The Importance of Speaking Practice
There are 4 key skills when you learn a language:
- listening
- speaking
- reading
- writing
Which one of these is the "Odd-One-Out"? Which one of these is different from the other three? The answer is
speaking. The other three you can do alone, on your own, without anyone else. You can listen to the radio alone. You can read a book alone. You can write a letter alone. But you can't really
speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be "dangerous" because men in white coats may come and take you away!!
That is why you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with. Where can you find people who can speak English with you? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone?
Language is all around You
Everywhere you go you find language. Shop names, street names, advertisements, notices on buses and trains... Even if you are not in an English-speaking country, there are often a lot of English words you can see when walking in the street, especially in big cities. And there are always numbers. Car numbers, telephone numbers, house numbers... How can this help you? When you walk down the street, practise reading the words and numbers that you see. Say them to yourself. It's not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to "think" in English. For example, if you walk along a line of parked cars, say the number on each car quickly as you pass it. Test yourself, to see how fast you can walk and still say each number. But don't speak too loud!
