1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:06,200 Stop apologizing for your English. Yes, I said that, and you don't 2 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:14,800 want to miss this episode of the podcast Let's Study together. Welcome to another 3 00:00:14,919 --> 00:00:19,719 Happy English podcast, coming to you from New York City. And here's your 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,359 English teacher, Michael. All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. 5 00:00:25,879 --> 00:00:31,039 It's Michael here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 6 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:39,799 This is Happy English Podcast, Episode six sixty five. Stop Apologizing for your 7 00:00:40,039 --> 00:00:45,960 English. Since I started teaching English in nineteen ninety four, I've met a 8 00:00:46,039 --> 00:00:51,880 lot of language learners from all over the world. Yep, all sorts of 9 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:59,799 people from all different cultural and social backgrounds. And yet many of these people 10 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:04,200 have one thing in common. Do you know what that is? They all 11 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:11,319 seem to be in the habit of apologizing for their language skills. And quite 12 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:18,480 often that happens when we meet for the very first time. The conversation goes 13 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:23,159 something like this, Oh, it's nice to meet you. Sorry for my 14 00:01:23,239 --> 00:01:30,159 poor English. Yeah, it seems to be a habit, and like smoking 15 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:36,120 cigarettes and excessive drinking, it's not a good one. For today's English lesson, 16 00:01:36,439 --> 00:01:41,000 We're going to talk about why that's a bad habit, and then I'll 17 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:46,040 give you some advice about how you can break that habit. This is an 18 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:51,040 important topic. And if I can help just one person today, I'll be 19 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:56,560 happy. I say just one, But I have a feeling there are more 20 00:01:56,599 --> 00:02:01,560 than one of you out there in this situation. All right, here's why 21 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:08,599 it's a bad habit. First of all, we tend to believe everything we 22 00:02:08,719 --> 00:02:16,439 say, and that's basically because intrinsically human beings are honest, don't you think 23 00:02:16,479 --> 00:02:23,159 so. Of course, occasionally we have what we call white lies. You 24 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:30,080 know, when your child's goldfish dies and you tell them that their pet fish 25 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,159 went back to the ocean, or when the government tells you that they have 26 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:40,800 your best interests in mind. But I mean, think about what you say 27 00:02:42,039 --> 00:02:50,080 on a daily basis to your family members or coworkers or friends. Probably everything 28 00:02:50,159 --> 00:02:55,800 that comes out of your mouth is true. Your words are what makes you 29 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:02,759 you. Your words become part of who you are as a person. In 30 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:09,599 other words, you listen to and believe everything that you say. So if 31 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:15,560 you say to somebody, oh my English is not good, or oh sorry 32 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:22,800 for my poor english, or something like that, then what's going to happen 33 00:03:23,439 --> 00:03:30,240 is you're going to start believing that to be true. And once you start 34 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:36,199 believing that your English is not good, Guess what, Folks, You're going 35 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:43,080 to end up putting a wall between your current level of English and your goals. 36 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:49,159 And you wouldn't do the same thing about any other aspect of your life, 37 00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:53,800 would you. You wouldn't have a conversation with somebody for the first time 38 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,960 and say, oh, it's nice to meet you. Sorry, but I'm 39 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:03,439 a little stupid. No. Right. Having a positive mindset is the key 40 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:12,240 to making progress in English, so avoiding negative or apologetic statements about your language 41 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:19,199 skills will keep you positive. Staying positive is always more motivating than being negative, 42 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:27,759 and that motivation will help you learn better and speak more confidently. I'm 43 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,959 sorry, my English isn't very good. That just sounds crazy. I mean, 44 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:40,199 it literally sounds like a crazy person. Imagine getting into a taxi telling 45 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,160 the driver where you want to go, and the driver says, yes, 46 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,079 the train station. I can take you there, but I'm not a very 47 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:54,199 good driver. That's weird, right. Imagine your friend invites you to their 48 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:58,199 house for dinner and as soon as they put the food on the table, 49 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,519 they say, oh, sorry, my cooking is not very good or even 50 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:09,480 worse. Just imagine that same scene in a restaurant and the chef walks out 51 00:05:09,519 --> 00:05:13,600 from the kitchen with your lasagna and says, here's your dinner, ma'am. 52 00:05:13,959 --> 00:05:19,079 But I'm not good at cooking. Well that's what it sounds like when someone 53 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:25,040 says to me, oh, sorry, my English is not good. Now. 54 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:30,839 I know that in some cases there could be cultural factors that could come 55 00:05:30,879 --> 00:05:38,920 into play here. I realize that being humble about what you are doing is 56 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:46,600 considered to be polite or proper in some cultures. But keep in mind that 57 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:53,720 speaking another language is a challenge for everyone who does it, and making mistakes 58 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:59,319 is just part of the learning process and not something that needs to come with 59 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:06,240 an apology. Understanding this point will help you with your confidence in English as 60 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:14,800 well. So how about this, Instead of more English is no good, 61 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,319 say something like this, I'm still working on my English or it's a work 62 00:06:19,319 --> 00:06:26,199 in progress. Saying positive things about your English will put you in a positive 63 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:33,160 mindset about your English, and staying positive is important. Remember, thoughts become 64 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:42,800 things, and positive words become positive thinking. And here's an even better idea. 65 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,800 When you speak in English with someone, don't talk about your language skills 66 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:54,319 or ability at all. For me, that's the best solution to breaking this 67 00:06:54,519 --> 00:07:01,240 habit. Why because the person you're speaking with is judging your English. They 68 00:07:01,439 --> 00:07:06,439 just want to have a conversation with you. That conversation will go a lot 69 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:12,959 smoother if you don't draw attention to your language skills. That's a fact, 70 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,319 friends, So just talk, use your English. The more you use it, 71 00:07:18,439 --> 00:07:25,040 the better it's going to be, and the more confident you are going 72 00:07:25,079 --> 00:07:31,000 to be. And after all, isn't that the goal. Well that's it 73 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:36,879 for today's podcast English Lesson. I hope that's helpful. If you want to 74 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:44,160 get the chance to speak more and feel more confident in English, why don't 75 00:07:44,199 --> 00:07:49,839 you join my podcast Learner's study group. There you can make new friends, 76 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:58,279 join me for live group coaching every week. Plus get the pdf, transcript 77 00:07:58,319 --> 00:08:03,920 and audio download for every Happy English podcast in the past and in the future, 78 00:08:05,959 --> 00:08:13,360 and each episode now has exercises where you can practice your English with speaking 79 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:18,040 and writing checked by me. To learn more, just visit my Happy English 80 00:08:18,079 --> 00:08:26,480 dot com and choose podcast Lesson six sixty five. Remember, learning another language 81 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,600 is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you 82 00:08:31,319 --> 00:08:35,279 on your journey. This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 83 00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:41,879 visit my happy english dot com. Show your support for Happy English by leaving 84 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:56,799 us a review. Get English, Get happy, Happy English.