Escape velocity for English learning
At first, progress feels heavy — like a plane burning fuel on the runway. Once you reach “escape velocity”, everything gets easier: input and practice start compounding automatically.
Signs you’ve reached it
- In conversations you notice new words, look them up, try them, and they become yours.
- When a sentence is confusing, you can dissect it with Google/ChatGPT/dictionaries: meaning, grammar, alternate senses — and next time you understand it instantly.
Two abilities get you there
- Awareness: knowing what’s weak (e.g., fossilised pronunciation habits from school).
- Control: knowing how to fix it (e.g., check word + pronunciation, repeat 5–7 times, shadow; do dictation with scripts, etc.).
Examples of A/C pairs
- Freeze when speaking despite strong grammar/vocab → increase output hours with real people; reuse learned words.
- Reading feels overwhelming → choose easier texts; build topic vocabulary first.
- Can’t catch speech → do dictation, compare with the script, retrain pronunciation, then shadow.