May 18, 2014　=========
☆ determination　　決断
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To become a good English speaker, you need determination! You need determination to keep studying English and to not make excuses as to why you can’t study – no time, too hard, it’s just a hobby and I don’t really need it. Determination will help you find a way rather than find an excuse!
Determination will help you stay focused and continue studying even when you feel like you are not making progress. A little study each day or even just a little study each week will make a big difference to your skills even if you can’t really see your progress. Maybe you feel like your English is never going to be perfect… If you do feel this way, you also need the determination to be satisfied that your English is “good enough”. In other words, you need to give up on “perfectionism”, if you don’t then no matter how much determination you have you’ll never reach your goal. Why? Because the only way to speak English like a native speaker is to be born a native speaker!
I’m pretty confident with my Japanese, and people often tell me I don’t have an accent when I speak, but no one has ever said, “you sound like a native speaker” and that is OK, I still have the determination to keep going and keep studying, improving a little bit each time. I hope this is how you feel about your English.
Bye,
Chris