Confident English in 10 Easy Steps – Part 2

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

Today's article is a continuation from last week, an activity to help students build confidence in speaking.

I hope your students enjoy the activity. 

Thank you for visiting & have a great week!


Confident English in 10 Easy Steps – Part 2

Feel shy to speak English? Here are 5 more tips to help you speak more confidently.

6.   Watch your self-talk.
 
Self-talk is how you talk to yourself in your mind. Do you criticize yourself?  Do not do this. Instead praise yourself in your mind and even out loud.  For example, say to yourself: You were brave to talk to the shoe salesman. Good for you! 

Keep a notebook where you write down the good things that you did.  This will help you build confidence in all areas of  your life.

7.   Nervousness is a part of life.  

You have felt nervous in new situations before.  Maybe it was when you started high school, college or a new job.  But you kept going anyway.  Learning English is only one more new thing. You may be a little nervous, but keep going anyway!

Also try this: Whenever you feel nervous, instead think about how good you will feel when you start speaking English more fluently.  Keep these feelings in your mind whenever you start to get nervous. You can use this technique for any area of your life.


8.   Use a tool to improve your pronunciation. 
 
Here is a website you can use to learn the sounds of English: http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm.

You can also use the CD provided in the Office English course.  This course will help you sound more natural and improve your accent. 

Also, remember that native speakers like to hear accented English, especially Americans! As an American, I know this is true.  I love to hear the accents of people from other countries. So be proud of your accent and keep on speaking!


9.      Practice , practice, practice!
 
Use every opportunity you can to practice constantly. 

Here is an amazing story: I had a colleague from Kuwait who speaks excellent English, even though she has only lived in the Middle East. I asked her how she did this, and she told me it was by practising English all the time. She felt shy at first, and some of her friends thought it was funny, but she didn’t care.  Now this lady has an excellent job with a high salary, and the respect of her colleagues, because she speaks English so well!

10.  Don’t wait! Start speaking today!
 
Don’t wait until you can speak better.  This will never happen by itself. You will only speak better if you practice. Just like you learn to walk by walking, you learn to speak English by speaking! 

Do you have any tips to share that help you speak with confidence?  Share them with us in your comments.  I would love to hear from you!

Practice Your Speaking with the topics below!

SPEAKING TOPICS
* Describe a member of your family.
* Tell about a vacation that you enjoyed.
* What is one thing you really like about your life? Why?
* Describe the ideal husband or wife.
* Tell about a famous person that you admire.
* Tell about a strange dream you had.
* Talk about one of the best days of your life and one of the worst.
* What is your favorite dish? How do you make it?
* How would you describe yourself? What is one thing you really like about yourself? What is one thing that you wish you could change?