Why do you think you were successful?

[svetlana14]

There is a general question (as the part of an exercise for working with one or two students) of why do you think you were successful (e.g. a sport, driving a car, playing the piano, using a computer). How did you succeed? I have prepared such a response Does it sound natural and idiomatic?


"I focus on what I want and everything else falls away until done. The second thing is that I start being more disciplined. Discipline is just like choosing between what you and what you want most. For playing the piano and doing the sport it would mean that you need to work hard regularly, dedicating yourself entirely to this work. Certainly, all of these will not work without being talented or having an aptitude whatever profession or occupation you have chosen. Regarding computer, you also need an inclination to engineering and mathematics while a good reaction is the must for driving."

 

[Barque]

I don't think it's a good idea to draft a single answer dealing with things as different as playing the piano, operating a computer and driving a car.

Discipline and focus can help with becoming good at playing the piano. You have to want to become good at it.

But people who drive well normally become good drivers just because they drive regularly and are careful - they aren't necessarily focussed on becoming good drivers. It just happens.

 

[emsr2d2]

focussed

It's "focused" (and "focuses/focusing"). This is an error native speakers make all the time. It's an exception to the rule.

 

[svetlana14]

I don't think it's a good idea to draft a single answer dealing with things as different as playing the piano, operating a computer and driving a car.

Discipline and focus can help with becoming good at playing the piano. You have to want to become good at it.

But people who drive well normally become good drivers just because they drive regularly and are careful - they aren't necessarily focussed on becoming good drivers. It just happens.

But does my English sound natural? What is your opinion as a native speaker?

 

[Barque]

But does my English sound natural? What is your opinion as a native speaker?

While English is my first language, I'm not a native speaker. I learnt my English primarily from books and articles written by native speakers and also from Indian English speakers exposed to British English.

I don't think your passage sounds completely natural.

I didn't rewrite it for the reason I described above. There are too many variables.

I'll give you a rewritten passage tomorrow.

 

[svetlana14]

While English is my first language, I'm not a native speaker. I learnt my English primarily from books and articles written by native speakers and also from Indian English speakers exposed to British English.

I don't think your passage sounds completely natural.

I didn't rewrite it for the reason I described above. There are too many variables.

I'll give you a rewritten passage tomorrow.

Surely, my answer ismy opinion which I have quickly expressed just for doing some exercises in attempt to pick up as much idiomatic expressions as possible.

 

[svetlana14]

While English is my first language, I'm not a native speaker. I learnt my English primarily from books and articles written by native speakers and also from Indian English speakers exposed to British English.

I don't think your passage sounds completely natural.

I didn't rewrite it for the reason I described above. There are too many variables.

I'll give you a rewritten passage tomorrow.

You say that English is your first language but you are not a native speaker. I've looked up the meaning of "first language" in Wikipedia and it appears that it's tongue or mother language.

 

[Barque]

It's my first language because it's the one I'm most comfortable in (I speak three languages).

But I'm not a native speaker because my parents and grandparents and the people I grew up around didn't speak it as their first language. Does that make sense? My native language is Tamil because that's the traditionally used language in my family.