Most learners of English do more learning than practising. Learning and practising have to go hand in hand. Remember the main objective of learning a language is more or less for communication. Anyone therefore who focuses on learning the language without practising to communicate with it is far from reaching the main objective.
Some learners think learning is part of practising and practising is part of learning. This is true but to a very little extent. Consider this example: Think of someone who has just bought a brand new car, learned and mastered all the road signs and traffic rules but hasn’t tried to drive the car using the knowledge learned. Think about such a person getting a drivers license. Do you think this person should have a license to drive? A sure NO.
Now that’s exactly what many language learners, probably including you reading this article, have done and are doing. They have learnt and mastered the rules of grammar, sentence structures, huge amounts of vocabulary patterns; they have covered a vast amount of reading material, can even write excellent essays. Yet these are the same learners who say “Sorry, my English is very poor” the moment you say “Hello, how is it going?” The reason is simple. They spent all their time learning and didn’t practise or they thought practising was automatically embedded in their learning process. Like in the example with the person who can’t get the license to drive, you also can’t get the license to speak English.
So the question: How do you practise your English?
Here are some common answers from students:
1. I often watch English movies.
2. I watch English news and shows on TV.
3. I read English books / newspapers.
4. I often visit some English websites, chat online and send emails in English.
5. I often talk with some foreigners in our company.
6. I don’t have foreign friends.
Back to our example of the wannabee driver: If your answers to the question are numbers 1 and 2 above, you are saying in other words that you often watch people drive. Should that make you drive? No or 3% chances.
If your answers to the question are numbers 3 and 4 above, you are saying in other words that you often read about traffic rules, road signs, car parts, car maintainance, etc. Should that make you drive? No or 7% chances.
If your answer is number 5 above you are in other words saying that you often drive if another driver asks you to drive. Should that make you drive? No or 9% chances.
If your answer is number 6 above then you are like the person in our example without even a car. Do you hope to be a driver? No or 1% chances.
To summarize this analysis above, I am trying to show that even if you used all of the above ways to practise your English you would probably improve other skills like listening, reading and writing, but your spoken English would be about 20% better. If your objective is to speak English, then this is definitely not enough. There must be a better way to practice your English. Here are the tips below:
1. Reading aloud
It sounds funny, doesn’t it? Many learners of English neglect this. Reading aloud helps you to listen to your own pronunciation. It helps you to identify the sounds and words you can’t say or can’t say correctly. (Reading silently – just looking at the words and moving your lips hides these problems from you). Reading aloud also builds your confidence that you are speaking the language. Therefore when you have to use the same words to speak to someone, you don’t panic at the thought of using them for the first time or fear incorrect pronunciation. Conclusion: Always read aloud (not only in class) on the street when you see a caption in English as well as in your bedroom when looking through an English newspaper.
2. Repeating
Repeat repeat and repeat aloud every time you listen to English no matter the source (music, movies, TV, English speakers). Does it sound foolish to you to do this? Well, your choice: Look foolish for a short time and speak the language you want to speak or look great without the language.
3. You don’t always need a foreigner or native English speaker in order to practise your English.
Reasons: *Not all foreigners speak good English. Some speak worse English than you do. *Most native English speakers listening to you talking take one of these options: Ignore your mistakes and just try to understand what you are trying to say or correct almost everything you say thereby frustrating you and causing you to lose your confidence more. Neither of these two options is good for your practice.
Solution: Practise your English first with a learner of English as a second language like you. It builds your confidence more, it is less challenging and less frustrating. It’s easy to find someone to practise with among your classmates, family members, neighbours, classmates / schoolmates, etc. On the other hand it is hard to find a friend who is a native English speaker and to have regular practice sessions. When you speak with a fellow learner like you, two of you limit yourselves to practising with the words, phrases and sentence structures you know. With a native English speaker even a simple “hello” may come with something new like “where are you heading to?” instead of “Where are you going?” from your friend. Remember that the number of speakers of English as a second language is fast outnumbering the number of speakers of English as a first language. So in your real life experience in future, you will probably be dealing more with people like you.
A little problem: One of my students complained to me that whenever she tried to practise her English with her classmates, they looked down on her with scorn considering her to be trying to show off by speaking a foreign language to them instead of their mother tongue. She found this very frustrating and gave up. Now this is possible unfortunately. People shouldn’t think like that.
Solution: Make it playful; make it look like a game.
Family example: In a family where dad, mom and children can speak a little English, pick a day, Saturday afternoon may be, and set it aside for English practice. Let there be a small penalty like: The one who forgets and speaks the mother tongue buys coffee for everyone, cleans the bathroom, does the dishes, cooks dinner, whatever…
Colleagues example: In an office where many can speak basic English, pick a day of the week like Friday and set it aside for English practice. Call it English day or something else. Again set a penalty for losers like: 30minutes overtime, buying snacks for everyone else, etc. This one works like magic and don’t be surprise to see your boss supporting it so well. Friday is a good day because losers go home and spend the weekend trying not to be a loser the next Friday.
4. Teach someone English
Do you know why experienced teachers are usually the best teachers? It’s because they have done the same thing over and over for years. Explaining things to students and other teachers. Do not mind the little English you know. Teach someone the little you know. Your child, friend, wife, husband, etc. Just teach them, explain to them, ask them to repeat after you. Secret: The best time to do this is after your English lesson. Teach the lesson you have just learnt to someone else. Funny isn’t it? It’s funny but this how the idea of Language Exchange Partners started.
5. You are almost there.
If you are already using the methods discussed in numbers 1,2,3 and 4, then in addition you can do the other things mentioned before like listening to English songs, watching English movies, reading English books and newspapers, chatting online and talking with native English speakers, etc. In this way you will improve your four language skills at the almost the same pace.
You are welcome to comment on this article or share your experience at our forum where you can meet other students and teachers. If you having problems improving your English you can contact me directly for assitance from my homepage by clicking here. One last word for your motivation: “We are all learners of the languages we speak.”
BigD
Shanghai, March 2009