Written in January 2023, originally for fellow Korean English learners. If English is your second language too, this one’s for you.
Moving to the US later in life wasn’t easy. It still isn’t.
Here, being able to communicate freely is the bare minimum. And when you can’t meet that minimum, the disadvantages pile up. Countless little ones.
Feeling like an idiot (I’m not)
The biggest problem is self-esteem. The longer this goes on, the lower it drops.
I’m not stupid. But put me in a group where everyone is talking fast in English, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve turned into an idiot.
That’s why the thirst is real. Learning another language is one of the most valuable skills we can have. It means you can understand more, persuade more people, and become friends with more people.
And yet we usually start learning it like it’s an impossibly hard homework assignment. Heavy heart, dragging our feet.
The best change I’ve made
I’ve been here a good while now. And the best change in me, by far, is this: I just go for it.
I broke the obsession with never being wrong. I broke the belief that I have to speak with perfect pronunciation and perfect sentences before I’m allowed to open my mouth.
When I wrote this in 2023, after more than seven years in the US, there were still times I couldn’t catch what someone said, or couldn’t get the words out. I jumped in anyway. Then I fixed what I got wrong and prepared a little better for next time.
So let’s mess up together
If you’re learning English, let’s agree on something: don’t be afraid of mistakes. Get things wrong, a lot, and learn as you go.
“If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.”