Language as a Living Practice

Yemenat

Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi

Learning English has become a necessity shaped by the transformations of our time and its growing demands. Yet the educational reality reveals a striking paradox.

Many learners spend months or even years studying the language, memorizing countless words and grammatical rules, and still find it difficult to carry out simple conversations or engage in basic discussions.

This gap between the effort invested and the results achieved does not reflect a weakness in the learner’s abilities as much as it exposes a flaw in the teaching methodology itself.

The problem lies in the way students begin learning the language. In many cases, the process starts with an approach centered on memorizing vocabulary and rules, writing sentences, and passing examinations, without offering a genuine opportunity to listen or speak.

As a result, a wide gap emerges between what learners know in theory and what they can use in practice.

A student may succeed in completing written exercises, yet hesitate or fall silent during the first simple conversation.

With repeated experiences of this kind, frustration sets in and learners begin to doubt their own abilities.

In reality, the true cause lies in the method of learning rather than in personal potential. When language learning is confined to memorizing vocabulary, studying rules, and completing written exercises, knowledge remains theoretical and does not develop into a real capacity for communication.

Language, by its very nature, is a living entity. It depends on listening, interaction, and speaking, not on writing sentences in notebooks only to forget them later. For this reason, it has become necessary to rethink the ways English is taught to non native speakers and to place greater emphasis on practice and on using the language in everyday life.

Knowledge should move beyond theoretical understanding and develop into a genuine ability