2025

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Vital words for understanding

A topic with a capital T. If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in what I have to say about it. So let me give you my humble opinion on the matter. 

People seem to fall into two obvious tribes here – yes and no. I will argue my point throughout this article. Let me start with some research to give you the background I am building on. 

During my DELTA I did a lot of reading and there are many interesting facts that I would like to share with you. In the past there was a belief that language and thinking were closely linked and that a strong foundation in the L1 (first  language, in our case Czech) was crucial for higher order thinking. This idea comes from a Soviet psychologist who suggested that if a child is exposed to a second language (e.g. English) prematurely (too early, without a strong base in the mother tongue), it could lead to cognitive and emotional difficulties. Later, and I am talking about the 20th century, there were researchers who speculated that early bilingualism could lead to split identities or confusion. 

However, this theory has now been disproved. 

Let that sink in. 

I agree that mother tongue awareness is a must. But I’d advise any parent to start as early as possible. So is it a good idea to introduce English in the first year of primary school, when the children are about 7 years old? 

Hell’ya. 

However, there is a BUT coming from where I am. Children at that age cannot write in their mother tongue, so there are some crucial parts that need to be taken care of. I would need to be sure that their first language is well developed – that they speak and understand the language. As they cannot write in their first language, I hope that my colleagues teaching the early years would have enough common sense not to teach them to write in English. This can cause further confusion. 

I honestly think it can work. Young children are like sponges and it’s easier for them to learn. I think their English will also sound more ‚native‘ and honestly, the earlier they start, the better they can become. As long as the lessons are full of speaking, playing, singing and games, they will be beneficial. 

One question remains: Can we create such an environment? 

Firstly, if you want to practise key vocabulary and read this article using the Duocards app (where you can tap on a word you don’t understand and it will show you the meaning), you need to join my email list. I will share these links there. You can join here.

Vital words for understanding

Let’s talk about motivation today. I was listening to a podcast and I couldn’t help but notice a comparison between two expressions. First, take a minute to look at the two expressions. Are they phrasal verbs? What do you think? 

have to do x get to do

They are not. Whether you knew the answer or not, how does it make you feel? Frustrated? Confused? Annoyed? Asking yourself: why should I know? Why are you asking this? I don’t know about you, but I get very frustrated when I don’t know something. I keep asking myself why I don’t know, and I keep telling myself that I should know. I should know. I should know. 

… and that is what is fundamentally wrong with how we think about ourselves, what we know or what we learn. We start seeing learning as an obligation instead of an opportunity. But what if we flipped that mindset?

Instead of saying, „I have to know this,“ what if we said: „I get to know this.“

Suddenly, learning becomes something exciting and full of possibilities. It’s not about feeling bad for what you don’t know. It’s about feeling fortunate for what you get to discover.

Let’s play a little with our brains. I am not a neuro-linguistic coach (yet), but I think we reshape our realities by the way we think. 

So instead of saying: I’m bad at English, I made that mistake again. I need to study more. Say: I can learn this thing. I get to learn from this mistake and improve.

Don’t say: I need to understand how phrasal verbs work, I hate that side of English. Say: I get to explore that there is such a thing as phrasal verbs in this language. 

I know it sounds cheesy – but the fact is that what we call a problem is a luxury for others. Millions of people never have access to formal education. The fact that you can learn English is a gift.

I practised the piano on Sunday. On 1 February it will be a year since I’ve taken up this hobby. I am bad. I am so bad at it. I can barely play three songs, and hardly ever without making a mistake. For a second I was frustrated. How can I be so bad? Or is it just so hard to learn? Eventually I realised that it did not matter. I chose a hobby, I learn, I progress, I fail – and I can do it for the rest of my life. There is no pressure, I have all the time I want. 

I know that’s not the reality for many of you, and you needed English yesterday. But – doesn’t that say something about you? Even if you have a deadline, don’t let fear get the better of you. Changing have to to get to can transform your motivation and mindset. It makes learning a positive, empowering experience. When you stop seeing English as something to be conquered and start seeing it as something to be explored, you’ll find greater joy and confidence in your learning journey.

So the next time you’re frustrated with grammar or vocabulary, stop and say:
I don’t have to know this – I get to learn this.

Firstly, if you want to practise key vocabulary and read this article using the Duocards app (where you can tap on a word you don’t understand and it will show you the meaning), you need to join my email list. I will share these links there. You can join here.

Vital words for understanding

As I sit here, filling the creativity slot in the calendar and waiting for my DELTA M1 results, I cannot help but wonder. This morning I had two sessions, among others, that I cannot wrap my head around. 

Let’s talk about the first one – resources. 

What is English for? What is the point of knowing another language? Acquiring information should be at the top of the list, in my opinion. When my client was talking about the resources he uses to get information, what’s wrong with the information, the sources, even the people who run these institutions – wow, I feel very lucky not to have those kinds of thoughts. Not to have the only choice. If you know more languages, you can browse, you can search, you can clarify, you can verify. You do not have to sit and wait for information in your mother tongue – without even imagining that it might be changed. I think it happens, but not deliberately. Translation is tricky and it only takes one small mistake to give the information a completely different meaning. 

That got me thinking about whether there is a connection between information and the brain, and this is what I came up with: knowing more languages improves the brain’s ability to take in, process and evaluate information. Multilingual people can browse different sources in different languages and get a fuller picture of something without having to rely on potentially limited or altered translations.  

I know, and research knows, that people who speak more languages (multilingual) have better cognitive abilities. Come on, Michaela, a cognitive ability? WTF is that? Sorry! A cognitive ability is a mental process and skill that enables us to acquire knowledge, understand information, solve problems and adapt to new situations. These abilities include functions such as perception, memory, reasoning, attention, language and decision-making. Multilingual people have more of these abilities as they move between languages. When it comes to evaluation, a multilingual person can cross-reference and verify details, minimising errors or misunderstandings caused by translation.

Bottom line: Being restricted to a single language limits cognitive freedom and makes people dependent on second-hand interpretations of information. Multilingualism empowers people to seek, clarify and verify information independently, using their brain’s natural ability to recognise patterns and understand context. So next time, instead of waiting for the evening news to bring us the information, go online and see for yourself. Like me this morning – I needed to hear exactly what the new American president was saying. I had to see his body language. I needed to take the time to do this for myself, because no matter what others say, I know why I agree or disagree and what it reminds me of. 

The brain is a strange thing – I am writing this article in English, although my mother tongue is Czech. What does it tell you?

Let me know, I am curious. 

M.