CHAPTER 14
The Sixth Rule: Learn Real English
And Trash Your Textbooks
You’ve been studying English for years. But when you hear someone
speak it doesn’t sound like the English you learned. You find it hard to
understand, and when you speak, people look confused.
Sadly, this experience is fairly common. It’s what happens when you’ve
been taught English the traditional way where your teacher relies heavily on
textbooks and classroom drills.
That’s why we don’t use textbooks in Effortless English™. In fact, you
have my permission to throw your textbooks away. Go ahead. Pitch them in
the trash. As I’ve said before, textbooks aren’t the way to learn a language.
With Effortless English™, you learn real English, and that is Rule Six.
Textbooks have a number of problems. First, they are grammar-focused.
We have already discussed the reasons you should avoid grammar study.
Another huge problem is that textbooks mostly teach the formal form of
English. This is the form of English you commonly find in writing.
Textbooks rely heavily on written dialogues that are completely unnatural.
Perhaps you recognize this one:
“Hello”
“Hello. How are you?”
“I’m fine, and you?”
The textbook may be accompanied by an audio, in which actors read this
dialogue using strange rhythm and completely unnatural pronunciation.
So what happens in real life? You study this textbook dialogue, and you
think you know English. Then you travel to an English speaking country
such as the United States. You meet a person at the bus stop and they say,
