3. Write Before You Speak

Tip number three involves writing. One of the best ways to get yourself prepared for speaking in any situation is to write down what it is you would like to say before speaking. Take time to write out all of the sentences you plan to say, and then practice saying them aloud.

Now, I don't expect you to carry a notebook around with you and write down everything you want to say before speaking. That's just impractical. But this is an exercise that can be added to your daily English practice. The best way to approach this is to think about situations and potential conversation topics, especially those that interest you because learning English should be fun.

Also, think about questions or opportunities you get frequently in English. We use the term 'an elevator pitch'. So this refers to trying to sell something to someone that you've met in an elevator. That's American English. It would be a 'lift' in British English. You've only got a limited amount of time, so you've got to get the message across quickly and efficiently.

Try to think of elevator pitch versions of your most frequently received questions. I'm thinking ones like:

Where are you from?

You might say something like:

Well, you can probably tell that I'm not from here. I was actually born in Italy, but then I moved to France at the age of four. I went to college in the US, which is why I speak with a slight American accent.

Write it down, practise it because you know you're going to get asked a lot.

Another one is:

What do you do for a living? or How did you learn English?

You can begin with simple conversation questions and gradually increase the difficulty level. This will help to build your confidence and improve your fluency over time.

See, I'm not very good at giving strong opinions, so sometimes if I'm going to an event where I know I'll be asked about a hot topic that's quite divisive, I do prepare in advance. It helps me to feel more relaxed or less anxious. I'm not somebody who can just give an eloquent opinion piece straight off the bat. 'Straight off the bat' means immediately with no preparation, hence why we need preparation, written preparation.

 

 

4. Focus on Fluency, Not Accuracy

Focus on fluency, not perfection or not accuracy. Fluency over accuracy every single time. You need to be understood, not applauded as a grammar genius.

To me, this means that you need to start to feel comfortable making mistakes. If you avoid speaking with people out of fear of making mistakes, you're going to have nothing to learn from. You're starving yourself of opportunities. No one wants to make mistakes. It's embarrassing, and it can cause us to lose confidence. Learning and speaking in another language is a very personal, sensitive topic, but getting out of your comfort zone and making mistakes while speaking is genuinely one of the best things you can do to improve your fluency.

And if you can, not everyone can, but if you can, try to have a sense of humour about it. See this as an opportunity to laugh with yourself, not at yourself, with yourself.

 

 

5. Shadowing

Shadowing means copying other English speakers. It's imitation.

When you are purposefully learning new words or just casually watching a video, repeat what you hear. You don't need to be thinking about sentence structure or verb tenses, or grammar in general. Just repeat the words and sounds. By repeating the words and phrases, you:

• are activating your mind so that you can obtain new information
• understand the speaker more easily
• improve muscle memory for forming words
• practise natural word stress and pronunciation