187 - 5 Essential Speaking Tips for English Learners
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Hi, everybody. My name is Shauna, and this is the American English Podcast. My goal here is to teach you the English spoken in the United States. Through common expressions, pronunciation tips, and interesting cultural snippets or stories, I hope to keep this fun, useful, and interesting. Let's do it.

Welcome back to the American English Podcast. I'm Shauna, your ESL teacher from California, and today we are going to talk about a topic that I love, speaking. If you've ever frozen mid-sentence, forgotten words at the worst time, or felt that very familiar wave of panic before voicing your opinion,

you're not alone. In this episode, we'll tackle the five most essential speaking tips for English learners, real strategies that'll boost your confidence, sharpen your skills, and help you enjoy conversations instead of dreading them. A big part is about mindset. I'll also mention tools and tricks to build self-awareness and confidence. Let's dive in.

For the past six years, I've sent out an email that asks learners, what is your biggest challenge learning English? Again and again, I get the same responses. First, people say, there are no native English speakers where I am and no tourists. I have nobody to practice with.

Number two, I learn so much vocabulary and idioms, but when it's time to use them, I can't remember. So they can't remember the words that they've learned. And number three, I'm shy. Extroverts improve quicker. If you can relate to any of these issues, keep listening. Before we talk about speaking, we do need to address what's going on up in your head.

Let's talk about mindset. Now, if you've been learning English for a while, you've probably heard this before, but it's worth repeating. Your mindset can either be a help to you or it can harm you. Everything starts in your head. When I first started teaching English, I quickly realized that it's more than just a job.

It's a front row seat to people's lives. I've worked with new moms, a gold medalist from the Olympics, talented artists, and even an entrepreneur building a smart skateboard, which at the time wasn't quite so smart. But that's a story for another day.

Now, there are so many fascinating people learning English from different cultures and different countries. But no matter how humble or impressive their background, almost every single person showed up to our first Zoom or Skype call very nervous. Some were visibly shaking, and nearly everyone apologized for their English level. I'm so sorry for my English. I'm so sorry for my mistakes.

Speaking a foreign language can make anyone feel vulnerable. It can feel like people are judging you. So instead of judging yourself, just be nervous. Be nervous. And know you're not alone. At one point, the best speakers stumbled to find the right words.

Just trying to speak a foreign language makes you brave and your world is becoming bigger because of it. So if anyone is ever impatient or rude to you, and this is what I always remind myself of, just remember that that person is probably monolingual. In other words, they probably only speak one language. They're monolingual and not part of our very cool bilingual club. So sucks for them.

Now that we've set the stage with mindset, let's get into the practical side of things. Tip number one is something that you are doing right now as you listen to this episode. Number one, listen, listen, listen a lot. Audio first, everything else second. So what does listening have to do with speaking? Everything.

Sometimes, I think as learners, we're uncertain about our process. But one thing you need to recognize is the impact listening has on speaking. If a podcast, a TV show, or whatever audio you are listening to is at your language level,

then you are learning vocabulary in context, idioms and slang in context, reduced forms and common collocations used in speech, spoken English, not written English. For a long, long time, textbooks were fundamental to language classes, or maybe I should say the only resource used. In some places, they probably still are.

Now, I do like workbooks and written material as supplements, but since English is not a phonetic language, in other words, words are not written how they're spoken, audio is essential for everything you do. Now, let me give you an example of how English is not a phonetic language. Now, yesterday, I ripped my pants and needed a needle and thread to sew them back together.

To sew is a verb. It's spelled S-E-W. But if you saw that written on a piece of paper, how would you pronounce it? S-E-W? Hmm. Well, wrong, probably. That's the problem with relying only on written English. Honestly, I can't tell you how many times I've corrected words like suit, S-U-I-T,

juice, J-U-I-C-E, and so, S-E-W. If your goal is to speak, then listening should be one of your main activities because hearing natural spoken English builds your pronunciation, boosts your listening comprehension, and grows your vocabulary all at once. Now, chances are you'll better understand people when they talk to you,

And you'll feel more confident in speaking as well because you've heard how things are supposed to sound. It's great today that there's so much to listen to. We've got podcasts, TED Talks, talk shows, vlogs on YouTube. The more comprehensible input you have, the better. So if there's ever a moment when you don't know what to do, listen.

