[Music] hello everyone and welcome back to the English learning podcast I'm Jason your host and today we have an exciting and very important topic for all English Learners stop thinking start talking and of course I'm joined by my amazing co-host Julia how are you today Julia hi Jason I'm doing great and I'm really excited about today's episode this is a topic that so many English Learners struggle with overthinking before they speak instead of just talking they keep worrying about grammar pronunciation or whether they're saying things correctly and that stops them from improving exactly I hear
this all the time what if I make a mistake what if people don't understand me what if I sound silly and because of this fear many Learners hesitate to speak English at all but here's the truth if you want to be fluent you have to stop thinking too much and just start speaking that's right the more you speak the better you get but how can you stop overthinking how can you train yourself to speak more naturally that's exactly what we'll be talking about today yes so if you're someone who always hesitates before speaking English stay
with us until the end because we'll be sharing some powerful tips exercises and mindset shifts that will help you speak English confidently without overthinking let's get started so before we get into Solutions let's first talk about the problem why do so many English Learners overthink before speaking what's stopping them from just talking naturally that's a great question Jason I think one of the biggest reasons is the fear of making mistakes many Learners think what if I say something wrong or what if people laugh at me this fear makes them stay silent instead of trying to
speak absolutely and the funny thing is native speakers make mistakes all the time they mispronounce words they forget grammar rules they even make sentences that don't make perfect sense but they keep talking the difference is they don't overthink it right but English Learners often feel pressure to speak perfectly so they pause they correct themselves too much and in the end they don't say anything at all and that's a big problem because the only way to improve is to practice speaking that's true another reason why Learners overthink is transl ating from their native language instead of
forming sentences naturally in English they try to think in their own language first then translate it word by word and of course that takes time so by the time they're ready to speak the conversation has already moved on yes and that makes them feel frustrated so they stop trying another common problem is lack of confidence some Learners feel like their accent isn't good enough or or they don't have a big vocabulary so they just stay quiet and that silence actually makes the problem worse the less you speak the more nervous you feel about speaking it
becomes a cycle of overthinking and avoiding English conversations exactly but the good news is you don't need to be perfect to speak English fluently you just need to be confident and keep talking and that's what we're going to help you with today yes now that we understand the problem let's talk about the solution why speaking without thinking too much is the key to fluency all right now that we understand why Learners overthink let's talk about the solution why speaking without thinking too much is the key to fluency Julia why is it so important for Learners
to stop overanalyzing and just start speaking great question Jason the main reason is that fluency comes from practice not Perfection the more you speak the faster your brain gets at forming sentences naturally if you always stop to think about grammar and vocabulary before you speak you'll never develop the speed and confidence you need that's so true think about how babies learn to talk they don't study grammar first right they just listen repeat and keep talking even if they make mistakes and over time their speech improves naturally exactly and adults can learn the same way instead
of waiting until your English is perfect you should speak as much as possible even if you make mistakes that's how real fluency develops yes I always tell Learners speak first fix later if you focus too much on correctness while speaking it slows you down but if you just talk and worry about small mistakes later you'll sound much more natural that's a great tip and another thing native speakers don't care about small mistakes if you communicate clearly they will understand you nobody is judging you as much as you think exactly and actually the more relaxed and
natural you are when speaking the more confident you sound confidence makes people listen listen to you more than perfect grammar does that's so true and let's be honest even native speakers make grammar mistakes but they keep going so Learners should do the same the more you practice speaking without stopping the faster you'll improve yes so now that we understand why thinking less and talking more is the key let's move on to something even more exciting practical tips to help you stop overthinking and start speaking confidently now comes the most exciting part of today's episode practical
tips to help you stop overthinking and start speaking Julia let's start with the first tip what's one powerful way to stop hesitating and just talk one of the best ways is to think in English instead of translating from your native language if you always translate in your head before speaking it slows you down but if you train your brain to think in English words will come out faster and more naturally that's a fantastic tip and a simple way to practice thinking in English is to describe your day in English for example if you're making coffee
in the morning say in your head I am making coffee the water is boiling I am pouring it into my cup it's a great way to make English a natural part of your daily thoughts exactly and here's another tip speak without worrying about grammar of course grammar is important but when you're having a conversation communication is more important than correctness even if you make a mistake people will still understand you that's so true if you focus too much on grammar while speaking you will pause a lot and that makes you feel less confident but if
you just keep talking your brain will naturally correct itself over time right and speaking of confidence another great tip is to practice with yourself many Learners say I don't have a partner to practice with but guess what you can talk to yourself stand in front of a mirror and have a conversation or describe what you see around you this will help you get comfortable speaking out out loud I love that and here's another great technique use shadowing this means listening to a native speaker and immediately repeating what they say copying their pronunciation Rhythm and speed
it's one of the fastest ways to sound more natural in English yes and you don't even need a teacher for this just find a YouTube video a podcast or even a movie and repeat after the speaker this helps you stop thinking too much and just get used to speaking naturally that's a fantastic method and here's another practical tip use simple sentences many Learners hesitate because they try to make long complicated sentences but it's okay to use short simple sentences for example instead of saying I would like to discuss an important matter with you just say
