Wednesday Wildcard: Should I learn English from a book?

Should I learn English from a book? The answer is an unhelpful “yes and no”! I will keep it simple.

Yes:

·         Use a book if reading helps you learn.

·         Use a book to learn spelling and do exercises to practice writing.

·         Use a book to learn special vocabulary like finance or marketing.

No!:

·         You can’t learn pronunciation from a book!

·         You can’t learn fluency from a book!

·         You can’t practice conversations with a book.

·         You can’t ask a book questions.

·         A book does not know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and cannot coach you to learn what you need the most.

·         What you see in a book is not how people speak!

·         A book cannot correct you or explain things to you.

·         A book can only teach you what is inside. It cannot look for more exercises, change exercises to fit to your lifestyle and interests, and cannot make exercises interactive and fun.

So, to put it simply: Yes, buy books to practice reading and writing and do extra exercises, but no, never learn a language only from a book. A language is a spoken thing, you need to use your mouth, your ears, your eyes, and your hands to really learn a language for the real world.