Real English Conversations - 48327 Puerto Vallarta

Thinking and Speaking in English

Speaking is the most neglected skill for language learners.

Somewhere along the way, they have been told that the best way to reach fluency is to practice with other people. That advice has been interpreted as the ONLY time they need to practice speaking and that practicing alone is not effective.

The truth is that speaking in a real conversation is a high-pressure situation that is more like a performance than practice. Although it is essential to speak in a spontaneous way with a real person, it is not a great atmosphere for saying new words for the first time, taking extra time to think and explaining your ideas in full detail.

With the right activities, speaking can be practiced without needing a practice partner. The key is providing a topic that makes them think in English by giving their opinion, telling a story or explaining something in a lot of detail.

Next, it’s up to the student to identify the words they are missing and to try to figure out how to express these thoughts exactly how they want to say them.

Identifying ‘missing vocabulary’ is a huge part of our speaking course and the activities. It is much faster for a person to learn the words they are missing while trying to speak than it is to memorize a list of words that they may or may not use in their communication.

This video explains the difference very effectively: