You Understand But Can't Speak

July 08, 2025

Why You Understand English but Can’t Speak

By: Slow English Practice Team

Have you ever felt like this?👇

You can understand English movies, videos, or YouTube lessons...
But when it’s time to speak, you freeze.
Your mind goes blank.
Words disappear.

We have been there too.
At Slow English Practice, many of our students — and even some of us on the team — experienced this exact problem.

So why does it happen?
Let’s talk about it.⬇️

✅ My Story (From One of Our Team Members)

A few years ago, I was watching TED Talks daily. I could understand almost everything.
I thought, “Wow! My English is getting better.”

But when I tried to speak in a conversation... I struggled. I couldn’t form sentences easily.
I felt frustrated — and honestly, embarrassed.

It took me a while to understand this:

🧠 Understanding English is a passive skill
🗣️ Speaking English is an active skill

And these two skills don’t grow together unless you practice them both.

🎯 Why You Can Understand English But Can’t Speak 👇👇

Here are 5 big reasons we discovered (and you may relate to some of them)

1. You Don’t Practice Speaking Regularly

You listen and read a lot. But you rarely speak out loud.
Just like watching cricket won’t make you a cricketer, listening won’t make you a speaker.

🗣️ Speaking needs mouth practice — not just mental understanding.

2. Fear of Making Mistakes

Many learners think:

What if I say it wrong?
What will they think of me?

So you stay silent. But silence doesn't help you grow.

✅ Mistakes are how you learn. They are not your enemy — they’re your teacher.

3. You’re Translating in Your Head

You understand English, but you still think in your native language.
So when you speak, you translate every sentence — which slows you down.

💡 Fluent English speakers think in English. That’s a skill you must build step by step.

4. You Don’t Know Common Phrases

You know grammar and vocabulary, but not real spoken phrases like:

“What’s up?”
“I’m just looking.”
“No worries.”

And that makes your speaking unnatural or delayed.

5. Listening is Easy – Speaking Needs More Effort

Listening is input. Speaking is output.
You can understand 100 words — but to say just 10 correctly, you need more effort.

Think of it like music:
You can enjoy a song easily. But playing that song on guitar? That takes real practice.

✅ How to Fix It (Tips from Our Team)

Here’s what actually worked for us and our students:

1. 🔁 Shadow Practice (Repeat What You Hear)

Listen to short clips or scenes.
Then pause and repeat out loud, trying to match the tone, speed, and rhythm.

🎬 Example

Watch a scene from Friends or Modern Family
Say every line like the character

2. 🎤 Speak 5 Sentences Daily (About Your Day)

Talk about:

What you did today
What you ate
What you're planning

Even 5 lines a day can build strong speaking habits.

3. 💬 Use Simple Daily Phrases

Don’t focus on fancy words. Master phrases like:

“I don’t know.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Let me check.”

These are the real tools of spoken English.

4. 🧠 Think in English

Train your brain by:

Describing things around you in English
Asking yourself simple questions in English
Avoiding translation when possible

5. 🎧 Listen AND Repeat

Don’t just listen — respond out loud.
Pretend you're part of the conversation.

Example: If someone in a video says, “How was your day?”
Don’t just listen. Answer it.

“It was great. I went shopping.”

💬 According to Team ⬇️

If you understand English but can’t speak — you’re not alone.
We’ve been there. Many learners face this gap.

But the good news? You can fix it.
Start speaking daily, repeat real phrases, stop chasing perfection — and use your English without fear.

🎯 Don’t just listen to English.
💬 Live in English.

Fluency is not born — it’s built. One sentence at a time.

Thanks for learning with Slow Practice English.Come back tomorrow for more simple and useful speaking

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