Top 18 Fundamental Mistakes When Starting to Learn English

Imagine yourself sailing on a boat in the middle of the ocean without knowing why you set sail. Eventually, when a storm hits, the boat will sink. Similarly, on your journey to conquer English, the difficulties, challenges, lazy days, fatigue, and even the urge to go out and play... They are like those storms, and we'll be like that boat easily sinking.

If someone tells you they can make you speak English fluently like the wind in just 6 months or even a year, I assure you, they're bluffing. Unless you were born in an English-speaking country, learning English will likely be a lifelong endeavor.

Remember, English is a language, not just a subject. Therefore, learning English knows no bounds. Perhaps in one year, if you follow the right process, you might be able to communicate in English at a basic level. Understanding this is crucial for adopting the mindset of continuous learning. Okay.

Many wonder why they still can't speak, listen, or communicate in English. Why? In college, we learn a philosophical phrase that I really like: 'When there's enough accumulation in quantity, there will be a change in quality.' Right now, if you can't speak English, it's simply because you haven't accumulated enough quantity yet. Every day, pour more knowledge in; fill your English reservoir until it overflows, then you'll reap its rewards.

This is one of the most basic misconceptions; self-study doesn't mean studying alone. Instead, it means we still need someone knowledgeable to answer questions or guide us when we mispronounce words. Our ancestors had a saying, 'Learning from a teacher is better than learning from a friend,' and it holds true. In learning English, you should also seek out friends, especially those proficient in English. Reach out to them proactively to ask about what you don't know.

I'm sure that 100% of English learners make this mistake, that is treating English as a subject. The truth is, English is a language, not a subject. We should learn English just like how we learn Vietnamese. Remember how you learned Vietnamese? Did you start by studying grammar like we often do in English? Did you have to go to school to speak Vietnamese?

No one would accept a child into first grade if they couldn't speak, right? The mistake in learning English here is that we overly emphasize learning in school. The pressure from grades and exams is truly terrifying, isn't it?

This is a very interesting idiom, and perhaps many of us have heard this story before, haven't we? I won't retell it. Here, I just want to let you know that a common mistake many English learners face initially is constantly changing textbooks and learning methods in the first 3-4 months of study.

Give yourself a period of time to follow the right method, the right instructions, the right curriculum, and after a long enough period (remember, long enough), if you still don't achieve the desired results, then you can make a change, okay?

A phrase I'd like to share with you is 'take it easy - keep it simple,' English is just a language after all.

This is extremely important, if we keep overcomplicating things, we'll never master English. English is much easier than Vietnamese by many times, if we can learn Vietnamese, why can't we learn English? Ok.

Always thinking that English is too hard for me, when you think so, it means you've already limited yourself. So why do we fall into this mistake? In the past, there were many people around, especially family, friends - those who influence you - they told you, 'English is so difficult, even I can't learn it, how could you?' In the past, my English was very bad, and when I told my friends that I would study English, many of them laughed at me, 'what are you going to English classes for? If you can learn English, the sun will rise in the west,' something like that.

At those times I felt very sad, but I never gave up, because I knew how to think to overcome such obstacles and break through such difficulties. I want to tell you the following story for you to reflect on:
'In circuses, if there are elephants, they are very big and their legs are only tied with very small ropes, but they still don't break free. Why? The answer is in the past these elephants were chained with very thick chains, and every time they struggled to escape from these chains, they were tightly squeezed, bleeding and painful. After many times like that, these elephants have given themselves a belief that 'they will never escape from that chain' and so they give up, when they grow up even if they are only tied with a tiny rope they obediently accept it without trying to escape from it'.

Your English learning is the same when you hear too many negative words that you can't learn English, gradually you also accept it and see it as an obvious truth. This is extremely dangerous. Belief is important like that, my friend!

Actually, learning English is very simple, folks, its secret is simple: repeat it over and over again until it forms a daily habit of learning English. Successful English learners all apply this method.

But the majority are the ones who fail, simply because they lack persistence, they give up too soon before they see the sweet fruit of success. Not only learning English but any endeavor is like that, my friend! Persistence is the key to success!

There's a saying by the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee that goes like this: 'I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.' Here, the emphasis is on focus, the power of focus, or as our ancestors said, 'One trade brings success, nine trades bring confusion.' That's why you see some people specialize in translation writing and others only in translation speaking. Usually, those who are good at written translation are not good at oral translation and vice versa.

