[Music] hey everyone welcome back to daily native English today we're exposing some bad habits that might be slowing down your English progress yeah sometimes it's not about what you're not doing it's about what you're already doing that's holding you back so we're going to break down nine common habits that make learning English harder and be honest how many of these are you guilty of I feel like I've definitely done some of these when learning a new language but don't worry we'll also share how to fix them all right let's start with the first bad habit
overusing translation apps oh yeah this is a big one when you see a new word do you immediately grab your phone and translate it into your native language if you do you're not alone translation apps can be helpful but relying on them too much is a problem right it slows you down because you're always switching between languages instead of thinking in English and let's be real translations aren't always accurate some words don't have a perfect match in other languages plus if you're always translating you're stuck in your native language structure and that makes it harder
to form natural English sentences so how do we fix this first switch to an English English dictionary like miam Webster or Cambridge in instead of a bilingual one and before checking a dictionary try to guess the meaning from Context your brain will get better at understanding English naturally another great trick is explaining words in English instead of translating like instead of translating amused try explaining it yeah you could say something like amused means feeling happy and entertained by something funny or interesting see no translation needed try this method and soon you'll start thinking in English
more easily all right let's move on to the second bad habit this one might surprise you the second bad habit is memorizing Advanced or highlevel words a lot of Learners think using big fancy words will make them sound fluent yeah but here's the truth native speakers rarely use complicated words in Daily conversations you don't need to sound like a dictionary to sound fluent if you memorize rare words without really knowing how to use them your speech might sound unnatural or even confusing like imagine saying your perspicacity is impressive most native speakers would just say you're
really sharp right and the problem with memorizing difficult words is that they don't stick if you never use them so how do we fix this first focus on common useful words that native speakers actually say and learn words in context don't just memorize word lists see how words are used in real sentences a great trick is using one new word per day in a sentence like instead of memorizing perspicacious just use sharp or observant yeah try saying she's really sharp she notices everything that sounds way more natural so don't waste time on Words you'll never
use focus on the words that actually help you communicate the third bad habit is focusing too much on grammar now don't get us wrong grammar is important but obsessing over it can actually hold you back exactly if you're always thinking is this the right tense did I use the correct preposition you might Freeze and stop yourself from speaking the thing is native speakers don't think about grammar rules while talking they don't pause and analyze their sentence structure they just speak so instead of memorizing grammar rules focus on learning phrases and sentence patterns naturally when you
hear the same structure again and again your brain picks it up without you needing to analyze every word one great way to do this is by listening to real conversations like in podcasts YouTube videos or TV shows and by the way in our ebook we highlight real convers to help you learn grammar in context yeah when you listen to real English you'll start to notice grammar patterns without forcing yourself to memorize them let's look at an example instead of overthinking should I use the present perfect or past simple in this sentence just say what sounds
natural right instead of stressing over wait do I say I have gone or I went just say I've been to Paris before it's natural it's correct and you don't have to overanalyze it so don't let grammar rules slow you down focus on learning patterns from real conversations and your Grammar will improve naturally all right let's move on to the next bad habit this one stops a lot of people from improving the fourth bad habit is relying only on passive learning watching movies and listening to podcasts is great but if if you never actually use English
your speaking won't improve right you might understand English perfectly when you hear it but when it's your turn to speak your brain freezes that's because listening and speaking are two different skills and a lot of Learners assume that just exposing themselves to English watching TV shows listening to podcasts reading articles will magically make them fluent but it doesn't work that way yeah imagine trying to learn how to swim just by watching videos if you never get in the water you won't actually know how to swim exactly so if you want to speak English fluently you
have to practice speaking passive learning is useful but it's not enough on its own so how do you fix this first make speaking a daily habit even if you don't have a conversation partner just talk to yourself right describe what you're doing your thoughts or even repeat what you hear from a podcast or video speaking out loud helps train your brain to form sentences naturally another great technique is shadowing you listen to a native speaker and repeat what they say immediately copying their pronunciation and Rhythm it's one of the best ways to sound more natural
and don't forget about writing a lot of Learners only focus on speaking but writing helps you organize your thoughts in English even something simple like keeping a Daily Journal posting on social media or commenting on videos can help and the more you actively use English the faster you'll improve so don't just listen speak and write every day the fifth bad habit is memorizing vocabulary without context a lot of Learners try to memorize long word lists thinking it'll help them speak better but the problem is words don't exist alone they exist in sentences phrases and real
conversations exactly if you just memorize words one by one you won't know how to actually use them that's why so many Learners struggle to form natural sentences they know the words but they don't know how they fit together native speakers don't learn words in isolation they pick up phrases naturally from conversations that's what makes their speech flow effortlessly and that's why learning vocabulary with context is so important instead of just memorizing run into you should learn it as part of a sentence like I ran into my friend at the mall yesterday now you actually understand
