Learning English - boring, right?

There are a lot of students from many different countries studying English in Australia. If you walk down George Street in Sydney, you will see people from all over the world, and lots of them will be students who are studying at a language school. In my experience some of these students are Learning English, and the others are Living English.

What do I mean by this?

Well, some students are in Australia, and they are studying English at a language school, which is good, but in my opinion they aren’t making the most of their opportunities. They live and socialise completely with people from their own country. They stay in the city, they rarely go anywhere that is far from their house. Outside of class times, they speak their native language as much as they can. The only native speaker they will ever meet is their teacher. This is Learning English.

But why did this student come to Australia? They could have saved a lot of money by staying home and studying English there.

Living English - that's what it's about!

For other students, living overseas is an opportunity. For them, Australia and its people are the classroom, and the building with the students and teacher are simply a support and a visa requirement. These students live in a homestay, or in a place with people from mixed nationalities. They travel to different parts of Australia, they make friends with people from all over the world. This is Living English.

Which person do you think has a better experience? Which person’s English improves more? Are you learning or living English?

Living English definitely isn’t easy. It’s the hard path. But the things that are most valuable in life are those that we work hardest for. If you would like to live English a little more, I don’t recommend cutting off completely from your native language and friends. That would be crazy! But maybe try and find some ways to make the most of your time in Australia. Being away from home will then truly be the experience of a lifetime.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

He's making an honest woman of her.

I’m in love with language, particularly English. I have been for a long time. If it was legal to marry a word or an idea, rather than another person, I would sweep language off her feet and make an honest woman of her. We would travel the world for our honeymoon, visiting every bookshop we passed and talking to every person we met.

I like the idiomatic side of language. Like that phrase I just used – to make an honest woman of someone – what does that mean? It’s a common phrase. I’m using it to mean marry someone, but if I look at the words by themselves, the phrase sounds strange. Is the phrase saying that all women are deceitful and dishonest before they get married? That sounds a bit sexist and wrong, doesn’t it? The phrase was probably invented by a man who was very insecure and jealous of his girlfriend talking to other men. It’s just like a man to blame his problems on his girlfriend!

That’s one thing I love about language. I also love the way it works, the bits and pieces we call words, sentences, and paragraphs. I love the way people use language. I love that language changes and evolves with time. I love that sometimes I can’t explain what I’m thinking with words.

All of my careers have involved language. My first job was in a library. When I was making coffees or working in a bar, talking to my customers was the most important part of the job. I become a teacher, and was able to share language with my students. And now I’m can share my love of language with you! I’m an experienced teacher, traveler and examiner, so if you have any questions regarding language, don’t be shy!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites