By Robby
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Hi guys and welcome back to English Harmony video blog!
I’m Robby, your friend and English fluency expert, and this time around I’m going to tell you that all these English fluency issues you might be having (and most likely you are having them, otherwise you wouldn’t have visited my blog and you wouldn’t be searching for English fluency improving related information online, right?) doesn’t mean you’re a total loser.
More often than not, it’s a good thing!
Now, if you think that it’s total nonsense – I mean, how could English fluency issues be good for you? Surely if you didn’t have them at all then you’d be more successful in your career, in your professional life and in your private life, right?
But think about this now, my friends.
Just because you have these issues whereby sometimes you can’t talk normal, fluent English, it forces you to work so much HARDER on your fluency than if you didn’t have those issues at all!
Struggling Makes You Work Harder!
Maybe a few years down the line you’ll be speaking in English quite fluently just because you’re constantly struggling with it now, and as a result you’re taking action and doing regular spoken English practice.
Essentially, your inability to speak in English fluently now will act as a driving force for you to achieve so much more!
So basically, I have this theory that so many people in life wouldn’t have achieved what they have achieved had they not been struggling with something. Obviously, there are so many really talented people out there who have achieved a lot just because they’re talented, they’ve been working hard, and they haven’t been necessarily struggling with it.
On the other hand, however, I strongly believe that so many people have achieved a lot just because they were very, very bad at it and just proved to themselves and to the rest of the world that they can really achieve the level that they’ve always dreamed of.
They develop their ability to perform in a certain field, be it spoken English or sports or whatever.
Being Bad at Anything Makes You Work Harder…
You can pick any practical discipline – typing, playing guitar or driving a car and you’ll realize that there’s so much in common between practical disciplines involving your body or mental disciplines – such as spoken English.
As a matter of fact, the spoken English discipline actually has both – practical and mental components to it. There’s both things – you have to think and you have to perform with your mouth which is essentially just another muscle of your body. But if you come to think of it – when you speak, your mouth does most of the work, doesn’t it?
The traditional English teaching industry wants you to believe that it’s all about your brain, all about thinking, but it’s only as far as reading, writing, and comprehension is concerned. As soon as you open your mouth, it’s just another part of your body performing, the same way you would be running, walking or swimming.
And it only stands to reason that you can surpass your current performance level by constantly working at it.
Never Stop Speaking, Never Stop Improving!
A few years ago, I would not be even dreaming about speaking the same way I speak now – completely fluently with no hesitations whatsoever.
Now I feel like a native speaker of the language, but I’ve achieved this level just because I was very BAD at it and my English pronunciation was quite bad as well.
If you check out the video above, for example, you’ll notice I’m putting on the American pronunciation. Do you think I’ve always been able to speak like an American? Nothing could be further from the truth, my friends!
One day I just thought: “Why not prove to everyone that I can learn to speak with a particular English accent?” – and then I started working on my American pronunciation. So one of the reasons why I feel quite comfortable speaking with American accent is just because I’d been struggling with it BADLY years ago!
So, if you find yourself in a situation whereby your fluency is very bad on certain days and you just can’t talk to people and you think – “What’s wrong with me? I’ve been studying the English language for a long time and nothing happens! I can’t just go out there and meet people and speak normally with them!” – it might be a blessing in disguise, my friends.
Blessing in Disguise
Having all those English fluency issues might be the best thing that has ever happened to you because you were born a foreign speaker (or the so-called “non-native English speaker”) and you’ve been studying the language with the textbook approach and you’ve been mostly working on developing your reading, writing and understanding, but not so much speaking.
Now that you have all these issues – you can WORK on them.
You can better yourself.
You can constantly practice your spoken language.
A few years down the line there is no reason why you couldn’t achieve a level of utter fluency. So just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing, it might be a blessing in disguise because it forces you to work SO much harder to eliminate all these issues, right?
And remember one thing: it’s not the perfection that you’re aiming for.
Don’t Aim for Perfection!
Your road to English fluency is going to be so much more difficult, actually, if you’re trying to constantly reach some very, very high standards, some perfectionist standards. Do away with all that!
Just work as hard as you can, do your best at any given time, and don’t compare your language to other people because it will constantly put you in the mindset of feeling inferior to their level and you won’t be able to totally open yourself up, right?
So, just because you have these issues doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing in the world. It might be a blessing in disguise, my friends, and as a matter of fact just a week ago I was struggling with my spoken English a little bit. Yes, believe me, my friends, I still have these days!
I hadn’t been struggling with my English for a long time (for a few months at least) and then one fine day I started noticing I’m making stupid mistakes when speaking (such as saying the wrong word when I actually mean something else).
Nothing Stays the Same at All Times!
If you’ve been reading my blog in the past, you’ll remember me writing about fluency having its ups and downs. The overall trend is upward going provided you’re working very hard on it, but sometimes you may have slight dips in fluency whereby you can’t talk as well as the day before.
So as I said, I had those moments just a week ago and I was struggling just a little bit, you know, and it instantly put me back into the mindset of working really hard with my spoken English.
I spent some extra time practicing my spoken language and, again, it put me right back at the level I was before.
So basically, just because you have setbacks and problems, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing.
It forces you, it motivates you and you have to perceive it as the biggest motivator in the world!
Basically, your struggling is the driving force behind your fluency improvement related activities!
I hope you find this video and article inspirational, and, if you have any questions whatsoever, you’re welcome to post them in the comment section below! Thanks and talk to you soon again!
Robby
P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!
P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!
P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!