5 Reasons English is Hard to Learn
Vanessa:
Hi, I’m
Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Is English the hardest language to learn?
Well, these articles say so. But
if you are one of the 300 million
English learners around the world, it can’t be
impossible. Right? Well, let’s talk about it.
Have you ever watched an English TV show or movie
and thought, “Man, this is not what I learned in
school.” Well, you’re right. You learned classroom
English, not real English. In the real world,
people speak real English for daily conversation,
for the workplace, for life. It’s real English.
Don’t waste your time studying
classroom English anymore.
Join me and learn to speak real American English.
Let’s talk about five reasons why English is
a hard language to learn. And let me know in the
comments if you agree with what I have to say.
To help you never forget what you learn in this
lesson, I’ve created a free PDF worksheet that you
can download with the link in the description.
You can review all of today’s vocabulary,
ideas, pronunciation tips. And at the bottom of
the worksheet, you can answer Vanessa’s challenge
question. So click on the link in the description
to download this free PDF worksheet today.
At the end of this lesson, you’ll learn one of
the top mistakes that my English students make.
And I have a special announcement about
how you can save $100 on my premium course,
The Fearless Fluency Club. Let’s get started with
the first reason why English is hard to learn.
Number one, real vocabulary is different
from classroom vocabulary. Let’s take a
look at a couple examples. Let’s imagine that
you move to the US and you get a job working at
a pizza restaurant. Okay. It’s a
good first job and it’s a good way to
get some work experience in the US. Well, you
might hear your boss say something like this.
“Is the pizza ready to be delivered?”
And then you’ll hear a coworker say,
“Yes, the pizza is good to go.” Huh? Good to go.
Okay. Well, we have a more typical classroom
English word, ready. Is the pizza ready to
be delivered? And then you hear someone say,
“Yes, it’s good to go.” Well, they could
have said, “Yes, it’s ready.” That’s okay.
But you will hear these types of real English
phrases, “Good to go,” quite often in daily life.
Let’s take a look at another example. If you’re in
a long-term committed relationship with someone,
you’ve probably talked about money before. And
money can be a difficult part of a marriage.
But we can also exchange this rather
simple, normal word, difficult, for
another more real English term. You could say
money can be a sticking point in a marriage.
Now this just takes your vocabulary up to the next
level. But this is one of the reasons why when
you’re watching English movies and TV shows, you
feel like it’s a different language than what you
learned. Yes, you will hear the words ready and
difficult, but you will also hear the expressions
good to go or a sticking point. And that’s what
will set you apart from beginner English learners,
when you can integrate these rule real vocabulary
expressions into your daily conversation.
All right, let’s go on to reason number
two why English is hard to learn.
There are over 10,000 phrasal verbs used
in daily conversation. And some of them
have more than one meaning. Yes, that’s right.
10,000. I’m so sorry. But don’t worry. Today
I’m going to help you with two of these phrasal
verbs that each have two meanings. So really,
it’s kind of like learning four for two.
Okay. Let’s start with the first one.
To come through. This is a typical example of a
phrasal verb. We have a verb, to come, and then
we have an added word. This is a preposition or
sometimes called a participle, the word through,
to come through. And this is put together
in a phrase, why we call it a phrasal verb,
and they have some unique uses in English. So
let’s take a look at the first way to use this.
Let’s imagine you’re working in a
hospital and you hear a doctor say,
“Coming through,” as he runs down the hallway.
Well, there must be some kind of emergency. Here
he’s moving from one location to another. And
he’s saying, “Coming through,” warning everyone
get out of the way. So this is the very literal
way to use this. I am coming through. Watch out.
But we can use this in a more figurative way as
well. What if I said to you that my mom always
comes through for me when I need her? Does this
mean that she’s running through the hallway and
everyone is moving out of the way? No. This means
that she supports me or successfully helps me.
