ESL Discussion

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  • Syed Faisal Ali June 24, 2014 7:58

    Believe it or not, I studied English alone. When I came to abroad for work at that time my English was very poor. 

    I bought a book and started to read stories and did my best to understand the pattern of sentences. I used to mark the difficult words to find them in Dictionary. I had no access to the internet at that time. I'm talking about 2007, then i started to speak or pronounce the new words which I learned from the books.

    I was not really sure that if my pronunciation was good or not. But I kept speaking even some people made a fun of me and they corrected me. Then I got access to the internet, I was not really familiar with internet but I use google to help me and google showed me a website "My English Club", I made many friends here and after spending some time in chatroom and reading blogs. My vocabulary became rich and i added many users on Skype.... And this is how I improved my English. 

  • Luci April 30, 2014 15:02
    Since I have been surounded by my kids last four years here at home, sometimes I catch myself talking in English with myself. Hard to say if it is helpful or if I am psycho but I would say it might help little bit. Anywayz, it can't ever be the same as the conversation where you have to react immediately.
  • T Mal April 28, 2014 9:34

    Hi Everyone.

    As an online teacher I have often been asked the same question and my answer is yes you can improve speaking skills alone.  I once met a Tibetan Monk online who had done exactly this he described who he would find websites with audio and text that he could copy.  He did say he had some speaking skills but needed to improve them.

    From his idea I researched websites that a learner with some speaking skills could improve speaking and fluency.  The students I worked with found the BBC The Flatmates serial the most useful.  It allows you to improve listening skills (which help speaking too) check your understanding by reading the text then you can try copying what you hear in the audio.  Finally record what you say and compare it to the recording.  Start with one sentence at a time working up to the whole script. The link below is for episode 1 and there are almost 300 episodes and each has a language point to help with grammar and vocabulary.

    One more thing.  It is important that students are aware of all 44 sounds of English, being able to distinguish them and produce them will help understanding of the speaker and the listener.

    Here are two links I hope you will find useful.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

    http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/...

    At a higher level you can use the same website but go to the section 'Words in the News'  try to copy the stress and intonation you hear in the news items.  The topics will also improve your vocabulary.

    Mal

  • Dark Knight March 10, 2014 17:08

    Yes,it's possible....there are many different ways to do this like:-

    1.Reading out loud (from any book, any conversation)

    2.Speaking to yourself (some people actually have this kind of habit)

    3.Speaking with an imaginary friend i.e.thinking possible conversations from both side & thinking about variations that what will he say if i say this or that (most people do this when they have a crush on someone)

    4.Watching some English movie and try to act like characters and speaking out their dialogues in their accent. (this is the quickest & funniest way if you like acting)

    5.Singing English songs (for those who are gifted with good vocal range & like to sing)

    These methods are best for introverts who prefers to talk less & enjoy loneliness.

    but there problem is these methods are boring as compared to talking with some friend in English.

    when you have conversation partner, you don't feeling like you are learning something...and that's why you can talk for hours without being tired. 

    I had tried first 3 methods..it worked well but sometimes i found myself that i am forcefully pushing myself even if i tried for half an hour.

    To conclude...According to me , practicing speaking alone is possible but require a lot of patience & tolerance to overcome boredom & a strong determination & willpower to learn.

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  • T Mal April 15, 2013 10:44

    Hi

    I think Dufourmental is on the right track, although I think it unfair to criticise the grammar of the question albiet a little ambiguous.  We do not always need to grammar police to clarify the gist of a question or statement.

    Some fortunate people can begin to imitate native speakers if they have the ability to listen correctly and analyse the stress of both word and sentence stress also intonation and implied meaning.  Unfortunately many people do not possess this ability and those that do try autonymous speaking do not have the 'ear' for the music of a language and can lead to misunderstanding where the wrong stress is placed.

    I teach here in the UK and have a majority of Urdu, Hindi, Pashto, Kurdish and Punjabi speakers who come to the UK with some knowledge of English.  One  particular problem many have is giving and receiving personal information.  English question words; who, what, where, why, how, are always weak although in their first language it is quite strong and at the end of the question.  When English speakers ask. 'What is your name'.  The what is very weak, but if we do say it strong it sounds like we are being interogated.  Therefore should a Punjabi speaker ask that question with the wrong stress a native English speaker may feel intimidated or offended leading to a situation of mistaken intention.

    This is where a sympathetic listener can help the learner correct and teach the nuances of a language.  One other area that needs mentioning is accepted levels of politeness that can be another cause of tension if the listener is not sympathetic to a second language speaker.

    In conclusion I would say, yes you can learn to speak autonymously although you must be prepared for misunderstandings at first.  Politeness is essential and can overcome any errors you might make when communicating with native English speakers for the first time.

    Mal James

    • T Mal February 21, 2014 13:25

      Sudeep

      It depends on the learners first language, how you were taught initially and so many other factors.  A book that goes into detail is Swanns Learner English. There is a whole chapter that covers such aspects  as grammar pronunciation, phonology and syntax

  • Daniel February 26, 2013 20:41

    For me , It's completely possible to practise speaking English on your own, as long as, you strive yourself so as to you can reach your goal. Through some simple actions like reading, writting and mainly pronunciation and listening you can develop a cool level of English by yourself. But, just the continuous practice will lead you to the "perfection" and who knows after some period to the fluency. I think that the time and practice are definitively the main character towards the so desired goal: fluency. So, the key-words for me concerning English learning is just TIME AND PRACTICE. So "HANDS TO WORK RIGHT NOW". Don't forget that any learning you had IT WILL LAST FOREVER ;)))

  • bright - rubies February 26, 2013 13:47

    In my opinion, yea it's possible ... I tried it before. I imagined myself talking with someone. It helped me to increase my speed in talking while I used to take more time to think about what I wanna talk or express. I was arguing with someone in my mind, too. 

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