Success for Learning English

SO YOUNG, LEE

I work for an elementary school in Young-in and I am teaching English to the 5th grade students. My co-workers often ask me how to learn English and speak in English very well. Then, I just say "Enjoy it!". But I am not sure how I became fluent in English. I am still studying it for more than 20 years and I am still trying to have a variety of experiences. Although I think mastering English is far from me, I am making best efforts to speak English fluently. If you want to speak English fluently, how much time do you spend studying English? What environment do you need? How can you access to teaching skills, systems and curriculum? If you want to speak English fluently, please follow three ways I recommend here. You will get to have a strong motivation and enjoy learning English.

First, to speak English fluent, it is important to study it over 10,000 hours. I believe that we can learn English by various examples and experience because there are limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction and we need at least 10,000 hours for language acquisition. (Malcolm Gladwell). If you spend 4 hours everyday studying English conversation during 7 years and use it every day, you can master English. First of all, after 1,000 hours to learn English, it is possible to express your opinion and thought in English. When I was a junior student in university, I studied English in Maryland in the States for a year. I lived in a dormitory with an American roommate. I didn't have any Korean friends there. At that time, I had to speak English every day. I also attended a training session for about 120 hours in Gyeonggi-do Institute for Foreign Language Education for English teachers.

Second, What environment do you need for learning English? We need to be exposed to environment of ESL(English as a Second Language)

The more frequently learners are exposed to an English-speaking environment, the easier it is for them to learn the language. Almost of companies require applicants to get higher scores than 850 points in TOEIC and 760 points in 760 in Korea. Many applicants get the score they need. Nevertheless, most of them can't speak English fluently. It means that high scores in English certificate tests don't assure fluent English. In other words, it is important to be exposed to an English-speaking environment. Nevertheless, we actually study English in school curriculum without ESL(English as a Second Language) environment in Korea. Thererfore, we need to speak English more in the natural context with native speakers like ESL-environment. I also make efforts to expose myself to ESL-environment and I am studying in TIME TESOL Course.

Third, how can you access to teaching skills, systems and curriculum?

I already mentioned about 10,000 hours rule and ESL environment. Last but not the least, it is very important to utilize effective education programs for self directed learning. These effective education programs should include skilled teachers for guiding students. Nowadays, many Korean moms prefer to send their kids to English kindergartens in Gangnam Daechdong and Bundang. Because they believe that there are high-quality education programs and well-trained teachers for their kids. But if they are running good education programs without self-directed learning, it is a just waste of valuable time and money because self-directed learning is very important for motivation or setting up a goal. I have studied English in many institutes since 1986. Some had few effects, but others really worked for self-directed learning.

How can I speak English fluently? I am living in Korea. Even so, I can. I think it is important to follow a 10000 hour rule, use English in an ELS environment as frequently as possible and utilize effective education programs for self-directed learning with well-trained teachers for guiding students.