I say this often, but I’ll say it again:

Just learning the language is NOT enough to speak well.

The words and phrases of English are important. Of course. But they’re not enough if you want to speak well. You also need to understand the culture.

Great example —

In the UK we tend to start conversations with a comment about the weather. “How’s the weather where you are?”, we’ll say. But we ask this because our weather is so changeable.

One minute it’s sunny and in the next instant it’s pouring down with rain. There’s even a lesson in British Stories about this (that you can do for free here).

Go to the Philippines.

Yes, you’ll most likely be speaking English, same as in the UK. But asking about the weather is pointless.

It’s hot.

Always.

So people in Manila don’t tend to comment on the weather much.

Instead, they ‘small talk’ about something else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-cMwXMVys

Instead, they comment on the traffic.

Because guess what?

It’s as changeable as the British weather.

Recently I was in Manilla. Going from the airport to my hotel took almost 3 hours. Going back took less than 45 minutes. Same route. Same driver. Same car. Different traffic conditions.

Now, the point is….

Everything you say is guided by cultural understanding, and how something is received also depends on the listener’s culture.

Which is where British Stories comes in.

Each lesson is designed to teach you real, natural sounding British English in context so you actually know how to use it. And if you click here, you can try the first lesson for free.

Best,

Julian

P.S.

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

P.S. Chatting with native speakers may not be that effective for practising English… I talk about why in the first chapter of MEF, which you can read here for free.

That Dutch Guy says:

We [Dutch are] good at French and German too, why are the British so crap at other languages is a better topic for a video I’d say.

Indeed. We Brits are famous for not speaking foreign languages.

And here’s why:

According to a survey published by the European Commission, this bad reputation is yes, very much justified. The survey found that British people are officially the worst language learners in Europe.

In short, the survey says:

• 62% of people can’t speak any other language than English.
• 38% of Brits speak at least one foreign language
• 18% speak two and
• Only 6% of the population speak three or more.

Not good.

The main reason the Brit’s are Crap and languages

It’s all about attitude.

As I talked about in my video, “Why are the Dutch so good at English?”, part of their advantage is that speaking English is simply a given. Much of media is in English, meaning they’re exposed to the language from a very early age, then people just DO it without even considering whether they can or not.  On the other hand, in the UK the first time I was exposed to French was at the age of 12, and we learned colours and animal names. Not exactly stimulating content.

Part of the problem, of course, is perceived the importance of the language, combined with the fact that people expect us to be useless in their languages. For better or worse, English is a world language and it’s what people generally use between each other. Naturally then, there are few situations where English speakers HAVE to speak a foreign language.

Answer honestly…

Would you learn English if it wasn’t the defect lingua-franca for business?

Probably not.

Finally…

For a more in-depth discussion on this while learning tons of common phrases, expressions and chunks see the EES lesson “Stan the Stick in the Mud”.

Cheers,

Julian Northbrook
Language Punk

P.S.  If you’re not yet a member of “Julian Northbrook’s League of Extraordinary English Speakers”, click here.

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Hitomi’s Web Page

People often ask me, “Hey Julian, why did you start Doing English?”

That’s a good question.

And a good story.

You see, it all started when I was still an “artist”.

Julian Northbrook – “Art Punk”

First of all, watch the video below titled “Forgetting that English Isn’t Your First Language”. 

This a film about my journey as a  language learner from constant frustration and embarrassment to living with confidence in another language – and importantly, how you can do the same. In short: it’s the story of me, Julian Northbrook. And it’s also the “Doing English” story.

Watch it now:

In the film, I mention how I found a solution to my Japanese problems. I share everything I learned on my journey to mastery in my book, Master English FAST – An Uncommon Guide to Speaking Extraordinary English.

Are you feeling stuck with your English and unable to progress?

Something frustrating happens to English learners.

All language learners, in fact.

Me. You. Everyone.

