The Point of Studying English with Experts

A great majority of people would agree that learning English with teachers or experts is the way to go. Many people will choose institutes and schools over any other way to learn English.

This article comments on the ultimate goal of learning English with an expert and how assisted learning in a new language should be resignified.

A common life experience we find amongst teachers and experts is that of learning due to their interests and background rather than formally studying the language per se. It is possible to understand with this example that a great number of experts have learned the language in a more autonomous and experiential approach and afterwards have gone deeper into the intricacies of grammar. In this way, it would be possible to state that expertise comes with both a raw and formal approach. By raw, I imply a rather “adventurous” way of learning, since no methodology is set beforehand. By formal, I mean studying the language in a more academic approach and with clear objectives and methodology behind the pacing of the learning process.

The point of studying English with experts should be, in many cases but not solely, enabling oneself to transition from this raw approach to a formal methodology to cultivate a more analytical and critical mindset to posteriorly enrich this raw practice and take the most of it. In other words, to be able to think critically and be aware of what is learned during any type of practice.

Teachers should be conscious that the ultimate goal should be to foster or feed a mindset in students that allows them to learn by themselves forever. This proposes that teachers should remember that they are not needed during the whole process. Instead, assisted learning with experts must be thought of as a stage that contributes to raising awareness in academic and cultural aspects of learning a language rather than an option we can choose over other more empirical approaches.

In conclusion, the goal of studying with experts should be to be involved in a context in which you can fast forward to the answers to many advanced linguistic and cultural questions that appear when learning a language, but it will never replace the meaningful learning one acquires when exploring the language at one’s pace. Teachers should aim to enable students to experience this raw approach with the right tools until expert assistance becomes less and less needed.