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RE: One Shot Wonder - nr 2
Yes of course I sometimes look up something that bothers me, but mostly I just try until I get it to look right. And sometimes when I can't be bothered, I just put out something that gets the message across but is shitty English.
Your English is almost never shitty in any way.
I know that, but it could still be better, especially in spoken form, I don't get to practise that enough!
Would it feel unnatural to you to take up the habit of formulating your thoughts in English? You wouldn't have to speak to yourself like some village idiot (not that anybody would care if you were alone) but you'd gain the ability to respond quickly and naturally.
I already think most everything in English. The only things I find the need to translate are usually some proverbs.
Despite our extensive online presence there's still a ton to learn. A second language is a second language, particularly if it's not been acquired by living in an English speaking country. There are surprisingly many everyday words that one does not need to know at all when interacting online. For example, when you practically never have dinner or make dinner in English, you're not likely to know words like ladle or what other words mean the same and which exact one is commonly used in which country. There are many domains where your vocabulary falls short and you're not even aware of it.
My English vocabulary size is roughly equivalent to a 25-year-old native speaker according to stats compiled by testyourvocab.com. But my vocabulary contains somewhat different words from that of a native speaker 20 years my junior. I know a lot of words native speakers my age know because I read a lot. But there are gaps in it that nobody who has grown up in an English speaking country has.