Start networking and exchanging professional insights

Register now or log in to join your professional community.

Follow

What are some of the best ways I can follow for English speaking practice without a speaking partner?

user-image
Question added by Abeer AlSayed , Senior Media Relations Officer , Jordan River Foundation
Date Posted: 2016/03/24
ahmed abdallah
by ahmed abdallah , Language Instructor , King Saud University

1)   Listen a lot

2)  It's important to build your confidence. Practice with confidence.

3)  Develop intrapersonal communication.

4)Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

5)  Apply gestures while speaking.

6)Stick to any one accent.

7)  Try to imitate/emulate/reproduce/mirror/copy the speakers you admire.

8)Kick off your hesitance.

9)  Slow down your speaking speed. Don't speak too fast!

10)            Give yourself time to think

11)Learn sentences, not only words

12)            Watch News. Journalists are very good communicators.

13)            Record yourself. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

 

 

Pradeep Sharma
by Pradeep Sharma , English Language Training Instructor , King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah (KSA)

Well, it is really difficult to practice conversation without having a conversation. Using a mirror and talking to oneself are helpful practices, but they are after all artificial attempts and do not exactly simulate real-life conditions in which one needs to take unexpected twists and turns and one has to respond at the spur of the movement without the chance of correcting oneself.

Some softwares can help you out providing recorded responses and thus simulating conversation. RosettaStone is one such program. But it is a paid service and you have to buy the license to use it. You need multimedia device to use it and you can evaluate your progress as you go. There may be some online conversation classes too, but most of them are paid services.       

Susan Marx
by Susan Marx , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) , AIM

Reading a book out loud to yourself is one way of practicing. Writing and then reading out loud to yourself is another way to practice. This exercise also helps you to see any mistakes you may have made in your writing. You will be able to see if you have run on sentences, spelling errors, and proper use of verbs. It also lets you hear how your written words sound if you were reading to someone.

Rasha Maarabouni
by Rasha Maarabouni , Executive Registrar , Lebanese International University

Download an application called hello hello it is great to practice english alone

Zain Khater
by Zain Khater , Project Supervisor – StartUp Project , Injaz

How can you practice speaking English without anybody else to help you?

Writing, reading, listening—these skills can all be practiced alone. Easy.

Well, you can already write beautiful sentences. You memorized hundreds ofvocabulary words.

But when you open your mouth to speak, nothing comes out!

All the books, websites and apps in the world can’t help you learn how to speak English fluently.

To improve your spoken English, the best thing to do is to talk with a native speaker.

Sometimes we don’t have that option though! What if you don’t know anyone who speaks English? What if you don’t have time? What if you simply don’t feel confident enough yet to practice with a native?

Don’t worry. You can still improve your spoken English, even without a speaking partner.

We’re going to explain how. No speaking partner? No problem!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

 

14 Methods for Improving Your Spoken English Without a Speaking Partner

1. Think in English.

Sometimes the difficult thing about talking in a new language isn’t the language itself, but how you think about it.

If you think in your native language and then try to speak English, you’ll always have to translate between languages. Translating isn’t an easy thing to do! Even people fluent in two or more languages have trouble switching between languages.

The solution is to think in English.

You can do this anywhere, anytime. Try to use English when you’re thinking about your day, or when you’re trying to decide what food to order. Even try to use an English to English dictionary to look up words. That way you never have to use your native language and translate words. You’ll notice that when you think in English, it’s easier for you to speak in English. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

2. Talk to yourself.

Whenever you’re at home (or alone somewhere else) you can practice your English with your favorite person: yourself.

If you’re already thinking in English, try speaking your thoughts out loud.Read out loud, too. Practice is practice, and even if you don’t have anyone to correct your mistakes, just the act of speaking out loud will help you become more comfortable speaking English. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

 

3. Use a mirror.

Whenever you can, take a few minutes out of your day to stand in front of the mirror and speak. Choose a topic, set a timer for 2 or 3 minutes and just talk.

The point of this exercise is to watch your mouth, face and body language as you speak. It also makes you feel like you’re talking to someone, so you can pretend you’re having a discussion with a study buddy.

Talk for the full 2 or 3 minutes. Don’t stop! If you get stuck on a word you don’t know, try expressing your idea in a different way. You can always look up how to say that word after the 2-3 minutes end. This will definitely help you find out what kinds of words or sentences you have trouble with. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

4. Focus on fluency, not grammar.

When you speak in English, how often do you stop?

The more you stop, the less confident you sound and the less comfortable you become. Try the mirror exercise above, but challenge yourself to speak without stopping or stammering (taking pauses between your words) the entire time.

This might mean that your sentences won’t be grammatically perfect, and that’s okay! If you focus on speaking fluently instead of correctly, you’ll still be understood and you’ll sound better. You can fill in the correct grammar and word rules as you learn them better. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

 

5. Try some tongue twisters.

Tongue twisters are series of words that are difficult to say quickly. One example is: “The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.” Try saying this a few times! It’s not easy.

Word games like this will help you find the right placement for your mouth and tongue, and can even help your pronunciation. You can find a list of great tongue twisters here. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

 

6. Listen and repeat.

Do you watch TV shows or YouTube videos in English? Use them to improve your fluency. Choose a short part of a show and repeat it line by line. Try to match the tone, speed and even the accent (if you can). It doesn’t matter if you miss a few words, the important thing is to keep talking. Try to sound just like the native speakers on the show.

FluentU is a great way to practice listening and repeating.

FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

Whenever you watch a video here, you’ll see all of the spoken words (and their definitions) right there on your screen. This makes listening and repeating even easier. Just turn off the subtitles when you want a challenge! This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

 

7. Pay attention to stressed sounds.

English uses stresses in words and sentences. That means you’ll need to stress, or emphasize, certain words and syllables (sounds) to give words and sentences different meanings.

Listen to where native speakers place the emphasis when they speak. Try to repeat it the same way.

This won’t only help you speak well, it might even reduce misunderstandings. Sometimes the placing the stress on the wrong syllable completely changes the word. The word ADdress, for instance, isn’t the same as the word adDRESS. ADdress refers to a physical location where someone lives, and adDRESS means to formally speak to a group of people. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

Learn to hear the difference!

8. Sing along to English songs.

Singing along to your favorite English songs will help you become more fluent.

Once you can sing along to Taylor Swift and Jason Mraz, you can test your skills with something a bit more difficult: rap!

Rap is a great way to practice English because often the words are spoken like regular sentences. However, the rapper uses a stronger rhythm and faster speed. Some of the words might not make sense, but if you can keep up with the rapper then you’re on your way to becoming fluent! This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

9. Learn word forms with new words.

Some practice comes before you even open your mouth. Make speaking easier by learning the different forms of any words you learn. You should do this when you’re learning new vocabulary. For example, if you just learned the word write, you should also learn some other forms like wrote andwritten.

Knowing the correct way to use a word in any kind of sentence is important. This knowledge will help you while speaking. You won’t have to stop and think of different words—you’ll know exactly when you need to use that word while speaking. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

10. Learn phrases, not words.

An even better idea is to learn word phrases, not just words.

You might be using correct grammar and vocabulary, but it’s still not how a native speaker would say it.

For example, you can say “how do you feel today?” but a native speaker might say “how’re you doing?” or “what’s up?” instead. Phrases and expressions can be helpful for sounding more natural when you speak. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

11. Learn your most common sayings.

Take some time to really notice how you speak in your native language.

What words and phrases do you use the most often?

Learn how to say your most commonly used phrases and words in English. Knowing them in English will help you speak as well in English as you do in your native language. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

 

12. Prepare for specific situations.

Are you learning English for a specific reason? For example, are you learning English so you can get a job in an English-speaking company? In that case,practice English that will help you in an interview. Are you learning English so you can make friends in America? Then you would need a different kind of English. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

Before you go to a place where you have to speak English, you can practice what you might have to say. If you’re preparing to go to a restaurant, what might conversations in a restaurant sound like? Answer the questions a waiter might ask you. Try talking about food and menus.

You’ll feel more confident if you’re prepared!

13. Relax!

You can be your best helper or your worst enemy when learning to speak fluently! We know it’s hard, but you should try not to worry about how you sound when you speak. Just relax!

If you get stuck or confused, just take a big breath and start over. Speak slower if you have to. Take time to pause and think about your next sentence.

Do whatever it takes to become more comfortable with speaking English.

14. Tell a story from your language in English.

Here’s a fun way to test how well your spoken English has developed: choose a story that you know really well and tell it in English.

Remember to think in English as you’re telling your story. Focus on speaking fluently instead of correctly. Say every sentence out loud to yourself.

Even if you have nobody to talk to in English, you can still build confidence and master fluency on your own time. This is one of the best ways for english speaking practice.

In some ways, practicing speaking is even easier by yourself!

 

Source: fluentu

 

Salomi Daniel
by Salomi Daniel , Teacher / Lecturer , Holy Spirit School and PU College

Reffering books for english speaking course.

Rua K
by Rua K , Lecturer and social Mentor , DAA Osnabrueck and VHS Osnabrueck

Listining to English Music 

Dina Abdulraouf Shoeb Abdulhamed Abdelhamid
by Dina Abdulraouf Shoeb Abdulhamed Abdelhamid , Senior translator editor , Egyptian Radio and TV Union

Read Texts Out Loud

Reading fluency is simply the ability to read a book or text clearly. You correct your pronunciation mistakes until you make no errors.

The more you practice fluency, the more confidence you will have because it gives you a safe environment to practise in, increase your reading speed, and to process words faster.

Start reading aloud by yourself at home. 

How to start:

  1. Choose a text that is approximately 75-200 words long. Pick something that you think you can read easily, such as a book from one of your English classes, or even a book recommended by a friend.
  2. Ask your teacher or someone you know with excellent English if they can read the text out loud while you record them. You can also choose a clip from a movie or TV show to practice with if you prefer.
  3. Listen along to the recording while reading the text at the same time.
  4. Practice reading with the recording until you are confident.
  5. Record your own voice. Listen and compare.
  6. Find another text to read and repeat the first 5 steps.

You can develop your fluency by reading even for only 5 or 10 minutes a day at your own pace, and on whatever topic interests you the most ( I don’t recommend Shakespeare!).

HEMEN PANCHAL
by HEMEN PANCHAL , Medical Language Specialist , CONTECH BPO

One of the best way to speak English without a speaking

partner is in front of a mirror.

Jacques Hourani
by Jacques Hourani , Learning & Development Manager , JAK Construction

Talk to Myself.

Whenever I am at home (or alone somewhere else) I can practice my English with my favorite person: Myself.

If  Iam already thinking in English, try speaking my thoughts out loud.Read out loud, too. Practice is practice, and even if I don’t have anyone to correct my mistakes, just the act of speaking out loud will help me become more comfortable speaking English.

By reading english novels, stories book and news papers. we will also make our soken english better by seeing english cartoon ,films as well as english commentary.

More Questions Like This

Do you need help in adding the right keywords to your CV? Let our CV writing experts help you.