0As a trainer, I regularly go through various online and offline resources on different topics, including English, so that I can further improve my teaching techniques and methodologies. In the past couple of years, I've noticed specific peculiar theories and opinions on "how to communicate in English in the right way" that appear on various social media sites. I agree with some points partially, but not on their entirety.
For example, on one platform, I found a speaker claiming that knowledge of grammar is not required to learn English communication, though the speaker is conversing so well without any grammatical error. So the speaker asks the learners to stop learning grammar and start speaking in English to learn English communication. To illustrate it further, the speaker quotes certain strange analogy like how children learn their first language while growing up, i.e. through broken sentences and mistakes. I wonder if everyone has that luxury, especially after reaching a certain age.
On another site, I came across a theory which supports that one doesn't need any verbal words or speech to communicate with others. As per this theory, communication is 90% body language and 10% verbal (Seriously, I have no idea how this proportion is calculated). So you don't need to worry about your vocabulary and sentences. All you need to consider is whether you are able to make your audience understood or not. I doubt if one can communicate complex ideas and concepts through more visual communication or gestures and in fewer words. There are many such vague ideas posted on sites, which are incomplete and confusing. Consequently, Learners fail to understand the right and holistic way of learning English Communication.
From my learning and experience, to learn English in the right direction, one has to first understand the purpose of spoken English from all the angles. It is, of course not for machine learning of grammar, vocabulary, phrases, and sentences and so on. I think spoken English, just like any other language, is meant to communicate our thoughts, effectively, in a smooth and confident tone without interruption and grammar error. It will surely take some time, but that should be the end goal while learning English
Therefore, there are many areas one has to grip upon to learn English effectively, and some of these components are listed as follows.
- Command on grammar structures and parts of speech
- Lexical resources, i.e. vocabulary. Knowing two to three synonyms for the same word will serve as a back-up in case you forget one.
- Body Language (yes it is still needed for effective expression and lasting impact)
- Knowledge simple to complex sentence structure
- Idioms, phrases, maxims, metaphor and simile and others to add spice in your language
- Right pronunciation, accent, diction and voice modulation; I feel if one is speaking fluently but is not able to be understood by others, then the whole purpose of communication is defeated.
Therefore, all the above areas are equally important, and we need to learn and practice them all.