My mom comes through for me whenever I need
help. I can depend on her help. So this is
a second way to use this phrasal verb, to come
through. She always comes through for me. I hope
that there’s someone in your life who always
comes through for you whenever you need help.
Let’s take a look at another phrasal verb that
has two meanings: to show up. Let’s take a look at
this sentence. You can’t show up 15 minutes late
for work every day and expect to keep your job.
What’s this mean here? Does this mean you’re
appearing out of a cloud? I showed up at work.
No. This just means that you are arriving.
You’re appearing there. But not so much in
a magical way. You can’t show up or come to work
15 minutes late every day and expect to keep your
job. You’ll probably get fired at some point.
Well, to help you remember way to use show up,
because we often use this in daily conversation,
I’d like to show you a little clip.
There is a conversation between me and a woman
named Alexandra that is in my course, The Fearless
Fluency Club. Because in this course, we break
down conversations and pull out key vocabulary,
key phrasal verbs, key pronunciation. And this
is one of the phrasal verbs that we used in
the conversation. You’re going hear her say,
“Mom is very likely to show up last minute.”
Alexandra is a wedding planner, and she’s talking
about all the different situations that might
happen in a wedding. And in this situation, she
says that maybe you say, “I don’t think my mom is
going to come to the wedding.” Well, as a wedding
planner, she knows Mom is very likely to show up
last minute. This means unannounced. They might
not be ready for her. So, as the wedding planner,
she needs to know this might happen. Mom might
show up last minute. Let’s watch this clip. And
I want you to listen for this phrasal verb. And
I hope that this extra context will help you to
remember this and use it yourself. Let’s watch.
Alexandra:
So even if they say, “Mom’s not coming,” Mom is
very likely to show up last minute, unannounced.
Vanessa:
Okay.
Alexandra:
Dressed and ready to go.
Vanessa:
Did you hear Mom is very
likely to show up last minute? I hope so. Let’s
go on to the second meaning of this phrasal verb
to show up. And usually we’re going to
add someone in the middle, to show someone
up. Let’s take a look at this sentence. John was
always trying to show his teacher up by presenting
new facts about the lesson. So what can we guess
from this situation that to show someone up means?
Well, if the teacher is giving a lesson, let’s say
me here in this situation, I’m teaching you about
phrasal verbs. And then, John, maybe someone
in the comments, sorry, if your name’s John,
writes, “Vanessa, well, you can also use them
like this. And this was wrong that you said,” and
he’s trying to make the teacher or to make someone
look unskilled. Like that person knows way more
than the authority. And of course,
it’s likely that I get things wrong.
Feel free to add more ideas in the comments to
help add to this lesson. But that’s the idea here.
When you show someone up, you’re trying to make
them look unskilled. It’s not a great thing. So
you might complain about a coworker and say, “He’s
always trying to show me up. It’s so annoying.
Whenever I say something that’s interesting
in a meeting, he always says, ‘Oh, but we can
also do this. Oh, well we can add this to it.’
And it makes my ideas look less interesting.”
So he’s always trying to show me up. This is a
second way to use the phrasal verb to show up.
Let’s go on to our third reason why English is
hard to learn, including another clip from our
friend, Alexandra. Reason number three, American
English links, reduces, and cuts off sounds
completely. Let’s take a look at one sentence.
Yes. Just one sentence. And I want you to listen
for how many times we link, reduce, and cutoff
sounds. If you can’t catch it the first time,
don’t worry. We’re going to watch the clip and
then I’ll break it down with you, just like we
would in my course, The Fearless Fluency Club.
And I’ll help you to add some ideas and tools
to your pronunciation toolbox so that you can
understand English that’s fast like Alexandra, and
you can also speak like that yourself. Let’s watch
that clip and then we’ll break it down together.
Alexandra:
Venues will give deals
where three months out we have this Saturday open.
We’re going to give out a deal if anybody would
like to book it short notice.
