Hello. My name is Duncan Brown and I am an English Facilitator, here are some of my thoughts about learning English.
Huh!?
At school, were you ever asked a question and responded with a blank expression and no words? You couldn’t answer because you didn’t know and were afraid to say so. Sometimes, the only reason you know something is because you have studied it and if you haven’t, you are ignorant. The word ignorant is generally used as a negative word meaning uneducated but for me it means, “I don’t know”.
The reasons behind not knowing something could be that you didn’t learn it, it was too difficult to learn, you learned it and have forgotten, or you weren’t interested to learn it. Whichever the reason is, we are all ignorant in some way.
How would I know?
How do you say, “How are you?” in Welsh? What is a simple explanation of Schrödinger’s Cat? Can you explain how to work out a quadratic equation? Which country won the 1966 Tiddlywinks World Championship? If you don’t know, does it matter if you’re ignorant of these answers? Unless you are a Welsh speaking, quantum mechanical physicist with a keen interest of historical Tiddlywinks Championships, it’s unlikely you will. Why would or should you know?
What, Why, How
You may not understand these questions or don’t know the answers but are you curious enough to find out? Curiosity is one of the best traits to have when learning something and by asking questions or doing some research, knowledge is your reward.
I want to know!
One of the first things I teach Japanese children is, “I don’t know. Tell me”. Children are naturally curious and learning this phrase empowers them. It’s not embarrassing not to know something and the knowledge is there only if questions are asked.
The same is true for adults, not knowing shouldn’t be embarrassing and neither should asking a question to understand. Anyone who tries to shame you for not knowing something forgets that they were ignorant and demonstrates their arrogance, too. Ignorance with curiosity is a great motivator to learn anything.
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【あなたの心が伝わるあなただけの英語】
英語でのコミュニケーションをあなたらしい英語で。一人一人のレベル、能力、
興味に合った教材や方法を用いたテイラーメイドの英語コミュニケーションプログラムです。
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