14-methods-for-improving-your

Prévia do material em texto

Yuliya Geikhman April 20,
2015
How to Improve Spoken English (Without a Speaking
Partner!): 14 Incredible Methods
fluentu.com/blog/english/how-to-improve-spoken-english/
We all want to know how to improve spoken English.
But for some of us, there’s a big obstacle.
To improve English speaking, the best thing to do is to talk with a native speaker. But not all
of us have that option!
What if you don’t know anyone who speaks English? What if you don’t have time? What if
you simply don’t feel confident enough yet to practice with a native?
How can you practice speaking English without anybody else to help you?
Don’t worry. You can still improve your spoken English, even without a speaking partner.
We’re going to explain how.
No speaking partner? No problem!
 
 
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1. Think in English
Sometimes the difficult thing about English speaking isn’t the language itself, but how you
think about it.
If you think in your native language and then try to speak English, you’ll always have to
translate between languages. Translating isn’t an easy thing to do! Even people fluent in two
or more languages have trouble switching between languages.
The solution is to think in English.
You can do this anywhere, anytime. Try to use English when you’re thinking about your day,
or when you’re trying to decide what food to order. Even try to use an English-to-English
dictionary to look up words. That way you never have to use your native language and
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translate words. You’ll notice that when you think in English, it’s easier for you to speak in
English.
2. Talk to Yourself
Whenever you’re at home (or alone somewhere else) you can improve English speaking with
your favorite person: yourself.
If you’re already thinking in English, try speaking your thoughts out loud. Read out loud, too.
Practice is practice, and even if you don’t have anyone to correct your mistakes, just the act
of speaking out loud will help you become more comfortable speaking English.
3. Use a Mirror
Whenever you can, take a few minutes out of your day to stand in front of the mirror and
speak. Choose a topic, set a timer for two or three minutes and just talk.
The point of this exercise is to watch your mouth, face and body language as you speak. It
also makes you feel like you’re talking to someone, so you can pretend you’re having a
discussion with a study buddy.
Talk for the full two or three minutes. Don’t stop! If you get stuck on a word you don’t know,
try expressing your idea in a different way. You can always look up how to say that word
after the two to three minutes end. This will definitely help you find out what kinds of words
or sentences you have trouble with.
4. Focus on English Fluency, Not Grammar
When you speak in English, how often do you stop?
The more you stop, the less confident you sound and the less comfortable you become. Try
the mirror exercise above, but challenge yourself to speak without stopping or stammering
(taking pauses between your words) the entire time.
This might mean that your sentences won’t be grammatically perfect, and that’s okay! If you
focus on speaking fluently instead of correctly, you’ll still be understood and you’ll sound
better. You can fill in the correct grammar and word rules as you learn them better.
5. Try English Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are series of words that are difficult to say quickly. One example is: “The
thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.” Try saying
this a few times! It’s not easy.
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Word games like this will help you find the right placement for your mouth and tongue, and
can even help your pronunciation. You can find a list of great tongue twisters here.
6. Listen and Repeat
Do you watch TV shows or YouTube videos in English? Use them to improve your fluency.
Choose a short part of a show and repeat it line by line. Try to match the tone, speed and
even the accent (if you can). It doesn’t matter if you miss a few words, the important thing is
to keep talking. Try to sound just like the native speakers on the show.
FluentU is a great way to practice listening and repeating.
FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks
—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
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Whenever you watch a video here, you’ll see all of the spoken words right there on your
screen.
This makes listening and repeating even easier. Just turn off the subtitles when you want a
challenge!
If you see a word you don’t know, tap on the word to see an image, definition, examples,
and other videos in which the word is used.
For example, if you tap on the word “brought”, then you see this:
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FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.
You can learn any video’s vocabulary with FluentU. Swipe left or right to see more examples
for the word you’re learning.
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FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
At FluentU, you can decide how you learn. You’ll have the freedom to choose which
videos are most interesting to your personallearning experience.
