Dating English in the Time of Consumerism: Love Thy English

These are the confusing times we are living through: artificial intelligence, virtual realities, social media algorithms, K-pop, Coronavirus, billionaires in space—the list can unwind itself all the way back to The Tower of Babel—the beginning of all confusion. According to an origin myth, a united human race decided to reach heaven by building a taller version of Burj Khalifa, but their ambitions were not appreciated by God Almighty, who cast a spell of multilingualism and shoved the unassuming Sapiens into their own linguistic boxes. If it weren’t for our inherent need to understand each other, we would have stayed in those boxes to this day, but instead, we learn the tongues of our neighbors, starting with the universal one—English (and thank God, it’s gender-neutral).

Yet even in our endeavors to conceive of English grammar with all its Present and Past Perfect Tenses, we are psychologically crippled by the unrealistic expectations the capitalist world imposes on us every day. “Learn English in 30 Days,” “Improve Your Level in 5 simple steps,” or even “English in 30 minutes: All the English Basics You Need.” We are constantly bombarded by the fast approaches of learning a foreign language which not only deludes us into believing in its simplicity, it hinders our progress. The modern gods of consumerism proceed from the path of least resistance—aka the easiest path—which is why the online language learning market will reach $21.2 billion by the year of 2027. This is an old, effective bait that breeds many zealous learners which turn into “language drop outs” since such an approach sugarcoats the dangerous adventure that is English learning.

Pushed by the economic and cultural globalization, people can step on the learning path not out of love, but out of necessity, which is never a good idea when it comes to languages. You need to date your chosen language in order to master it, not resort to a few one-night stands a week. Much like a loving girlfriend, language likes consistency and repetition, which translates into a daily 20-minute practice, not a weekly 60-minute session. Long-term relationships are hard to maintain, but if you think that you can study English for “30 days” and then ditch it, be careful of English not ditching you first.

Start slow, start small, but keep in mind that if you truly want to speak English fluently, you are looking at not weeks, not months, but years of learning. For many people, the mere word “learning” connotes hard work and who can possibly enjoy struggling? Yet with English, learning can be a pretext to lay down and simply listen to a husky voice narrating a story woven of exotic sounds that one day will make all the sense in the world. Instead of stultifying rote recitation—a technique for learning a foreign language that is quite popular among traditional language institutions—at Genius Flame, we offer an alternative approach that prioritizes enjoyment of the learning process, not its speed. Watching specific movies for your level, re-entering your favorite TV-shows, understanding the struggle of your fellow learners through the humorous dialogues — the tips to diversify your relationship with English are never-ending. Unlike your recent Tinder hookup, English wants to be learned, understood, and used. All you need to do is to love it back. Start by acquainting yourself with the concept of 1000 words. Then, proceed to downloading Tinder for Languages — Genius Flame. Just like the best dating apps, it is free, interactive, and attuned to the needs of the learner. To Love Thy English - is not a market-driven leitmotif; it is the core principle of mastery as Art, considering that one can only excel at what one truly loves.

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