Hi, I'm Joe Weiss, and I'm one of the directors of Learn Real English. And today I'm going to be teaching you Rule Number 2 for Excellent English Speaking.
Okay, so what is Rule Number 2? Well Rule Number 2 is quite simple. Rule Number 2 is do not study grammar rules. Do not study grammar rules. Now, I know this may be a surprise to you because your English teachers have always told you that you must study grammar rules. In high schools or secondary schools, in universities, in language schools, the English teachers teach grammar, and then they teach more grammar, and then they teach even more grammar. And that is the method you have used to study English.
So now I have a question for you. Have you been successful using that method? If you're watching this video then you've studied English before. That means you have probably studied a lot of grammar rules. So you need to ask yourself this question. Can you speak English quickly, easily and automatically? If the answer is no, then you need to ask why not. Why not? Because you have been studying English for many years.
Why can't you speak English quickly, easily and automatically? Well the answer for most people is because they studied too much grammar. But you are not to blame for this, no. Your English teachers are to blame for this. Because your English teachers made you study grammar. I bet you hated studying grammar rules. But you did it because your English teachers made you study them.
Okay, so why is it bad to study grammar rules? Well, when you study grammar rules then you think about these grammar rules. You think about the past perfect tense, the present perfect tense, the future perfect tense, prepositions. You think about all these grammar rules before you speak. And when you speak, you do not have a lot of time. When you're writing, you have a lot more time. You can write slowly. You can correct your mistakes. You can even look in a book if you need help. When you're writing, you have a lot of time. But when you're speaking, you do not have a lot of time.
When you are speaking, there is no time to think about verb tenses and verb conjugations and definite articles, indefinite articles, adverbs. There is no time to think about those grammar rules when you are speaking. When someone asks you a question, they want you to answer that question immediately. They don't want to wait one minute while you're thinking about grammar rules. No, no, no.
So that is why it is important that you not study grammar rules. When you study grammar rules, then you think about those grammar rules before you speak. And that means that you hesitate before you speak, and you speak much slower and you understand much slower.
Okay, so how do native speakers learn grammar then? Well, I am an English native speaker and I can tell you that I never studied grammar rules when I was a young boy and I was learning how to speak English. When I was 3 years old and I was learning how to speak English, my mother and father never made me study grammar rules. They didn't do it. So I still speak English very well and I use correct grammar. And I never studied grammar rules. Well, when I was 12 years old, I studied grammar rules in school, but that was for writing. It was only for writing, it was not for speaking. You do not want to study grammar rules for speaking. For writing, it's different.
Okay, so how do native speakers learn grammar then? Well, they learn grammar through listening, listening to correct grammar, again and again and again and again. And when you listen to this grammar over and over again, it gets stored deeply in your brain. Then, when it is time for you to speak, you will be able to use this grammar because you will know what correct English grammar sounds like.
Okay, so the best way to learn grammar is through input. So listening is one form of input, listening to correct grammar over and over again. Now reading is another form of input. And you can use reading also to learn grammar, but you won't use it as much as listening. Most of the time you will have listening as your main form of input. But if you do read, please do not read textbooks. You should read easy English novels, maybe novels that a young child would read. But most of your input will come from listening.
You will listen to correct grammar over and over again. And this is how you will learn grammar. This is how a child or a native speaker learns grammar. And you do it quickly, easily and automatically without memorizing any grammar rules.
Okay, so today we're speaking about Rule Number 2. So tomorrow we will be sending you Rule Number 3. But in Rule Number 5, I am going to tell you a powerful way for you to learn grammar. Be it English grammar or the grammar for any other language. And this is a very simple, powerful way to learn grammar. And I promise you, it will not involve memorizing any grammar rules. So I'm sure you're happy about that.
But the rule today is Rule Number 2. And Rule Number 2 is don't study grammar rules. Do not study grammar rules. When you study grammar rules, you think about the grammar before you speak and then you hesitate before you speak. You speak much slower and you understand much slower. So if you have any grammar books, throw them away. Bury them in your backyard. You can even burn them. But if you do burn them, please be safe, okay?
Okay, so this is the end of Rule Number 2. I hope that you're enjoying the 7 Rules to Excellent English Speaking course.
We are really happy to have you with us. And have a great day and I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.