There are many ways to learn a language. We can aggressively march through the declinations, memorise lists and cling to the classroom. Or we can have fun. We can learn playfully. Here is a big secret…English is indestructible. You can run around in the playground of language and not worry.
Here’s another secret. English is yours. If you have ever wanted to communicate in English, the language automatically becomes yours. We talk of British English, American English, off-shore English etc. We have enough English for everybody!
You want to know how to order fish and chips but not how to express love? Really? You want to know the quickest way to the Post Office but not how to share the joy of the coloured skies of sunset? Seriously?
We encourage children to plunge into new experiences. We don’t switch off the jazz just because they can’t read music. We don’t rush to silence Beethoven just because they haven’t learned to play their recorder yet.
“It is a test of genuine poetry that it can communicate before it is understood.” — T. S. Eliot