Is talking to yourself a good way to learn a language? Also, let's drink coffee?

Quick tips: Is talking to yourself a good way to learn a language?

Hi, everyone! How are you all doing? I hope you are doing great. Today, I'm going to discuss something interesting, even though it is not a new concept for anyone: talking to oneself, or more specifically, can talking to oneself help improve language learning? Additionally, I will be sharing my experience with a beverage loved by the whole world. Yes, we will be discussing coffee. I can already smell the pleasant aroma of coffee in the air. Coffee smells like morning and fresh beginnings. But why coffee? What does coffee have to do with this topic?

First of all, we all know that speaking is essential in language learning because, at the end of the day, it is all about communication. If you are afraid to speak, you will never improve. Here is a summary of how talking to oneself can help in learning a language:

1- You don't need to worry about making mistakes or the way you speak. One of the worst fears of language learners is being made fun of by others. As a Brazilian myself, I know we are particularly guilty of this because we constantly judge each other's English for some reason. Overall, we are scared of being judged by our mistakes, pronunciation, or accent. We don't want to be seen as uneducated because we can't speak good English, so we end up avoiding speaking altogether, which slows down our progress. Of course, we should not be afraid to talk to people, like kids when they are learning how to speak. But sometimes it is easier said than done. Sometimes, no matter how much we want to just go out and talk, society can be very judgmental. Therefore, an easy way to bypass this is simply talking to oneself. If you are talking to yourself, you can make all the mistakes you want and just relax and enjoy your monologue.

2-Nobody is going to correct you if you make mistakes. Are you one of those people who hates to be interrupted when you're talking? I certainly am. When I started learning English and would talk to people, I would tell them I'm a beginner and that I might make mistakes because of that. But they would interpret that as, "Please correct all my mistakes while I'm speaking to you." No way! I know those people who would correct my English only wanted to help, but I hated it so much. It didn't help me at all; it only made me self-conscious of my speech, which slowed down my thought process and speaking. Also, many of the mistakes people would correct, I already knew were wrong, but I may have said them incorrectly at the moment because I was nervous or not used to using proper grammar. Therefore, their corrections were not helpful. Sometimes, I would tell people not to correct me, but they would interpret it as me being rude or they would assume that I think very highly of myself to not want to be corrected by others.

3- Sometimes it can be difficult to find people to talk to. Even if we aren't afraid of speaking to others or receiving correction, we may still end up talking to no one simply because we can't find anyone available. In the future, I plan to write a post, or even a series of posts, about ways to find language partners or conversation groups because I know firsthand how challenging it can be. Interestingly enough, I actually met my boyfriend because we started off as language partners - I was interested in speaking with English speakers to improve my skills, and he was happy to help me. So if you're ever in a situation where you can't find anyone to practice with, don't worry - you can always talk to yourself!

4- You are shy or introvert. If you are someone who tends to avoid talking to strangers or doesn't enjoy too much social interaction, one way to prevent this from hindering your progress as a language learner is to practice speaking to yourself. I bet you are an interesting person and that talking to yourself could be even more enjoyable than you realize. Perhaps you will even discover new things about your personality that you have never noticed before!

But now, the most important question is: how do you talk to yourself effectively in another language? It might seem easy to just start talking to yourself, since we do it all the time, but what if you're not sure how to do it efficiently in another language? If you're not used to the language you're trying to practice, chances are you'll avoid talking to yourself altogether in your target language and stick to your native language or the language you're most comfortable with. Interestingly enough, after I learned English, I found that I prefer talking to myself in English rather than Portuguese, my native language. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it's because I find English to be a fun and easy language, whereas Portuguese has too many complicated words, and I'm a bit lazy. If you have no idea how to talk to yourself in another language, I can share some tips with you:

1- Talk out loud too. Of course, you won't always be able to talk to yourself, at least not without people nearby thinking you've gone mad. But when you are alone, make sure to speak out loud so that you can also practice your speech. It will make it easier to pronounce those hard words you always struggle with while talking to others.

2- Look at the mirror and talk. That is very cliché and I can probably imagine multiple movies where people are talking to themselves in a mirror, but this one actually works. If you are able to see yourself while you are talking, it might help you to be more engaged in talking to yourself. To avoid wasting time, you can do it while you are brushing your hair.

3- Record yourself. You can record yourself talking and then later listen to the recording and respond to yourself with another recording. That will also help you to get insights about your pronunciation and overall speech. 

4- Prepare subjects that you want to talk about. It is a good idea to study a simple topic that you can talk about by yourself, and imagine asking questions about that topic. It could be something easy, like talking about your favorite TV series, or it could be something more complex, like discussing science.

5- Imagine that you are in a interview. Imagine that someone is asking you questions, and you have to answer them to the best of your knowledge. Alternatively, you can pretend that you are on a talk show. This one always works for me and helps me to speak a lot, because I've always dreamed with being famous. 

Now that we've covered the main topic, let me tell you a secret: I'm in love with coffee, and whenever I drink it, I become very talkative. Not to others, but to myself. It's funny, and I don't know why it happens, but every time I have some good coffee, I start talking to all the random voices that appear in my head. I also get many ideas to blog about this way. I tried to research it, but people believe that it happens because coffee is a stimulant. It gives you more energy to speak, and it also stimulates your brain to think more. Apparently, coffee might be a good way to make you less shy when talking to people and help you in embarrassing social situations. Or in this case, even help you talk to yourself.

That seems like a healthier habit than drinking alcohol, which is also known as a social lubricant. Unlike alcohol, coffee has many health benefits, making it a great alternative. So, not only can it help you with talking to yourself, but it can also improve your overall health.

So, let's drink coffee today and talk a lot!