- How important really are the methods
that you use to improve your english?
(upbeat music)
Hello, I'm Julian Northbrook from doingenglish.com.
What's the best method for mastering the english language?
People are kind of obsessed with methods,
exercises, techniques, tips, tricks, hacks
for getting fluent in the english language quickly
and effectively.
Is shadowing a good method
or should I be listening and then repeating?
How about reading out loud from a book?
Should I be doing this?
Should I be doing that?
How about listening a lot?
What about chatting with native speakers?
Should I be...
Look.
Stop.
These things are all mere details, tactics.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And yes, techniques and exercises
for improving your english are necessary.
You've got to do something
and yes, I do teach them.
For example, in my book
Master English Fast, link in the description,
I also use them.
For example, in the EES weekly lessons.
And yes, the exercises and techniques
that I teach and use in the lessons are highly effective.
But they're still just details
because far, far more than that, what really matters,
is why are you improving your english
and are you learning the right language
to be able to do those things that you want to do?
People get so caught up in the methods,
in the exercises, in the techniques,
that they completely fail to realise
that while what they're doing is absolutely fine
for learning and practising the language,
what they are learning, the stuff
that they are filling their head with,
is totally useless for what they want to do
with the language.
For example, check this video
where I answered somebody's question
about whether or not reading difficult, advanced text
is a good way to improve your speaking or not.
The actual thing that you are doing here is irrelevant.
The problem was not reading out loud.
Some people said in the comments,
"Oh, but it's a good way to improve your pronunciation."
Sure, it probably is
but that doesn't change the fact
that the language you are learning and practising
by reading difficult, advanced text
is completely different to the language you will need,
in say, everyday business conversation.
Ultimately, the best method in the entire world
is a total waste of time
if you are applying it
to learning the wrong things.
On the other hand, even a less than ideal method
will still get you pretty good results
if you are applying it
to learning exactly the right english for you
and the conversations that you need to have.
And this is exactly what is at the core of my book,
Master English Fast, an Uncommon Guide
to Speaking Extraordinary English.
Yes, this bad boy will teach you
all the exercises, techniques, tips, tricks and hacks
that you need to learn and practise
and master the english language quickly and effectively.
But at the core of the whole thing
are the basic, fundamental questions of who are you?
Why are you improving your english?
And what do you need to learn
to be able to achieve those goals?
You can get your copy by clicking on the link
in the description.
It's available on Kindle, as a paperback,
and, if you like, you can read the first chapter for free.
Look, in summary, think long and hard
about the materials that you use for learning english,
about the language you are actually learning,
studying and filling your head with
because that has to be right
before anything else can work.
All the best methods and tips and tricks
and exercises and hacks in the world
are useless if you are learning the wrong thing.
Which brings me, quite nicely, to the end of this video.
If you have a question about learning
and mastering the english language,
leave it in the comments down below.
If it's an interesting question,
I will likely answer it in a future video.
If it's a boring question,
I'll probably just ignore it
so don't leave a boring question.
If you're new to this channel, go ahead and subscribe.
There's a new video from me every day at 7 p.m.
If you like this one, found it useful, give it a thumbs up.
If you hated it, go ahead, give it a thumbs down.
I will see you, regardless, in tomorrow's video.
Goodbye.