Remember that all the listening and reading in the world will not make you a better speaker This statement I have recently read at on of the websites for English learners. Is it true? Surely it could be an arguable question, but I genuinely believe that it is true. Without a doubt there are a number of students who have mastered speaking with no or little speaking practice. But hypothetically imagine the situation when a person comes to a pool to learn to swim. He is a diligent student and learns all the movements and breath technique by heart. He buys all the necessary equipment. He watches how lots of professional sportsmen do pool lengths dozens of times but he never tries to do it himself or just lies down on the job. Could he be a good swimmer? I seriously doubt it. Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?