Native speakers don’t always speak “better” English
Here’s something many English learners forget:
Native speakers make mistakes too.
They search for words.
They restart sentences.
They use simple expressions when they can’t find the perfect one.
The difference?
They usually don’t stop the conversation to judge themselves.
They don’t think:
“That was a terrible sentence. Maybe I shouldn’t speak English.“
They simply keep communicating.
Of course, accuracy matters. Clear English matters.
But perfection was never the goal.
The goal is connection. Understanding. Getting your message across.
Quick win: The next time you make a mistake in English, try this:
Don’t apologise. Don’t explain. Just continue.
Your conversation is more important than your mistake.
Good morning Christine!
Thank you for you sparks ! As I worked for nearly 40 years teaching English at German schools, I think that I can give you a short explanation.
German English teachers my generation ( I don’t know about younger ones today any more) always tried to force their pupils to learn ‘correct’ British English in grammar and sentences. That is followed by less communication practice. The students often don‘t learn to speak fluently, always fearing to make mistakes. I think that is what you remark in your sparks. When I realized that after a couple of years I started to let them speak without correction during their communications and that helped them to rise courage. I only repeated their sentence from time to time correctly.
Perhaps that might help you to understand.
With my dearest regards, have a wonderful summer🙋🏼♀️
Ele
Good morning Ele,
Thank you so much for sharing this. And yes, that really helps me understand the perspective of your generation of English teachers.
I think you’ve put your finger on something important. When accuracy gets more attention than communication, learners can become afraid of speaking at all.
I remember my own French language learning, and I certainly recognise that feeling!
And I love what you describe doing with your pupils. Letting them speak, not interrupting to correct them, and simply modelling the correct version afterwards. That can make such a difference to confidence.
After all, the point of learning a language is not to produce perfect sentences in isolation. It’s to communicate with another person.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. And I hope you have a wonderful summer too! 🙋♀️
Christine