Textbook English vs. Real English: Why You Should Learn Real English

At Spoken English Practice we strongly encourage students to learn Real English, not textbook English. Textbooks like  Longman Student Grammar for Spoken and Written English have been part of ESL teaching for more than 20 years now. While these are great resources for beginner level English learners, they offer little or no help to more advanced English language learners.

So what exactly do we mean by Real English or Real Conversational English? And why do we think learning Real English is more helpful than learning textbook English. There are a few key reasons why we think textbook English is not the most effective way to improve English, specially speaking.

Native English Speakers never talk in Textbook English

If you have studied textbook English at school you may have seen phrases like “It is raining cats and dogs”

Problem is no native English speaker (AND I MEAN NO NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER) speaks like that anymore in real life conversations. This is a classic example of how Textbook English is different from Real World English.

If your goal is to learn modern speaking English and be fluent, you need to spend time practicing with Real Native English Speakers. That is the only logical way to improve English speaking.

Textbook English is outdated

The biggest challenge with textbook English is that it is outdated in most cases. Of course, we are not talking of fundamental grammar rules such as use of tenses etc. Most idioms, slang, phrases verbs, jargon etc that textbooks carry are not commonly used by Native English speakers in Real conversations.

So what’s the point of learning English that is outdated and not in use? English is an evolving, live language and you should be learning the most modern version of it.

Most English textbooks still focus on Grammar rules

Most English textbooks are written with Grammar and Vocabulary in mind. This is why you get chapters and chapters of grammar and vocabulary.

The reality of learning English or any other language is that learning grammar is never enough if you want to speak fluently. You can learn Grammar rules but but this knowledge fades quickly when not put in use. Combining grammar and vocabulary with pronunciation, jargon and conversational skills is the way to master a language. This is why we strongly advocate learning Real Conversational English and practicing with Real Native English Teachers.

Most English textbooks use memorization methods that don’t work

You can’t learn English speaking by memorizing thousands of rules.  English speaking is best learned through natural conversation, so that a more intuitive understanding of the language can develop. Likewise, pronunciation can only improve by listening carefully to native speakers and repeating troublesome sounds and words.

Textbook English is very limiting in this aspect. It does not train the brain to speak naturally. It slows the brain down by enforcing memorization. As a result, once you are an advanced English learners, textbook English can slow your progress down.

August 8, 2016