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Assignment 2

Razan Bandr Alnomian

439202772

Dr. Fahada Alswailim

ENG 401

2nd semester, 2022

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Reflection on "Learning a language? Speak it like you're playing a video game" by

Marianna Pascal

Marianna Pascal talked about the factors that prevent non-native speakers of English from

using English to communicate effectively, instead of perfectly. I admire her observations and how

natural she reached them. She did not go out of her way to find the answers to her questions,

instead she observed the people around her and compared them to her students. Pascal is not the

only one who wondered why some low-level English speakers have more confidence than the

high-level ones. I always thought about the same thing. The realization I reached from her video is

that it depends on people's view of themselves, and the language. Those who are so self-critical

find it harder to reach the aim of the conversation, that if they opened it in the first place, because

they focus on their mistakes and others' judgments. People who learn the language to

communicate, on the other hand, focus on the effectiveness and result of the conversation which is

why languages are there in the first place. I reflected this on two cases I encountered. The first case

is an intermediate speaker of English who had learned the language long time ago and lacks

knowledge of new vocabulary words, however, she speaks confidently and without hesitation with

everyone she meets who speaks English. She makes many grammatical mistakes and explains a lot

of words that she doesn't know, but she communicates well and gets a lot of compliments on her

language and communication skills. The other case is a high-level speaker of English with a huge

knowledge of vocabulary and grammar; however, she still lacks confidence in her ability to speak

the language appropriately. Besides, she focuses a lot on what she lacks, which is a native-like

accent, never ending lexicon, perfect grammar, etc. Moreover, she hesitates when she speaks and

criticizes herself a lot, which leaves others no choice but to say, "your language is great, but you

lack confidence, '' or ''you just need more practice''. Since she puts so much value in others opinion
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of her skills, these comments put her under so much pressure and cause her to use the language

even less. Therefore, she rarely practices which disrupts her progress. After watching this TEDx

Talk, I will make sure to recommend it to the 1st one to encourage her, and the 2nd to help her get

out of her comfort zone. Lastly, practice makes progress. Without practice no one would be able to

reach their desired level or even surpass it.