How to Never Make a Mistake in English Ever Again
Before I decided to buy a skateboard last year, I spent a lot of time thinking about the fact that I’m an adult.
As an adult with an adult body, I knew that if I were to fall and get injured, I would not recover as quickly as, say, a ten-year-old would.
So, I spent a lot of time researching ways to avoid falling.
Soon, though, it became super clear that not falling while learning to skateboard isn’t a thing.
Even professionals fall.
During my research on how to avoid breaking all my bones while pursuing a new hobby, I actually found that many sources recommended that new skaters practice falling so that they’d understand how to fall “safely” and avoid serious injuries.
Now, let’s apply this to language learning.
When you’re learning a language, you’re GOING TO MAKE MISTAKES. You’re GOING TO HAVE EMBARRASSING MOMENTS.
The only way that you could avoid mistakes and embarrassing moments would be to just not speak or write in the language you’re learning at all and good luck trying to learn a language without ever using it.
So, instead of looking for ways to avoid making mistakes, maybe you should focus on preparing yourself for them.
Practice falling.
Find people you feel comfortable failing in front of - people who will provide you a soft place to “land” while you’re learning not to take yourself too seriously.
One of the other interesting things I found while looking into how to avoid skateboard-related injuries was that people LOVE talking about their falls.
There are tons of videos of skaters showing or talking with pride about times when gravity tried to turn them into dust and even though I still can’t relate to that, I do love telling people about my embarrassing language-learning moments just as much as I also love to hear embarrassing stories from others.
“Failing” and falling both show that you’re trying.
They show that you’re trying to learn new skills and proves that you’re part of the glorious community of Language Learners that exists in this world.
Learn to love the fails and if you can’t quite love them, at least recognize that each one provides you with a good story to tell.