[Music] hello everyone welcome back to the English learning podcast where we help you improve your English speaking skills in a fun and practical way I'm Jason your host and joining me today is my wonderful co-host Julia hey Jason hi everyone we're so happy to have you here today we're talking about a very common problem that many English Learners face they can understand English but they can't speak fluently does this sound like you yes a lot of Learners can watch movies listen to podcasts and even read books in English but when it comes to speaking they
freeze they struggle to find the right words and sometimes they feel too nervous to even try that's right Jason and if this happens to you don't worry you are not alone this is a very normal stage in learning any language the good news is you can overcome it and today we're going to show you exactly how in this episode we'll talk about why this happens and most importantly what you can do to start speaking English more naturally and confidently we'll also share practical techniques that you can start using today by the end of this episode
you'll know how to break through the fear of speaking and finally start using English in real conversations so are you ready let's get started so Julia let's get into it why do so many people understand English well but struggle to speak that's a great question Jason there are actually several reasons why this happens the first and biggest reason is fear of making mistakes many Learners worry about saying the wrong thing or using incorrect grammar so they just stay quiet yes and I totally understand that fear but here's the truth mistakes are part of learning no
one speaks perfectly in the beginning even native speakers make mistakes exactly and the second reason is lack of speaking practice a lot of Learners spend most of their time listening and reading which are great for understanding English but they don't actually practice speaking right it's like learning to swim just by watching videos but never getting into the water you won't really improve until you start speaking that's a perfect example another big problem is overthinking grammar many Learners try to make every sentence perfect in their head before they speak but by the time they're ready the
conversation has already moved on that's so true instead of focusing too much on grammar it's better to just just speak naturally and correct mistakes later what's another reason people struggle to speak well another reason is that many Learners don't have an English-speaking environment they might live in a country where people don't speak English so they don't get daily practice yes that's a big challenge but the good news is you don't need to live in an English-speaking country to improve your speaking there are ways to create your own practice environment which we'll talk about later in
this episode that's right so to summarize people struggle to speak English because of fear of mistakes lack of practice overthinking grammar and not having an English-speaking environment but don't worry we're going to help you overcome all of these problems absolutely and first let's talk about one of the biggest barriers the fear of making mistakes how can we overcome this fear let's discuss that next all right now let's talk about one of the biggest reasons why people don't speak the fear of making mistakes Julia why do you think so many Learners feel this way that's a
great question Jason I think the main reason is that many Learners are afraid of being judged they worry that people will laugh at them or think they're not smart if they say something wrong yes and that fear can can be really strong I've met many English Learners who say I don't want to speak because my grammar isn't perfect or I might pronounce something wrong but honestly no one expects you to be perfect exactly think about how kids learn to speak they make tons of mistakes but no one laughs at them instead they keep trying and
that's how they get better it's the same for English Learners that's such a good point and actually many native speakers don't even notice small grammar mistakes they just focus on understanding what you mean yes but I get it fear can still be hard to overcome so one great way to reduce fear is to change your mindset instead of thinking I might make a mistake think every mistake helps me learn I love that and here's another tip start small if you feel nervous about speaking don't start with long conversations just try saying one or two sentences
at a time that's a great idea you can also practice speaking alone first stand in front of a mirror and talk about your day in English no one is listening so there's no pressure yes and another fun technique is recording yourself speak about a simple topic listen to your recording and try again you'll see improvement over time and that will boost your confidence that's such a useful tip Jason and most importantly be kind to yourself no one learns a language overnight the key is to keep speaking keep making mistakes and keep learning absolutely the more
mistakes you make the faster you improve so instead of being afraid embrace your mistakes now let's move on to another big reason why people struggle to speak the difference between passive learning and active learning so we've talked about the fear of making mistakes now let's discuss another reason why many Learners struggle to speak the difference between passive learning and active speaking Julia what do we mean by that great question Json passive learning is when you're just receiving information for example watching English videos listening to podcasts or reading books these activities help you understand English but
they don't help you speak right and on the other hand active speaking means actually using English practicing speaking having conversations and forming sentences in real time that's the only way to improve fluency exactly the problem is that many Learners spend 90% of their time on P passive learning and almost no time on active speaking so they understand English but can't speak fluently yes it's like learning to play guitar by only watching videos you might know how to play but until you actually pick up the guitar and practice you won't be able to do it that's
a great example Jason and I totally get it passive learning feels comfortable there's no pressure no mistakes but if you want to speak English fluently you have to get out of your comfort zone and start speaking absolutely and here's something interesting studies show that people remember 90% of what they actively do but only 10 to 20% of what they just listen to or read so if you're only watching and listening you're missing out on real Improvement wow that's so important to know but Jason what are some practical ways Learners can move from passive learning to
