Andri and His Smooth English

Is English fun? Is it challenging or distressing? For those who love it will say it is fun and challenging. On the other hand, some difficulties in learning the language will make people distressed and fail to master it. One common tip for gaining success in English is loving it. This feeling of love plays an important role in driving someone to reach his dreams. Whenever there is love, one may feel comforted, motivated, and happy to work harder for his goals, including learning English. 

As Andri believes love is a strong word that moves someone to do anything he desires. Andri, who is now in the fourth semester at the international class of the English literature study program, admits that his fascination in English has driven him to study the language. It has gifted him to be part of the international students at the study program. The benefit reminds him of his childhood when his curiosity-o-meter ran high (if that ever existed). He had often watched YouTube live streaming videos by swallowing every single word without knowing what they meant. To answer the question in what impressed him the most was to have that “eureka” moment of understanding words without looking them up. He realized it sounded nonsense but that’s just how he has been accustomed to it.

“Speaking fluently is the least concern you must have in speaking in another language. But, speaking un-fluently sometimes gives a better result. You have to understand the basics of the English language and be able to speak fluently. One day you want to ask your lecturer who only speaks English as his mother tongue. As you speak so fluently the lecturer would have the impression that you are an advanced English learner, while in reality you only knew the basics. The lecturer then goes on to use fancy, big brain, scientific words and you didn’t catch a single thing from him. Do you get what he means? He is not saying you should dumb down your speech skills, what he is saying is speaking fluently is of your least concern. Instead, you should focus on building vocabulary and while you’re at it you can also practice your speech”, says Andri insightfully.

He also adds that speaking English fluently needs practice. However, finding the best partner for practicing or speaking with is not easy since people sometimes think it ostentatious. Since he barely has any speaking buddy to practice with, he just talks to himself, rephrasing famous quotes he hears from tv, radio, online videos and the like. In essence, practice makes perfect as people always say, so get practicing!

From there on, some of his friends say that his English is smooth and fluent. It more or less gives him more confidence. He mostly thinks in English rather than in Javanese and Indonesian languages. For him, it is a unique experience and makes him more fluent in the language.

Following Andri’s experience, one of the biggest hurdles for someone who wants to learn foreign language, particularly but not limited to English, is confidence. He has heard people around him speak in very good and structured English but they are just shy to admit that they can actually speak English. He always wonders why a person is so closeted about their skills publicly? 

“You don’t have to be shy about your skills! You should be proud that you are able to at least understand the English language. You should believe that if you practice enough, you can speak and understand a native speaker without any constraints! You should not be ashamed of your skills”, claims him. He really wants to encourage his colleagues to embrace their English skill consistently. By making such an English club, students may get their best partners to speak with. That’s how speaking English smoothly will be easier to reach. (Dy)