How To Practice Speaking In English When You Are Alone
- [Tiffani] There are millions
of English learners across the world.
Everyone wants to speak English,
but the problem is you don’t have
anyone to speak with like
a native English speaker.
So, how do you study
English when you’re alone?
Well, there are five
methods to studying English
without a native English speaker.
They are Mirror and Read, Mimic,
Teach, Shadow, and Narrate
and today I will teach you
how to do each of them.
Welcome to Speak English With Tiffani.
I am Teacher Tiffani.
Let’s jump right in.
Okay, number one is Mirror and Read.
Basically, you look in the
mirror and you read out loud.
Okay, so let’s look at
this in more detail.
The purpose of this method
is that it will help you
get more comfortable speaking
in front of other people.
You can spend about 10 to 15
minutes practicing this method.
You can do it a little
more or a little less.
It’s up to you, but my
suggestion is 10 to 15 minutes
and you want to do it
about three times a week.
Now, there are a few things
that you must remember about this step.
First, remember it’s not crazy.
You know, a lot of people
or a lot of students think
talking to yourself is not effective
or you feel a little weird or awkward.
But actuality, it’s an
excellent way to practice
speaking in English.
The next thing to remember is right here.
You want to remember to keep eye contact.
You see, what happens is the
more eye contact you practice,
even if it’s looking at yourself,
the more comfortable you will become
when you speak with other people.
Okay? You become more
comfortable making eye contact
when you do speak to someone
who is a native speaker. Okay?
So remember, this practice
will help you with eye contact.
Okay? This is a very good practice.
And the last thing you have to remember is
this is excellent for expressions.
Now, this is dealing
with facial expressions.
You see, English is not just a language
that is focusing on the words you use.
It also focuses on your
facial expressions.
So, this will improve your facial ex,
let’s go to the next line, expressions.
As you speak, you’ll
recognize if you’re smiling
or if you’re frowning
when you’re speaking.
So, you want to make sure to be aware
of your facial expressions.
Okay, let’s keep going.
Alright, the second one is Mimic.
Basically, you’re going to
mimic specific conversations.
You can find them online,
you can find them in
movies or in tv programs.
Wherever you can find these
specific conversations
you’re going to mimic them.
So, let’s look at it in
a little bit more detail.
You see, the purpose of this
step is it will help you
learn how to speak naturally
in various situations.
Okay, it’s not just about
learning expressions.
It’s about learning the right expressions
for the right situation.
Now, for this step it’s important
that you practice
between 20 to 30 minutes,
because you need to do it over and over.
And my advice is that
you do it once a week.
Because it’s something that
will take a little bit of time,
you don’t want to do it every single day.
You want to try to do
it at least once a week.
Now, what you want to
remember is this word, mimic,
simply means, let’s put this right here,
the meaning of this is to copy,
let’s fix this c,
what you see or hear.
Now, this is important:
what you see or hear.
Remember, English is about visuals
and also audible things,
okay? Let’s keep going.
Now, the second thing is,
this step will actually
improve your ability to
express yourself naturally.
You see, what you’re
doing is you’re watching
and you’re listening to other
people who are native speakers
express themselves in certain situations.
So, your English speaking
ability will naturally improve
even though you’re not with
another native speaker,
because you’re watching
or looking at them. Okay?
And the last thing to remember
is that with this step
you will learn situation-specific
sentences and expressions.
Now, I’ll explain what this means, okay?
Sentences and expressions. We’ll
just put exp for right now.
Sentences and expressions,
you will learn these things
that are specifically applicable,
or focused on, a certain situation.
So, for example, what do
I say at a job interview?
What do I say when I go to get fast food?
You’ll learn expressions
specifically for that situation.
Okay? Let’s go to the next one.
Alright, the next one is
Teach, or in other words,
you will teach someone
what you already know.
Now, don’t get confused.
This is still something that
you’re going to practice alone.
When I say alone, it means
without a native English speaker,
however you can still teach
other people what you know.
Let me explain.
So, the purpose is this will help you
gain confidence in your
English speaking ability.
You see, what happens is when you teach
someone what you know,
it makes the information
you already have inside
your brain stronger,
and it also helps it to be
more solidified in your brain.
