I Understand English, But I Can’t Speak! Here’s Why | A2–B1 English Podcast — Transcript

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1. 0:03[music]
2. 0:06>> Hello everyone and welcome to another
3. 0:09conversation here on Sound English
4. 0:11Channel. I'm Lily.
5. 0:13>> And I'm Sam. Lily, please tell me I am
6. 0:16not the only person who suddenly forgets
7. 0:18how to talk.
8. 0:19>> Wait, you forgot how to talk? But you're
9. 0:22talking to me right now.
10. 0:23>> No, not like this. I mean in another
11. 0:25language. I was trying to order coffee
12. 0:27in Spanish this morning.
13. 0:29>> Oh, you've been practicing Spanish on
14. 0:31your phone, right?
15. 0:33>> Every single day. I know the words, I
16. 0:35know the menu. I walked into the cafe
17. 0:37feeling great, but when the barista
18. 0:39looked at me and said something, I just
19. 0:42stood there.
20. 0:42>> Oh, no. What did you say?
21. 0:44>> Nothing. My mind just went blank,
22. 0:47completely empty.
23. 0:48>> So you just stared at him?
24. 0:50>> Yeah, for like 5 seconds. And I
25. 0:52panicked, pointed at the machine, and
26. 0:54just said, "Coffee, please." in English.
27. 0:57>> You spoke English in a Spanish cafe?
28. 1:00>> I panicked. I knew the Spanish words,
29. 1:03Lily. I really did, but my brain just
30. 1:05stopped working.
31. 1:06>> You know, that is exactly what we are
32. 1:09talking about today. And I think almost
33. 1:11every English learner listening right
34. 1:13now knows that exact feeling.
35. 1:16>> It is the most frustrating feeling in
36. 1:18the world.
37. 1:19>> It really is. You listen to English
38. 1:21podcasts, you watch YouTube videos, you
39. 1:24understand everything, but when you open
40. 1:27your mouth, nothing comes out.
41. 1:29>> Yes. Or you only say very simple things
42. 1:32like yes, no, or thank you.
43. 1:35>> Exactly. So today, let's talk about why
44. 1:38this happens. Why can you understand
45. 1:41English perfectly, but you can't speak
46. 1:43it when you really need to?
47. 1:45>> I used to think I just wasn't smart
48. 1:46enough.
49. 1:47>> No, it has nothing to do with being
50. 1:49smart. I think it's because listening
51. 1:52and speaking are two completely
52. 1:54different skills.
53. 1:55>> What do you mean? They're both English.
54. 1:57>> True, but think about sports. Do you
55. 2:00watch football, Sam?
56. 2:01>> Yeah, I watch it all the time.
57. 2:03>> Okay, so you understand the rules, you
58. 2:06know what a good pass looks like, you
59. 2:08can see when a player makes a mistake.
60. 2:10>> Sure, I shout at the TV when they do
61. 2:12something wrong.
62. 2:13>> Right, but if I put you on a football
63. 2:16field with professional players, could
64. 2:18you play?
65. 2:18>> Uh, no. I would probably fall over.
66. 2:21>> Exactly, because understanding the game
67. 2:25and playing the game use different
68. 2:27muscles. Language is the same thing.
69. 2:29>> That actually makes a lot of sense. When
70. 2:31I listen, I don't have to do the hard
71. 2:33work. The other person is doing the
72. 2:35work.
73. 2:35>> Exactly. When you watch a movie in
74. 2:38English, you're safe. You're just
75. 2:40receiving information.
76. 2:42>> And if I don't understand one word, it's
77. 2:43fine. I can guess the meaning from the
78. 2:45picture, or I can just turn on the
79. 2:47subtitles.
80. 2:48>> Right, but real life doesn't have
81. 2:50subtitles.
82. 2:51>> I wish it did. Life would be so much
83. 2:54easier.
84. 2:55>> So, when someone asks you a question in
85. 2:58real life, you suddenly have to produce
86. 3:01the language. You have to find the right
87. 3:03words, put them in the right order, and
88. 3:05use the right grammar.
89. 3:07>> And you have to do it fast. I think the
90. 3:09speed is the real problem.
91. 3:11>> Yes, it's because you're on the spot.
92. 3:13>> On the spot. Yeah, all the attention is
93. 3:16on you.
94. 3:17>> Right, when you put someone on the spot,
95. 3:20you ask them to do something immediately
96. 3:22with no time to prepare. That pressure
97. 3:25changes everything.
