Author’s Column by Tymur Levitin — Founder, Director and Senior Teacher at Levitin Language School
Start Language School by Tymur Levitin | Global Learning. Personal Approach.
🔗 Choose your language
You Made a Mistake? Good.
“I have 22.”
“I am Ukraine.”
We’ve all heard learners say things like this. Some teachers rush to correct them:
“That’s wrong. Say I am 22. Say I’m from Ukraine.”
But let me ask:
Do they really understand why it’s wrong? Or are they just repeating after us?
That’s not teaching. That’s training.
And my students are not parrots.
Literal Thinking Isn’t the Problem. It’s the Beginning of Thinking.
There’s a common myth in language learning:
“Don’t translate literally — it will confuse you.”
I disagree. Literal translation is not dangerous — if you know how to use it.
In fact, it’s one of the best tools at the beginning.
Because when you say “I have 22”, you’re not being lazy.
You’re building a sentence using your own language’s structure.
In Ukrainian, we say “Мені 22 роки” — “To me are 22 years.”
There is no subject, no active verb.
But in English, you need one.
So the system forces you to say “I am 22” — “I = 22”.
That’s not wrong. It’s different.
Without seeing that logic shift,
students will always ask themselves:
“Why is it like that?”
And no correction will answer that.
Literal ≠ Final. But It’s a Bridge.
When I teach, I often use a structure like this:
- Let the student say the sentence in their own logic.
Example: “I have 22.” - Show how it works in English logic.
Example: “I am 22.” - Compare. Feel the difference. Translate the idea, not just the words.
That’s the bridge.
We don’t stop there — but we start there.
Just like in dancing:
You need a basic rhythm before you improvise.
And mistakes? They’re not a threat.
They’re part of the music.
Speak Slowly. Think Deeply.
There’s a strange obsession in language learning:
“Speak fast. Sound fluent.”
Why?
What does fast speech give you, if your grammar is broken and your mind is blocked?
I tell my students:
Nothing will change in your life if you say a sentence 5 seconds slower.
But everything changes when you finally understand what you’re saying.
Confidence doesn’t come from speed.
It comes from clarity. From logic. From trust in your own brain.
In Our School, Thinking Comes First
At Levitin Language School, we don’t train performers.
We build thinkers.
We don’t just teach:
- how to say “I am 22,”
- or how to memorize “I’m from Ukraine.”
We teach why.
We show:
- how grammar is logic, not just rules,
- how translation is thinking, not copying,
- and how mistakes are not failures, but steps in your inner process.
Language is not about remembering. It’s about understanding.
Final Thought: You’re Not a Parrot. You’re a Person.
If you make a mistake, keep talking.
If your sentence feels “too slow,” say it anyway.
If you need to build the bridge from your language to English — build it.
Because you’re not here to imitate. You’re here to express.
Just like in Al Pacino’s Scent of a Woman,
“There are no mistakes in tango. Not like life. If you get tangled up, just tango on.”
The same is true for language.
Keep talking. Keep thinking.
And never forget: understanding is freedom.
🔗 Learn more about our approach:
Online English courses | Learn German step by step
🔗 See also:
“Real Language Is Never Literal”
“Grammar Is Logic, Not Rules”
“Thinking in Another Language Is a Skill”
© Tymur Levitin — Founder, Director, and Senior Teacher at Start Language School by Tymur Levitin (Levitin Language School)