So listening is step one, but it's not enough on its own. You've got to use the language. Get it out of your head and out into the world. So here's your next tip. Number two, work your mouth and brain. Speak out loud even when no one is listening. There are so many ways to prepare by yourself before stepping into real conversations.

and that feeling of preparedness can boost your confidence. It may sound ridiculous, or perhaps not if you've heard this before. You can practice by chatting with yourself. When you do it, there's pressure to produce, to make sense. Speaking out loud, just like writing, is an output of

It doesn't matter if there is a person on the other side of your conversation. You are exercising your brain. You're forming sentences and forming thoughts. And when you're speaking out loud, you're, of course, using your mouth. And that is key. You need to hear your own voice. You wouldn't go to the gym and just imagine yourself running on a treadmill, right? You step on it and run.

It's the same with English. Good pronunciation involves real muscle work. Your cheeks, your tongue, your throat. There's tension, vibration, movement. To train your speech, you have to use your voice. Now, maybe you've noticed the way you sound in your head is not the way you sound when you speak. Try to make the voice you hear sound like that voice in your head.

At least for me, the one in my head is much better. So how do you do that? Well, we'll get to recording and analyzing in step three, but let's start easy. Baby steps. Start by speaking, right? As I said, no language partner, no recording devices. Just you and yourself. Talk in the shower, talk in your car, talk on a walk, anywhere, anytime.

Thanks to wireless headphones, or just headphones in general, people won't think you're crazy. All you have to do is just act like you're on a call with a friend, and nobody would ever know that there's nobody else in the conversation. So throw on some headphones if you're in a park, walk around with them, no one would think twice. To take it one step further, consider looking in the mirror.

this time maybe at home. That's what actors and actresses do to rehearse, and it can build confidence. Get familiar with your facial expressions. Having a reflection staring back at you can even make it feel like there's someone else in the room, someone else you're talking to. A mirror is also good if you're working on pronunciation.

Not always, but a lot of times. Because you can actually physically make changes that will impact the way you speak. For example, the TH sound. Your tongue needs to be between your teeth. And when you're looking in a mirror, you can actually see your tongue. Let me give you an example. Take the sentence, my mother and brother came to visit.

mother, brother. With those words, the th sound is present. And if you're looking in a mirror, you should see your tongue. If you're not seeing your tongue, then you're probably not pronouncing these words correctly, right? So that's a very obvious example. But mirrors can build awareness. And so does speaking out loud. Think of it as a rehearsal for your next performance.

And when you're ready, record, listen back, and analyze. That's step three. Record yourself, track your progress, and self-analyze. Hearing your own progress is the best motivation, in my opinion, especially at that intermediate level when you feel like you've hit the plateau and you're like, am I really getting better? Am I improving?

Well, if you record, you can track your progress. As language learners, I think a lot of us lack self-awareness. And by recording your own voice, you get to know what you actually sound like. It's one of the most underrated ways to practice speaking. And it's powerful because it's a low-pressure way to build confidence.

When I started recording podcasts in 2019 and listened to myself for the first time, I was shocked to realize how fast I spoke when I was nervous and how often I used filler words like like, um, and you know. Back then, I felt the need to fill all of the silence with words.

Now, in my 30 years of life at that point, nobody had ever commented on these habits of mine. It was only through recording that I became aware and adjusted the way I speak to sound a bit more confident. Now, anyone who records regularly will have more control of the outcome. That's the goal, right? To be able to control the impact of our words. That's confidence.

And I think we got to give ourselves some credit. We are all capable of self-correcting and improving based on what we hear. You don't always need someone to do that for you. So yeah, believe in yourself. You can self-correct. You might be asking yourself, well, what should I record? Just hit play and start talking? Well, even after six years of doing this, I find that hard.