98. 3:26>> It really does. If you give me 5
99. 3:29minutes, I can write a beautiful English
100. 3:31sentence, but if you look at me and wait
101. 3:32for an answer, my mind just goes blank.
102. 3:35>> There's that phrase again, go blank.
103. 3:38It's like a computer screen turning off.
104. 3:40>> Exactly.
105. 3:41You know, I actually disagree with you
106. 3:43about one thing, Lily.
107. 3:44>> Oh, about what?
108. 3:46>> You said listening and speaking use
109. 3:47different skills. I think the real
110. 3:50reason we can't speak is just
111. 3:51vocabulary. We don't know enough words.
112. 3:54>> Hmm, I'm not sure about that. I think
113. 3:57most learners actually know a lot of
114. 3:59words.
115. 4:00>> Really? Then why can't we find them when
116. 4:02we talk?
117. 4:03>> Because there are two types of
118. 4:05vocabulary, passive and active.
119. 4:08>> Okay, now you sound like an English
120. 4:10teacher.
121. 4:11>> Let me explain. Think about your
122. 4:13clothes. You have a closet full of
123. 4:15clothes, right?
124. 4:16>> Yeah, too many clothes.
125. 4:18>> Passive vocabulary is like all the
126. 4:20clothes you own. You know you have them,
127. 4:23you recognize them, but active
128. 4:25vocabulary is the clothes you actually
129. 4:27wear every day.
130. 4:29>> Ah, I see.
131. 4:30>> When you listen, you use your passive
132. 4:32vocabulary. You hear a word and your
133. 4:35brain says, "Oh, I know that word."
134. 4:37>> But when I speak, I need my active
135. 4:39vocabulary.
136. 4:40>> Exactly. And if you don't use a word
137. 4:42very often, it stays in the back of the
138. 4:45closet. When you're on the spot, you
139. 4:47don't have time to dig through the
140. 4:48closet to find it.
141. 4:50>> That is a great way to think about it. I
142. 4:52have so many English words in the back
143. 4:54of my closet.
144. 4:55>> We all do, even native speakers do. So,
145. 4:58to the people listening right now, does
146. 5:00this happen to you? Do you feel like you
147. 5:02know thousands of words, but you always
148. 5:04use the same 10 words when you speak?
149. 5:07>> I bet everyone is nodding right now. I
150. 5:09know I do that when I try to speak
151. 5:11another language. I want to say
152. 5:12something interesting, but I end up
153. 5:14saying that is very good.
154. 5:16>> Yes, I always just say, "Oh, nice." It
155. 5:19sounds so boring. But there's another
156. 5:22big reason why speaking is so hard. It's
157. 5:25a habit that almost every learner has.
158. 5:27>> What is it?
159. 5:28>> You translate in your head.
160. 5:30>> Oh, yeah, that is a trap. I used to do
161. 5:33that all the time.
162. 5:34>> I think everyone starts by doing this.
163. 5:37Someone speaks to you in English. First,
164. 5:39you translate what they said into your
165. 5:41native language.
166. 5:43>> Right, then you think of your answer in
167. 5:44your native language.
168. 5:46>> Then you have to translate your answer
169. 5:48back into English.
170. 5:50>> And then you check the grammar.
171. 5:51>> And then finally you open your mouth to
172. 5:54speak.
173. 5:54>> But by that time the other person has
174. 5:56already walked away.
175. 5:57>> Exactly. It takes too much time. You
176. 6:00cannot translate in your head and have a
177. 6:03natural conversation at the same time.
178. 6:06The brain just can't work that fast.
179. 6:08>> It's exhausting. I remember doing this a
180. 6:11few years ago. Actually, no, many years
181. 6:14ago when I first started learning. After
182. 6:16a 10-minute conversation I felt like I
183. 6:18had run a marathon.
184. 6:19>> Because your brain is doing four jobs at
185. 6:22once. Listening, translating, thinking,
186. 6:25and translating again.
187. 6:27>> So how do we stop doing that? It feels
188. 6:30automatic.
189. 6:31>> It takes practice. You have to start
190. 6:33forcing yourself to think in English
191. 6:35even with simple things.
192. 6:37>> Like when you wake up just think I am
193. 6:39tired instead of thinking it in your
194. 6:41language.
195. 6:42>> Yes, but there's something else that
196. 6:44makes us translate and hesitate and it's
197. 6:46probably the biggest problem of all.
198. 6:49>> Let me guess, fear?
199. 6:51>> Close, perfectionism. We want to be
200. 6:54perfect.
201. 6:55>> Oh, definitely. We overthink everything.
