Aprendiendo Ingles

WHEN SPEAKING A NEW LANGUAGE

REMEMBER TO BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE

·       Focus on what you CAN do in English, not on what you CAN'T do yet.

·         Practice speaking in low-pressure situations.

·         Get feedback on your speaking. 

ALSO…

Often, a lot of questions come into your mind:

·         Am I using the right words?

·         Is the grammar in this phrase I am using, correct?

·         Will the other person laugh at me if I make a mistake?

·         Will they not understand me?

 Don’t focus on words, instead, focus on short phrases. Think about one of the first phrases you learned in English: "Nice to meet you." You learned this expression as a complete phrase. So now, it's easy to say it automatically:  "Nice to meet you."

·         You DON'T need to think about whether to use the word "nice," "pleasant," or "enjoyable."

·         You DON'T need to debate which tense the verb should be in - if it should be "to meet" or "meeting" or "have met" or "will meet."

·         You don't need to think about any of that! You can just say it quickly and naturally without worrying about mistakes - just like a native English speaker.

The reason is that you learned it as a phrase, a complete phrase, instead of putting together the individual words by yourself.

You can get fluent faster if you focus on learning English phrases - the same phrases that native speakers use every day. 

So how can you learn useful English phrases? One way is by watching TV shows and YouTube videos. Pay special attention to the phrases that are used in each situation and write them down to help you remember them.

1-FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO, NOT WHAT YOU CAN'T DO

It takes a long time to become fluent in English, and most students are constantly thinking about what they are missing or lacking.  This is a big mistake!  It will make it more difficult for you to advance and will undermine your confidence.

 Instead, you should change your focus to celebrating what you CAN do in English. One way you can change your perspective and learn to think more positively by keeping an English success journal.

Every time you make progress in your English learning, write it down in a notebook (or in a document on your computer or cell phone).

For example:

·         Today I learned new words and used them in sentences

·         Today I understood how to use the present continuous (+ing)

·         Today I practiced listening.

·         Today I remembered a word without using the dictionary

·         Today I understood phrases in a song or movie

·         Today I made a phone call in English

These things can be big or small – the important part is that they show progress and improvement. On days when you’re feeling down about your English, or when you don’t have much motivation, you can read your success journal to see all the great progress you’ve made. This will help increase your confidence and encourage you to keep going!

2) PRACTICE SPEAKING IN LOW-PRESSURE SITUATIONS

When you have to give a presentation in English, or when you're at a party trying to socialize with native English speakers, there's a lot of pressure!

 The pressure can make you feel like you need to be perfect - and then you're not confident enough to say anything at all. What's more, you become nervous, and then you might have trouble remembering or saying even the phrases you already know.

 If the only time you practice speaking is in these types of high-pressure situations, it can make you think speaking English is just really difficult. But you can build your confidence by practicing speaking in low-pressure situations. One way to do this is to speak to yourself. It might sound or feel ridiculous, but it really works!

 You can look at a list of discussion questions, imagine that someone is asking you the question, and respond by speaking aloud. This helps you train the ability to put your ideas into spoken English - without the pressure.

When you become comfortable and confident speaking English in a low-pressure situation, it will be much easier to express yourself in a higher-pressure situation like a job interview or telephone call.

3) GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR SPEAKING

Even if you are saying things correctly, you may still have some doubts…

·         "Am I saying everything correctly?"

·         "How is my pronunciation?"

·         "Are there any phrases or words that would sound strange to a native speaker?"

The way to get answers to these questions is by getting feedback on your spoken English Someone - a friend or teacher - can comment on your speaking and let you know what you're

doing well and what you could improve.

FINALLY … LEARN TO THINK DIRECTLY IN ENGLISH.

If you think in your native language and try to translate it into English before you speak, it takes too much time. This stops you from speaking fast and fluently. Also, translating results in sentences that are not correct in English, because the vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure is often different in your native language.

Many students believe that thinking in English is difficult, or that it's an advanced skill.
That's not true!

Thinking in English is a skill that you can learn and practice at any level.

Step 1 – Thinking in individual English words

when you wake up in the morning, think of words like:

·         bed, toothbrush, bathroom, eat, banana, coffee, clothes, shoes

Then when you go to work, think of words like:
       *    car, job, company, desk, computer, paper, pencil, colleague, boss

During the day, continue to think of the individual English words for everything you see, hear, and do. Try this exercise – look around you right now and think of all the English words you can. I’d imagine you can think of at least 10 words! 

STEP 2 – THINKING IN COMPLETE ENGLISH SENTENCE

For this step, you think in complete phrases and sentences during the day.
When you’re at lunch, think:

      ·         I’m eating a sandwich.

·         My friend is drinking soda.

·         This restaurant is very good.

WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING TV OR A  MOVIE … THINK

·         That actress is beautiful.

·         The journalist has black hair.

·         He’s talking about politics.

It’s OK if the sentences are very simple. The most important part is to practice and develop the habit of thinking in complete sentences in English.

 STEP 3 – FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH

During this step, you imagine having to use English for everything that you need to do. After every time you speak in your native language, think of how you would say that in English. For example, how would you buy a train ticket or order a drink in an English-speaking country? 

·         A round-trip ticket to Central Station, please.

·         Could I have a lemonade with no sugar?

This helps develop your English for real-life situations – even though you are only thinking and not speaking. If during this exercise you don’t know how to say something, check your dictionary later. If you do this kind of "mental practice" regularly, you will develop the ability to use English in any everyday situation.

Step 4 – NARRATIVE ENGLISH (telling a story or speaking in English for a long time)
It’s best to do this exercise when you have some time – like when you’re waiting in line or taking public transportation. Think of a memory or a story that you would like to tell an English-speaking friend. Then "tell the story" in your head in English.

Because you are only thinking, not speaking, you can relax and do your best without all the pressure of a real conversation.

REMEMBER:

The most important factor in any learning process, is the determination of the student to learn the subject, in this case how to improve your spoken English. Good Luck!