35. [Reading] 5 steps to becoming a confident English speaker - Part 2

5 steps to becoming a confident English speaker - Part 2

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STEP NUMBER FOUR

Start speaking English today

Maybe you feel like your English level is too low to start speaking today, but in this step, I will give you several tips for speaking today, even if you are a beginner. This is one of the most important steps.

Have you ever thought, “I don’t know enough English to start speaking. If I spoke with a native speaker, it would be too difficult.” After studying English for many years, you feel like you don’t know enough English to speak confidently. Let me tell you a little story about my personal experience speaking other languages.

I remember in college during my Spanish class, my professor told us that we would have a conversation test the next day. I could read and understand some Spanish, but I didn’t know what to say during the speaking test. So, I prepared some sentences and memorized them. When it came time for the test, I said my few sentences, and I didn’t know what else to say. I felt embarrassed and pretty frustrated because even though I had studied Spanish for several years, I still couldn’t have a conversation.

So, what could I have done differently? I had gone to Spanish classes every week (sometimes two times a week) for several years. But, as you’ve learned in the last three lessons, I was making some major mistakes.

I wasn’t open-minded about using other methods to learn Spanish.

I was pretty stressed about my Spanish exams, and I was worried that the teacher might ask me a question that I didn’t understand.

I was studying a boring textbook that my university required me to use. I was learning the language completely wrong. And honestly, I felt pretty jealous of other students who could speak better than me.

So, what did I do?
I made a change. I mean, really big! After that exam, I decided to change languages. I joined a beginner French class. I thought that maybe I wasn’t good at Spanish. Maybe it was a problem with the Spanish language and my brain. The truth is: there’s nothing wrong with Spanish and my brain. But there was definitely something wrong with the way I was learning Spanish.

After a few months in my French class, I realized that the other students didn’t care about learning French. They never answered questions in class, and they had negative attitudes. Even though the teacher was helpful, the other students made the class boring.

I decided to quit the class, and I asked the teacher if I could meet with her in her office to study French together, just the two of us. This was the best decision I could have made.

Speaking one-on-one with the French teacher helped me feel confident and passionate about learning French. Even though my French level was low, the teacher helped me to make sentences. And most importantly, she encouraged me to speak.

She asked me, “Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end?” (What are you going to do this weekend?) And I said in English, “How do you say ‘go to a concert’ in French?” She patiently helped me, and I repeated after her. Let me say that one more time:

Even though my level was low, I was trying to speak.

In my Spanish class, I never got a chance to speak. I was always watching videos or reading articles, but I hardly ever heard my own voice pronouncing Spanish words. On the other hand, because I asked the French teacher if I could practice speaking with her, I improved much quicker than with Spanish. It was also more fun!

After speaking with the French teacher for several months, I felt much more confident and ready when I moved to France after graduation.

So, how can you start speaking today? Here are two ideas:

1. Read a one-page story out loud
This is especially helpful for low level English learners. Your ears will become comfortable hearing your voice speak English, and your mouth muscles will become comfortable with the different shapes needed to speak English.

2. Speak English with a native speaker If you have an intermediate level, don’t wait to do this. All you need to do is go online and find a teacher who will be kind and helpful.

If you feel too nervous to speak with a native speaker now, don’t worry. You can begin by reading a story out loud or just saying English words out loud in your house.

STEP NUMBER FIVE

Learn a little every day

I can imagine that you’re a busy person, right? Everyone is busy these days. In this chapter, I’ll share with you how to improve your English little-by-little every day.

Let’s talk about WHY it’s important to learn English every day. If you only listen to English materials once a month, or even once a week, it will take you much longer to improve. Also, if you use English every now and then, it’s hard to remember to study English.

Imagine this situation:

You wake up at 6am.

You get ready to go to work and you get your kids ready in the morning.

You go to work until 6pm at night.

When you come home, you make dinner, relax a bit, then go to bed.

In bed, you remember, “Oh no! I didn’t study English today!”
Has that ever happened to you before?

This kind of busy lifestyle is quite stressful. You’re going to easily give up on your goal of becoming a confident, fluent English speaker. Like we talked about in step number two, you need to fit English into your daily life. If you’re a busy person, that means that you need to fit little “bite-sized chunks” (remember that word?) of English into your daily life.

Experts say that if you do something for 30 days, you will create a habit. A habit is something that you do without thinking. When you wake up in the morning, you brush your teeth (I hope!). You don’t need to remember to brush your teeth because it’s a habit.

So, you need to make English a habit.
You need to consistently practice English.

How can you make English a habit? I recommend these two things:

1. Take English in “bite-sized chunks” every day. A few minutes is all that you need.

2. Choose the same time, every day for 30 days, and by the end of the month, you will feel much more relaxed about learning English because it will be a habit.

I recommend choosing a specific time every day to learn English. Maybe it’s while you’re eating breakfast or during your lunch break or while your child is taking a nap in the afternoon.

And what kind of materials should you use? Like we talked about in chapter three, make sure you use interesting materials.

Source:

https://www.speakenglishwithvanessa.com

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Mẹo nhỏ nhắc nhở mình học tiếng Anh

Trước khi kết thúc, mình muốn chia sẻ nốt một mẹo cho những bạn mới học và rất rất rất lười lười lười giống mình. Xuất phát là một đứa lười, nên mình hiểu việc tạo một thói quen học tiếng Anh là rất khó, nhiều lúc biết nguồn hay để học tiếng Anh, nhưng cũng lười đến nỗi chả buồn vào. Vì vậy mình chợt nảy ra một ý nghĩ nếu bật trình duyệt lên mà trang cần học có sẵn ngay thì sao nhỉ, chắc chắn là lười quá mức thì vẫn sẽ tắt nó đi rồi mở tab facebook hoặc tab xem phim như bình thường, nhưng ít ra nó đã nhắc nhở mình cần phải học tiếng Anh, học luôn và ngay, hơn là vào lại trang đó, tìm tìm phần cần học nghe đã muốn lười.