202. 6:58>> Yes, you overthink the grammar. You
203. 7:00worry if you should use in or on or at.
204. 7:04>> I have a heavy fear of making mistakes.
205. 7:06>> A strong fear.
206. 7:07>> Right, a strong fear. You see, even now
207. 7:10I make mistakes. But when I was younger
208. 7:12I overthought Wait, over thought I
209. 7:15overthought every single sentence.
210. 7:18>> And what happens when you overthink?
211. 7:20>> You freeze. Your mind goes blank again.
212. 7:22>> Exactly. I remember when I was traveling
213. 7:25in France a woman asked me for
214. 7:28directions to the train station. I knew
215. 7:30the way, it was just down the street.
216. 7:33>> Did you know the French words?
217. 7:34>> I did. I knew straight, left, and right.
218. 7:38But I wanted to make a perfect sentence.
219. 7:41I wanted to say, "You need to walk
220. 7:43straight for two blocks and then turn
221. 7:46left."
222. 7:46>> That's a complicated sentence for a
223. 7:48quick question.
224. 7:49>> I know. And because I was trying to
225. 7:52build this perfect sentence in my head,
226. 7:55I just stood there looking at her.
227. 7:57Finally, I just pointed and said,
228. 8:00"There."
229. 8:01>> Just there?
230. 8:03>> Yes. I felt so stupid. I walked away
231. 8:07thinking, "Why didn't I just say go
232. 8:09straight?"
233. 8:10>> Because you overthought it. We all do
234. 8:12it. We want to sound smart. We want to
235. 8:15sound like native speakers.
236. 8:16>> But real communication isn't about being
237. 8:19perfect. It's just about sharing a
238. 8:21message.
239. 8:23>> So, what is the solution? If I'm at a
240. 8:25cafe or talking to a co-worker and I
241. 8:28feel my brain freezing, what should I
242. 8:30do?
243. 8:31>> You just need to spit it out.
244. 8:33>> Spit it out. I love that phrase.
245. 8:36>> Yeah. When you spit something out of
246. 8:38your mouth, it's fast, right? You don't
247. 8:41hold it. In conversation, it means just
248. 8:44say the words. Don't worry if they are
249. 8:46beautiful. Just spit it out.
250. 8:49>> If you need water, don't stand there
251. 8:51thinking, "Excuse me, could I possibly
252. 8:53have a glass of water, please?" Just
253. 8:55say, "Water, please."
254. 8:57>> Exactly. Let's actually try this. Let's
255. 9:00do a quick role play.
256. 9:02>> Uh-oh. Am I on the spot again?
257. 9:04>> Yes, you are. I'm going to ask you a
258. 9:06question. You cannot translate in your
259. 9:09head. You cannot overthink the grammar.
260. 9:12You just have to spit it out. Ready?
261. 9:15>> Okay. I'm ready.
262. 9:16>> Sam, what is the best thing you ate this
263. 9:19week?
264. 9:20>> Uh pizza. I had pizza on Tuesday. It was
265. 9:23great.
266. 9:24>> Good. See? You hesitated for a second,
267. 9:27but you didn't try to build a huge
268. 9:29sentence.
269. 9:31>> It was hard, though. My brain wanted to
270. 9:33say, "The most delicious meal I consumed
271. 9:35this week was
272. 9:37>> Nobody talks like that in real life.
273. 9:40>> I know, but when we learn English from
274. 9:42textbooks, we think we have to sound
275. 9:44like a book.
276. 9:45>> Right. Now, let's turn it over to the
277. 9:47audience. We're going to do a mini
278. 9:50practice with you right now.
279. 9:52>> Ooh, I like this. Listeners, are you
280. 9:54ready?
281. 9:54>> I am going to ask you a simple question.
282. 9:57Don't think about it. Don't pause the
283. 10:00audio. Just answer out loud wherever you
284. 10:03are. Spit it out.
285. 10:05>> Even if you're on a bus, just whisper
286. 10:06it.
287. 10:07>> Here is the question. What are you going
288. 10:10to do this weekend?
289. 10:11>> Did you say it? Or did your mind go
290. 10:13blank?
291. 10:14>> If it went blank, that's okay. It just
292. 10:16means you need more practice making your
293. 10:18active vocabulary work faster.
294. 10:21>> So, how do we actually practice this? I
295. 10:24can't always find a native speaker to
296. 10:26talk to.
297. 10:26>> You don't need one. You can practice by
298. 10:28yourself.
299. 10:29>> Like talking to the wall?
300. 10:32>> Yes, actually. Or talking to the mirror.
