AMBROSIA’S WEEKLY BLOG 18-09-2021

Sunday, September 19th at 20:00 PM

DOSE OF SELF-TALK DOES MAKE ME TALK

Max
When I was in elementary school, I used to get praised by English
Newbie
teachers for having a “native speaker” accent (not to brag or
something). Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think learners
should be putting every ounce of their effort into speaking like a
true American or British person - as long as everyone can
articulate their ideas and messages to others, it is totally fine to
communicate in a not-so-native way. Back to my story: for many
years, I still haven’t put my finger on exactly how I acquired the
accent I have now, but I do believe that there is a major
contributor: self-talking.

Ever since I was 5, I have always enjoyed spontaneously creating

casual conversations with myself. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to
say that I have lost count of how many times I talk to myself in just
a single day. At first, these random exchanges were not
necessarily in English, but it gradually became the language of
choice when I launched my “English career”. Sometimes, I
wouldn’t stop dialoguing with myself until I fell asleep! I can still
remember myself lying in bed in the middle of the night and
speaking English to Disney characters on my pillow cover which,
strangely, made my mom proud.

So why do I self-talk then? One of the main reasons I do so is to

bolster my confidence. I would usually partake in speaking
contests when I was in elementary school, and my parents could
barely afford going to any English center. Therefore, practicing
everyday was the only way I could enhance my speaking skills. I
stood in front of my mirror, speaking about going shopping, my
favorite food and ways to protect the environment (those seem to
be the most popular speaking topics, don't they?). The more I
forced my brain to think of ideas, build English sentences and then
 say them aloud, the more natural and automatic it felt to speak the
language. It’s quite similar to riding a bike: you just do it again and
again until your body instinctively knows how to keep you from
falling off. I believe this is termed “classical conditioning” from
what I have learnt at school, I may be wrong though.

And despite the fact that it seems like an indicator of mental

illness, self-talk can actually have psychological benefits.
According to Healthline, talking alone can result in greater life
satisfaction, pain alleviation, and stress relief. They also say the
risk of death can be reduced so if nothing goes wrong, I should be
immortal by now. On top of that, I also found that talking to
another version of yourself actually gives you far more control over
your emotions, especially in situations where it is vital to keep
yourself composed and be rational despite the intense feelings
that may arise like before entering an exam or going on your first
date.

However, keep in mind that not all self-talk is created equal. If you
choose the wrong messages to tell yourself and the wrong topics
to discuss, things will take a turn for the worse pretty quickly.
Negative self-talk, which can come in the form of disheartening
comments about yourself such as “I’ll never be able to go to a
good university”, can lead to decreased motivation as well as
greater feelings of helplessness. It can also lead to a lowered
ability to see opportunities, as well as a decreased tendency to
capitalize on these opportunities. After all, the more you tell
yourself you can't do something, the more you believe it and the
more likely it will happen.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a big pat on the back
and start a conversation!

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