From Passive Knowledge to Active Speaking: Crossing the Most Difficult Barrier

Understanding something usually takes more time than producing it, as you can look back to something you heard or read to understand what it means, but you can’t take back what you have just said, as you need to keep on going with the next part of the sentence. First of all, you probably think in your own language and then translate it into English. That’s why it takes so much time.

A native speaker of a language thinks in that language, so there is no need to spend time on translations. That’s why you need to try to think in English as often as possible. For example, you can describe a place you’re at, or your plan for the day, or you can just think about how you feel at that moment, and what you are looking forward to.

Another big difference is the use of the muscles that are needed to form a word. When you’re speaking, you need to move your tongue, lips, and vocal cords, and this action is a kind of muscle memory. If you don’t exercise it, it’s hard to use it, and it’s the same with speaking. If you don’t use your speaking skills, it’s really hard to produce a word. That’s why you need to speak as much as you can to train your pronunciation. Once you get better at it, you’ll have more time to concentrate on the actual meaning of what you’re saying.

Finally, there is an emotional barrier. You’re probably afraid of saying something wrong, so you just don’t say anything, which will prevent you from improving your skills. You need to get over this fear and accept the fact that you will make mistakes, and that it’s okay. The more you try to say something, the better you will get, and you will be able to get rid of your fear.

When you have overcome the barrier between passive knowledge and speaking skills, you will feel like you have achieved something. You will start to use English instead of just knowing things about it, and that’s a totally different feeling.