Think Less Speak More | Improve Your English Speaking | English Speaking Practice | English Podcast

[Music] hello and welcome back to the English learning podcast I'm Jason your host and as always I'm here with my wonderful co-host Julia hey Julia hey Jason hi everyone I'm so excited for today's episode because we're going to talk about something that holds many English Learners back overthinking while speaking yes today's topic is is think less speak more a mindset that can help you speak English more naturally and fluently if you often hesitate translate in your head or worry about making mistakes before you speak then this episode is for you that's right many Learners think

too much before speaking and that actually slows them down but what if you could train your brain to speak naturally without hesitation we're going to share practical tips and strategies that will help you do just that and we want you to stay with us until the end because we'll also give you a simple challenge that can make a big difference in how you practice speaking English so are you ready to stop overthinking and start speaking with confidence let's get started all right Julia let's dive into the real problem overthinking while speaking English many Learners get

stuck in their own heads before they even say a word have have you ever seen this happen oh absolutely a lot of English Learners pause too much because they're thinking about grammar vocabulary and pronunciation all at the same time and instead of speaking they just stay quiet exactly it's like trying to drive a car while constantly checking the mirrors the dashboard and the road signs you end up going super slow or even stopping completely that's a great comp comparison overthinking makes people hesitate because they're afraid of making mistakes and guess what the more you hesitate

the harder it becomes to speak right and here's something interesting native speakers don't think that much while speaking they just let the words flow naturally exactly when we speak in our native language we don't stop to analyze every sentence right so why should we do that in English that's the key when you focus too much on Perfection you lose confidence you start thinking what if I say the wrong word what if my grammar is incorrect and in the end you say nothing at all and that's the real danger when you don't practice speaking you never

improve the people who become fluent are the ones who just speak without worrying too much exactly let me ask our listeners something Have you ever stayed silent because you were afraid of saying the wrong thing if the answer is yes then this episode is going to help you absolutely and don't worry we've all been there the good news is that there are ways to stop overthinking and start speaking more naturally and that's what we'll cover next yes coming up we'll talk about why speaking more and thinking less is the secret to fluency stay with us

so now that we've talked about how overthinking stops you from speaking let's look at the other side why speaking more and thinking less is actually the key to fluency Julia what do you think is the biggest benefit of this approach well Jason the first and most obvious benefit is that you become more confident when you stop analyzing every word and just start speaking you train your brain to handle conversations naturally that's a great point it's like playing a sport if you spend too much time thinking about every move you'll never react quickly but if you

just play and trust yourself you get better and faster exactly and another big benefit is that when you speak more you improve your fluency the more you practice the easier it becomes to form sentences without hesitation yes and I love this fact native speakers don't think about grammar rules while speaking they just talk naturally and the best way for Learners to do the same is to speak more without worrying too much that's right when you let go of the need to be perfect you actually sound more natural have you ever noticed that some Advanced English

Learners still sound robotic because they focus too much on perfect grammar oh yes and that's another benefit you develop a natural speaking rhythm when you think too much you stop and start a lot which makes your speech sound unnatural but when you focus on just talking your words start flowing smoothly and here's something interesting speaking more helps you learn faster when you speak often your brain starts recognizing patterns automatically so you don't have to memorize grammar rules all the time that's true just like kids learning their first language they don't study rules they just talk

and pick up the language naturally and that's how English Learners should practice too so to sum it up when you speak more and think less you gain confidence improve fluency sound more natural and learn faster and the best part it makes learning English so much more fun and stress-free absolutely and if you're thinking okay this sounds great but how do I actually do it don't worry up next we're going to talk about the common fears that stop people from speaking and how to overcome them yes so stay with us because this next part will help

you break free from fear and start speaking with confidence all right Julia we've talked about why overthinking is a problem and how speaking more can help but let's be honest many English Learners still feel afraid to speak so let's talk about some of the biggest fears that stop people from speaking English yes one of the most common fears is what if I make a mistake so many Learners hesitate because they're scared of using the wrong grammar or the wrong word have you noticed this Jason oh absolutely but here's the truth making mistakes is part of

learning in fact mistakes are proof that you are learning that's so true think about how babies learn to speak they make tons of mistakes but nobody tells them to stop talking they just keep trying and eventually they get better exactly so if you're afraid of making mistakes change your mindset instead of thinking I can't make mistakes tell yourself every mistake is a lesson that's a great tip another big fear is what if people people laugh at me many Learners worry that native speakers will judge them or make fun of their accent but is that really

true Jason not at all in fact most native speakers respect and admire people who try to speak their language and let's be honest people don't care as much as we think they do everyone is busy with their own lives yes most of the time people appreciate your effort and let's say even if someone does judge you so what their opinion doesn't Define your progress exactly now another fear is what if I can't find the right words some Learners hesitate because they feel like their vocabulary is limited but guess what you don't need fancy words to

