How to Study Speaking
Recorded at Step Four

There are three parts to the study of speaking: listening, vocabulary, and reading.
Without listening skills, you can't understand people. You need to listen in order to speak.

1) Speaking requires listening. If you want to speak, you need to be able to understand what others are saying. If I ask you what your weekend plans are, you need to be able to understand my question. My question will then shape your answer.

2) Speaking requires vocabulary. If you want to tell me that you went shopping or snowboarding or hiking, you will need to have the vocabulary to explain what you bought or how the snow was or how the weather was. 

3) Speaking requires reading, and reading is the heart of language. The ingredients of reading are vocabulary and grammar and syntax. If you read, your speaking will naturally improve.

4) Speaking requires planned practice. Read several paragraphs in English out loud. Record your voice. Listen to your voice as you read the paragraph.

5) Speaking requires practice so that everyday expressions become automatic. Find some old music, such as the Carpenters or Beatles. Listen to the lyrics and sing along. The Carpenters and Beatles are ideal singers to use for practice because their English is slow and clear.

6) Speaking requires regular practice. From a magazine, cut out a picture of someone you'd like to talk with. Tape the picture onto your bedroom mirror. Every morning when you wake up, talk to the person. In the morning, tell that person what you will be doing for the day. At the end of the day, tell that person what you did during the day, what you ate, how you feel, what you accomplished. This kind of talking is an opportunity to use your new vocabulary words.

7) Speaking requires unplanned practice. Find opportunities to speak to others in English. The ideal situation is to be able to develop relationships with native speakers. If that is not possible, another approach is to find non-native speakers who would like to practice speaking with you.

8) Speaking requires bravery. Those who learn to speak good English are generally braver and bolder than those who do not learn. Making mistakes is a normal part of learning. Be bold and speak up. Be brave when you make a mistake. Be both brave and bold and continue talking! 

9) Speaking requires faithful practice. Speaking every day for 15 minutes is better than speaking once a week for 105 minutes. Keep working at your speaking. You will get better if you keep working.

10) Speaking may be the most difficult skill to practice in Japan because there are just not enough chances to speak with others. This is why we have offered the suggestions above.

Good luck!

The End