active speaking great question one simple method is shadowing listen to a sentence from a podcast or video and repeat it immediately this helps with pronunciation and fluency that's a great tip another idea is thinking in English instead of translating in your head try describing what you're doing in English throughout the day I love that and one more speak out loud every day even if you're alone talk about your day describe what you see or even have a fake conversation with yourself yes the key is to train your brain to speak not just listen the more
you practice actively the faster your speaking skills will improve exactly so now that we understand the difference between passive learning and act speaking let's move on to another important topic how to train your brain to think in English so we've talked about the importance of active speaking now let's discuss something just as important the role of environment in speaking English Julia how does the environment affect language learning that's a great question Jason your environment plays a huge role in how fast you improve Pro if you're surrounded by English speakers you naturally hear and use English
every day but if you live in a place where no one speaks English it's much harder to practice that's so true many Learners tell me I don't have anyone to practice with and I understand that it's difficult when English isn't spoken in your daily life exactly but the good news is you don't need to live in an English-speaking country to create an English rich environment yes there are so many ways to bring English into your daily life Julia what are some simple things Learners can do one of the best things you can do is change
your phone and social media language to English this forces you to see and read English every day that's a great idea another one is listening to English music podcasts and Audi books while doing daily activities like cooking walking or driving yes and here's a fun tip talk to yourself in English you don't need a partner just describe what you're doing out loud or even have imaginary conversations I love that and if you want real interaction you can join online English communities language exchange apps or even find a speaking partner on social media exactly the key
is to surround yourself with English as much as possible even if you're not in an English-speaking country you can still create an English-speaking environment that's so true so now that we know how to build the right environment let's talk about something even more important how to turn speaking practice into a daily habit so far we've talked about why some Learners struggle to speak the role of the environment and how to build good speaking habits now let's dive into some powerful techniques to improve speaking fluency Julia what's one of the best techniques you recommend one of
my favorites is the shadowing technique it's simple but really effective you listen to a native speaker and repeat what they say immediately copying their pronunciation and intonation that's a fantastic method it helps improve fluency pronunciation and confidence and the best part you can do it with podcasts movies or even YouTube videos exactly another great technique is thinking in English many Learners translate from their native language first and that slows them down instead try describing what you see around you directly in English like I am making coffee the sky is blue today I love that it
forces your brain to process English naturally instead of translating and speaking of natural speaking another great technique is storytelling oh that's a good one how does storytelling help with fluency well when you tell a story you practice forming full sentences and expressing ideas smoothly try telling a short personal story or even making up a simple story based on a picture that's such a fun way to practice another powerful technique is recording yourself speaking it might feel awkward at first but when you listen to your own voice you can notice your mistakes and improve your pronunciation
and fluency that's a great tip Julia and here's another one ask and answer questions out loud you can pretend you're in a conversation and answer common questions like what did you do today or what's your favorite movie and why yes the more you practice real conversations the more natural speaking will feel and don't forget speak every day even if it's just for 5 minutes consistency is key absolutely the more you speak the more fluent you become now let's wrap things up by talking about the mindset shift needed to become a confident English speaker we've covered
some great techniques for improving fluency but many Learners still struggle with confidence and anxiety when speaking English Julia why do you think this happens that's a great question Jason a lot of Learners feel nervous because they're afraid of making mistakes being judged or not finding the right words but here's the truth mistakes are part of learning exactly nobody speaks perfectly from the beginning even native speakers make mistakes but if you let fear stop you you'll never improve the key is to change your mindset right instead of thinking what if I make a mistake try thinking
every mistake is a step toward fluency I love that and one of the best ways to build confidence is to start small you don't need to have a full conversation right away just say a few sentences to yourself or practice with a friend yes and here's a simple but powerful trick slow down when you speak many Learners think they have to speak fast to sound fluent but fluency isn't about speed it's about Clarity that's so true and another great tip is positive selft talk instead of saying my English is bad say I'm improving every day
your mindset affects your confidence exactly and don't forget expose yourself to English conversations as much as possible the more you listen and speak the more comfortable you'll feel absolutely confidence comes from action the more you practice the less anxious you'll feel so now let's wrap up with our final thoughts on overcoming the understanding and but can't speak problem so we've covered a lot today we talked about why many Learners understand English but can't speak the psychological barriers the difference between passive and active learning and techniques to improve fluency and confidence Julia what's the biggest takeaway
for our listeners the biggest takeaway is this speaking English is a skill not just knowledge the more you practice the more confident and fluent you'll become don't wait for the perfect moment to start speaking start today yes and remember mistakes are part of the journey every time you speak you're improving surround yourself with English practice daily and keep pushing past your fear exactly and if you found this episode helpful make sure to subscribe to our podcast and share it with a friend who's also learning English that's right and for more speaking practice check out our
other episodes where we dive deeper into fluency techniques keep practicing stay confident and we'll see you in the next episode
