Transcript of How to Train Your Brain and Mouth to Speak in English | English Speaking Tips | English Podcast

[Music] Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. English Channel. I'm Emily and I'm Paul. We are so happy to be here with you today. It's always a joy to share our English tips. Yes, Paul. It really is. And before we start our wonderful chat today, please remember to like this video. Share it with your friends and subscribe to our channel if you haven't already. It helps us a lot. Exactly. Your support means the world to us. Thank you. So, Paul, today we have a super important topic. It's about training your mouth and your mind for English. Hm. What do you think about that? Oh, Emily, I love this topic. It's something many people ask us about. They say, "Paul, I understand English. I can read it. I can listen to it, but I can't speak." Yes, exactly. It's a very common problem. Many people understand English very well, right? They know a lot of words, they understand movies, songs, but when it's time to speak, it feels difficult. Why do you think that happens, Paul? Hm, that's a great question, Emily. I think it's because they don't train their mouth. It's like knowing how to drive a car from a book, but never actually sitting in the car and driving. Your brain knows, but your body doesn't have the practice. Yes. It's like your brain knows the answer, but your mouth doesn't want to say it. It feels stuck, maybe. Yes. Stuck. or maybe shy or just slow. Our mouths are used to speaking our first language, right? So, speaking English needs special practice. That's a wonderful point, Paul. Our mouths are muscles in a way. Not like arm muscles, but they need training. Yes, exactly like going to the gym. Think about it. If you want strong arms, you go to the gym and lift weights, right? You don't just think about lifting weights, you do it. That's a good example. And you don't go to the gym once and have big muscles, right? It takes time and regular practice. Exactly. The same is true for your mouth muscles when you speak English. You need to train them to make the sounds, to make the words flow naturally. When you start, it might feel strange, a little bit stiff, but with practice, it becomes easy. H So if someone knows many words but can't speak, it's not because they are not smart, right? It's because their mouth simply hasn't had enough practice. It's a physical thing almost. Yes, it is. It's not about intelligence. It's about muscle memory. Your mouth needs to remember how to form the English sounds. It's about making the sounds natural for your mouth. Wow, that makes so much sense. So, what's a good way to start this mouth training, Paul? Any special techniques? Oh, absolutely, Emily. One of my favorite techniques and a very effective one is called shadowing. Have you heard of it? M shadowing. I think I know what it is. Is it like following a shadow? Yes. In a way, it's like being a shadow of the speaker. Here's how it works. You listen to someone speaking English like in a podcast or a video and then you repeat exactly what they say almost at the same time or right after them. Ah, I see. So, you listen and repeat almost like an echo. Yes, exactly. You try to copy their pronunciation, their intonation, their rhythm. It's like you are an actor trying to sound exactly like the person speaking. You don't just say the words, you try to feel them, too. That sounds like a lot of fun, actually. So, I put on a video and if someone says, "Hello, how are you today?" I say, "Hello, how are you today?" right after them, trying to sound the same. Yes. And the important part is to not stop. Even if you don't understand every word, just keep repeating the sounds. The goal is to get your mouth used to making those English sounds and patterns. Wow, that's a brilliant idea. And it helps with both listening and speaking at the same time. You're listening very carefully to repeat and you're speaking out loud. Precisely. And you can start with very simple things like short sentences. You can find many videos online for beginners. The key is to imitate. That leads us to our next point, Paul. After shadowing, what else can we do? I think repeating simple phrases daily is super helpful. Oh, yes. Repeating simple phrases daily is a gamecher. It's like warm-up exercises for your mouth. When you wake up or during a break, just say some simple English phrases. Yes. Sometimes people feel like they need to say very complex things to practice, but it's not true. Simple phrases help a lot to unlock your mouth. Yes, Emily. For example, phrases like I'm ready or I can do it or let's go. Even good morning or thank you. Yes. And you can say them with feeling like if you are happy say I'm ready with a big smile. If you are a little bit tired say I'm ready in a lower voice. This helps your mouth and also connects words with emotions. That's a great tip, Emily. It makes it more natural. And the more you repeat these simple phrases, the more comfortable your mouth becomes with them. They become automatic. Like when you learn a new song, right? At first you read the lyrics, but after many times you just sing it without thinking. Exactly. These phrases become part of your English habit. And once simple phrases are easy, you can try longer ones. Little by little. Now, this next tip might sound a little funny, but it's very important. Speak out loud even if you're alone. Yes, this is my favorite one. People might look at you strangely if you do it in the supermarket, but in your home it's perfect. Yes, don't be shy. Your home is your safe English zone. You can talk to yourself in English. It might feel silly at first, but it's very powerful. You can talk about your day, what you're doing, what you want to do. For example, h I am making coffee now. It smells good. I need a cup. Yes. Or I need to clean the house today. First, I will clean the kitchen. Then the bedroom. Or even just describe things you see. This is a book. It is read. It is on the table. Yes. And the great thing is you don't need a partner. You are your own best English partner. And nobody is there to correct you so you can speak freely. Right? The goal here is just to make noise in English to get your mouth used to producing sounds. Even if you make mistakes, it's okay. It's your practice time. Exactly. The more you speak aloud, the more natural it feels and your brain starts to connect the words with the actions or objects. It's very, very effective. So, we train our mouths. Now, let's talk about our minds. Paul, how can we start to think in English? It sounds hard, right? It can sound hard, Emily, but it's a process. Step by step, little by little. You don't need to think about complex ideas at first. H. So, not like I wonder about the meaning of life in English right away. No, not that. Start with simple words. When you see a glass of water, think water. When you feel hungry, think I'm hungry. When you feel