How to become a more confident English speaker:
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DUDE: Amer. For ‘mate’ or friend (tío) DUH: interj. Used to express what is being said is too obvious |
• Practise where and when you can. Any practice is good – whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not!
• It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple English sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
• Try to experiment with the English you know. Use words and phrases you know in new situations.
• Read, read, read. It’s good to read aloud long texts, and listen to the CD if you feel you have to correct your pronunciation.
• Listen to English songs and SING! That also helps a lot to improve your pronunciation. There are millions of songs in English, for sure some you’ll find you like!
• Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
• Try NOT to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time and will make you more hesitant.
• If you forget a word, try to use a similar one or explain using other words you know well. Also you can say ‘ummm…’, or ‘er…’, until the right words come. This is better than keeping completely silent.
• Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm when speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
• Try to relax when you speak – you'll find your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. When you speak English at normal speed, you'll discover that many of the pronunciation skills, such as linking between words, will happen automatically.
• Speak on and on... Your accent may be British or American, both are understood ( at least most of the time!) :-)
