There is a quiet assumption in language learning that understanding must come first. We are taught to study vocabulary, learn grammar rules, and build knowledge step by step—before we are ready to use the language. But that’s not how language is actually learned. Children don’t study their first language. They don’t memorise rules or prepare before speaking. They hear it, use it, experiment with it—and gradually, through repeated use, it becomes natural. Adults often take the opposite approach. We try to understand everything before we use anything. We wait until we feel “ready.” We aim [...]