Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

ele liu · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 7

hello everyone! i want to improve my oral english,could anyone give me some advice? thanks Very Happy

Corey · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 445 Location: Costa Rica

Hi Ele,

Don't be afraid to talk!

Find an activity which involves people who speak English and practice.

Good luck,

Corey
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ele liu · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 7

i know,but the thing is i am really afraid of talking in front of people.

Corey · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 445 Location: Costa Rica

You MUST overcome this fear.

My suggestions are:

1) Find a person you feel comfortable with and talk to that person.
2) Join a public speaking club - in Canada we have a group called Toastmasters - maybe they are in your country as well.(in your native language to build confidence for speaking in from of others).
3) Find a group to chat with on Skype or another VOIP program. Sometimes people feel more confident and take more risks when they can be semi-anonymous.

In any case, if you try to speak English and make a mistake, what is the worst thing that can happen?

Everyone makes mistakes when learning a new language - many mistakes. Some people say we learn the most this way.

Good luck,

Corey
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ele liu · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 7

That's very kind of you, i'll try my best to do so. what's more,i like watching english movies and plays,do you think it will improve the oral english? i'm watching "Desperate Housewife"recently~

Corey · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 445 Location: Costa Rica

Hi,

Watching movies will help - to a certain degree. You may learn some new vocabulary or phrases. I do not believe watching movies will help with speaking and/or pronunciation.

Good luck,

Corey
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Ginny · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 4

My Intensive English teacher told us to immitate some VOA or others examples with good pronounciation.
I'm trying to do that. I think it's a good idea.

Philo Kevetch · Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 564

Hello Ginny -

Your teacher gave you some good advice regarding listening to VOA.

Have you tried listening to VOA 'Programs in Special English' for non-native speakers on the internet?

First listen and then practice reading the scripts along with the annoucer.

BBC has similar program(me)s. Philo

summerkookid · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 4

if you are afraid of talking in public,why not try to talk with your classmates or friends in English?
please remember practice make perfect.

patataluna · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 5

I have the same problem. I am afraid of talking in front of others. however, I know that practice makes perfect. That's true. A friend of mine, she keeps talking to others in English everyday. Although her pronunciation doesn't improve much, while she speaks quite influent and she keeps making progress.

vicfan · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 6

Imitation is a good way!

Anuradha Chepur · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 933

Amy Qi · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 4

well, there are many ways to improve oral English.In my opinion, the most effective way is to practice a lot. If you want to make progress, you have to speak a lot and read a lot, even do some imitations. But it's very difficult for some people like me to keep going on. sometimes I want to give it up. But if you can continue it, you will reach the goal. Believe that "practice makes perfect"! Very Happy

valen_wong · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 2

everybody will feel embarrassed when they are talking in the public, for all of us will be afraid of making mistakes. As far as i am concerned, even the most agressive speaker will make mistakes in their speech. therefore, it is not necessary for us to keep silent just for saving our faces. Practice makes perfect. i think you can improve a lot after talking as much as possible.
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RedRose · Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 2735 Location: GuangZhou, China

I don't think listening to VOA is a neat idea. Think about it...when we were little, did our parents talk to us very slowly? Hell no! they talked with us normally, but finally we speak the language fluently.

I started practising my English listening 2 years ago, back then I tried VOA, it didn't work for me. I found it very inffective. Yes, I got the VOA, but when I watched TV and movies, I still had no idea what they were talking about. I felt frustrated and threw VOA to the hell. I watched English movies with english subtitles on PC at first and listening to English radio when I was cooking and doing the laundry, even in the bathroom...I permanently listened and listened, and it eventually worked!

That's an effective way I guess.