Vanessa:
In this clip, Alexandra is talking about
bookings slots for the location where she
plans weddings. And she said, “We’re going to
give out a deal if anybody would like to book
it short notice.” But did she say it as clearly
as that? No. Instead, she said, “We’re gonna
give ouda deal if anybody would like t’book i'
shor' notice.” There’s a lot of things happening
here. I know it’s just one sentence, but you’ll
be amazed how many things are linked, reduced,
and cut out in American English pronunciation.
So let’s start at the beginning of this sentence.
We are going to becomes we’re gonna. This
is a common spoken reduction in English
that going to becomes gonna. We’re gonna. And
then she says, “We’re gonna give out a deal.”
But something happens without a. Listen when I say
it. We’re gonna give ouda deal." Ooh, out and a
are linked together. But then, the
T changes to a D sound. In American
English this is extremely common that when
there’s a T with a vowel on either side,
the T changes to a D. This is similar to the word
water or sweater. And even if it’s two words,
like out of, the same thing happens ouda, ouda.
So she says, “We’re gonna give ouda deal.”
And then she continues and says, “If anybody
would like to book.” T’book. Instead of saying
to book, which is very clear and it has a U
sound, to book, we cut off the O in the word to,
and just keep the T sound, t’book, t’book. This
is extremely common when there is to plus a verb,
to go, to book, to fly, to see. Great.
We’re going to cut off the O and just say T.
But then, at the end of the sentence, the same
thing happens with two words, something with the T
sound. American English does a lot with T sounds.
Listen carefully when I finish this sentence.
“T’book i' shor' notice.” Did you hear me say to
book it short notice? Nope. The T at the end of it
and short becomes what we call a
stopped T. This is a little fancy word.
That means when you try to say the word it,
you say i'. Your tongue stops at the top of
your mouth. You’re trying to make a T shape and
sound, but you don’t let the air go through. I',
shor' notice. This is extremely common in American
English. And it’s one of the reasons why English
pronunciation can seem difficult or hard.
So I have a little challenge for you.
Can you try to say this full sentence with me
exactly the way that Alexandra did? We’ll try
to say it together and then we’ll watch the
clip one more time. And I want you to listen
for all of the linking, reduction, and cutoff
sounds that we talked about. Let’s try to say
it together. We’re gonna give ouda deal if anybody
would like t’book i' shor' notice. Excellent work.
All right. Let’s watch that clip one more time.
And I want you to listen for gonna, ouda, t’book,
i', shor'. I want you to listen for all of
those sounds. Are you ready? Let’s watch.
Alexandra:
Venues will give deals
where three months out we have this Saturday open.
We’re going to give out a deal if anybody would
like to book it short notice.
Vanessa:
Did you catch some of those pronunciation points
that we talked about? I hope so. Let’s go on to
reason number four that English is hard to learn.
Real English conversations are fast. I don’t need
to tell you this, right? That’s why you’re here.
You want to be able to understand real English
conversations and speak like that yourself.
I’d like to show you a little clip from
the conversation that I had in The
Fearless Fluency Club advanced level
with a guy named David who lived in the woods in
Florida with a group of 50 hippies in the 1960s,
until he was caught by the cops.
The word cop is a slang term for a
police officer. So we’re going to watch this
clip. And I want you to guess what the cop
told him in this clip. Let’s watch.
David:
He came back and then some other
cops came back. And then the original
officer that told us to hide, he came back.
Vanessa:
He was still around.
David:
He said, “You’re still here?” I
said, “Yeah, you told us to hide.”
Vanessa:
We did a good job of it for that long.
David:
You told us to hide and we hid.
He’s like, “Yeah.”
Vanessa:
When David and his friends created their first
illegal campsite in Florida in the 1960s, somehow
they hid a group of 50 hippies in the middle of
the woods for one year. But at the beginning of
this time, a cop found them and said, “You know,
this is illegal, but you can do it if you hide.”
