This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 45, Train Your Brain to Speak Real English.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast where you'll finally get real native English conversation and fluency for business and life.
We believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
Now here are your hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Boston and New York City, USA.
Hey.
What is the best way to learn English?
Go on stage.
Today, learn how Michelle mastered music by going on stage and how you can do the same with your English.
Do you ever feel like your English is good but not quite where you want it to be?
Maybe you can have conversations, but you still hesitate when expressing complex ideas.
Maybe you know what you want to say. but you can't always say it naturally.
If that sounds familiar, our B2 English fluency course was designed for you.
You'll learn how to speak more naturally, express yourself with confidence and finally stop feeling stuck at the intermediate level.
This week, you can save $50 on our basic plan or save $100 on our personal coach plan.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2.
That's allearsenglish.com slash letter B number two.
Hey Michelle, what's shakin'?
Hey, Lindsay, not too much, not too much.
How are you?
Oh, my gosh.
I'm excited to be back here today on All Ears English.
Guys, if you are not following, if you have not hit follow or subscribe to All Ears English to this show, make sure you do it.
Michelle, what are we talking about today?
Okay.
Well, today, this is an interesting topic, really.
We're going to be talking about training your brain to speak real English.
I mean, Lindsay, what do we mean by that?
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, first of all, we know that you guys and that's why we created All Ears English, because we know that you guys are tired of the old way the classrooms, the textbooks, the memorization, the obsession about grammar right.
So the first thing is we change our mindset about the way, about why we're learning.
Michelle, why are we learning English to begin with?
I believe that, you know, we're looking to connect with people.
We're looking to build relationships.
Yeah, we're looking to connect guys, like we said, connection, not perfection.
So when we think about why are you learning English?
I mean, I think For so many people, I mean myself, when I've been trying to learn other languages.
Probably Lindsay for you.
When it really comes down to, is this connection?
Mm hmm.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And then we know why.
And that already will move you way, way ahead of the game guys, if you know exactly why you're learning.
Right.
Because there's a new motivation.
Now we're thinking about the people.
We're not thinking about the grammar constructions anymore.
Right, Michelle?
I love that.
Definitely.
It is really just a new outlook.
So you know, I mean the way that you learned English when you were in school and you're little, or maybe how you're learning now, sitting with a textbook.
Guys, that's you know.
We want to take a new approach.
We want to have a new angle on this.
So, Lindsay, we have a quote that we wanted to share, right?
Exactly.
Here we go.
So here's the quote for today.
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.
And that's by the famous Albert Einstein.
Michelle, I feel like Albert Einstein has had a lot of quotes.
He's had a lot of quotes and a lot of things.
Yes, yes.
And this is a really great one.
I mean, yeah.
So not learning of the facts, but training of the mind to think.
So this makes me think of like history class.
I was actually just discussing this with someone the other day.
Oh, cool.
So because when I remember –
I was in history class and I would just learn to learn.
I would learn to memorize it to pass the test.
And it worked.
You know, that worked.
But did I retain it?
Did I actually learn how to think?
I think that's kind of, and now, when I look back on it, I'm kind of I kind of feel like oh, I wish I had paid more attention.
I wish I had learned in a different way rather than just learning to memorize.
Exactly, Michelle.
I did the same thing.
And it worked for me too, right?
If you put in a decent amount of work into something, you can memorize anything.
But the problem with that is that we're memorizing it completely out of context.
I think that's the key here.
You know, on this show we want to show you English in context.
All about connection, all about people and how natives would use it in a real way.
But your textbooks just show it to you in a very isolated, non-contextual way.
Right, Michelle?
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
So guys, now we need to try a new way, right?
We need to learn by training the mind to think, like Einstein said, and learn in this, I think, more genuine way.
Exactly.
You know, it makes me think of, you know, just going back to the history class stuff.
I mean nothing, you know, I memorize the facts about, for example, you know, Germany in the 40s right.
But nothing could ever replace, for one thing, going to where Anne Frank was hiding, right?
That the annex, right?
That famous place we're visiting.
I don't know Paris and seeing the museums like nothing can can be a substitute for that, because I'm seeing it in context and I'm learning it kind of as a whole person.
Everything right.
The smells, the sights, the sounds, all of these things.
So, guys, it doesn't mean you have to travel to the country or go to this museum.
It means you need to envision the language in a real situation.
Right, Michelle?
Exactly, exactly.
And I mean, it makes me think also of just like, I like to play music.
I mean, and I can you know go to.
I mean, I could watch a music lesson, I can watch a video, right?
But I'm not gonna learn it unless I have that hands on experience, right?
You can't just kind of learn something without actually doing it getting your muscles engaged, memorizing things, getting that muscle memory.
So that's just another thing.
You can't replace that.
Yeah.
Tell us a little bit, Michelle, about your experience with music.
So what instrument?
So do you sing?
Do you play instruments?
Tell us if our listeners don't know you yet.
We're getting to know you here on the show.
Episode 45.
Tell us about your musical skills and how you learn music.
So I, so I play.
I grew up playing flute and I play piano and I play guitar and some ukulele, but mostly out of all of those things I like to sing.
So I would say that's like my number one.
And then the instruments, like I dabble, you know.
Yeah.
But as far as learning it, I mean, I took voice lessons.
I, you know, I did all those lessons.
But if I wasn't going to actually like –
I think I would learn the most then from doing performances because there's something different.
I mean, and this really goes to language learning too, I think, about those nerves in the moment.
Like when you're with your teacher or when you're just rehearsing, practicing like you have like – your breath is different.
You feel more at ease, right?
When you go in front of the audience –
Everything in your body kind of changes because you don't have the same breath control because, no matter what, you're a little bit nervous.
So you might not feel like if you want to hit a high note, you might feel more nervous and you might not have the breath.
So going out and like preparing for that and learning how that actually feels.
Ooh, that's a great example.
Yeah.
Thank you.
I love that idea.
Thank you.
So yeah, for language learning, it's the same thing.
It's like we can practice with our textbooks, but then when we get out there, then our nerves come into play, right?
So you have to learn by continuing to do that and getting used to that feeling.
Like what does it feel like when I'm nervous?
Like what happens and kind of investigating that and seeing like what solutions you can find through practice.
Yes, I love that.
That is so good.
So guys, make sure as much as you can go on stage, quote unquote, right?
Get in the real world with your English.
Try to interact.
You can find language exchange partners online.
There are ways to do this to make it real.
You're right, Michelle.
Go on stage.
I love that.
That's the theme of today's episode.
So good.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Oh, my gosh.
This was fun.
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing a little bit about your music experience.
And guys, make sure again you hit follow because you don't want to miss a single episode of All Ears English.
You know, in the next one, we are going to be doing some. really great things.
In the next couple episodes we're going to interview someone from New York City, a New York City local, a native from New York.
We're going to talk about ordering coffee and pizza in English.
We've got some good stuff coming up soon.
So Michelle, I will see you in those next episodes.
All right, Lindsay, have a good day.
Bye, everyone.
Bye.
Bye.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, follow our show wherever you listen to podcasts to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.