In English, there are many skills, the four main skills being listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It's very difficult to focus on all skills at once, so choose one skill that you are strongest at and focus on it!

This is the greatest, most common, and worst mistake. Research shows that studying grammar, in fact, leads to many negative impacts on English speaking ability. Why? Because English grammar is too complex to memorize and use correctly…. Meanwhile, real-life conversations happen too quickly.

You don't have enough time to think, recall hundreds, thousands of different grammar rules, choose which grammar is correct, and then use it.

(By the time you do that, the other person has already left or fallen asleep from another lifetime!)

Your left brain logic cannot do that. You need to learn grammar visually and subconsciously, like a child. You accomplish this by listening to a lot of English sentences used with correct grammar. Just like that, your brain automatically gradually learns how to use English grammar accurately.

This means that if you don't study English today, it's okay, you can study tomorrow. And if you can't speak English in the next 6-8 months, it's okay too. And precisely because of that 'it's okay' attitude, you have very wrong attitudes when learning English. Remember that attitude is extremely important in learning English!
In this case, it's best to go to English learning centers for beginners to get the most specific guidance.

Unfortunately, most learners only encounter English found in textbooks and classrooms. The issue is that native speakers don't use this type of English in most situations.

When conversing with friends, family, or colleagues, native speakers use everyday English with countless idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang. To communicate with native speakers, you can't rely solely on textbooks.. you need to learn everyday English.

Both English learners and instructors often push learners to speak English before they are ready. While well-intentioned, this results in most learners speaking English very slowly, lacking confidence, and fluency.

Forcing oneself to speak is a major mistake. Don't speak English if you feel pressured. Instead, focus on listening and be patient. Only speak when you feel ready to converse. By then, speaking will happen effortlessly and quite naturally. Until then, don't force yourself to speak English when you don't feel prepared.

Students and instructors often focus on mistakes. They worry about making mistakes. They correct mistakes. They strive to speak English perfectly, to avoid any errors when speaking.

However, nobody is perfect. Native speakers also often make mistakes, stumble,… when communicating in English. Making mistakes is normal. Instead of focusing on the negatives, focus on communication.

Your goal isn't to speak “perfectly”. Your goal is to convey ideas, information, and emotions clearly and understandably. Focus on conveying information, focus on the positives. Over time, you will progress in overcoming common speaking errors.

Most students rely entirely on the school system. They believe that teachers and schools are responsible for their success. This is never true. You, as the English learner, always have to take responsibility for your learning. A good teacher can help you in many ways, but you are the one primarily responsible for your own learning.

You need to find effective English learning lessons and materials. You need to listen to and read English every day. You need to control your emotions and maintain motivation and energy while learning. You need to be proactive and optimistic.

No teacher can make you listen to English. Only you can do that!

Some students are most comfortable with listening and repeating skills. Others may need grammar textbooks to grasp the meaning of foreign languages. Each approach is good, but it becomes a mistake when you rely solely on one method.

English learners need to employ various methods to practice different skills and see concepts explained in multiple ways. Moreover, diversity can prevent learners from getting stuck in a single path of learning.

Starting English learning will involve a lot of uncertainties - learners will encounter new words every day, and with each grammar rule, there will be a contradictory exception or irregular verb. Until learners achieve fluency like native speakers, there will always be a level of ambiguity.

Students who habitually look up a new word and search for its meaning in the dictionary instead of guessing the meaning from the context may feel stressed and lose direction. Remember, each meaning in the dictionary corresponds to a specific context. Consider the following examples:

It is a bad one (bad meaning poor, terrible)
I want this job so badly (badly meaning desperately)

So if learners embrace the dictionary right from the start, it's very easy to rigidly translate one meaning in Vietnamese for all different situations in English and make a normal sentence become confusing.

Whether one can write in a foreign language, conjugate a verb, or ace a vocabulary test doesn't matter. To learn, progress, and truly use English, practice it daily, watch movies, listen to foreign radio stations to enhance your abilities. That's what counts.

Many English learners stumble upon personal inertia barriers. You start, everything seems new, and you give up. A few months later, you're determined again, find it hard, and quit once more.

Laziness can never lead you to success in learning English. Especially for beginners like you!