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Mastering a Language: An Art Form, Not a Formula — So Why Do Schools Get It Wrong?

Yashaswini Gowdru
8 min readMar 1, 2025

Imagine this: You’ve spent years learning a language in school — acing grammar tests, memorizing long vocabulary lists, and even writing perfect essays. Then one day, you meet a native speaker, and suddenly, your mind goes blank. Words don’t flow. You panic. Sound familiar?

This isn’t just your struggle — it’s the reality for millions of learners worldwide, especially in India, where English is taught as an academic subject rather than a practical skill. We treat language like a math problem to solve, rather than a tool to connect with people. Schools focus on perfection, not communication. Tests, not conversations. Rules, not real-life usage.

But what if we’ve been learning languages the wrong way all along?

Neuroscience, real-world case studies, and the success stories of self-taught polyglots prove that fluency isn’t about textbooks — it’s about immersion, making mistakes, and embracing the messiness of real communication. So, let’s break free from outdated methods and explore how language learning can be a natural, enjoyable, and effective journey.

1. Why We Learn Languages Like Robots

Most schools treat language like a subject to be memorized rather than an experience to be lived. Imagine trying to…

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