Okay? So, I want you to practice
this for 30 to 60 minutes.
It’ll really feel like a
class when you’re teaching
the individuals what you already know.
And you should do it at least once a week.
Okay, again this is a different method.
You want to switch up the
methods that you practice
so they can also help you grow.
Now, let’s look at it a little closer.
Like I said earlier, you
don’t need a native speaker,
okay, to practice your speaking ability.
Actually teaching other people
will help you improve and remember.
It’s pretty amazing how the brain works.
When you teach someone else,
it also helps you learn, too.
Okay, so this is what’s
happening in your brain.
Let’s say this is what your
brain looks like right now.
When you teach someone,
this is your brain,
when you teach someone
it actually helps you
to organize what was
already inside of your brain
and it makes it even stronger
inside of your brain.
So what you already know becomes stronger.
So, your English ability will
continue to improve. Okay?
Now, the last thing you’ll
notice right here is
if there’s no one around you to study with
you can even teach yourself,
similar to the other method
of looking in the mirror.
Okay, so you can teach
yourself in the mirror. Okay?
It’s all about practicing. Okay?
Alright, let’s keep
going to the next step.
Alright, the next one was Shadow.
In other words, Shadow,
Visual, and Audible Situations.
Important, visual and audible situations.
Let me explain it.
Alright, the purpose of this method is
it will help you practice
actual natural conversations,
and my advice is to do this
for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Okay? And you want to try
this about two times a week.
Now, the reason you can do
this more often is because
it may be a little bit more interesting,
because you’re watching
and you’re also listening.
Okay? So, you could find a YouTube video,
you could find a television program,
or something that is
actually interesting to you.
Okay. Now, let’s look at it
a little bit more detail.
The first thing we want to look at is
that it is similar to Mimic,
remember the Mimic step we
did or the Mimic method,
but your goal here,
your goal here is speed.
Okay? Speed and fluency.
Okay, speed and fluency are very similar,
but speed and fluency
and also pronunciation
when you’re speaking. Okay?
That’s what makes this
method a bit different.
Speed, fluency, and pronunciation
are the three things
you want to focus on. Okay?
And also what you need to remember is
English is an expressive language.
I mentioned before that it’s
not just the words you use,
it’s also your body language. Okay?
How you move when you are speaking.
So, you need to learn how
to use proper body language.
Remember this is all important
when you’re focusing on
improving your speaking ability.
Okay? Let’s keep going.
Alright, and the final one is Narrate
or Narrate Your Daily Life.
There are things that you
do throughout the day,
but now you want to think
about them in English.
You work, you go shopping for food,
you relax at home, and then you sleep.
But, you want to think about
these things in English.
Okay, so let’s look at it
in a little bit more detail.
The purpose is it will help you to express
more about your life in English.
You should spend about 15 to 20 minutes,
and you should do this on a daily basis.
Now remember, you’re going to be thinking
about your day throughout the day.
So, when you’re working in
your mind just say to yourself,
“I am working on a project.”
When you go to the
store, say in your mind,
“I am shopping for food.”
Then, when you come home in
the evening, you combine that.
Okay? So, let’s keep going.
Now, let’s look at this right here. Okay?
Alright, the first thing is
you need to think in English.
Okay. This is why this is so important.
So, throughout the day you
are thinking in English.
Okay, this is your brain
thinking in English.
Then, next you need to begin organizing
your thoughts in English. Okay?
All of this happens before you speak.
And the third thing that happens is
now what was going on in
your brain throughout the day
becomes the words that will
come out of your mouth,
let’s see if it fits there,
the words that will
come out of your mouth.
So, you will improve your speaking. Okay?
So, this is why this is
important to narrate your day.
So, again there are five ways to speak
without having anyone with you.
Mirror and Read, Mimic,
Teach, Shadow, and Narrate.
I have a free Speak English ebook
that I would love to give to you.
If you haven’t received yours, yet,
please go to
speakenglishwithtiffani.com/ebook
and get yours today.
There are tons of expressions,
idioms, and vocabulary words,
and hundreds of example sentences.
Also, watch my next English
video lesson on the left
and keep learning English.
I’ll talk to you next time.