CHAPTER 3
Psychology Is More Important
Than Grammar and Vocabulary
Most people have suffered with English for so long they worry there is
no solution. Trained by schools to be passive, fear mistakes, and search for
just one right answer, most English learners are stressed and frustrated.
Some feel nearly hopeless. They have spent years in English classrooms.
They have spent years memorizing grammar rules and vocabulary lists.
They have spent years studying for exams such as the TOEFL, IELTS, or
TOEIC.
Despite all this work and effort, most English learners are frustrated.
Many struggle with even simple conversations. Many feel nervous any time
they must speak English. They have memorized countless grammar rules,
yet even simple conversations feel difficult. Likewise, despite years of
study, most learners still cannot understand American TV or movies.
After so many years of traditional learning, students are confused. When
they try to speak, they constantly think about grammar and translations.
First they think of a sentence in their own language, then they translate it to
English, then they think about the grammar, and finally they speak.
When they listen, they go through a similar process. They hear the
English, translate it into their own language, think of a response in their
own language, translate their response into English, and then think about
the grammar to be sure their response is correct. No wonder their speech is
so slow and unnatural! No wonder English feels so stressful and difficult!
Real conversations are fast, and it’s nearly impossible to do all of this
thinking fast enough, especially when talking to a native speaker.
