Undoubtedly, speaking English is much harder than reading, writing, or listening to English.
All students perform better at the other skills than they do at speaking. I have heard many people say, “I can read and write English but not speak it.” And the bad news is this: the best jobs go to the best speakers.
I studied French and Russian at university. Therefore, I know the difficulties involved. Luckily, my family took me on vacation to France every year from the age of 11. As a result, I was very confident in speaking French. In addition, when I was in France for two months one summer, I had a French girlfriend. They say this is the best way to learn a language.
However, if you don’t have these opportunities, how can you practice English enough to bring it up to a high enough level? Maybe you don’t have enough money to go to the UK or USA for long enough to improve your English speaking. Maybe you live too far away from these countries, or you don’t have enough time to stay there for two months.
Another problem is self-discipline. My Turkish is very good, but when I talk to Turkish people who I know speak quite good English, I’m reluctant to speak Turkish with them. I think, “We can speak far more quickly in English and so speak about more things more easily if we speak in English.” This is just an excuse, though. It’s laziness on my part. But you know what? I don’t care. Why not? Because I’m not a student who is studying Turkish. I don’t need to improve my Turkish to get a good job. And my parents aren’t spending so much money for me to go to a university and study Turkish.
Can you say the same?
It’s so much easier to speak your mother tongue to teachers if they understand your language. In addition, some teachers, unfortunately, don’t speak to their students in English because it’s easier that way; their students can understand explanations about grammar more quickly if the teacher uses the mother tongue. It’s human nature to do something the easy way to have an easier life.
But this is not helpful to your English. You need to do the difficult thing: speaking English when you live in your own country. And you need to do it as often as you can. So how and where can you find chances to practice?
Many students find Facebook groups and/or people to practice with on Zoom. But these solutions sometimes come with disadvantages. First, finding native English speakers in English practice Facebook groups maybe be difficult -- if there are native speakers in your group, remember to thank them for their time! Second, this technology has its own unique problems unless you and your friends have very good broadband width. Have you ever had this conversation on Zoom or Skype?
- Can you see me? I can’t see you.
- No. I can’t see you. Oh! Yes I can. Can you see me?
- What did you say? I can’t hear you. Can you hear me?
- Can you hear me?
- No. Can YOU hear ME?
- What?
- You’re frozen.
- What did you say? You’re breaking up.
- I’ll close Zoom and try again.
- Why don’t you close Zoom and try again?
- I have to go now. Bye.
- Nice chatting with you. Bye.
- Are you still there?
A third point to note is this: “chatting” by text on WhatsApp is not chatting. It’s not speaking English. The original meaning of “chat” is when two people look at each other, then move their lips, teeth, and tongue while breathing out and making understandable noises.
You need to find better solutions. Solutions with real live native speakers of English. Now this makes students very uncomfortable and embarrassed. They ask themselves, “What if I make a mistake when I speak to this person whose language is English?” Here’s some good news for you: Many Americans, Britons, etc. make mistakes when they speak English. Another piece of good news is this: If they are not your teacher, they don’t care if you make mistakes. They are not giving you points. They won’t correct your English. They won’t think, “I’m not going to speak to her again – she made a mistake with a preposition.” As a matter of fact, most of them don’t know how to correct your English.
So where can you find native speakers to talk English with? Let’s start with the obvious answer: your teacher. Practicing English in class is the safest place. Your teacher is qualified to help you with your speaking practice. He/she will not laugh at you if you make a mistake, nor will your classmates, because you are all in the same situation. You all need practice. If you don’t practice in this safe environment, you won’t practice anywhere. I have known students who said they were too scared to practice in class. How do you think they performed in the speaking exam? They couldn’t speak at all. Speaking exams are the scariest educational experience for language students – I know; I had many when I was a student.
The main problem that students have with the idea of speaking English is that they can’t unsay a wrong word; they can’t unmake a mistake. It’s out there. You can’t take it out of the air and put it back in your mouth – but you can correct it. And a teacher will never take away points in an exam if you correct your mistakes. Moreover, if you make one mistake with the past simple, for example, but you make eight correct sentences with the past simple, that one mistake will not matter. The teacher will know that you know, understand, and can use the past simple – full points!
Plus, the teacher knows that speaking is nerve-wracking (very scary). They appreciate that this is a problem. They won’t take away points because your hand and/or voice is shaking. So if it isn’t a problem for the teacher that you are scared, it shouldn’t be a problem for you. Think to yourself, “My teacher knows that I’m scared, but I’m just going to continue.” That’s very easy for me to tell you this, and very difficult for you to do it – but it’s the reality.
Just think to yourself, “I’m just going to try my best.” That’s the best attitude, the attitude that will bring you more success and confidence.
When else can you practice with your teacher if not in class? As a teacher, I generally stay in my classroom during breaks. This is mainly because I think teachers are boring to talk to.
And my boss might find me and give me more work! Therefore, many of my students spend a few minutes talking to me in breaks. Similarly, I don’t sit with teachers in the cafeteria at lunch time for the same reason. So when you see your teacher eating (or smoking), ask if you can join them. (But don’t start smoking. It’s a filthy, smelly habit.) You can learn many new things with your teacher at lunch in that more relaxed atmosphere.
Outside of school, what else can you do?
You can find clubs that foreigners in your country attend, like the Hash House Harriers, which is a running club with social activities. You can search for groups on meetup.com. Also on Meetup, you can find English conversation groups. If you make a point of going to one of these groups once a week, you will make a lot of progress in your English-speaking ability. You may also find new friends and/or people who may give you a job in the future – networking is always a useful activity. You can join something like Internations.org – here, again, you may find business people to network with. In Istanbul there is a theater group called Speech Bubbles (speechbubbles.org). There you can help put on a theater show and practice your English.
Finally, you can even go to bars where many foreigners like to go. Irish pubs are always a great place to meet new people. But don’t stalk your English teacher and follow him to the pub. He might not like that.
If you see me in an Irish pub, I’ll speak to you…. if you buy me a beer!
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