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>I feel less smart than before This definitely resonates with me when I use english. My spoken English is limited by the fact that I have perfectly laid out s

>I feel less smart than before This definitely resonates with me when I use english. My spoken English is limited by the fact that I have perfectly laid out sentence in mind, which sometimes is just missing the key word. I try to remember which one for a few seconds, then I default to something that is not quite right, or just describe the word I was trying to use. This ends up sounding very stupid, as it would be very okay if I just did not use the word in the first place. It's directly mirroring the way I use written English, where if you miss a word you can just go back a few seconds later and fill in the blanks. Still, I try to write more fluently and not obsess over small details - I think it's way worse for me when I spend long minutes or hours trying to craft perfect sentences, when "slightly worse would do trick". Tangentially, I try to not give fuck about pronounciation. I'll never learn how to say "cucumber" naturally.

throwaway2037 5y ago
Your expression "slightly worse would do trick" is very similar to the engineering expression: Do not let perfect be the enemy of good!
WastingMyTime89 5y ago
Are you living in an English speaking country and using English all the time? What you are describing sounds like how I felt for my first three months in England. I stopped feeling this way when I started thinking entirely in English and actually became fluent. It was quite nice because it also marked the end of my daily headaches in the evening. I had no idea about how physically painful immersion would be before moving there.
- KptMarchewa 5y ago
  No, but I work using English and speak regularly in that language, including native speakers, for at least 30 minutes every working day. Usually longer. Maybe I would need way more for short term.
  - WastingMyTime89 5y ago
    Yes, I only significantly improved after being put in a context where I could only talk in English and didn’t use another language for months. Unless you are very talented at learning languages, full immersion is more or less required if you want to become fluent.
animal_spirits 5y ago
Tangential: Me looking up "cucumber" on youglish.com led me to this very powerful TED talk on online abuse of women. Thought I would share https://youtu.be/GSf6nij-SdA https://youtu.be/GSf6nij-SdA

throwaway2037 5y ago

Your expression "slightly worse would do trick" is very similar to the engineering expression: Do not let perfect be the enemy of good!

WastingMyTime89 5y ago

Are you living in an English speaking country and using English all the time? What you are describing sounds like how I felt for my first three months in England. I stopped feeling this way when I started thinking entirely in English and actually became fluent. It was quite nice because it also marked the end of my daily headaches in the evening. I had no idea about how physically painful immersion would be before moving there.

KptMarchewa 5y ago
No, but I work using English and speak regularly in that language, including native speakers, for at least 30 minutes every working day. Usually longer. Maybe I would need way more for short term.
- WastingMyTime89 5y ago
  Yes, I only significantly improved after being put in a context where I could only talk in English and didn’t use another language for months. Unless you are very talented at learning languages, full immersion is more or less required if you want to become fluent.

animal_spirits 5y ago

Tangential: Me looking up "cucumber" on youglish.com led me to this very powerful TED talk on online abuse of women. Thought I would share https://youtu.be/GSf6nij-SdA https://youtu.be/GSf6nij-SdA