It's Not That Your English Is Bad; You're Just a "Food Critic" Who Never Cooks

Do you feel the same way?

You've studied English for over a decade, your vocabulary exceeds 10,000 words, and you can understand most American dramas without subtitles. But the moment you get a chance to speak, your mind instantly goes blank. Those familiar words and sentence structures feel like they never belonged to you.

Don't get discouraged; this isn't your fault. The problem isn't that you haven't "learned" enough, but that you've never truly "taken action."

Imagine, learning English is like learning to cook.

You've spent a long time memorizing all the recipes in the world (memorizing vocabulary, learning grammar), and you've watched countless episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (watching American dramas, practicing listening). You can recite the standards for "Michelin Three Stars" backward and forward; you're clearly a top-tier "food critic."

But the problem is, the stove in your own kitchen has never even been turned on once.

Your brain is like a library filled with top-tier recipes, but your mouth and tongue are like novices who have never set foot in a kitchen. This is why we clearly "understand" English, but can't "speak" it.

It's time to stop collecting recipes, step into the kitchen, and cook a few dishes yourself.

Step One: Follow the Recipe and Get the Dish Cooked

At first, no one expects you to invent your own dishes. The simplest thing is to follow existing recipes, step by step.

This is "reading aloud" and "shadowing."

Find an audio recording you like. It can be a speech, a podcast episode, or even an interview with your idol.

1. First, understand the recipe (comprehend the content): Make sure you understand what the passage is saying.
2. Listen to how the master chef does it (listen to the audio): Listen repeatedly, paying attention to the tone, rhythm, and pauses of native speakers. It's not just a piling up of words, but a kind of music.
3. Turn on the heat and warm the pan (read aloud): Read it out loud and confidently. Don't rush, but imitate it accurately. Your goal isn't to "read it correctly," but to "perform it like an actor."

This process is training your "oral muscle memory." Just like a chef practicing chopping vegetables – it's clumsy at first, but after a thousand repetitions, it becomes instinct. You're not learning new knowledge; you're syncing the knowledge in your brain with your body's "hardware."

Step Two: Experiment Boldly in Your Own Kitchen

Once you've mastered a few "signature dishes," you can start to get creative. This step is called "talking to yourself."

Sounds a bit silly? But this is the safest and most effective step to becoming a "master chef."

In your own kitchen, no one will laugh at you. You can:

• Describe what's in front of you: "Okay, I'm holding my phone. It's black. I'm about to open the weather app." Turn your inner monologue directly into English speech.
• Practice playing two roles: Simulate an interview scene, asking yourself questions and answering yourself. This can magically help you practice the most difficult "interrogative sentences."
• Recap your day: Lying in bed at night, use the 5W1H method (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How) to recount what happened today.

The key point of this stage is: break free from dependence on written words.

You're no longer cooking by looking at a recipe, but relying on memory and intuition to form sentences in your mind, and then directly outputting them through your mouth, this "exit." So what if your grammar is wrong or your word choice is inappropriate? This is your kitchen; you're the boss. Keep making mistakes, keep correcting them, and your "English brain" will gradually take shape during this process.

Step Three: Host a Real "Dinner Party"

Alright, your cooking skills have improved; it's time to invite guests and host a real dinner party. This is "conversing with real people."

This is the most daunting step, but also the one that allows for rapid growth. Because real conversations involve pressure, surprises, and turns you can never predict.

"But I'm in Taiwan, where can I find foreigners?" "What if I speak poorly, and the other person loses patience?"

These anxieties are completely normal. But fortunately, we live in an era of highly advanced technology. You don't need to go to bars or international exchange events to easily host a perfect "dinner party."

Imagine if, while you were cooking, you had a little AI assistant next to you who could remind you in real-time when you forget the next step, and help you smooth things over when you mess up? How great would that be?

This is what a tool like Intent can do. It's a chat app with built-in AI real-time translation. When you're chatting with friends from around the world and suddenly get stuck or can't find the perfect word, the AI can immediately translate for you, allowing the conversation to flow smoothly.

It's like your "secret weapon" at the dinner party, allowing you to enjoy the pleasure of real conversation without worrying about the embarrassment of messing up the whole event due to poor cooking skills. It lowers the barrier to "hosting a dinner party" to the absolute minimum.

Stop being that "food critic" who only reviews but never gets hands-on.

Your brain already has enough recipes. Now, all you need to do is step into the kitchen, light the stove, even if the first dish is just a simple fried egg.

Starting today, speak up. Your English is much better than you think.