Regression

I have a confession to make: I've been straying from high power vocabulary, towards shorter and simpler words. As a result, I won't be able to flex my lexicon in writing new posts. Fortunately, this hasn't affected what little writing skills I've had, but I am a little ashamed that I let myself lose something that I had a modicum of pride in.

This is from a combination of a variety of situations, I think.

One, my exposure to "strong" English has diminished drastically. Ever since I graduated, the time I spend around people who primarily speak English has decreased by a lot. Language is like flexibility in this way; repeated exposure and strain can keep it strong and growing. So, the shift in my language environment has created a situation that enabled the aforementioned result.

Two, my exposure to simple English has increased drastically. The... lifestyle I lead these days is an odd one. The main source of my entertainment, the media that I tune into most frequently is YouTube, specifically Lets Play from Achievement Hunter. (I don't watch Rooster Teeth, just Lets Play.) They're entertaining to watch, and with few friends to veg and game with, along with less time to actually sit down and play games, it's been a great substitute. I enjoy watching them a lot, but most of the humour isn't from high level English. In other words, regardless of enjoyment, it has contributed towards my waning of English vocabulary strength.

Three, I teach high school Biology and Chemistry these days. I'm not saying high school students have worse English - if anything, their English should be growing drastically. However, I teach Bio and Chem to Korean (by ethnicity) international school students in Korea, and with my aim being maximum understanding for the students, I frequently mix Korean into my lessons. On top of that, complicated English isn't exactly a prerequisite or fundamental component in conveying scientific concepts. Even in academia or scientific papers, the English isn't aimed to be elegant or significant in the literary sense.

Bottom line of this post is, with these (and perhaps other that I'm unable to recall at this given moment) conditions combined, they have brought about a regression in my English. Writing here helps, which is why I hope to return to writing and show some more perseverance and tenacity this time. Still, it felt necessary to give some sort of warning that my written English style may have changed.

That is all for now. I should be back here fairly soon though.