1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,920
Hey everyone, and welcome back 
to another episode of the 

2
00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:11,880
Understandable English Podcast. 
My name is Oliver and today we 

3
00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:17,240
are going to be talking about 
something very important and 

4
00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:23,280
that is the most common mistakes
people make when learning 

5
00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,520
English. 
And I'm not talking about 

6
00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:31,520
specific mistakes like for 
example words or grammar. 

7
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,120
I'm talking generally the most 
common mistakes. 

8
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:43,200
So our choices, mistakes we make
with our choices when learning 

9
00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,680
English. 
Because of course each person 

10
00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,040
with their native language will 
find certain parts of English 

11
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,320
harder than others. 
For some, the grammar, for 

12
00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:01,040
others pronunciation if their 
language is for example, not a 

13
00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:06,520
Latin based language. 
But let's look at some of these 

14
00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:11,040
mistakes. 
So one of the first is choosing 

15
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,120
or not choosing things that are 
interesting to you. 

16
00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:20,240
So often I will see, and 
particularly in the past when I 

17
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:26,440
used to teach, I would see 
students doing textbooks or 

18
00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:32,000
materials for school or 
university and not really 

19
00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:37,280
choosing interesting topics or 
things that they actually care 

20
00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,760
about. 
And this can be fine for 

21
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,440
starting. 
So when you're a beginner, it's 

22
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:48,840
important to get a good 
foundation, a good start or 

23
00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,840
beginning. 
And often to do that we have to 

24
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:59,040
learn some basic words, some 
basic grammar, and maybe use 

25
00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,120
some boring examples that are 
not so interesting. 

26
00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:09,120
For example, like Jack went to 
the park, he played with his 

27
00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:15,200
dog, you know, simple examples. 
But once you get to really at 

28
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:20,360
least intermediate level or 
lower intermediate level, it's 

29
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,640
OK to still do these things. 
So to use textbooks or courses, 

30
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:31,160
but it's really important to 
start focusing your language 

31
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:37,400
learning with areas that you're 
interested in because so many of

32
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:43,200
these textbooks and courses are 
designed for language schools or

33
00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,840
simply to be used in the 
classroom and they can be quite 

34
00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:53,400
hard to use to motivate 
yourself, particularly if you're

35
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,160
self studying. 
To overcome. 

36
00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:02,440
This is very simple. 
Pick, read, listen or watch 

37
00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,360
things which are interesting to 
you. 

38
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:11,800
If you'd like, for example 
science fiction, then watch 

39
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,600
something like Star Wars or a 
series which is interesting to 

40
00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,840
you. 
If you like reading literature, 

41
00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:22,400
then read some English 
literature. 

42
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:28,480
It's all about enjoying the 
process and that is what is 

43
00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,160
going to keep you motivated to 
continue to learn. 

44
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:39,840
OK, so that in my eyes is one of
the most important mistakes that

45
00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,480
people make. 
And the reason why I say it is 

46
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,880
the most important is if you 
lose your passion or your 

47
00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,800
motivation or your routine with 
English learning, then you'll 

48
00:03:53,800 --> 00:04:00,080
probably stop learning or your 
progress will become quite slow.

49
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:06,880
OK, so another key mistake, 
which is one that I have 

50
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,720
suffered from when I've learned 
other languages, and that is 

51
00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:18,040
being afraid of making mistakes 
or being afraid to make a 

52
00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:22,520
mistake. 
And this is most common with 

53
00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,720
speaking. 
I would say most of my students 

54
00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:33,440
or a lot of them in the past 
have been afraid or scared of 

55
00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:39,760
making mistakes when they speak.
But it can apply to anything, 

56
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,120
whether that's writing as well 
or maybe doing grammar 

57
00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:48,600
exercises. 
And it's completely natural or 

58
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:54,920
normal to feel scared to speak. 
We always feel like we aren't 

59
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,240
ready or maybe our English is 
not good enough to speak. 

60
00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:06,080
But in reality, learning is a 
continuous process and if you 

61
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:11,320
keep learning and learning, you 
will never feel ready to speak 

62
00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:16,400
without practicing. 
We have to speak to improve and 

63
00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,920
to become confident speaking. 
But the most important thing 

64
00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,800
that I can say to you is that 
people really don't care when 

65
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,000
you make mistakes or if you 
don't sound like a native 

66
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:36,240
speaker, if you have a strong 
accent, local people or native 

67
00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,400
English speakers really don't 
care. 

68
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,120
And that sounds maybe quite 
strange or quite obvious, but 

69
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:50,600
it's important to know there are
so many different cultures, 

70
00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,240
different countries that use and
speak English or learn it as a 

71
00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,760
second language. 
Out of any language you could 

72
00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:04,640
choose, English is probably the 
one where people don't care if 

73
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,200
you don't speak it it perfectly 
or entirely correct. 