communicate that's right you can always use simple words gestures and even synonyms to express your ideas think about how kids speak they don't have a huge vocabulary but they still communicate effectively yes and here's a little secret even native speakers forget words sometimes when that happens they just explain it in a different way you can do the same exactly and the last fear we'll talk about is what if I get stuck and don't know what to say many Learners freeze in conversations because they don't know how to continue you have you ever seen this happen

oh yes but the solution is simple use filler phrases to keep the conversation going instead of stopping say things like let me think or that's a good question this gives you time to organize your thoughts that's a great tip so to some up Don't Fear mistakes don't worry about what others think use simple words and have backup phrases ready if you do this speaking English will feel much easier absolutely and coming up next we'll share practical strategies that will help you stop overthinking and start speaking with confidence so stay with us all right now that

we've talked about the common fears that stop people from speaking let's get to the good part how can you actually train your brain to think less and speak more Julia where should we start great question Jason the first thing you need to do is speak without preparing too much many Learners spend a lot of time thinking about perfect sentences before they speak but if you want to train your brain you need to speak first then correct later that's a great point it's like learning to write a bike you don't sit down and plan every movement

you just start pedaling the same goes for English speaking first helps your brain get used to real conversations exactly and here's another tip practice speaking out loud every day even if you don't have a partner just talking to yourself helps train your brain to think in English oh yes I love this method describe what you're doing talk about your day or explain your thoughts in English it might feel weird at first but it really works absolutely and to take it a step further shadowing is a great exercise have you heard of it Jason of course

for those who don't know shadowing means listening to native speakers and repeating exactly what they say at the same time it's a powerful way to train your brain to think faster yes it forces you to react quickly just like in real conversations and speaking of real conversations another great way to train your brain is to put yourself in situations where you have to speak English that's a GameChanger join English speaking groups talk to strangers or even use voice chat in English learning apps when you're in a situation where you must speak your brain has no

choice but to adapt quickly exactly and another thing stop translating in your head many Learners think in their native language first then translate to English but this slows you down instead train your brain to think directly in English that's a big one an easy way to do this is to surround yourself with English watch English shows read English books and even change your phone's language to English the more you do this the more natural it becomes yes so to sum up speak without overpreparing talk out loud daily practice shadowing put yourself in real situations and

stop translating in your head these techniques will help you speak faster and more naturally exactly and up next we'll share some fun and easy exercises to help you practice speaking more in your daily life so stay with us all right Julia we've talked about how to train your brain to think less and speak more but now let's make it even easier what are some simple daily practices that can help English Learners speak more and hesitate less great question Jason one of the best daily practices is the one minute speaking challenge every day choose a topic

maybe your morning routine your favorite food or what you did yesterday and speak about it for one minute without stopping I love that and if one minute feels easy increase it to 2 or 3 minutes the goal is to train your brain to keep talking even if you make mistakes exactly another great practice is talking to yourself in English throughout the day just describe what you're doing I'm making coffee I need to go to the store this keeps your brain in English mode all day yes and if you want to make it even better record

yourself speaking listen to your voice and notice what you can improve it's like giving yourself feedback that's such a great idea and here's another fun one use a mirror stand in front of a mirror and have a conversation with yourself it builds confidence because you're getting used to seeing yourself speak in English oh I love that and speaking of fun another great practice is singing along to English songs or mimicking actors from movies or TV shows it helps with pronunciation Rhythm and confidence yes and for those who want more real life practice make it a

habit to talk to at least one person in English every day it could be a friend a language partner or even a voice message in an English-speaking group that's a fantastic Challenge and remember speaking more is about building a habit if you make English a natural part of your daily routine hesitation will slowly disappear absolutely so to sum up try the one minute speaking challenge talk to yourself in English record your voice use a mirror sing along to songs mimic native speakers and speak with at least one person every day these small daily habits will

make a huge difference exactly and coming up next we'll wrap things up with our final thoughts and a special challenge for our listeners so stay with us wow Julia we've covered so many powerful techniques today from overcoming overthinking to daily speaking habits but before we wrap up let's leave our listeners with some final words and motivation absolutely Jason if there's one thing I want our listeners to remember it's this Perfection is not the goal communication is you don't need perfect grammar or a huge vocabulary to speak English well you just need the confidence to try

that's so true the biggest mistake Learners make is waiting until they feel ready before they start speaking but guess what the only way to feel ready is to start speaking now exactly and remember making mistakes is not a failure it's part of learning every mistake you make is proof that you're improving and getting better so instead of being afraid embrace the process I love that and to all our listeners don't let fear hold you back set yourself a challenge speak in English every single day even if it's just for a minute the more you do

it the easier it will become yes and surround yourself with English as much as possible watch English shows listen to English podcasts read in English and most importantly speak as much as you can exactly so before we go here's a quick challenge for you right after this podcast take one minute and talk about what you learned today just say it out loud no writing no thinking just speaking that's a great challenge Jason and remember you are capable of learning English fluently just take it one step at a time stay consistent and most importantly enjoy the

journey absolutely thank you all for listening and don't forget to keep practicing we'll see you in the next episode of the English learning podcast bye everyone keep speaking and keep growing