Improve Speaking Skills Through Practice

• By the end of this lesson, your speaking skills will be dramatically improved with the right plan.

The Importance of Practice

• Learning piano requires playing piano, not just studying theory.
• Similarly, improving speaking skills requires regular speaking practice.
• Embrace the awkwardness, mistakes, and hesitations as part of the improvement process.
• Consistent practice leads to improvement.

Practicing Alone

• Practicing speaking can be done alone, similar to a musician practicing without an audience.
• Practicing job interview answers alone can increase confidence during the actual interview.
• All areas of speaking, such as ordering coffee or introducing yourself, can be practiced alone.
• Practicing alone should be done, even with a teacher or speaking partner.
• There's no excuse not to practice due to the availability of solo practice.

Strategies for Engaging Solo Practice

• Random Question Generator: Use free websites that generate random questions and aim to speak for one minute per question.
• Chat GPT: Engage in dialogues with Chat GPT by prompting it to provide one part of the conversation at a time.
• Narrate Your Day: Vocalize your actions and thoughts throughout the day to practice speaking out loud where appropriate.

Expanding Vocabulary and Grammar

• While vocabulary, grammar, listening, and pronunciation are important, daily speaking practice should be a separate activity.
• This focused practice leads to greater fluency improvements in less time.

Active Listening

• Active listening is essential for fluent speaking.
• Pay full attention to the speaker, focusing on their body language.
• When your mind wanders, bring your attention back to the speaker.
• Formulate questions and points to clarify while listening, to keep the conversation going.

Being Interested

• Show genuine interest in others during conversations.
• Ask questions to demonstrate interest and keep the conversation flowing.
• Think of categories of questions to ask to create many questions.

Structuring Ideas

• Structuring ideas enhances fluency, confidence, and professionalism.
• Use an introduction to prepare the listener.
• The body should include details, answering who, what, when, where, why, and how questions.
• End with a clear conclusion, summarizing key points.

Mastering the Basics

• Focus on mastering basic sentence structure and grammar.
• Six verb tenses make up 96% of speech so should be prioritized.

Using Contractions

• Use contractions to sound more natural, friendly, and fluid.
• Contractions are grammatically correct and used in formal English.

Connecting Words

• Avoid pausing between words to sound more natural.
• Combine sounds for smoother speech.

Using Idioms and Expressions

• Incorporate idioms and expressions to sound natural and impress native speakers.

Using Phrasal Verbs

• Use phrasal verbs for natural communication.
• Phrasal Verbs a professional, friendly and natural

Understanding Syllable Stress

• Use correct syllable stress to sound more natural.
• Every word with more than one syllable has a stressed syllable.

Varying Your Tone

• Vary your tone of voice by using rising and falling intonation.
• Tone of voice comprises 38% of communication.

Adding Body Language

• Incorporate body language to enhance communication.
• Body language comprises 55% of communcation

Smiling

• Smile to raise your tone and sound more friendly.

Addressing Speaking Struggles

• Lack of vocabulary, shyness, incorrect pronunciation, and lack of grammar are common struggles.
• The most common excuse for not practising are lack of a partner, living in a non-English speaking country and also lack of time

Lack of Vocabulary

• Many people already have a significant vocabulary.
• Focus on learning phrases, not just individual words.

Feeling Shy, Nervous, or Scared

• Feeling shy is normal.
• Practice speaking despite these feelings.
• The more you practice, the smaller the feeling will become.

Lack of Grammar

• Focus on sharing ideas rather than perfect grammar when speaking.
• Native speakers make mistakes too.
• Record yourself to identify and improve specific grammar areas.

Incorrect Pronunciation

• Focus on correct pronunciation.
• Use audio dictionaries and shadowing practice.
• If people often ask you to repeat yourself, focus on improving pronunciation.

Lack of Practice

• Excuses for a lack of practice include living in a non-English speaking country and not having anyone to speak with.
• Recognize these as excuses and commit to daily practice.

Lack of Time

• Prioritize speaking skills and adjust the schedule accordingly, if truly a priority.

Avoiding Bad Advice

• Avoid advice that isn't helping you become fluent.

Grammar

• Focus on mastering the most common verb tenses rather than trying to learn all of them.

Vocabulary

• Focus on full expressions rather than memorizing random word lists.
• Don't feel pressured to replace everyday words with advanced C1 words unless in specific situations.

Expectations

• It's okay to make mistakes.
• Avoid waiting until your English is "perfect" to start speaking by practicing daily.

Speaking skills improve with regular practice, much like learning an instrument. Embrace mistakes and hesitations as part of the process. Consistent practice, even alone, builds confidence and fluency in various speaking scenarios.