Water-skiing and Learning English

man water skiing

Learning to Ski on Water

Many years ago I tried to learn to ski on water. I put my life-jacket on. Then I jumped into the water. I put the skis on my feet. Then I held tightly the handle on the rope. I wrapped my arms around my knees. I pointed the skis toward the sky.

My friend was in the boat. He yelled to me, “Let the boat do the work.” I did not know what that meant. He slowly moved the boat forward. This tightened the rope. Then he went faster. The water moved around my body. The handle shook in my hands but I held on tightly. I began to rise out of the water. I stood on top of the water for around three seconds. Then I slammed back into the water.

I had to repeat this process again and again. Each time I was able to stay on my feet for a little longer. As the day went on I could ski for as long as I wanted. I had learned how to water ski!

The my friend encouraged me to try and move to the right and the left behind the boat. This was not easy to do. I said, “Why? All morning I was falling into the water. I don’t want to fall again.” Then my friend said something I will never forget. He said, “If you are not falling, then you are not learning.”

No one likes to fail

It is easy to stay where we are. Maybe you have been learning English for a long time. Maybe you have become very good. It feels good to be able to read English. It feels good to be able to write English. You may even be able to talk with people in English. But if you do not risk falling down, you are not going to learn.

This is one reason for Spotlight Advanced. Spotlight Advanced is faster, more like native English speakers talk, and will challenge you. As you try it, you may not understand everything. That is good. That means you are learning. You may want to go back to what feels good to you. But remember, if you are not falling, you are not learning

Check out Spotlight Advanced today. You can follow along with the YouTube playlist. Or you can subscribe to the Spotlight Advanced podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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