Feeling Stuck

Maybe this is you. You are frustrated with your English progress. You feel that you cannot express yourself in your new language. You feel that you will never be able to do it. Guess what. I have good news for you. You are not, I repeat, not, alone.

The Language Cage

One of my students told me that not speaking English well was “like being in a cage.” She had ideas and thoughts she wanted to share with people, but her vocabulary, grammar, etc was not good enough. In the months after I heard her say this, I have listened to many students talk about how they have problems expressing themselves in English. Many of these students have also said that they believe they are not making any progress in their English. So, if you also believe this or have these feelings, take some comfort from knowing that you are not the only one.

What to do

So teacher, how do I get out of the cage? How do I stop feeling bad about my English?

Well, I can give you two pieces of advice. First, just stop for a moment. Stop thinking about grammar, pronunciation, and the correct way to say “how’s it going?” Then remember. Remember why you need or want to learn English. Is it for work? Is it because you love the sounds of English? Or maybe you have friends that you want to have a good conversation with. Sometimes it is easy to think a lot about how to do something and forget the reason why.

My second piece of advice is to keep going. After you take a little break to remember why you are learning English, or maybe another language, keep going. Try to think about the next thing you need to learn; or ask a teacher to help you.

Among Friends

Maybe you have a friend or a colleague who is also in the language cage. It is sometimes a good idea to talk about this problem together. You can both stop, remember, and then keep going, maybe together. Only never forget that the language cage is a common thing. You are not alone.