Does Academic Background Matter for English Conversation? The Real Barrier I Realized in My 40s

I am Hisae, an 'English Conversation Debut Coaching Partner'.

I started online English conversation at 45, and it has been almost seven years now.
I became an English conversation coach at 50 and have supported the learning of many people.

Because I became a coach after only five years of learning, I often get asked this question by my students.

'Teacher, weren't you naturally smart to begin with?'

I graduated from a local national university.
It is by no means a university with a high deviation score, but people around me might sometimes think, 'She must have been good at English because she is smart.'

However, in reality, the 'small pride' of having a university degree actually caused me to take a major detour.

'Understanding' and 'Being Able to Speak' Were Different Things

I graduated from the science department of a local national university.

I was not particularly good at studying to begin with.
I was especially bad at memorization subjects.

I just liked working steadily on everything, and I have come this far by building on that.

My encounter with English was in junior high school class.
At that time, I attended a neighborhood English cram school run by a Japanese-American grandmother who had immigrated from Hawaii.

It was a cram school for so-called school studies, and we did not practice English conversation.

The teacher had beautiful pronunciation and the classes were very fun, so English became a 'language of longing' for me. I liked it so much that I almost got perfect scores on English tests at school.

However, the situation changed completely when I entered high school.
I could not understand the Japanese explanations of grammar at all, and my head was in a state of confusion, thinking, 'Past perfect? Relative pronouns?', and I lost my confidence all at once.

To be honest, I somehow managed to get through the university entrance exams with the knowledge I had up to junior high school and my intuition.

After graduating from university, I had no connection with English. I only touched on educational materials for children.

It was my daughter who gave me a turning point.

My daughter started online English conversation in the fourth grade of elementary school before I did, and I watched from the side.

I would sometimes get frustrated with my daughter for not being able to answer simple questions and would lash out with harsh words like, 'Why don't you understand?'

Looking back now, I truly feel sorry about that...

And when I actually started online English conversation lessons, it was a shock.
Even really simple things wouldn't come out of my mouth.

That was when I finally realized that knowing English and being able to speak English are completely different things.

Confused by unexpected advice

Even after starting online English conversation, I couldn't speak as well as I wanted to.

When I asked my teacher in broken English, 'How can I become able to speak?' or 'What kind of textbook should I use?', the advice I got back was unexpected.

What was recommended to me was a textbook that starts over from 'be' verbs for junior high school students.

Honestly, I was shocked.
'Be verbs at this point? From such a simple level? Even though I graduated from university?' I was strongly resisting it in my heart.

Even though I knew in my head that I had to admit I 'couldn't do it,' my petty pride got in the way and I couldn't accept it honestly.

For a while, I ignored the textbook the teacher recommended, chose slightly higher-level materials, and continued my lessons.

But as time passed, I finally understood the meaning of that teacher's words.

Even things you know as knowledge cannot be used unless they come out of your mouth naturally.

To achieve that, in the end, it was necessary to repeat out loud from the most basic 'be' verb sentences.

I think so now.
Starting over from 'be' verbs is not embarrassing, nor is it a low level.
It was an important step that no one can avoid.

Important things to avoid taking the long way around

Whether you were good at English or bad at it, everyone needs to start over from 'be' verbs at least once.

But that does not mean 're-studying grammar.'
Because no matter how much grammar you study, you won't be able to speak just by understanding it in your head.

In fact, many people who come to my courses say this:
'Should I try English conversation after I've re-studied grammar?'

However, that is ultimately repeating the same thing. There are really many people who stumble along the way with that method.

That is precisely why what is important is—simply repeating easy sentences out loud, no matter what.

From "knowing" to "using."
That simple accumulation leads to conversation.

In conclusion

Looking back on this, I realize that academic background has nothing to do with English conversation.

Even though I graduated from a national university, I struggled because I couldn't speak in lessons, and conversely, that pride got in the way and caused me to take a detour.

English conversation is not just about accumulating knowledge; it is acquired byspeaking it out loud and using it.Anyone can start over from scratch, and in fact, going back to the basics is the shortcut to improvement.

First, please try saying very simple phrases out loud.

I am sure you will be able to feel the progress of being able to speak English little by little.

Summary of today

• Academic background is irrelevant to English conversation

• The pride of thinking "I should be able to do this" can sometimes be the cause of detours

• Starting over from the be-verb is not embarrassing, but an important first step

• What is important is not redoing grammar, but continuing to practice speaking out loud

Thank you for reading until the end.

In this note, based on my experience of starting English conversation in my 40s,
I share tips that help beginners continue learning with peace of mind.

I have also compiled other articles useful for learning English conversation below👇

“I want to try it, but I don't know where to start.”
I would be happy if I could support the first step for those people🌸