let's talk about something important simple is always better absolutely the goal is to keep the conversation going not to sound perfect and speaking of keeping the conversation going don't be afraid to make mistakes every mistake is part of the learning process if you're too scared to make mistakes you won't speak at all and that's the biggest mistake of all exactly mistakes are proof that you're learning and that brings me to another tip immerse yourself in English every day the more you listen to English the easier it becomes to speak without thinking so listen to English
podcasts watch movies and surround yourself with the language as much as possible yes the more English you hear the more your brain absorbs natural speech patterns and one final tip set a speaking challenge for yourself for example challenge yourself to speak English for 5 minutes every day without stopping even if you don't know a word just keep talking and find another way to express your idea I love that the more you push yourself to speak the more confident you become so let's quickly summarize these tips think in English don't worry about grammar practice with yourself
use shadowing keep sentences simple Embrace mistakes immerse yourself in English and set a speaking challenge exactly if you follow these tips you'll start speaking English naturally without overthinking and now let's wrap up with some final encouragement for our listeners all right now it's time for a fun and practical exercise we want to challenge our listeners with a spontaneous speaking challenge Julia are you ready absolutely this is a great way to help Learners stop overthinking and start talking so how does this challenge work Jason here's how it works we'll give you a topic and you have
to speak about it for 30 seconds without stopping no long pauses no overthinking just keep talking if you don't know a word describe it in another way the goal is to keep the conversation going that's right and Jason I think we should show an example first so our listeners can see how it's done let's do a quick role play great idea okay Julia your topic is describe your morning routine go okay every morning I wake up at 700 a.m. first I stretch and drink a glass of water then I brush my teeth and take a
shower after that I make a cup of coffee and eat breakfast usually eggs and toast I check my phone for messages and then get dressed finally I prepare for my work or study that's my morning routine awesome that was smooth and natural you didn't stop and even though it wasn't perfect it was clear and confident that's the goal exactly now Jason your turn your topic is your favorite hobby go all right my favorite faor hobby is playing the guitar I love music and playing the guitar helps me relax I usually practice in the evening after
work I like learning new songs and sometimes I play for my friends music makes me feel happy and I enjoy improving my skills every day perfect you didn't stop and you kept going even if you had to think of the next sentence that's what we want our listeners to do yes now it's your turn listeners here's your challenge we'll give you three topics and you must choose one and speak for 30 seconds without stopping here are your topics one describe your favorite food two talk about your daily routine three describe a place you want to
visit pick one and start speaking don't stop don't overthink just talk if you don't know a word describe it in another way ready go great job even if you struggled a little that's okay the more you practice the easier it gets just remember the goal is to speak not to be perfect exactly so keep practicing this challenge every day you'll be amazed at how fast your confidence improves now let's wrap up with some final encouragement we've talked about practical techniques but there's something even more important your mindset if you don't believe in yourself no amount
of practice will help so Julia how can Learners shift their mindset to become more confident speakers that's a great question Jason the first thing to remember is this confidence comes from action not from waiting to feel ready many Learners think I'll speak speak when I feel confident but the truth is you feel confident after you speak not before so start talking now absolutely and another mindset shift is to stop aiming for Perfection a lot of Learners hesitate because they don't want to make mistakes but here's a secret even native speakers make mistakes so instead of
thinking I must be perfect think I must communicate exactly communication is the goal not Perfection and speaking of mistakes change the way you see them instead of feeling embarrassed see mistakes as proof that you are learning if you never make mistakes it means you're not pushing yourself enough I love that and here's another mindset shift stop comparing yourself to others many Learners say my friend speak better than me or I'll never sound like a native speaker but the only person you should compare yourself to is your past self are you better than you were yesterday
if yes you're winning that's such an important point and I'll add one more Embrace discomfort speaking a new language feels uncomfortable at first but that's normal confidence grows when you step out of your comfort zone so instead of avoiding English conversations jump into them absolutely so let's summarize these mindset shifts one confidence comes from action speak now not later two forget Perfection focus on communication three mistakes are proof that you're learning not failing four compare yourself only to your past self five Embrace discomfort growth happens outside your comfort zone yes if you change your mindset
speaking English will feel much easier now let's move to our final conclusion and wrap up today's episode before we end today's episode we want to leave you with some encouragement learning English is a journey and sometimes it can feel frustrating but remember this every time you speak you are improving even if you make mistakes even if you don't sound perfect you are growing yes and the most important thing is to keep going don't wait for the perfect moment to start speaking the perfect moment is right now if you keep waiting you'll stay in the same
place but if you speak today even just a little you'll be further ahead tomorrow exactly and don't let fear stop you many Learners think what if people laugh at me or what if I say something wrong but here's the truth most people admire you for trying they respect your effort no one is judging you as much as you think that's such a good point and I want to say this to our listeners you are capable you are smart enough to learn English you are strong enough to overcome challenges and you already have everything you need
to succeed the only thing left to do is start talking yes so our final message to you is believe in yourself take action and never stop learning English fluency is waiting for you go get it and we are always here to help if you enjoyed this episode make sure to practice the spontaneous speaking challenge we did earlier and keep pushing yourself every day that's right and don't forget to subscribe to our podcast for more practical tips and motivation thank you for joining us today and remember stop thinking start talking see you next time bye everyone
keep practicing and stay confident