cold, think it's cold. Ah, I see. So instead of thinking the word in my first language and then translating it to English, I just try to think directly in English. Yes. And it's okay if you don't know all the words. Just use the words you know. And little by little, you can try to think in simple phrases like, "I need to go to the store." Or, "The weather is nice today." Wow, this seems very helpful because sometimes when we speak, we are translating in our heads, right? And that makes us slow. Exactly. When you start to think in English, it changes your fluency. Your brain starts to work directly in English without the extra step of translation. It's like a superhighway for your thoughts. That's a great image, a superhighway. So, start small with single words, then simple phrases. And don't pressure yourself to be perfect. Never. Just try. Every little bit helps. And you will feel your brain changing, becoming more English. So, we are training our mouths. We are training our minds. What else can we do to make English a natural part of our lives, Paul? Ooh, this is fun. You need to make English part of your daily life. It's not just a subject you study. It's a language you live. Yes. So, instead of just studying for an hour, how can we bring English into our normal day? Well, there are many ways. You can use apps for learning English, right? Just for a few minutes while you were on the bus. Yes. And videos. Watch short videos in English. Maybe a simple cartoon or a news report for beginners. Even with subtitles in English, it helps. Absolutely. And audios. Listen to English music or simple English stories. And of course, podcasts like ours. Yes, like ours. Listen to us while you are cooking or walking or cleaning. The more you involve English in your day, the faster your progress will be. It's about immersion, Emily. Even if you are not in an English-speaking country, you can create your own English environment at home. Change your phone language to English. Read short news articles in English. Look at English memes. Wow, memes. Yes, that's a fun way. It doesn't feel like studying, but you are learning words and expressions. Exactly. The more English surrounds you, the more natural it becomes. Your brain gets used to hearing, seeing, and thinking in English without extra effort. It speeds up everything. Paul, this next point is so important for all types of learning, but especially for English. It's about consistency. Ah, yes. Stay consistent. This is key. Many people think they need to study for 2 hours every day, but that's not always possible, right? And then they get tired and they stop. But what if we do just a little bit every day? That's the secret. 5 minutes a day is powerful. Seriously, training every day, even for a short time, is much, much better than studying a lot only once in a while. Yes. It's like the gym example again. Going to the gym for five minutes every day will make you stronger than going for five hours once a month. Exactly. Small, regular efforts build habits. And habits build skills. Your mouth remembers the sounds. Your brain keeps thinking in English. It's a continuous process. And it feels less like a big task, right? Oh, I only need to do 5 minutes of English today. And sometimes those five minutes turn into 10 or 15 because you start enjoying it. That happens all the time. The point is to not break the chain every day. A little bit of English. It builds momentum. It builds confidence. And it tells your brain English is important. We do it every day. Now, this is a beautiful point, Paul, and very important for our confidence. It's about celebrating your voice. Oh, I love this one, Emily. It's so true. Your voice in English is important. It's your voice. Yes. Many people wait to start speaking until they think they are perfect. They think my English is not good. My accent is bad. I will wait. No, don't wait to be perfect to start. You start to become better. Your voice with your unique accent and way of speaking is part of who you are. Exactly. Be proud of your voice. When you speak English, you are communicating and that's what matters most. Don't worry about being perfect. Worry about being understood. And understood is easy even with a little accent. Yes, embrace your accent. It shows where you are from and it's unique. The goal is clear communication, not to sound like a native speaker from a specific country. And when you celebrate your voice, you feel more confident. You feel good about speaking. And when you feel good, you speak more. It's a wonderful cycle. It truly is. So next time you speak English, whether it's to yourself or to a friend, just smile and say, "This is my voice. I am speaking English." Paul, this last point connects everything we talked about today and it's very powerful. It's your brain will follow your mouth. Wow, Emily, that's a deep thought. Can you explain more? Yes. Many times we think we need to know everything perfectly in our heads before we can speak. But it's the opposite. So, you mean when you speak your brain actually learns faster? Yes, exactly. When you use your mouse to form words, to make sounds, to create sentences. Your brain is working in a very active way. It's not just receiving information, it's producing it. Ah, I see. So, the act of speaking is a powerful learning tool in itself. It's not just showing what you know, it's helping you know more. Precisely. The fluency is born in the practice. It's not born in just reading a book or listening to a podcast. Those are important, yes, but the speaking part makes it real for your brain. So, by forcing your mouth to speak, even if it feels difficult at first, your brain quickly catches up and starts to make connections. It's like, oh, we are doing this. I need to help. Yes. It's like your brain is saying, okay, mouth, you are speaking English. I need to give you the words, the grammar, the correct pronunciation quickly. It creates a strong link between sound, meaning, and action. Wow, that's very inspiring. So, don't wait for your brain to be perfect. Start speaking and your brain will get there faster. Yes, exactly. The more you speak, the more natural it becomes and the more your brain adapts to thinking and communicating directly in English. It's a beautiful process. Well, Paul, this has been such an amazing episode. I hope everyone learned a lot about training their mouth and mind. Me, too, Emily. It's all about practice and consistency. You can do it. Yes, you can. And remember everyone, please subscribe to Mr. English Channel if you haven't yet. And share this episode with your friends who are learning English. It can help them a lot. And also leave us a comment below. Tell us what is one simple English phrase you will start repeating daily. We want to know. Yes, we love reading your comments. Thank you so much for joining us today. See you next time on Mr. English Channel. Bye-bye. Bye everyone. Keep practicing. [Music]