‘Beyond Mute-English’ is an instructional essay based in practical applications and professional teaching experience. The article presents foundational methods, gleaned through the author’s nine years instructing foreign learners of English at universities in America, China, and The Republic of Korea, and aims at resetting complex approaches in second language acquisition by revisiting best practices for developing oral competency. The article outlines six concepts, referred to as ‘silver keys,’ pertaining to the study of English as a second language, with brief, substantive elaborations of each. The silver keys the article establishes are built around the pedagogical concepts of mimicry, specificity in adaptation, high currency versus low currency language, necessity of mastering the basic skills before progressing, and intrinsic motivation in learning