So they decided to try to hide their campsites
that they didn’t get caught. Somehow they hid
50 people for over a year. Is crazy. You can
watch the full conversation about how David and
his friends did this in The Fearless Fluency Club.
But when the cop finally caught them after a year,
he said, “You’re still here?” And David told
the cop, “You told us to hide, so we hid.”
Though here he’s saying, “You know what? We just
followed your advice. And it worked.” Let’s watch
that clip one more time. And now that you know
more context and the exact words that the cop
said, and that David said, I want you to see
if you can understand fast English a little
bit better than before. Let’s watch.
David:
He came back and then some other
cops came back. And then the original
officer that told us to hide, he came back.
Vanessa:
He was still around.
David:
He said, “You’re still here?” I said, “Yeah,
you told us to hide.”
Vanessa:
We did a good job of it for that long.
David:
He told us to hide and we hid. He’s like, “Yeah.”
Vanessa:
With some context and a little practice
and a teacher, me, to guide you,
fast spoken English can become much easier to
understand. Now what about that big mistake
that a lot of my students make? Let’s go on to
reason number five why English is hard to learn.
Number five, it’s hard to find someone to
speak with. I want to tell you one of the
biggest mistakes that my students make, and maybe
you make this mistake as well. For my students,
and maybe for you, you only speak English when
you’re traveling and you go to a hotel or to a
restaurant, and you only speak English when you
are talking with your boss or on the phone at
work. This is a big mistake. Why? Because those
are all high-pressure situations. When you feel
a lot of pressure and anxiety about speaking
English in those high-pressure situations,
you associate stress with speaking in English.
But I’m here to help you build your confidence,
not to feel more stressed. If speaking
English with your boss makes you feel nervous,
and of course it would, I want you to take
it back a little bit. Speak with someone
who you feel comfortable with. And after
you’ve done that for a while, then you’ll
feel much more comfortable speaking in those
high-pressure situations possibly with your boss.
So how can you find someone comfortable to speak
with? Well, there’s no one more comfortable to
speak with than someone who knows exactly the
way that you feel. In my course, The Fearless
Fluency Club, thousands of motivated English
speakers from around the world meet up daily,
weekly on Zoom meetings just to speak together
and practice growing their confidence in English.
Simone from Italy said about her
experience speaking with other members
in the course, “I really like The Fearless
Fluency Club because I can know new
friends around the world, new words, and new,
interesting cultures.” That’s awesome, Simone.
If you enjoyed this lesson, I invite you to join
me in The Fearless Fluency Club where you can
finally learn real English and speak confidently,
not classroom English, real English spoken by
real American English speakers, real vocabulary
so that you don’t waste your time studying
unimportant words, real phrasal verbs so that
you can use them in your daily conversation,
real American English pronunciation so that
you can speak naturally and clearly. Plus,
in The Fearless Fluency Club, you will have
access to a community of motivated English
learners that you can speak together with. Plus,
live weekly lessons in our Facebook group from me
and unlimited access to the course, lifetime
access, so that you can review whenever you want.
Would you like to take your English to the
next level in 2022? Next Friday, December
31st through January 5th is your chance
to finally speak real American English
and save big money. The course will be $100 off.
I have a special sale in The Fearless Fluency
Club only one or two times per year. Make sure
to click on the link in the description to join
me in The Fearless Fluency Club and speak real
American English. Plus, you’ll be able to save
$100. Click on the link in the description to
join me today and a community of thousands of
motivated English learners from around the world.
And now I have a question for you. Let me know
in the comments which part of English do you
think is the most difficult? Is it vocabulary,
phrasal verbs, pronunciation, understanding fast
English, speaking? Let me know in the comments.
I can’t wait to see what you have to say, and I
will see you again next Friday for a new lesson
here on my YouTube channel. Bye.
The next step is to download the
free PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this
free PDF, you will master today’s lesson and
never forget what you have learned. You can
be a confident English speaker. Don’t forget
to subscribe to my YouTube channel for
a free English lesson every Friday. Bye.