Cerca tra vari insegnanti di Inglese...
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The most common problem that I hear from English students is that they need more speaking practice.
BUT lessons cost money! And I don't know too many people who can afford to take an hour of class every day.
Luckily there are sources of conversational language all around you!
My favorite category of resource is the podcast, where people have a chat about an agreed upon topic in a casual and natural setting. The back and forth of conversation reflects the flow that you might experience in a real life conversation with native speakers.
If you want some extra (free) speaking practice, simply imagine that you are a PART of this conversation!
Hear a question? PAUSE the podcast and RESPOND with your thoughts. Use the vocabulary they are using. Agree or disagree with the points they are making.
Language is not a fixed amount of knowledge that you need to collect in order to call yourself fluent; instead, it is a muscle that you need to exercise regularly to notice growth.
So work out a bit every day! Use a podcast, an interview, a twitch stream- ANYTHING that you can jump in on and be a part of.
Let me know if you try this strategy ^_^ Have a great weekend!
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Have you heard of the idea of a language learning 'plateau' before?
The idea is that students who have reached a high intermediate or advanced level struggle to see significant improvement in their speaking skills. They improve, improve, improve, and suddenly they flatline.
I've most certainly experienced this in my Spanish studies- if you have experienced this in English, how did you move past your plateau phase?
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Do you ever feel like you say the same few words and phrases in English in every conversation you have?
Expanding your vocabulary is a great way to sound more intelligent and creative in your second language.
Like most language learners these days, I use media to spend time in my second language. One of the shows that I have watched 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 is Ugly Betty, or Yo Soy Betty La Fea.
Yes, the Colombian version from the 90s.
Yes, it's terrible.
BUT it's an excellent source of context-based language that has helped me expand my vocabulary greatly.
My Spanish vocab skyrocketed when I changed one thing about how I watched this series- I stopped trying to learn words, and I started trying to learn GROUPS of words.
I know that I struggle with indirect object pronouns- I confuse meaning and order pretty often, so I decided to focus on those for a few episodes. I wrote down sentences where I heard indirect object pronouns used and then immediately used a process that I like to call 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here's my process:
1️⃣ I 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 a sentence
2️⃣ I 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 the sentence and 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 the structure
3️⃣ I 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 the sentence at least twice with meaning relevant to my life.
I rapidly reproduce the structure that I'm hoping to cement in my mind by creating examples that are true and relevant to me. These examples tend to stick with me better than sentences that I just make up for the sake of it.
Want a challenge this week? Try watching, reading, or listening to something in English and taking notes on the groups of words that you hear.
What is something that has made a noticeable difference in your English study? Share it below to help out your fellow English learners!
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