Don't build sentences. Say them

This may sound like an obvious statement, but lately I have noticed a gaping divide between two kinds of students: those who still struggle to build sentences and those who simply say them. I know it seems simplistic, but just bear with me.

At the advanced level you're not really supposed to build sentences anymore. By that I mean that you don't make many choices in terms of word combinations. When you want to describe how you feel about a sensitive personal situation you may (understandably) take your time to find the right words. But as far as expressing yourself in most contexts you string sentences together without giving much thought to the grammar or the collocations that are needed. Allow me to repeat this: you do make decisions, of course, but not many.

Let's suppose that you're working on a project with a friend who feels frustrated because of a minor mishap. You may say: "Hey! Keep your chin up. It's not the end of the world". I know what you're thinking. Those are two trite idioms and nobody wants to speak in cliches. And that's a commendable attitude. You want to sound fresh, but guess what, you should not run before you can walk. As an English learner, it is your "duty" to master the "obvious" phrases. Once that's behind you, you'll be in a position to speak orginally (whatever that means). The beauty of this approach is that, when you finally feel comfortable with a number of fixed phrases, you won't have to stop to construct an expression, you'll just say it. Why? Because you know the convention.You just say "it's not the end of the world" because that's what people say. Nonstandard or "incorrect" alternatives such as "it's not the end of the galaxy" are not even an option. And that's fine.

However, a speaker that is only vaguely familiar with the idea (in the phrase "the end of the world") might ponder the merits of such phrases as "the finish for the world", "the world's ending", "the termination of the cosmos", etc. which needless to say, do not conform to any convention in the English language. For all I know, they may be translating from their mother tongues, which is not something many English speakers care about. What a listener knows is that the weird expression doesn't work in English, which means it's a big no-no for any advanced learner. Anyway, my point is that all those moments of hesitation (cosmos? galaxy? world?) vanish into thin air when you know the sequence and say it.

So that's what I mean when I say that "some students just know what to say". They've heard an expression before and simply use it when they identify the function that it serves. Yes. That's the way to go about it, I'm afraid. Less grammar and more "usage awareness".

I can anticipate your reaction: "But I want to be myself. I don't want to speak in stock phrases" (because you avoid cliches like the plague). Well, I've got news for you: you already speak in stock phrases in your mother tongue. Yes, you do. Unless you're a creative speaker, the kind of language user that can come up with dazzling never-before-used similes, the talker that coins neologisms and creates new turns of phrase, I'm sorry but... you are indeed using expressions that somebody else created a long time ago and millions of speakers have used ever since. Even great writers are compelled to resort to some conventions (even if they often go beyond them). Otherwise nobody would understand their texts. So, however idiosyncratic your English may be, it is... Let me rephrase that... it cannot be not totally original. And that's not a bad thing. That's, in fact, what a language is: a complex set of conventions. Certain combinations have lost their mojo, as it were. Others are refreshing. And some speakers use time-honored expressions to good effect while others fail to make them shine.

I remember Amazon.com used to offer an interesting piece of information about most books: the so-called SIPs (Statistically Improbable Phrases). I haven't seen that feature for a while, but I recall sitting and reading them before buying a book. What are SIPs? Simply put, they are unusual combinations that can give an on-line shopper a taste of what makes a book quirky or different. Think about it. If I told you about a book that contains the phrase turophobic chucklehead, would you be curious or put off by it? I haven't checked (I just put those two words together), but I can imagine not many books in the world contain sentences which include that peculiar phrase. So, how many unusual combinations can you come up with? Do you still be want to be original or are you ready to settle for something... less demanding? The good new is... you don't have to be that creative to be an advanced speaker and, of course, you have plenty of time to become a writer. Just don't get ahead of yourself.

In short, be humble. Find competent speakers and imitate exactly what they say. Do not try to improve on those expressions. Not yet, anyway.