Try These Activities for English Speaking Practice

 

Have you ever recorded yourself on an electronic device¹ while speaking English? If so, what kinds of things did you notice?

Recording² yourself gives you the chance to listen to and critique your English speaking skills. You can take note of things like sentence structure, word choice, pronunciation and fluency³. This can give you a better idea of what your strengths are and which areas need more work.

Today on Education Tips, we will talk about two recording activities you can do to strengthen your speaking skills.

Retelling a story

The first activity involves narrative⁴ storytelling.

William Stout⁵ teaches at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His specialty⁶ is teaching⁷ English as a foreign language. He says some speaking activities do not give an accurate⁸ picture of your true language skills. But narrative storytelling does.

Narrative storytelling is the retelling of a story. It can be a short piece of fiction, such as a program from the VOA Learning⁹ English series American Stories, or it can be the retelling of a news event. Or you can talk about something that happened in your own life.

Stout explains that narrative storytelling frees your mind from forming complex ideas, which lets you speak more easily in English. On the other hand, he notes, an activity requiring your opinion can slow you down. That is because it forces you to think about your ideas as you say them.

For the narrative storytelling activity, Stout says try to provide as many details as possible and aim for a recording of three minutes or fewer.

"Don't just say, ‘I studied at the library.' Say, ‘I walked into the library and I thought about where I should sit. And most of the seats were taken, so I looked around and I finally found a spot, but it was near the window. But it was chilly¹⁰, so I had to keep my coat on.' Something like that."

The goal in giving such detail is not to fill the time, but to speak at a faster speed because you do not have to stop and think of each idea separately.

Before the activity, Stout suggests speaking out loud to yourself a few times to make sure you have your main points in mind.

When listening to the recording, do not expect to find all or even most grammar or vocabulary mistakes, he says. But you can easily find some mistakes, such as wrong verb tenses, verb endings and noun¹¹ endings. You can also take note of your language fluency. Other things are harder to do yourself, like recognizing and critiquing individual sounds from words.

After the first recording, Stout says, record yourself telling the same story at least once more and take note of your progress. But avoid memorizing your speech.

Giving, getting directions

The second activity involves giving and getting directions.

Wynter Oshiberu teaches English in the Washington, D.C. area. She works¹² for the International Center for Language Studies and Montgomery Community College. She is also a volunteer English teacher for a nonprofit group called Paper Airplanes.

Oshiberu says giving directions is a real-world skill and one you can use almost anywhere. And you can train by yourself if you do not have people to speak English with.

The first step in the activity is to choose a starting point and a destination.

For the starting point, she says, choose a place that you know well, like your home or a nearby bus or train station.

For the destination, choose a place you need to travel to more often, such as the supermarket, train station, your work place or favorite eating place.

Then, record yourself giving the directions. The recording should not be longer than one minute.

Oshiberu says the activity is a good way to employ the imperative¹³ form, also known as the command form. In English, the command form begins with a verb, as in, "Turn right when you reach the doctor's office."

Note however that, when giving directions, native English speakers sometimes add the subject "you" to the start of a command.

"The correct way, if you're telling someone what to do, you might want to start off with, ‘First, you go right on 7th Street' or 'First, you turn right on 7th Street' or just ‘Turn right on 7th Street.'"

Avoid adding the modal verb "can," which Oshiberu notes is a common mistake of English learners. For example, avoid saying something like, "You can turn right on 7th Street."

When listening to your recording, take note of your subject-verb agreement, use of prepositions¹⁴, use of the command form and pronunciation.

You can even try using your own directions yourself, Oshiberu adds. In other words, play the recording as you walk from the starting point to the destination. This will let you know whether your directions were clear and accurate.

Another way to practice getting directions is to use your phone's GPS or global positioning system.

To do this, she suggests changing the language settings¹⁵ on the GPS system to English. Then, choose a destination to get walking directions to, a place that is not too far away. Set the GPS so you can listen to the directions and then follow the directions to the destination.

Oshiberu says listening to directions is useful because, when you give directions to a real person, they are probably going to ask questions.

That brings our program to a close. As you try these speaking activities, remember to relax and enjoy the process. And don't forget to celebrate the things you do well! Let us know how it goes.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Transcribe¹⁶ Yourself

If you would like to more closely¹⁷ observe the grammar and vocabulary in your speaking, you can transcribe your recordings¹⁸. To transcribe means to put your speech into written or typed form.

There are two ways to do this.

You can use a transcription service, such as Google's speech recognition¹⁹ service, which offers a free trial period. Such services automatically²⁰ type out the words you speak. However, note that these services usually work better for common accents.

The second way is to type or write the words yourself after you record yourself. This might involve having to rewind the recording a few times, but it can also act as a good English writing practice exercise.

Words in This Story

pronunciation - n. the way in which a word or name is said

fluency - n. the ability to speak easily and smoothly²¹

accurate - adj. able to produce results that are correct

fiction - n. written stories about people and events that are not real : literature that tells stories which are imagined by the writer

library - n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow

spot - n. a particular space or area

chilly - adj. noticeably²² cold

coat - n. an outer piece of clothing that can be long or short and that is worn to keep warm or dry

destination - n. a place to which a person is going or something is being sent

relax - v. to stop feeling nervous or worried

accent - n. a way of pronouncing words that occurs among the people in a particular region or country

1 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

4 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

5 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

6 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 accurate   

adj.正确无误的；准确的，精确的

参考例句：

• He has made an accurate measurement of my garden.他准确地丈量了我的花园。
• He is always accurate in what he says and does.他说的和做的总是正确无误。

9 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

10 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

11 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

12 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

13 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

14 prepositions   

n.介词( preposition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She lays a lot of emphasis on the usage of prepositions. 她把重点放在介词的使用上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Prepositions and conjunctions are particles. 介词和连词是小品词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 settings   

n.镶嵌( setting的名词复数 )；环境；装置；（某事、戏剧、小说等的）背景

参考例句：

• to study behaviour in laboratory and naturalistic settings 研究实验室里的以及仿自然环境中的行为
• This machine has two settings: fast and slow. 这种机器有两种可调的速度：快速和慢速。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 transcribe   

v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录

参考例句：

• We need volunteers to transcribe this manuscript.我们需要自愿者来抄写这个文稿。
• I am able to take dictation in English and transcribe them rapidly into Chinese.我会英文记录，还能立即将其改写成中文。

17 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

18 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

19 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

20 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。

21 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

22 noticeably   

adv.显著地，明显地

参考例句：

• There was one boy rather noticeably standing apart from the other children. 有个男孩引人注目地独自站在一边，不接近其他孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was noticeably slow to respond. 他明显反应迟缓。 来自《简明英汉词典》