301. 10:35Or just talking to yourself while you
302. 10:37clean your house.
303. 10:38>> I actually do this. When I'm driving, I
304. 10:40describe what I see in English. That car
305. 10:43is red. The traffic is bad today.
306. 10:45>> That is a perfect exercise. It trains
307. 10:48your mouth to make the sounds without
308. 10:50pressure.
309. 10:51>> Wait, is the mouth thing important? Like
310. 10:53the physical muscles?
311. 10:55>> Very important. Speaking is physical. If
312. 10:58your mouth has never formed the English
313. 11:01words, it will feel strange when you try
314. 11:03to say them in a real conversation.
315. 11:06>> That makes so much sense. I can read a
316. 11:08word 100 times, but if I never say it
317. 11:10out loud, my mouth doesn't know how to
318. 11:11move.
319. 11:12>> Exactly. That's why shadowing is also a
320. 11:15great tool.
321. 11:16>> Shadowing? Like following someone in the
322. 11:18dark?
323. 11:19>> No. Shadowing is an English practice
324. 11:22technique. You listen to a native
325. 11:24speaker, like on a podcast, and you
326. 11:27repeat exactly what they say right after
327. 11:30they say it.
328. 11:31>> Oh, like an echo.
329. 11:32>> Yes, it helps you with pronunciation,
330. 11:35rhythm, and just getting used to the
331. 11:37feeling of speaking English.
332. 11:39>> So, I could shadow this podcast.
333. 11:42>> Absolutely. Listeners, you can take any
334. 11:44minute of this episode and just repeat
335. 11:47after us. Don't worry about
336. 11:49understanding every single grammar rule.
337. 11:51Just make the sounds.
338. 11:53>> I think the biggest takeaway for me
339. 11:55today is accepting mistakes.
340. 11:57>> Yeah, you have to be okay with sounding
341. 12:00a little bit silly sometimes.
342. 12:02>> If you wait until your English is
343. 12:04perfect before you speak, you will never
344. 12:06speak.
345. 12:07>> Exactly. Real life is messy.
346. 12:09Conversations are messy. We start
347. 12:11sentences and don't finish them. We
348. 12:14forget words. We use the wrong tense.
349. 12:17>> Even in our native languages. I forget
350. 12:19words in my own language all the time.
351. 12:21>> We all do. So, why do we expect our
352. 12:23English to be 100% perfect?
353. 12:27>> Because school taught us that mistakes
354. 12:28are bad.
355. 12:29>> Right. In a test, a mistake means you
356. 12:32lose points. In real life, a mistake
357. 12:35just means you're trying. As long as the
358. 12:37other person understands you, it's a
359. 12:39successful conversation.
360. 12:41>> I need to remember this next time I try
361. 12:43to order coffee.
362. 12:44>> Yes, please. Don't let your mind go
363. 12:47blank next time.
364. 12:48>> I will try, but if I get put on the spot
365. 12:51again,
366. 12:52>> just don't overthink it. Don't translate
367. 12:55in your head.
368. 12:56>> I won't. I'll just spit it out, even if
369. 12:58it's bad Spanish.
370. 12:59>> Bad Spanish is better than standing in
371. 13:01silence for 5 seconds.
372. 13:04>> Fair enough.
373. 13:04>> Well, we covered quite a lot today. I
374. 13:07hope this helps anyone who feels stuck
375. 13:09between understanding and speaking.
376. 13:12>> It is a very normal stage of learning.
377. 13:14Don't be too hard on yourself.
378. 13:16>> Exactly. Keep practicing your active
379. 13:19vocabulary. Talk to yourself in the car.
380. 13:22Answer questions out loud.
381. 13:23>> And before we go, we want to hear from
382. 13:25you.
383. 13:26>> Yes. tell us in the comments, what is a
384. 13:29situation that always makes your mind go
385. 13:32blank? Is it ordering food, talking on
386. 13:35the phone, or answering a question at
387. 13:37work?
388. 13:38>> Let us know. We read all the comments.
389. 13:40>> If you found this conversation helpful,
390. 13:42please like the video and subscribe to
391. 13:45Sound English Channel for more real
392. 13:47English practice.
393. 13:49>> And share it with a friend who also
394. 13:50forgets how to talk sometimes.
395. 13:52>> Thanks for listening everyone.
396. 13:53>> And tomorrow, I'm going back to that
397. 13:55cafe, I will order that coffee in
398. 13:57Spanish.
399. 13:58>> I'll believe it when I see it.
400. 14:00>> I'll take a video.