35. How to Get Unstuck in English

Ciao. Bueno sera. Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar Shemesh and today we are going to talk about how to get. No, how to not get stuck in English. And maybe I shouldn't be the one telling you what to do because I keep getting stuck, as you could hear right now. Hey, everyone. Welcome back. Thank you so much for being here and for tuning in for another episode. And I just want to say that I think you're very cool for listening to this podcast. I also found out that this podcast is ranked number 87. Well, it was on Wednesday, number 87 of all the educational podcasts in the world. And I'm very grateful. And it could not have been possible without you listening to this podcast, subscribing and just being a supportive, silent listener. Now, silent, but not for long because I don't know if you heard in the last episode that I have added a feature to my website called Ask Hadar where you can ask me any question that you want. And also there is a really cool search bar there where you can put in the exact episode and the exact minute second where I talked about that specific term that you are searching for. So that's one thing that is really cool. But I also added a form where you can submit your questions. But the cooler thing or the coolest is that I also added an option for you to record yourself and upload it to the website. And I would be more than happy to play the audio here on the podcast. So I would play your voice and answer your question. So it's not going to be. So you're no longer a silent listener. You will be an active participant of on my podcast. So go do it. Go to my website, hadar shemesh.com influencypodcast I'll also put a link to it in the show notes. And there just go to Ask Hadar and you will see it. Just make sure that the recording is clear, please, because if it has Beyonce in the background, I would appreciate it, but I won't be able to play it on my podcast. Okay, so go check it out. Now let's talk about what we're going to talk about today. That was a very, very intelligent sentence. Let's talk about what we're going to talk about today in the intro. As you've heard, I'm going to share with you some tips and strategies as to what to do when you get stuck in English. Because getting stuck is part of speaking English as a second language. This is the biggest challenge that non native speakers share with me when they're talking about their English and wanting to become fluent, they want to stop getting stuck. Now, getting stuck is a result of so many different things. So even if you tackle one thing, you may still get stuck because of other elements. It could be emotional, it could be mental. You could just be losing the words. Maybe the words are not accessible. Maybe you don't know how to put it in context. Maybe you're judging yourself. Maybe you want to use a word but your subconscious mind tells you, no, no, you don't know how to pronounce the word. You're going to sound silly, so don't use that word. And then your brain is like, but I need the word.

What should I do now?

So there are many reasons why someone might get stuck and I'm not going to give you the tools on how to become more fluent, which is ultimately what would help you with not getting stuck. I have other videos and podcasts about that. We will post a link to them in the show notes. But you could also go to Ask Hadar on my website and search for them yourself. Ah, technology.

I just love technology.

Anyways, so what I'm giving you here are tips and strategies as to what to do when you get stuck. Okay, so let's say you are doing the work, you're doing everything necessary, but you still get stuck. So there are some tactics and things you can do to be able to come out of it like a queen or a king without anyone else noticing it. So that's what I'm sharing with you today. This is an audio version of an old video that I created, but a really good one. And I think a lot of the people who have been. Who have started following me recently have not seen heard. So we're going to take care of that today. Let's listen to how to get unstuck in English.

Now, the first thing that usually happens when you get stuck is that you get s. And if it was a grammar rule or if it was a hey, it's Hadar. And this is the accent's way. Today we're going to talk about what to do when you get stuck in English. You probably know this feeling where you.

Start speaking and then all of a.

Sudden you go blank. You have no idea what you're trying to say. You don't even know where you started and the words just don't come up. Now it happens to everyone, even in their native tongues. But for you, probably when you're speaking English, and let's say that you're not super confident about your English anyway. When it happens, you can actually freeze up, get super self conscious and be afraid to talk. What you do during that moment where you get stuck and what you should do afterwards to prevent those moments from happening. Now, the first thing that usually happens when you get stuck is that you really stress out. You get nervous about it, you get self conscious and you just freeze. So what you can do is just start your sentence again. Go back to the beginning of the sentence. You can say something like, oh, let me start again or let me try to rephrase it, as if you were just going on a wrong direction, not like you just got stuck, stuck.

And you can't think of the next word.

So you start the sentence again, trusting that your brain will direct you around that moment where you got stuck. So if it was a word that you couldn't find, or if it was the idea that was not fully structured, by the time you start again, you know better where to go. You may not say exactly what you meant to say at the beginning, but you will come out of it rather safely. Another thing you can do is ask for help. So you got stuck. So let's say I'm starting a sentence like, well, the political situation in my country is really what's the word I'm looking for? So that way you're taking off the weight of coming out of this situation on your own and you're sharing it with the person in front of you. And it doesn't matter if it's your friend, your co worker or your boss. So it's totally legit. And people are usually very much inclined to helping other people in those kind of situations. One more thing that usually happens, and I do it all the time, especially in live sessions where I try to teach something and then I get distracted with comments or other ideas that come up to my head. What I usually do is just acknowledge it. I say something like, where was I? I lost my train of thought. And then either the other person will remind me what I was talking about and even if I remember what I was talking about, that will buy me some time to understand what I'm trying to say and restructure it. Now, once the moment has passed and you continued with your conversation, what you can do is observe the situation and try to figure out what happened. What was the trigger that got you stuck? Was it a specific word you were looking for and you couldn't come up with it? Or did you try to say something that is a little more complex or use a certain grammar rule that you weren't sure of. For example an if clause. If it was what if I had had had it been. Try to discover what was the cause for it and learn to just that. So for example, if you were looking for a word that you couldn't come up with and then that got you stuck, then search for this word afterwards. Write it in a place that is available to you and say it out loud. Use it in context. Use it in a sentence. Always use it in a sentence. Memorizing words separately is worthless to my opinion. You always have to use it in context. That's how it actually sticks. And if it was a complex grammar rule, then either study it or go online and search for examples. But do something that will make it clear for you. So next time you need to say something and to use this grammar rule, then you'll know what to do and how to use it. So those situations where you get stuck are actually opportunities for you to learn because it focuses you on what your issues are, what where you still struggle. And then zooming in and practicing just that will help you overcome a struggle that is relevant just for you. And that is how you can become more fluent and more confident in English. Okay, that's it. I hope you liked it. Don't forget, it's not about getting stuck. It's about learning from the experience. Please share this video with your friends and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and and click on the bell to get notifications every time a new video is released. Remember that every struggle is an opportunity to learn. So don't be afraid and speak up. Have a great week and I'll see.

You next week in the next video.