In the beginning, you studied hard and progressed really fast. It felt amazing. It seemed like mastering English was going to be easy. But then you reached the intermediate stage and you suddenly stop improving. You still study hard… but now it seems like nothing happens. Suddenly mastering English doesn’t seem so easy anymore – quite the opposite. As a result, you end up frustrated and feeling bad about your English.

This is very, very frustrating.

I Understand

I’ve been through the same thing myself. As a beginner in Japanese, I moved fast, and it felt great. But once I reached the intermediate stage… I stopped improving. Nothing seemed to work and I just didn’t know what to do to improve.

It felt like I’d tried everything from watching TV to creating a YouTube channel in Japanese as a way to practise.

As I talk about in my film and the introduction of my book, I felt like I’d tried everything and nothing seemed to work.

Here’s what they don’t tell you at school

Being a beginner in English is not the same as being at the intermediate level. When you know nothing about English, everything is new. If you only know one word, you’ve only got to learn one more to double your English. Because you’re a beginner, nobody expects you to speak well. This all changes once you reach the intermediate stage. Everyone expects you to become perfect in English – the bar has been raised.

Not only that but the things you did as a beginner and NOT effective at higher levels. As your English improves and changes, your learning method also needs to change.

Here’s How I Can Help

Over the years, learning Japanese and coaching high-level English learners, I’ve developed some pretty effective methods for mastering English.

And you can get started with these methods for free by clicking here.

I’ll teach you all about my Rocket Launch Method, and show you the key changes you need to make to see fast progress in English.

Here’s the place to go.

Cheers,
Julian Northbrook

P.S. To get the “Rocket Launch” training, click here.

I’m constantly being asked how you can learn English easily, blah blah blah. But let me tell you this – looking for “easy” ways to improve are probably actually making it difficult to improve your English speaking fluency.

Look, I’ll tell you right now —

If you’re constantly looking for an easy way to learn English grammar, the best way to learn English vocabulary – whatever – you’re probably not doing the right things.

Julian’s Stupid Foolish Mistake.

Recently I did something pretty foolish, and you probably do exactly the same thing with your English.

Watch this video:

Pretty silly, right?

The funny thing is though, I used to make exactly the same mistake when trying to improve my Japanese.

It wasn’t until I STOPPED doing this that I actually started to get better.

Stop trying to learn in an “easy” way to learn English easily

Yes, I know this sounds like a contradiction. But people who learn English easily and quickly are people who put in the time and effort required. In a nutshell: they don’t mess around wasting time with “learn quickly and easily” methods.

Make sense?

The method’s I teach in my book will show you how to improve your English speaking skills quickly, at home, without needing native speakers around you. But that doesn’t mean they are easy.

If you’re serious about getting good, it’s time to stop being lazy with your English. Sure, watching TV passively and chatting to your friends is more fun than sitting down to study. But ultimately, which is helping you to improve the most?

The 7 reasons you don’t improve your English

There are 7 things you probably do that stops you from improving your English. Click here and read the first chapter of my best selling book Master English FAST where I discuss them in detail.

Pay special attention to Reason 5 where I talk about how stupid the idea of having to have native speakers to help you improve is.

Simply chatting to people in English isn’t that effective once you reach the upper-intermediate level. There are far, far more effective ways (we cover a whole list of them in my book in Chapter 10 and 11).

But guess what?

They’re hard work and uncomfortable (though extremely effective).

Do the Hard Uncomfortable Work

Ultimately, the higher your English level gets, the harder you’re going to have to work to improve and the way to learn English quickly and easily is, ironically, to do the tough stuff.

Those “easy” things won’t help much anymore.

Cheers,

Julian Northbrook
language Punk. Doing the Hard Work.

P.S. If you don’t know what to do to learn English easily, Master English FAST – An Uncommon Guide to Speaking Extraordinary English will help you – If you like, read the introduction and Chapter 1 for free here.

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