---
title: "Rethink Your Why: The Real Reason to Learn English"
description: "Shares a personal reflection on why you should learn English, why practical English matters more than exam scores, and how to find the most valuable parts of English learning for your goals."
canonical_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/rethink-your-reason-to-learn-english"
author: "Mark Ku"
author_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku"
site: "Mark Ku's Tech Notes"
date_published: "2025-03-26 01:01:02 +0800"
category: "Learning"
tags: ["english", "learning", "communication", "toeic", "practical english", "self-improvement"]
language: "en"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
attribution: "when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original"
---
# Rethink Your Why: The Real Reason to Learn English
## Why Do You Learn English?
This is a good question — but are you sure you really know the answer?
Within all the limitations I've faced, I've discovered why I'm learning English and which part of it matters most to me.
Two years ago, I went on a business trip to the US and couldn't say a word. That feeling of having something to say but being unable to say it is what pushed me to start learning. [Story](https://blog.markkulab.net/why-learn-english/)
## To Be Honest
English can't immediately transform your career or your day-to-day work, and you can't become fluent in a short time — so you have to keep learning throughout your life.
Some people want to land a job at a foreign company, but foreign companies in Taiwan rarely hire people without relevant experience. What they actually care about is your personality and core skills. For example:
* Do you have any extra contributions in this field?
* Are you qualified enough?
* Does your experience match the required skills?
* Foreign companies often hold high standards and come with intense pressure.
In reality, the job market has no shortage of people who speak English well. Your core skills are what matter most — English is just a tool that supports them.
## Exam English or Practical English?
After taking my first TOEIC, I realized that TOEIC and practical English point in very different directions.
I talked about it with my roommate, who had scored over 850 on the TOEIC. The "bed potato" told me: if TOEIC really proved that someone's English was great, he wouldn't need to attend a language school. [(About the bed potato)](https://blog.markkulab.net/life-with-bed-potato/)
If you drop TOEIC vocabulary into everyday conversation, people will likely find it confusing rather than impressive.
That said, some companies do use minimum English certification scores as a filter.
For me, the most important thing is learning practical English that I can actually use — within the limited time I have.
## What's the Most Important Thing in Communication?
One of my favorite speakers is Jensen Huang, co-founder of Nvidia. When he gives speeches, he always uses simple words and speaks slowly — easy to follow for anyone.
That approach lets him reach a wider audience and make a bigger impact.
Good communication goes beyond knowing the language. It's also about:
- Listening
- Engaging others and making them want to hear you out
- Sharing ideas
- Giving your opinion
- Talking about experiences
- Demonstrating value
- Maintaining a good attitude
## Rethink
School covers listening, speaking, reading, and writing — but mastering all of them in limited time simply isn't realistic. The key is to identify the parts that are most valuable and most aligned with your goals, then focus there.
Rather than chasing exam scores, I chose to prioritize English I can immediately use in daily life and work. Practicality matters more to me.
Here's what I've been able to do with English so far:
- Build connections with people from different countries.
- Attract a wider audience by writing multilingual articles.
- Communicate with foreigners more confidently and naturally.
- Help tourists when they get lost in Taiwan — instead of just waving my hands.
## Closing Thoughts
Figure out what you really want, why you want to learn English, and where you'll actually use it.
In the end, influence has never been about what you know — it's always about what you do.
---
## About this article and its author
Originally published on [Mark Ku's Tech Notes](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/rethink-your-reason-to-learn-english)
License: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original
### About the author
**[Mark Ku](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku)** — Software Solution Provider
- 10+ years senior software engineer, now an AI Builder
- Focused on large-platform architecture — North-American e-commerce, AI SaaS subscription billing
- Combining AI Agents and automation to build evolvable product foundations
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All of these are free to use:
- [Free PDF Sign Tool](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/pdf-sign): Online PDF sign tool — draw, type, or upload a signature, then drag, resize, and download. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
- [VS Code Refactory](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/refactory): Refactory is a VS Code refactoring extension: 34 actions plus a 37-rule code-smell inspection layer with a Code Health dashboard, across 18 languages, backed by 534 tests. It learns your repo's conventions: where interfaces live, where DI is registered, whether 'use client' belongs. It ranks files by git churn × complexity so you know what to fix first, and hands any smell to the Claude Code already on your machine. Free to use, and your source never leaves your computer.
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- [VS Code Super Mermaid](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/super-mermaid): Super Mermaid is a VS Code extension for beautiful Mermaid diagrams out of the box: auto-colored live preview, mouse pan & zoom, high-res PNG / SVG export, 21 templates and multiple themes. Free and open source (MIT).
- [React Super Mermaid](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/react-super-mermaid): react-super-mermaid is an open-source React component library: render beautiful Mermaid diagrams with a single , with built-in colorful / sketch themes, pan & zoom, in-diagram search, and high-res SVG / PNG export. Lightweight, SSR-safe, fully typed. Free and open source (MIT).
- [Jira / Confluence Super Mermaid](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/jira-super-mermaid): An Atlassian Forge app: write Mermaid syntax directly inside a Jira issue or a Confluence page and get flowcharts, sequence diagrams, state machines and Gantt charts. 11 diagram types, SVG / PNG export, light and dark themes, full CJK support. Runs on Atlassian: your diagrams live in your own site and the app calls no third-party service. Free, coming soon to the Atlassian Marketplace.
- [Mermaid Live Preview](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/mermaid-preview): Write Mermaid in your browser, see it render instantly, and share the whole diagram as a single link. No sign-up, nothing uploaded to a server, and mermaid.live share links work as-is.
- [React Intl Phone Number](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/react-intl-phone-number): react-intl-phone-number is an open-source React component: framework-agnostic and antd-free, with E.164 in/out, a searchable flag / country-code dropdown, configurable validation levels (strict / mobile-strict / loose), themeable CSS, and i18n — phone logic powered by google-libphonenumber. Lightweight and fully typed. Free and open source (MIT).
- [Uptime Kuma Cluster](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/tools/uptime-kuma-cluster): Turn single-node Uptime Kuma into a highly available cluster: OpenResty + Lua smart load balancing, shared MariaDB state, health checks and automatic failover, plus cluster-management REST APIs. One Docker Compose command to start. Free and open source (MIT).
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