that it means meet unexpectedly yes so how do you fix this habit first never learn words alone always learn them inside full sentences second notice how words are used in real conversations whether it's in movies podcasts or books pay attention to the way native speakers naturally combine words and finally for every new word you learn find at least three example sentences the more you see it in action the better you'll remember it that's also why our ebook 16 skills to master any English conversation is so useful instead of just giving you word lists we summarize
16 key conversation skills and teach them through real life dialogues right this book helps you learn words in real situations so you actually see how they're used instead of just memorizing them and once you've mastered these common conversation structures you'll find it surprisingly easy to adapt them to any situation so if you've been struggling with vocabulary try focusing on learning with context it'll make a huge difference now let's talk about the sixth bad habit sticking to comfortable vocabulary it's really easy to rely on Words you know well like very good or bad because they're simple
and safe but using them too much limits your growth in English those basic words might get the job done but they don't help you sound more natural or precise imagine if you always said very cold instead of finding a better word like freezing it's just not as impactful right the key is to challenge yourself to use more specific natural words instead of relying on the same old ones you can start by replacing words like very with something more precise for example instead of saying very cold you could say freezing it's not only more accurate but
also makes your English sounds smoother and more confident another example instead of saying very tired try exhausted it's a more powerful word that really gets your point across and if you want to describe feeling very happy you could say thrilled it's a much stronger and more colorful way to express your emotions so how do you fix this habit start challenging yourself to replace basic words with more natural specific alternatives a good way to practice is by learning synonyms and phrases that native speakers actually use when you hear them try to repeat them until they feel
natural and just like we've been saying practice makes perfect the more you push yourself to expand your vocabulary the more comfortable you'll feel using it and the best part this will help you sound more like a native speaker which is the goal let's move on to the seventh bad habit not asking questions when you don't understand it's so easy to just nod or say yeah or mhm when you're lost in a conversation but that only leads to confusion and misunderstandings sometimes Learners feel embarrassed to ask for clarification thinking it might make them look bad but
that's totally not the case native speakers won't judge you for asking questions right the worst thing you can do is pretend to understand it just keeps you stuck if you're confused you need to ask it's the only way to make sure you're on the same page so instead of just nodding try using simple phrases like sorry could you say that again or what does that word mean those are polite and clear ways to ask for help another great phrase is can you give me an example if you're still confused don't hesitate to ask for further
explanation it shows that you want to learn and improve and if you're unsure about what you heard you can always repeat it back to check if you understood correctly something like so you're saying that is a good way to double check absolutely it's a great way to ensure you got the message right don't let the fear of asking hold you back it's better to ask than to stay confused for example instead of pretending you understood take it for granted you could ask sorry what do you mean by take it for granted that way you'll know
exactly what's being said asking questions is a powerful tool for learning it opens up conversations and gives you the chance to practice more now let's talk about the eighth bad habit believing you're too old to learn it's common for adults to think that only kids or young people can pick up languages easily but that mindset can really hold you back back absolutely some adults think that because they're older they won't be able to learn as easily or quickly as younger learners but that's not true at all right in fact adults often have an advantage when
it comes to learning we have better life experience more developed learning strategies and a deeper understanding of grammar logic and patterns these things actually make it easier to learn languages faster adults can make sense of grammar rules more efficiently than kids and they can connect new information with things they already know so it's not about age it's about leveraging what you already know that's a great Point Noah instead of focusing on how young people might seem to learn more easily focus on your own strengths you have a lot of skills that make language learning more
effective and it's also about setting realistic goals if you compare yourself to kids you'll only get discouraged but when you set smaller achievable goals you'll feel proud of the progress you're making remember thousands of adults learn English successfully every year you're definitely not alone if they can do it so can you so let go of that belief that you're too old embrace the learning process and celebrate the experience because you're more capable than you think and finally let's talk about inconsistent practice it's easy to fall into the Trap of studying intensively for a few days
and then taking long breaks but this can actually slow down your progress that's right Luna the key to mastering English or any language is regular practice studying for long hours once a week is nowhere near as effective as practicing every day for just 15 to 30 minutes when you take long breaks between sessions your brain forgets what you've learned but if you make English a daily habit even for just 10 minutes a day you'll see much better results and it's not just about memorizing vocabulary or grammar you need to use English in different ways listen
speak write and read the more you incorporate it into your daily life the faster you'll improve that's why Finding fun ways to practice is important watch shows play language games or chat with friends in English make it something enjoyable not a chore exactly so instead of studying for 3 hours once a week try practicing just 20 minutes every day with small activities like writing listening and speaking consistency is key and if you're unsure how to get started be sure to check out our last episode where we talk about how to build a solid routine for
learning English we've got plenty of tips for you that's all for today's episode thanks for joining us and remember consistent fun practice is what will help you succeed stay motivated and keep learning [Music]
