It's Not Your English That's the Problem, You're Just a 'Fake Chef' Who Hoards Recipes

Does this sound like you?

You've studied English for over a decade, churned through vocabulary book after vocabulary book, and know grammar rules back to front. But when it comes to actually speaking, your mind just blanks, and after struggling for ages, you can only manage to squeeze out, "Fine, thank you, and you?"

We always assume it's because our vocabulary isn't big enough, our pronunciation is off, or our grammar is terrible. But that might not be the truth at all.

Today, I want to give you a completely new perspective: Learning English is actually just like learning to cook.

Why Can't You Just 'Open Your Mouth'?

Imagine you want to become a master chef. So, you buy every top-tier cookbook in the world. You've memorised 'The French Culinary Bible' back to front, you know the definitions of 'blanching' and 'confit' inside out, and you can even draw the molecular structure of spices with your eyes closed.

But there's one problem: you've never actually set foot in a kitchen.

This is the dilemma for most English learners. We are 'recipe collectors', not actual 'chefs'.

• Hoarding recipes, but never getting stuck in: We furiously memorise words and learn grammar, just like collecting recipes. But language is meant to be 'done', not just looked at. If you don't open your mouth, it's like locking precious ingredients (vocabulary) and exquisite utensils (grammar) in a cupboard, letting them gather dust.
• Afraid of messing up, not daring to 'light the stove': Afraid of saying it wrong, afraid of mispronouncing, afraid the other person won't understand... Just like a novice chef, always worried about burning the dish or adding too much salt, so they don't even dare to light the stove. But which master chef didn't start by burning a few dishes? Making mistakes is part of cooking (and speaking).
• Monotonous dishes, bland expression: Even if you pluck up the courage to speak, it's always the same few phrases: "It's good." "It's interesting." Just like a chef who only seasons every dish with salt, no matter what they cook. Your conversations are bland and uninteresting, not because you lack ideas, but because you haven't learned to use richer 'seasonings' (vivid vocabulary and sentence structures) to present your thoughts.

See, the problem isn't that you don't have enough 'recipes'; it's that you've never truly stepped into the kitchen and cooked a dish with your own hands, for yourself or for others.

How to Transform from a 'Recipe Collector' into a 'Kitchen Whiz'?

Stop just reading and not doing. Real growth happens in every moment you light the stove, every stir-fry, every taste.

First Step: Start with the simplest dish – talk to yourself

Nobody expects you to make 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' on day one. Start with the simplest 'fried egg'.

Spend a few minutes each day describing what you're doing, what you see, and how you feel, in English.

"Okay, I’m making coffee now. The water is hot. I love the smell."

This might sound a bit daft, but it's your 'kitchen simulator'. It allows you to familiarise yourself with your utensils (grammar) and use your ingredients (vocabulary) in a zero-pressure environment, getting your brain used to thinking in this new 'cooking logic' of English.

Second Step: Step into the real kitchen – talk to real people

After practising by yourself for a while, you need to know how your dishes taste. You need to find a friend willing to 'taste' your cooking.

This might have been hard in the past, but now, the world is your kitchen.

Find a language exchange partner, or join an online community. The key is to find a real environment where you can continuously practise. Here, you might run into a problem: What if you're halfway through a chat and suddenly can't recall a key 'ingredient' (word)? The atmosphere instantly turns awkward, and the conversation grinds to a halt.

It's like finding you're missing a seasoning while cooking. What would a smart chef do? They'd use a tool.

That's why we recommend tools like Intent. It's like an AI master chef whispering in your ear. When you're stuck, it can translate for you in real-time, allowing you to seamlessly find that word and keep the conversation flowing. You no longer have to ruin an entire precious 'cooking' experience just because of a small vocabulary issue. It lets you focus on the joy of communication, not the pain of looking up words.

Third Step: Enjoy the joy of creation, not the pursuit of perfection

Remember, the goal of learning English isn't to speak perfect sentences with 100% correct grammar, just like the goal of cooking isn't to replicate a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The goal is to create and share.

It's about using your language to share an interesting story, express a unique perspective, and forge genuine connections with people from different cultural backgrounds.

When you shift your focus from 'I can't make mistakes' to 'I want to connect', you'll find that speaking suddenly becomes easy and natural. The other person isn't worried about whether your tenses are correct, but about the sincerity in your eyes and the enthusiasm in your words.

So, stop being that 'fake chef' trembling with a cookbook.

Step into your kitchen, light the stove, and boldly 'cook' your thoughts into language. Even if your first dish is a bit salty and your second a bit bland, as long as you keep getting stuck in, one day you'll create a delicious meal that will astound the world.

What will your first dish be?