74
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,840
Just think of how widespread 
English is, of how many people 

75
00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:20,560
use it and practice it and try. 
For me, as a native speaker, 

76
00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:27,800
even before I got into English 
teaching or English education, I

77
00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:32,760
never cared and I know all of my
family and friends don't care 

78
00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:36,800
when people make mistakes. 
To be honest, we don't really 

79
00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,840
even notice most of the time. 
You're more focused on the 

80
00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:45,960
conversation. 
So when you speak English, don't

81
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000
think of it like an exam or a 
test. 

82
00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,120
Just try to speak. 
And I know that's easier to say 

83
00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,520
than to do, but the more you 
practice, the better you will 

84
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,280
get. 
So don't worry and don't be 

85
00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:04,320
scared. 
OK, so another mistake that I 

86
00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:09,960
see quite often related to 
speaking is trying to speak too 

87
00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:16,640
quickly or too fast. 
So often people might confuse or

88
00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:21,800
try to speak very fast because 
they think that it will make 

89
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,960
them sound more native or more 
fluent. 

90
00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:31,520
But the reality is when you 
start speaking faster, you will 

91
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,560
end up making more mistakes that
you wouldn't make if you just 

92
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,240
pause and speak a little bit 
more slowly. 

93
00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:46,840
So particularly some countries 
are a little bit more guilty of 

94
00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,000
this in countries where people 
speak a little bit faster. 

95
00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,920
But when you speak English, do 
try to just take your time. 

96
00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:01,520
Speak as slow as you need and 
just focus on communicating in a

97
00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:06,080
way that's comfortable for you. 
Don't feel pressure to speak as 

98
00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,920
fast as other people around you.
The most important thing is that

99
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:15,120
you speak OK. 
And another point, another 

100
00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:20,120
mistake I think that people 
make, which I also did, is 

101
00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:26,040
focusing too much on grammar. 
Of course, this depends on your 

102
00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,960
goals. 
So what you need English for, 

103
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:35,000
grammar is very important for a 
base or a foundation in English 

104
00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:39,840
to allow you to make sentences 
properly and to communicate 

105
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,679
effectively. 
But for some people, of course, 

106
00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,320
grammar is very important if 
you're needing it for an 

107
00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:52,400
academic or professional level. 
But in general, for 

108
00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:57,960
communication, don't focus too 
much on grammar. 

109
00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,320
And of course, I'm not saying to
not learn grammar. 

110
00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:07,320
I'm just saying that when you 
speak and you communicate, try 

111
00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,920
not to think too much about 
grammar. 

112
00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:16,640
When I started to learn Russian,
I wasn't so much scared of 

113
00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:22,800
speaking, but every time I spoke
I was trying so hard to think 

114
00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,800
about what the correct grammar 
was. 

115
00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,720
It felt so difficult and it 
stressed me out and I started to

116
00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:36,720
make mistakes and be very slow 
and I realized I need to not 

117
00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,400
think about grammar whenever I 
speak. 

118
00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,440
Of course you can practice 
making sentences with correct 

119
00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,760
grammar, but in conversation, 
the more you think about 

120
00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:53,880
grammar, if it's not the easiest
thing for you, it's better to 

121
00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,000
start speaking and then correct 
yourself. 

122
00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,440
So make the mistakes and that's 
how you will learn. 

123
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:06,160
Don't try to speak like you're 
writing an academic essay. 

124
00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:11,320
And I think that will help a lot
of people if you you change this

125
00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,160
point. 
OK. 

126
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,600
And finally, the biggest mistake
or one of the biggest mistakes I

127
00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:22,600
think the people make with 
learning English is not setting 

128
00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,800
goals. 
And I don't mean any kind of 

129
00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,440
goal. 
I mean achievable goals. 

130
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:35,360
So points or progress points 
that you want to reach, and this

131
00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,680
can be simple but very important
for continuing to learn. 

132
00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:45,360
It might be to be able to read a
book in English, maybe to watch 

133
00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,320
ATV show or a movie without 
subtitles. 

134
00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:54,120
These can be simple or as 
complicated as you want. 

135
00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,960
It's up to you, but it's 
important to set goals so that 

136
00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:05,520
we can see and like visibly feel
or see our progress. 

137
00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:12,720
OK, so that is my top mistakes 
that English learners make, in 

138
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,760
my opinion. 
So thank you very much for 

139
00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,600
listening. 
And as always, if you're 

140
00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,960
listening on the podcast, be 
sure to check out the YouTube 

141
00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,720
channel in the description 
below. 

142
00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:30,960
At the moment I post these 
podcasts there with subtitles, 

143
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,960
but in the future I'm planning 
to start doing some easy English

144
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:43,280
vlogs, so some videos from my 
day-to-day life travelling in 

145
00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:48,360
English but simple English for 
you to understand with 

146
00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:52,000
subtitles. 
So thank you very much for 

147
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,880
listening and I hope you have an
amazing day.