Effortless English: Learn To Speak English Like a native

The Hidden Curriculum Can Be Hard to Break
When I was teaching English in San Francisco, I had two Korean students named
Jinny and Jacky (their American nicknames). Each of these students was struggling
with her speaking and each wanted to attend an American university. In order to be
accepted into a university, the students had to pass the new TOEFL test, which
included listening and speaking sections.
Jinny and Jacky had spent years studying English grammar in Korea. As a result,
their speech was slow, unnatural, and hesitant. They felt nervous when speaking,
constantly worried about making a mistake.
As students in my class, I taught each of them Rule Two. I told them to stop
studying grammar. I told them to get rid of their grammar books and their TOEFL
books. I told them to do their best to stop even thinking about grammar.
At first, both students were skeptical because this advice went against everything
they had ever learned in school. Jinny eventually decided to accept my advice, while
Jacky did not. Over the next several months, Jinny completely avoided grammar
study. Jacky, unfortunately, continued. I would often see Jacky studying grammar
and TOEFL books in a cafe after class.
Gradually, Jinny began to feel more relaxed about English. Her speaking became
more natural and fluent. She was thrilled with the improvement! Jacky did not
improve. She came to me and again asked for advice. She had once again failed to
achieve the required TOEFL score.
Again I gave Jacky the same advice, stop studying grammar. Yet, despite her
continued failure, she just couldn’t believe me. The beliefs of the hidden curriculum
were so strong in her that she simply couldn’t accept another way. So she continued
to focus on grammar books and TOEFL books.

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When I left that job, Jinny had moved on to an American university. Jacky,
however, was still stuck in the language school. She was still studying grammar and
still failing to achieve success.
Jinny and Jacky’s story is powerful because it shows us how strong the hidden
curriculum can be. Despite years of frustration and failure, some people just can’t
seem to break free from grammar study. They will continue using the same failed
method for years, never learning to speak English powerfully.
To me, that is the worst tragedy of the hidden curriculum. These limiting beliefs
imprison many people into a downward spiral of failure. It saddens me to see this
cycle of frustration and stress.
For some, it may be difficult to accept Rule Two, but this rule is essential for
your speaking success. As Jinny and countless Effortless English™ members have
proven, spoken grammar can be mastered without studying grammar rules.
What I want you to remember is very simple: Do not study grammar rules. If you
focus on grammar rules, it will hurt your speaking. You will speak more slowly.
You will understand more slowly. To put it strongly, grammar kills your English
speaking.
So if you have grammar books, throw them away. Say goodbye to grammar
books forever. If you want, you can even burn them, set them on fire. Have a little
celebration. Because grammar translation is worse than useless, it is actually
harmful to your speaking ability.