Words? Grammar? The best way to learn English is by speaking English! A scientist and experienced English teacher advises.
“Well, say something in English!”
Words – long lists, memorized! Grammar – rules, learned by heart!
And what?
When you need to say something, does it dry up your throat?
Not only you have this problem!
Speaking English
Alas, reading texts or watching movies in English is not enough! No matter how long you’ve been learning English, if you do it passively, it will translate poorly into how “actively” you use the language – that is, how fluently you speak or write English.
What’s more, practicing speaking English correctly will help you solidify your comprehension skills even more effectively than passive reading or listening alone. It’s just that the brain works in such a way that when you need to recall a word or grammatical construction, it’s more memorable than if you just hear it in passing on film.
First step in speaking English
When it comes to speaking English, the first step is to overcome any fear or embarrassment you may have about speaking English. English is not your native language and you have the right to have trouble with it. This is totally fine!
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – it’s from them that we learn. You will never master the theory so well that you will never make a mistake. But, after all, probably you are not aiming to become a specialist in descriptive grammar, but to be able to get along in English.
No one learns to ride a bicycle from an aerodynamics textbook! You want to speed on a bike – hop on the saddle! If you want to speak English – you have to start speaking English!
However, even for those who have been learning English for years, speaking correctly can be a challenge. But there is no other way but to persistently – and enthusiastically – move forward! Therefore, if you want to start speaking English, you must stop being afraid to speak English!
Does it make sense to learn English by speaking English?
Everyone is constantly trumpeting words and grammar. Of course, it is impossible to communicate without them. But is it really worth bothering with grammar so much? When you speak your native language, do you think about the correct use of partitions, or does your declension of verbs follow the canons of grammatical correctness? No! You just say it!
And so you can speak in English! People are simply so built that they naturally, subconsciously acquire new languages.
Fish swim, birds fly, and people talk.
That’s it!
There is no need to cuss formulas for the density of liquids to float. Of course, if someone likes it, go ahead. I, for one, like English grammar. I think it might even be interesting. But is it essential, and especially in the quantities it is served in school? I sincerely doubt it.
But how to speak English when I have poor pronunciation?
It would seem that good English pronunciation is important in many professions and social situations where people need to understand you clearly. And it’s actually nice to have a clean English accent – you can then say complete stupid things at conferences, and people still get the impression that the person is talking terribly smart.
This is just one of the unexpected advantages of knowing English. You begin to see that the English or Americans are not always so smart, and your compatriots are not necessarily incompetent. After all, somebody who speaks even broken English, knows another language -as opposed to the majority of English native speakers!
When a man comes to a business meeting, a scientific conference, or just meets you on vacation – do you think he is interested in your accent? They want to know what you have to say, not what grade you had or had on your English exam!
So while it’s worth polishing your accent, or rather your pronunciation to the point where you can be understood by everyone, it’s not worth worrying too much about the “correct” accent. Paradoxically even, if you learn the perfect English accent – people may stop understanding you!
Most English speakers in the world are not even native speakers. English belongs to everyone and there is no need to be ashamed of the fact that we were not born in the UK!
Speak English like Hemingway, not like Joyce
The problem many intelligent people face is that they want to sound as intelligent in English as they do in their native language. And they try to create long and complicated sentences in which they themselves begin to get lost, not to mention their interlocutors. They try to speak like James Joyce, who wrote the entire Ulysses in one train of thought, without interruption. And I don’t believe anyone read this book from cover to cover! 😉
Therefore, when you speak English, be rather like Ernest Hemingway, who in turn is famous for his simple, short sentences. It will be easier for you to build them up, and easier for your interlocutors to understand – especially since your interlocutors may often also have problems with English! Therefore, don’t make life difficult for yourself or others! Speak simply, clearly. The more you practice spoken English, the better you will also be able to understand what people in English are saying to you. And floridity in speech will come on its own in time – if you wish it!
How to practice English by speaking English?
There are many different ways to learn English, but whatever method you choose, it’s important that it fits into your daily routine. Step by step, you can incorporate more English conversations into your daily life, listen to English radio in the background, watch English movies without a voiceover, or use an English learning app for your phone. All of this works and helps, you’ll be well on your way to learning to speak English fluently!
Of course, the best way to learn English is to practice with a good English teacher (one who likes to listen, not talk incessantly himself), a foreign friend, maybe even a native speaker. Unfortunately, lessons with a live person are relatively expensive, and we also rarely have time every day to make an appointment with someone to converse in English.
On the other hand, informal English learning by speaking English has the one major disadvantage that no one corrects us. This, in turn, can unfortunately end up with us making a habit of speaking English incorrectly. And it’s much harder to unlearn something than to learn it. Well, and it is known how it is, we can ask and ask what more advanced friends to correct our mistakes in speaking, but they, however, usually will not do it anyway. And when they do, we’re pissed that they’re correcting us! That’s life, that’s the way it is.
So what to do? How to get out of this stalemate?
Learning English by speaking English…. With your phone or computer!
It turns out that talking to yourself doesn’t necessarily have to be madness! Or more precisely, not to yourself, but to your phone or computer. With the Speakingo app, it will be a fast and effective way to learn English by speaking English!
In Speakingo’s online English course, you can talk to your phone or computer. However, you don’t say random things. The didactics of the course include 2,000 of the most important English words, the knowledge of which allows you to understand 90% of conversations in the language. Also imperceptible in these sentences is all English grammar, from A1 to C2 level!
However, you don’t learn them in theory, but in practice! Naturally like a child you talk and the knowledge enters your head by itself!
Meanwhile, thanks to modern speech recognition technology, Speakingo understands what you are saying in English – it usually praises, but also corrects if necessary. And you look at the pretty pictures, listen to the velvety voice of a native speaker – such learning is pure pleasure!
Speak English with your phone like a teacher!
This way you learn English quickly and effectively by speaking English!
No commute, when you want and for how long you want, at any time of the day or night, for a very affordable price. Register below or download the app on your phone (for iPhone or Android) to enjoy for free for a week!
And if you like this kind of learning English by speaking English and want to continue this adventure, a month of learning costs much less than one single lesson with a tutor!
Enjoy!
What did you guys think about this topic? Does learning English by speaking English make more sense than grammar and vocabulary? Share your experiences in the comments!
Register for Speakingo’s online English course!
Do you want to speak English? Then start speaking English!
