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These days, I see too many English language students wanting to sound like a native English speaker. They feel they need to speak with a specific native English accent while using many idiomatic expressions. This is a hugely ambitious goal for someone who was not exposed to the English language before they were two or three years old. In my own case, I started learning English at the age of six, and although I’ve been speaking and teaching English every day for the past 37 years, I still don’t sound like a native English speaker. So, if you know someone who has achieved this goal as an adult learner, then they’re a genius! For most of us, however, this is a rather pointless and disempowering goal. Why is this a pointless goal? I can think of four reasons: a) When it comes to communicating with others, accent is irrelevant. Whether we sound British, American, Italian, or Chinese, what really matters is how easily others understand us. b) Good speakers and writers avoid using too many idiomatic expressions and complex structures. They keep their language short and simple. c) English grammar is even difficult for natives to master. As a proofreader, I regularly correct and improve native speakers’ poorly written English. d) Out of the 1.5 billion English speakers worldwide, only 25% are native. If, for the sake of facilitating communication, one group had to change the way they spoke, it would logically be the natives. Why is no-one asking them to lose their regional accents and limit their vocabulary to the 5000 words that are sufficient to communicate in most situations? Why is it a disempowering goal? Our voice and the way we speak is a fundamental part of our personal and cultural identity. If we feel that we must change this important aspect of our identity in order to succeed in life, we’re really telling ourselves: ‘I’m not good enough! I must become someone else, or pretend that I am someone else.’ This negative self-image can generate feelings of lack, inferiority, and envy that disempower us. Even if we work with the most brilliant voice coach to change our accent and memorise the whole of the English idioms dictionary, this ‘I’m not good enough’ belief will result in failure. Loss of self-belief and self-confidence is a huge price to pay for a goal that, as I argued above, is totally pointless. What’s a better goal? Instead of wanting to sound like someone else when we speak English, let’s focus our efforts on sounding like our unique self who speaks with a clear pronunciation and uses simple and correct language. Just imagine for a moment how much less stressful and more motivating this goal can be! Also, put yourself in the shoes of the people you interact with in English, both native and non-native. Don’t you think they love the fact that they can understand you easily and interact with you comfortably? Or, do you imagine that they think less of you because you don’t speak like someone from Melbourne, Dublin, or Texas? I’d love to read your thoughts and stories in the comments section.

I often hear my students say: I wish I could speak English perfectly! Is this a wish on your mind too? So, what's wrong with this wish? Perfection is an illusion. Setting perfection as a goal is like choosing a cloud as your destination. When we just wish for something, we don't set goals or take action. We just sit and wait for a miracle. What can we do instead? We can change our 'cloud-like wish' into a 'concrete goal' by changing our thought processes in three steps: Step 1. Change 'I wish I could ...' to 'I want ...': I want to speak English really well. Step 2. Keep repeating the 'I want ... ' statement over and over again until it becomes a strong desire. Step 3. Transform our strong desire into a positive goal: I will speak English really well. These small language changes to our internal dialogue have a powerful effect. They focus our mind on progress and achievement. We become motivated to take action, to get the right tools, and to invest enough time to reach our goal. What if I've already done this, but it hasn't worked? Some of you may be saying: 'I've already done this many times: I've set positive goals; I've bought different books and online courses; I've attended hundreds of hours of classes, but my English is still weak. I suppose I'm just not gifted for languages. I should give up trying!' If this is your feeling, then let me assure you that you're as gifted for languages as any polyglot out there. If you're not making progress despite your best efforts, it's a sign that you may have experienced one or more difficult situations in your earlier contact with the English language: maybe a harsh teacher at school, maybe a challenging situation at work, maybe someone said you weren't good at languages and you believed them. To set new goals for your English and succeed in them, it's important that you first clear any blocks caused by unpleasant past experiences. The first step in clearing blocks is sharing your story with others and realising that you're not alone in feeling like this. You can take this first step by taking part in the poll that I've added to the top of this blog post. If you want to take a bigger step, share your story with me and with your peers in the comments section: What was the unpleasant past experience that you think may be slowing down your progress? Have you found ways to overcome such blocks that you would like to share with your peers?