The more you listen to this authentic English, the better you will understand how to speak
Englishnaturally.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet, or download the FluentU
app from the iTunes store or Google Play store.
7. Pay Attention to Stressed Sounds
English uses stresses in words and sentences. That means when you speak English you’ll
need to stress, or emphasize, certain words and syllables (sounds) to give words and
sentences different meanings.
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Listen to where native speakers place the emphasis when they speak. Try to repeat it the
same way to improve English stress in your own speech.
This won’t only help you speak English well, it might even reduce misunderstandings.
Sometimes the placing the stress on the wrong syllable completely changes the word. The
word ADdress, for instance, isn’t the same as the word adDRESS. ADdress refers to a
physical location where someone lives, and adDRESS means to formally speak to a group of
people.
Learn to hear the difference!
8. Sing Along to English Songs
Singing along to your favorite English songs will help you become more fluent. This is a
tried-and-true language learning method that’s backed by science.
Once you can sing along to Taylor Swift and Jason Mraz, you can test your skills with
something a bit more difficult: rap!
Watch Video At:
https://youtu.be/_Yhyp-_hX2s
Rap is a great way to practice English because often the words are spoken like regular
sentences. However, the rapper uses a stronger rhythm and faster speed. Some of the
words might not make sense, but if you can keep up with the rapper then you’re on your
way to becoming fluent!
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https://youtu.be/_Yhyp-_hX2s
9. Learn Word Forms with New Words
Some practice comes before you even open your mouth. Make speaking easier by learning
the different forms of any words you learn. You should do this when you’re learning new
vocabulary. For example, if you just learned the word write, you should also learn some
other forms like wrote and written.
Knowing the correct way to use a word in any kind of sentence is important. This knowledge
will help you while speaking. You won’t have to stop and think of different words—you’ll
know exactly when you need to use that word while speaking.
10. Learn Phrases, Not Words
An even better idea to improve English is to learn word phrases, not just words.
You might be using correct grammar and vocabulary, but it’s still not how a native speaker
would say it.
For example, you can say “how do you feel today?” but a native speaker might say “how’re
you doing?” or “what’s up?” instead. Phrases and expressions can be helpful for sounding
more natural when you speak.
11. Learn Your Most Common Sayings
Take some time to really notice how you speak in your native language.
What words and phrases do you use the most often?
Learn how to say your most commonly used phrases and words in English. Knowing
them in English will help you speak as well in English as you do in your native language.
12. Prepare for Specific Situations
Are you learning English speaking for a specific reason? For example, are you learning
English so you can get a job in an English-speaking company? In that case, practice English
that will help you in an interview. Are you learning English so you can make friends in
America? Then you would need a different kind of English.
Before you go to a place where you have to speak English, you can practice what you might
have to say. If you’re preparing to go to a restaurant, what might conversations in a
restaurant sound like? Answer the questions a waiter might ask you. Try talking about food
and menus.
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You’ll feel more confident if you’re prepared!
13. Relax!
You can be your best helper or your worst enemy when learning to speak fluently! We know
it’s hard, but you should try not to worry about how you sound when you speak. Just relax!
If you get stuck or confused, just take a big breath and start over. Speak slower if you have
to. Take time to pause and think about your next sentence.
Do whatever it takes to become more comfortable with speaking English.
14. Tell a Story from Your Language in English
Here’s a fun way to test how well your spoken English has developed: choose a story that
you know really well and tell it in English.
Remember to think in English as you’re telling your story. Focus on speaking fluently instead
of correctly. Say every sentence out loud to yourself.
Even if you have nobody to talk to in English, you can still build confidence and master
fluency on your own time.
In some ways, practicing speaking is even easier by yourself! Now you know exactly how to
improve spoken English by yourself and should feel confident doing so!
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	How to Improve Spoken English (Without a Speaking Partner!): 14 Incredible Methods
	1. Think in English
	2. Talk to Yourself
	3. Use a Mirror
	4. Focus on English Fluency, Not Grammar
	5. Try English Tongue Twisters
	6. Listen and Repeat
	7. Pay Attention to Stressed Sounds
	8. Sing Along to English Songs
	9. Learn Word Forms with New Words
	10. Learn Phrases, Not Words
	11. Learn Your Most Common Sayings
	12. Prepare for Specific Situations
	13. Relax!
	14. Tell a Story from Your Language in English