English Speaking Tips & Resources

Larry Ferlazzo Blog: “Best Websites to Practice Speaking English”: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/03/17/the-best-sites-to-practice-speaking-english/

-          This blogger writes about the “Best Websites to Practice Speaking English” – has a list of these different websites and the functions used

-          Blabberize allows you to upload an image, have the mouth’s image move in a comedic way, and then “speak” your voice. Students can use their own photos, or a famous person, cartoon character, etc. Blabberize can be used in the same way ESL/EFL teachers sometimes have students use puppets — students can feel more comfortable speaking when it’s not really “them” doing the talking.

-          Voice Thread is well-known. Between the free unlimited account for educators, the ability to type text as well as record audio, the ability to grab images off the Web to reinforce understanding, and the great feature of being able to leave audio comments, I don’t think anything beats it.

-          A new site is called English Central -  A quick description is that it’s a free video site for English Language Learners, lets users listen to parts of the video, then lets them repeat what the characters says and compares it to the original. You get graded on how well you do.

Babbel: http://blog.babbel.com/tech-background-babbel-speech-recognition/

-          Babbel uses advanced speech recognition tools

-          Uses pronunciation samples recorded by native speaking editors to compare pronunciation à instant feedback is given, closer your pronunciation is to the sample, the higher points you will received on a scale from 0-100

o   If you receive more than 50 points, good enough to be understood

-          Speech recognition has to consider filtering out background noises, etc.

-          Babbel does speech recognition in the browser (unlike Rosetta Stone and other software that require audio CDs, etc.) – requires Flash plug-in and a microphone

Talk English: Ways to Improve English Speaking: http://www.talkenglish.com/

Steps to Learning English To become a fluent English speaker, you must study and master reading, listening, and speaking. At TalkEnglish.com, the lessons are structured to give you practice in all three areas at the same time.

A complete and efficient solution to Learn English speaking   TalkEnglish.com developed the "Click, Listen, and Repeat" functionality. In most of the lessons, you read the sentence, click on the sentence to listen to the sentence, and then you can practice speaking by repeating after the audio file provided by a native English speaker. This proven method strengthens your reading, speaking, and listening all at the same time and makes learning English easy. You will improve your English speaking using this method.

The BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/

-          Part of the website that gives insight on how to improve English

o   Different sections such as “grammar, vocab, pronunciation” with important vocabulary and slang in current news, as well as pronunciation tips

Effective Learning: http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-course-reviews/rosetta-stone-review

Review of Rosetta Stone Language Course

-          Rosetta Stone uses the “total immersion” approach.

-          Because Rosetta Stone really is geared up to utilize the way we learn as children, it is no surprise that this is a very effective study aid for those who are younger. You look at the pictures and through your logical à Rosetta Stone programs relying on a series of games, flashcards and exercises that all follow the same theme: match up the picture with the spoken words. Grammar is not given any importance whatsoever

-          You are supposed to be able to learn to associate what you say with what is in front of you, linking the image in your mind with the correct pronunciation of the object.

-          Still, overall, the pace of the lessons is excellent, with a lot of re-capping previous points and making sure that you understand the right lessons that have been taught. It’s pretty focused on vocabulary as well, and you can really start to feel that having an effect on the way that you think about the language, even if you won’t be able to form complex sentences yourself by the end of the course.

-          The problem lies in the fact that this sort of learning just doesn’t appeal to everyone, and not everyone can use this method of learning to their advantage

o   The way we learn as children is completely different to the way we learn as adults, and for most of us, that’s simply because we cannot process information in the same open-minded absorbent way that we do as children.

Pros & Cons

Language Learning Tips:

#1 Always Carry A Dictionary!

-          A pocket dictionary, or even a phrasebook/dictionary combination. You can also carry a notebook around to record your freshly learned words.

#2 Read Newspapers

-          There are various ways to acquire literature in foreign languages, and many papers will have their own websites for you to buy from.

-          If you find newspapers to be a little difficult, try a magazine.

-          If you find a magazine to be a little difficult, try a comic book.

o   Comic books are excellent since they are very conversational, and aimed at a younger audience. Still, once you feel you have mastered comic books, progress your way up to newspapers, and always keep your dictionary on hand.

#3 Write Letters

-          If you lack the confidence to write to an actual person, writing letters is still a great way to practice a more relaxed tone of voice.

o   You will need to know new words and to think about how best to say things in the language. As soon as you begin writing the everyday things that happen as you would do in a diary, you will able to look back on how you are progressing.

#4 Think In The Language

-          Try to think as much as you can in the chosen second language.

o   when studying to speak a foreign language is the habit to actively translate from your language to another, instead of thinking automatically in the other language.

o   If you will practice it regularly, it will gradually become much more natural to you.

#5 Flashcards

-          These are very effective in studying another language. A mere ten seconds of your spare time is enough for a quick exam pick a card and memorize the word for a term. Return to it at intervals and see how long you can remember it for.

-          There are many ways to prepare flashcards, from pictorial to just the words in your native language that you will then have to translate. You can buy flashcards, but the act of making them yourself is also beneficial to learning.

-          Don’t tell yourself that you cannot make time for this because it’s just so easy to do! Keep in mind that the next moment you go online, at the grocery store, bank, doctor’s office or anywhere, you can make sure of the words that you have learned.

#6 Read read read!

-          While magazines and newspapers are constructed to be grammatically correct, books can often focus more on speech between characters, colloquialisms and practical knowledge about a culture. Read everything, from websites to signs to poetry to books, and you will soon find that the skills you are picking up in the lessons are being transferred to your reading ability. However, you should be interested in the content

#7 Audio

-          People respond very well to listening to a language - Listening to the language is a critical aspect of studying if you plan to actually speak it. This is also one of the easiest ways to become comfortable with a language even if you can’t understand what is being spoken, you will still be picking up pronunciation and inflection.

#8 Online Radio

-          When you follow the mentioned tips, give yourself some time to absorb the latest language you learned. Radio will provide you the chance to be exposed to the latest vocabulary and new content on a regular basis.

o   combine your present audio with other kinds of sources like radio.

#9  Regular Contact

-          This is potentially the most important rule when studying different languages, and in a sense what most of these tips are about. You must be able to expose yourself to the chosen language daily if you have time. Learning for 10 minutes daily is better compared when you cram for 1 hour, once or twice a week

#10 Pen pals

-          There are many pen pal services for foreign language speakers that you can join up to these days, as well as the immense social tool of the internet for engaging with speakers of other languages, so you can easy practice your writing skills AND make sure that you are comprehensible to a native speaker.

-          They can assist you, and in return you can help them to learn a little of your language, if they would like. There are various free websites and forums that are accessible for you to discover other individuals that will be glad to help you.

#11 Mistakes Are Good!

-          Don’t be stressed out if you can’t recall, or misspell, some of the phrases or words that you think you have learned. Mistakes are a positive part of learning, and are absolutely necessary in order to advance. In fact, sometimes learning from a mistake instead of learning the word the first time, will make that word stick a little easier in your head because you have spent more time on it. Gradually, everything will fall into place!

#12 Take your Time

-          Assign enough time to study another language. Set the number of hours that you will use during the week for studying, and stick to them!