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In their effort to improve their conversational English, some of my students have recently requested longer lessons to better practice their pronunciation and sentence structure. While such enthusiasm is commendable, it is not so much a lesson's length that's important. Rather, it is lesson frequency that is critical. When learning conversational English, repetition is everything! For example, it is far better to have three short 20-minute lessons during the week rather than a single weekly lesson of 60-minutes.
In some ways, a person's ability to acquire new knowledge or skills is determined by unchangeable factors. Such things as subject complexity, personal intellectual capacity, and right-brain versus left-brain hemisphere dominance are all fixed, and there's not much a student can do to improve or alter any of them. However, here are some techniques that can greatly assist you in your quest for oral fluency.
First, you should remember that literacy in any language involves four essential skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. In your attempt to improve your spoken English, you should not neglect the other three. They are all mutually reinforcing (this is especially true of listening skills acting in tandem with speech). For example, when I am assisting students with conversational English, I often provide an audio recording and matching written script. I tell students to listen to the recording as they simultaneously silently read the written script. They then are instructed to read aloud the script and record their own voices. By comparing their spoken English with that contained on the original recording, both the student's pronunciation and comprehension are greatly improved.
Secondly, you should practice every day! This certainly doesn't mean taking a formal lesson every 24 hours! However, you should set aside a few minutes twice a day to practice spoken English. This can be done by listening to an English radio or television program and then repeating aloud some of the sentences and expressions you heard. As time permits, make an audio recording of both the original program and your own spoken English responses. By comparing the two, you can greatly improve your pronunciation. The internet can be very useful in such activities.
Finally, get comfortable! If you're studying at home, sit in a comfortable chair in a well-lit, quiet area. Now, this does not mean you should practice speaking English only while sitting at home! Rather, you should seize every opportunity to speak English while shopping at a mall or moving about at your office. Even more important, if you're having a stressful day, use a short English lesson as a break from your life's problems. Make speaking English relaxing and fun!
See you next time!
Art
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