So the real reason why you struggle with English is that you are doing it the Chinese way.

And here's what I mean by that.

So your brain uses different parts of itself to learn different languages.

In fact, English and Chinese cannot be further apart,and this is exactly what stands in the way of you becoming a confident English speaker.

I'm not going to talk about science all that much.

I'm just going to tell you one thing.

Year 2009, after a decade of research and experiments,including brain scans using fMRI technology,scientists from Peking University and the Chinese University of Hong Kongdiscovered quite a shocking fact.

Just look at these brain scans.

So Chinese and English activate different parts of our brains.

Ta-da!

Now you know it.

So simply put, our brains rely on visual memory when we learn or use Chinese,but they rely a lot more on auditory memory when learning English,or any other alphabetical language for that matter.

That means that all of yourand other methods that helped you learn Chinesewill not help you learn Englishbecause you need to remember that it's all about what you hear,not what you see.

And so a lot of students spend hours, days, weeks, or even monthstrying to memorize hundreds or thousands of words,but they don't really know how to say them correctly,in many cases, let alone how to use them.

And this way of learning will get you nowhere, for sure.

So what do you need to do?

Remember my video about shadowing?

If not, go watch it.

This is the first thing you should do.

Now, besides shadowing, of course,there are many other effective ways to practice English.

So number one,listening to short audio and repeating out loud.

Number two, reading aloud instead of silently.

Number three, recording yourself, speak English,and then comparing it to native speakers.

Number four, using simple high-frequency phrases,phrasal verbs, and language chunks in daily conversations.

And finally, try practicing speakingbefore you start worrying about perfect grammar.

It's not your faultthat you can't speak English like a native yet.

You just need to use ways of learning itthat are more natural and brain-friendly.