Because you’re expressing a concept that the Pirahã people don’t have.

If you’re struggling with small-talk in English, start by asking yourself: am I stubbornly trying to express things that the people I’m talking to don’t express?

We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.

But in the meantime…

On the 27th of this month, I’m doing Small Talk Superhero, live in Tokyo.

Click here to claim your place. The price goes up on January 12th at 11:59 pm JST.

Cheers,

Julian Northbrook
The Language Punk

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Mastering English is not complicated.

It takes time and effort, to be sure. But it’s not complicated. In fact, improving your English as an intermediate to advanced English learner basically comes down to a very simple Two Step method.

Watch this video:

It really is that simple.

Of course, the devil is, as always, in the details. What’s the best language to learn? What is the best way to learn it? How do we practise that language to fluency?

I reveal all this (and more) in my best-selling book, Master English FAST. You can read the first chapter for free (or get a copy for yourself) by going here.

[Julian]

Very common question: How much time do I need to master English?

What this really means, of course, is, “What is the fastest way to master English?”

Watch this video and I’ll tell you:

I’m afraid there’s no magic way to master English.

Ultimately, you have to put in the time and effort to learn the language you need, then use it in the real world. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend a crazy amount of time every day. Indeed, if you’re like most people, you probably don’t have that much time.

That also isn’t an excuse to do nothing, though.

Wise words:

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” — Abraham Lincoln

Very true, that.

It’s also true of things you want to achieve in your life. English included. Waiting until tomorrow doesn’t somehow make it easier.

I once had a student who used English in his work but was “too busy” to improve his English. But when he stopped and thought about it… the reason he as too busy was because his English wasn’t that good. Much of his work was in English and dealing with overseas clients. And he was wasting stupid amounts of time because again… his English wasn’t good enough for the job.

It wasn’t until he stopped…

And made the decision to start working on his English that things started to get better.

The thing is…

It doesn’t even need to be that much.

If you’ve got a good, consistent system for constantly inputting new language, for sorting that out in your head then implementing it in the real world then you can do a lot with just 15 to 30 minutes a day.

Not sure what to do?

Check my book, Master English FAST.

Best,
Julian

P.S. The “fast” way is the slow consistent approach – which is exactly what I teach in my book, Master English FAST. Get it here.

Master English FAST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77R2EttJ4ZA

Extraordinary English Speakers