Why Speaking English in the Classroom and Among Friends is Key to Improvement

Despite having the third most native speakers, behind Mandarin Chinese and Spanish (according to Britannica), English is one of the most spoken languages in the world, often adopted as a second language.

It is, rightly or wrongly, the global lingua franca, continuing to dominate the dialogue in such areas as business and trade, education and research and mass popular culture. It even counts for 60% of the world’s internet content (according to a 2022 article in The New York Times).

As such, mastery of English – whether a native speaker or not – is a crucial life skill that we aspire all Epsomians to attain. Our students join a world that has English at the helm, so we want them to be equipped to communicate and collaborate with as many people as possible, who are similarly preparing to converse in this uniting language, as they move on to life beyond our campus.

Human beings are not born with the innate ability to communicate in any given language. This is a learned behaviour, developed through active listening, imitation and practice. Whilst this process is arguably easiest when we are in our youngest formative years (unless we have the great fortune to be a savvy linguist), we can still be sponges years on – in adolescence and adulthood. But, as the saying goes, it is practice that makes progress.

Therefore, we encourage our students to actively use the language of English as readily as possible both inside the classroom and with their friends: to engage in conversation, to tell stories, to listen to information and advice, to read aloud, to think deeply, to absorb new vocabulary, to inject humour, to offer a kind word, to say thank you.

Regular, routine practice helps in a myriad of ways:

• Developing fluency and confidence;
• Improving pronunciation and eroding errors;
• Increasing vocabulary and potential exposure to more authentic slang;
• Building stronger relationships within our diverse community.

Just last week, I was speaking with a Year 11 student and I said something along the lines of, “I’m really proud of our class at the moment because these final lessons, where we are studying a poem a day, might be feeling like a bit of a slog, but you’re all still working really hard and focusing so well.”

She looked at me quizzically. It turns out that “a bit of a slog” is a very British expression and the student, who is Malaysian with English as her first language, didn’t know what I meant. So I explained that an activity that feels like a slog means it can be difficult or tiring, something that requires a lot of effort. “Oh,” she said, “I get it now. Thanks Miss.” Understanding achieved. Cultural connection made.

So, let me end thus: any and all speaking or listening or reading or writing in English – especially for those who are learning this new behaviour and developing new neural pathways in this, as a second language – is beneficial. Practice makes progress.

Mrs Georgina Prestidge
Head of English