“Now I Finally Understand Why I Was Stuck”: Yuan Ze University English Lecture Sparked Strong Resonance Among Learners

The lecture “An English Class That Could Change Your Life,” delivered by English education instructor Mindy Ou, successfully concluded at Yuan Ze University on January 11. The event attracted both students and members of the public, generating an enthusiastic response and reflecting learners’ strong interest in finding the “right way to learn English.”

The lecture began with the theme of “how the brain learns language” and, drawing on perspectives from linguistics and cognitive science, guided participants to reexamine the true reasons behind their long-standing difficulties in learning English. Mindy Ou pointed out that most learners were not limited by poor memory or lack of effort; rather, much of what they had previously learned consisted of fragmented, isolated information that the brain could not effectively integrate and store. As a result, it failed to enter long-term memory and could not be flexibly applied in real-life contexts.

During the lecture, the instructor used the metaphor of “building a house” to explain that vocabulary was merely construction material. Without structure and an overall blueprint, true language ability could not be established. Only by following the brain’s natural sequence for language acquisition—from sound, to meaning, to structure, and finally to output—could learners gradually build a complete language system and achieve stable, cumulative progress.

Through clear structural explanations and practical examples, the lecture helped participants identify the key obstacles in their own English learning. It further clarified why relying solely on memorizing vocabulary or grammatical rules could not develop language ability that functions effectively over the long term.

Two participants shared their personal learning journeys during the event, creating some of the most moving moments of the session. One participant described years of self-study that had left her feeling confused and powerless; after understanding the systematic nature of language learning, she not only saw rapid improvement in her performance, but, more importantly, clearly understood for the first time why she was making progress and how she could continue moving forward. Another participant shared that for many years, limited English proficiency had repeatedly hindered his career development and international communication. Only after realizing that language could be “constructed” did he regain confidence and begin setting more ambitious goals for his future.

Many attendees stated that, through this lecture, they were able for the first time to identify the root causes of their learning difficulties clearly and to establish more concrete and feasible plans for their future English study. “An English Class That Could Change Your Life” not only provided practical learning strategies but also guided learners to rethink the nature of language acquisition itself, laying a solid and sustainable foundation for long-term English learning.

 The School of Lifelong Education also launched a series of English courses, including on-site classes (https://lifelong.yzu.edu.tw/). These included:

• TOEIC Beginners’ Village: From Zero to 550+ (30 hours), Saturdays 9:30–12:00, March 7 to June 6;
• Business English × TOEIC 900 × Speaking (30 hours), Tuesdays 18:30–21:00, March 10 to May 26;
• English Pronunciation and Listening–Speaking Foundations EN-US (12 hours), Wednesdays 18:30–21:00, March 18 to April 15.

To provide greater convenience for learners, an online course series (https://e.lifelong.yzu.edu.tw/courses) was scheduled to be launched in mid-February. Members of the public were welcome to register or contact 03-463-8800 ext. 2490, or reach the LINE customer service account: @yzu_learn.