Two languages

This may be a discouraging thought but the fact is, when you learn English (or most other languages), you’re dealing with not one but two languages … spoken English and written English.

In his lectures on the history of human language, Professor John McWhorter points out a couple of striking differences between spoken and written English:

• Spoken English uses a much more limited vocabulary than written English. First, there are the “big” words that you are likely to encounter only in written English, and often in more formal or academic writing. Even native English speakers may have to look these up in a dictionary: words like adumbrate, derisory, and hyperbolic. English speakers will rarely use these in speech and, if they do, they will tend to sound a bit pretentious (like they’re trying to show off and impress people). But spoken English also limits more ordinary words; for example, we are likely to use a lot of rather than numerous, a great many, or a multitude of.
• Spoken English has no punctuation. In spoken English, we don’t worry about whether we’re using complete or incomplete sentences; there are, in fact, no sentences. Instead, English speakers tend to put together “word packets” that, if written down, would not necessarily follow the rules of syntax that are expected in written English. Spoken English also uses shorter and simpler structures than written English. Professor McWhorter gives an example of this in a transcription of an academic conversation:

On a tree. Carbon isn’t going to do much for a tree really. Really. The only thing it can do is collect moisture. Which may be good for it. In other words in the desert you have the carbon granules which would absorb, collect moisture on top of them. Yeah. It doesn’t help the tree but it protects, keeps the moisture in. Uh huh. Because then it just soaks up moisture. It works by the water molecules adhere to the carbon moleh, molecules that are in the ashes. It holds it on. And the plant takes it away from there.

I have students who prepare for tests of speaking ability by writing down transcripts of what they want to say. But this hardly ever sounds natural. Here’s an example of a prepared, written response to a typical TOEFL question compared to a natural, spoken one:

Question: Some students prefer to work on class assignments by themselves. Others believe it is better to work in a group. Which do you prefer? Explain why.

“Prepared” written response:

Considering various aspects of this situation, I believe that it’s preferable for me to work on class assignments by myself. This is due to the fact that I’m a fairly solitary individual who profits more by working in isolation and by concentrating and focusing more fully and deeply on my assignments. As a true introvert, I feel more anxious and apprehensive when I have to interact with my peer group. Therefore, I believe that engaging in various academic tasks by myself results in a better performance and hence higher grades.

Natural spoken response:

Well, I guess I’d rather work by myself on my class assignments. I don’t know … I guess I’m kind of an introvert … I’m used to working by myself … you know, I listen to music and sort of tune out what’s going on around me and … actually, I get a lot of work done that way. You know, when I’m in a group, I get kinda stressed out … like, I’m more worried about saying something stupid or what people think about my clothes, or whatever … and seriously, my grades are actually better when I just do the work by myself.

What does this mean for you as an English learner?

Think about how you’re going to be using English in the future.

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If you are more interested in conversing with English speakers and listening to shows, movies, and lectures in English, then focus on spoken English.

• Listen to as much “natural” English as you can. Flood yourself with English! I suggest some good listening resources in this article. My experience from learning French this way is that when you concentrate on understanding as much as you can and focus on “noticing” certain structures, phrases, and words, you eventually absorb them, make them “your own,” and use them in your own speaking.
• Remember that even academic lectures and news broadcasts are still delivered in spoken English. The speakers may use less slang and colloquialisms like I’m gonna or you hafta, but their vocabulary will still be more limited and their structures will be simpler.
• Rely less on textbooks, and more on “authentic” English – the way it’s spoken in real life. Even the best textbooks tend to provide conversations which sound unnatural and “written.” For example, in one textbook I read the following:

A: What about you? What did you do on Saturday?

B: I did not do anything special. I stayed home and worked around the house. Oh, but I saw a really good movie on TV. And then I made dinner with my mother.

In “real life,” the conversation would probably sound more like this:

A. Whadda ’bout y’all? How’d your Saturday go?

B. Ah, nuthin’ to write home about. Mostly just hung out. Got some stuff done around the house, I guess … and oh yeah, I streamed an awesome chick flick. Plus me and mom fixed something for dinner.

• Don’t neglect vocabulary study … you still need it! But focus first on high-frequency words (see the Fry List), idioms, and phrasal verbs.

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If you want to study in an English-speaking country, reading academic texts and submitting essays, reports, or papers, or to work in an international company where you’ll be communicating in writing with English-speaking colleagues, then you’ll need to work on both spoken and written English skills.

• Good English writing is an art. Mastering this art requires years, not months or weeks. As a case in point, the law school where my husband teaches employs two full-time writing instructors for 400 students — almost all of whom are native-English-speaking, American college graduates.
• Just as lots of attentive, focused listening helps develop speaking skills, so lots of reading helps develop writing skills. What should you read? One good rule of thumb is to focus on reading material that you need to write. If you need to write engineering reports, read engineering reports. If you need to write general academic essays, read general academic essays. When in doubt, just keep reading. A great textbook that integrates academic reading and writing is From Inquiry to Academic Writing by Greene & Lidinsky.
• Grammar and syntax, as well as vocabulary, are more important in written English, so you’ll need to focus more on these areas. There are a million and one English grammar books. I prefer Cambridge grammar for British English and the Azar series for American English, but you will find plenty of teachers who prefer others 🙂 My favorite online website for studying grammar is Teacher Paul’s Learn American English Online.
• There are many, many books about becoming a better writer of English. Here are a few different articles listing some “best books about writing.”

10 Books to Help You Polish Your Writing & English Skills

Three Books That Will Immediately Improve Your Writing (Forbes Magazine)

The Best Books for Improving Academic Writing

My personal favorites are The Elements of Style by Strunk & White and The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker.

I also recommend the Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab for lots of practical advice on issues like citations, formatting, subject-specific writing, applications to college and graduate school, etc.