SELF-STUDY TIPS FOR PRACTISING SPEAKING
I know…you may ask me now how it is possible to practise speaking on your own.
I agree that it would be ideal to have someone to talk to, preferably a native speaker, a private tutor or maybe another person preparing for the exam. Well, life isn’t always a bed of roses. And sometimes you have to practise speaking on your own.
And although an obvious solution might seem to be to talk to yourself in the mirror…it won’t be of much help in this case.
Unless you want to practise charming the examiners and work on your charisma 😉
Why won’t it help? Because it won’t allow you to correct your own mistakes and improve your performance, and it won’t motivate you to complete the task, as you will not be able to evaluate it in anyway.
RECORD YOURSELF
The solution I want to offer you is recording yourself with the use of a smartphone, dictaphone or a computer, or any recording device for that matter.
The procedure will be differnt depending on the task you are preparing for.
BRIEFING
If you want to practise briefing, I recommend the following procedure:
1. Record your briefing.
2. Listen to your recording.
3. Check the timing.
4. Make notes while listening and write down the questions you could ask.
5. Answer the questions and record your answers.
6. Listen to your recording and note down any mistakes you notice: grammatical, vocabulary, structure, content, delivery, etc.
7. Record the same briefing trying to avoid making the same mistakes.
8. You may keep recording the same briefing until you find it perfect or acceptable.
DISCUSSION
Discussion is obviously more tricky when it comes to practising on your own. However, you might try the following recommendation of mine, which I suggest to my students as additional self-study exercise apart from what we do in the classroom together in these terms.
Part A
1. Record your introduction
2. Record your statement referring to the factor you consider the first on the list
3. Listen, make notes
4. Use your notes to answer the statement by agreeing or disagreeing with it and justify your opinion
5. Do the same with the rest of the arguments
6. To sum up, record a statement in which you conclude the discussion by presenting the order and justifying your choice
Part B
1. record your answer to each question
2. listen to the recording and dispute it (disagree), justifying your opinions
Finally
1. Always listen to all your recordings and make notes
2. Write down any grammatical and other mistakes you notice and try to correct them
3. Decide what needs to be improved – record the same statements again with improvements
You can make your recording during a walk, while doing your ironing or while driving a car. It is not as complicated as it seems. Many people who tested it say that it works, as it allows you to realise the kinds of mistakes you make and consciously practise whatever needs improvement in your speaking.
Just speaking to someone who does not give you appropriate feedback won’t do all the job, as in the exam it is not only fluency in speaking that counts, but also grammatical accuracy, appropriate level of vocabulary as well as the quality of arguments, logic and clarity of your statement.
If you would like to ask any questions or comment on the article, just leave a few words below the post⬇⬇⬇ or contact me directly by e-mail at info@stanagexpert.com.
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