How to Get Confident Speaking in Your ESL Courses and Beyond
Do you feel confident reading and writing in English, but feel nervous when speaking out loud?
Speaking is one of the most common skills that language learners want to improve, and it’s no wonder why. The majority of communication is done face to face, so speaking skills are important.
Studying at ALI Dallas will help you to improve your English through interactive and practical lessons. Learn how you can improve your speaking both inside and outside of the classroom.
Take Every Opportunity to Practice Outside of English Speaking Classes
If you choose to study English in the USA, you will have endless opportunities to speak English. You can practice whenyou’re ordering a coffee before class, or attending an event, or spending time with English-speaking friends.
If you want to improve your English, you need to make the most of each of these opportunities.
Simple activities like buying coffee can be an opportunity to practice English
Don’t be shy to ask questions if you don’t understand something – most people are willing to help!
It’s also a good idea to think about the conversations afterwards. Decide what went well and what didn’t, and write down any new words that you heard. This will help you to improve and make sure that the next conversation goes even better.
Avoid Nerves by Preparing Before Conversations
One of the main reasons people find speaking a foreign language difficult is nerves. You may find that you get stressed and forget things you know. But this will get better with practice in English speaking courses and in real life.
One way to deal with this is to prepare before conversations when you can.
If you know you need to make a dinner reservation, book an appointment, or even go to a job interview, rehearse the conversation out loud first. You could even write down a cheat sheet with any words or phrases that you want to say or that are likely to come up. If you feel prepared, you will be less nervous.
It’s a particularly good idea to practice phone conversations with friends, or making appointments over the phone. Many people find speaking on the phone a lot harder than speaking in person, because you can’t read the other person’s facial expression or body language. Practicing on the phone will also improve your speaking ability in face to face conversations.
Try not to lose confidence if people don’t understand you. It’s normal for people to take a little while to adjust and understand an unfamiliar accent. Speak slowly and clearly, and repeat yourself when necessary.
Record Yourself Speaking Out Loud
Another way to improve your speaking is to record yourself speaking out loud. You could read a book aloud, repeat a new sentence you learned a few times, or just talk about your day.
Listening back to yourself speaking for 30 seconds can help you to quickly identify any pronunciation issues that you can work on to improve.
Listen as Much as Possible and Repeat Any New Words or Phrases
Lastly, the best way to improve your speaking is listening. By listening to your friends, the radio, podcasts, or TV, you will pick up on the correct accent and pronunciation. You will also learn new vocabulary and phrases which will help with speaking.
Are you interested in ESL courses?
Contact ALI Dallas to find out more!