Here is what the belief usually hides.
Is it a myth that some children just aren’t ‘English people’?
Mostly, yes. Calling a child “not an English person” turns fixable problems into a fixed identity. Believing it is one of the surest ways to make it come true.
Children do start in different places. Some have read more or found writing easier earlier. But those are head starts, not limits, and the exam rewards technique that can be learned.
Where does the myth come from?
Head starts are real, and they grow. A child who read widely from a young age arrives at secondary school with more vocabulary, a better feel for sentences and more confidence. Next to a classmate who read less, they look naturally gifted.
But the second child has not hit a ceiling. They have simply had fewer of the experiences that build the skill. With more reading, writing and feedback, the gap narrows.
Why is the belief so costly?
A child who thinks they are “not an English person” acts that way. They try less, because effort feels pointless.
They read feedback as proof they are bad, not as advice. They give up on hard passages.
Each of these makes the belief look truer, so it hardens over the years. The real damage is not a lack of ability.
It is that the story stops the effort that would build ability. Our note on good at English versus good at the exam looks at a related confusion.
What does the myth usually hide?
Behind “I’m not an English person” there is almost always one specific problem:
- Analysis that stays on the surface.
- Writing that wanders because nobody taught planning.
- A summary habit of copying the text.
- Being in a course that does not suit them. Our guide on choosing the right strand can help you check.
Each of these has a name and a fix. Naming it gives you something concrete to work on, and a specific problem feels far more solvable than a personality trait.
Advice like this is easier to act on with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own writing.
How do you talk your child out of it?
A lecture will not change a teenager’s mind, but you can loosen the belief. First agree with the feeling: “Yes, English feels harder for you than maths.” Then point to evidence they cannot dismiss, such as an essay that improved after redrafting.
Do not insist they are secretly brilliant, because they will not believe it. Aim to change “I can’t do this” into “I can’t do this yet”. Avoid both empty praise and quietly agreeing that they are hopeless.
Could the label have started at home?
Sometimes. Families use casual labels like “she’s the creative one, her brother’s the writer”. A parent might also say they were “never any good at English”, which a child can hear as permission to give up.
Nobody means harm. But children build their self-image partly from these words. Try swapping fixed labels for learnable ones: “she hasn’t done much writing yet” instead of “she’s not a writer”.
How our teachers help change the story
The belief changes when a student sees proof in their own work. Our experienced teachers pick specific habits, practise the fixes with the student and let them watch their own analysis and essays improve. This is how our one-to-one IGCSE English tuition works, and you can read more about how we teach.
If your child has decided they are “just not an English person”, a paid one-hour trial lesson is a gentle way to test that belief. The teacher will find one specific, fixable problem and show your child that it can change.