Maybe you're better than I am, but I find it useful to have cues or little questions here and there to answer. If there's a specific topic you're interested in, try asking ChatGPT for a list of questions related to that topic. You'll get great at organizing your thoughts and expressing ideas clearly about a topic that you like.

which will probably come up in conversation if you like it. But if you want to challenge yourself a bit more, ask ChatGPT for 20 IELTS speaking prompts. Mix them up and choose them at random to answer. Even if you're not planning to take the IELTS exam, these prompts are a great way to practice thinking quickly and speaking on the spot.

They'll keep you on your toes, which means staying alert, sharp, and ready for anything coming your way. That is, after all, half of the stress of speaking, isn't it? That feeling of not knowing what to say? You can train your speed. And the beauty of doing this on your own is that nobody else needs to hear those awkward first attempts at answering difficult questions.

That's not usually a language issue. It just requires practice. So no judgment. You are your only audience. Once again, we started with listening, then speaking out loud, then recording yourself. So you're starting by hearing how natives sound and then getting used to how you sound. So what's missing here? Real conversations. Yes, that's ultimately what we're preparing for, right?

So how can you increase the amount of time you speak with other people? I could list off many resources at this point. I mean, if you're looking for a language partner, power to you. You can try Tandem, HelloTalk, Conversation Exchange. But for me, it's always been about language classes. Why? A teacher provides discipline, motivation, a fixed, reliable schedule,

And honestly, it's an easy solution. So number four, the easy route, scheduling classes online. Be honest. How often do you cancel appointments that are already on your calendar? Probably not that often, right? Same here. Once an appointment is on my calendar, it's happening. Unless, of course, a wild emergency pops up.

Maybe like the squirrels biting through my Wi-Fi router. But that's exactly why scheduling your English practice ahead of time works so well. If you know you've got a one-hour class on Saturday morning, you mentally prepare for it. It's not just a vague, hmm, I should probably study sometime. It's real. It's happening. And when you book a whole month of classes in advance...

It's a game changer. It builds momentum, creates a routine, and best of all, it holds you accountable. No more waiting for motivation to strike. In all honesty, self-discipline can be tricky, and a lot of us beat ourselves up because of it. But when you've got a teacher waiting for you, you show up. That consistency is where progress comes into play.

I feel strongly about this. I've always been a language class person. Because once you find the right teacher, it's like hanging out with a friend. My husband, as you know, Lucas, was my student. He's still my best friend. Anyway, I'm motivated by good teachers because when I care about them, I don't want to disappoint them.

So for the past 10 years, I've taken lots of group classes with podcast hosts. But when I'm looking for one-on-one classes, I always go back to italki. It's where I taught for six years before having kids. And honestly, it's just really user-friendly. If you visit their site, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Within seconds, you can find a pool of fantastic professional teachers,

ones who have been certified, and community tutors, those who don't have certification, but they're likely equally as passionate about teaching English. I found fantastic teachers on italki with and without certifications, by the way. What I like most about the site, which you can use to your advantage, is the search function.

It is extensive and detailed, but not overwhelming. You can search for a teacher in your budget and your schedule. They even have teachers' nationalities and specializations.

So it makes it really easy to find teachers who specialize in children or IELTS, other exams, or business. Plus, and maybe this is just me, but I love watching the teacher intro videos from the search page. It's such an easy way to get a good feel for a teacher before booking a lesson.

Really cool site. After 10 years, I'm still spreading the word. So if you're interested in italki, I've got a special deal for you. The first 50 learners to sign up with my exclusive promo code will earn $5 for free on their first English class. Just spend $10 and get $5 for free.

Now, the discounts are only available for the first 50 users who sign up, so click the link in the episode notes to take advantage of this offer. Okay, we've covered the essentials, but I want to leave you with one last tip that's helped so many of my students and myself because it's something I think about every day of my life. It's super simple.

and this is for anyone who's told me they are nervous or shy, number five is speak in the first five seconds. When the opportunity comes to speak English, whether it's answering a question, ordering coffee, or joining a conversation, don't overthink it. I like to imagine a clock is ticking and I have five seconds to say something.

Really, anything. Why? Because hesitation gives fear time to grow. The longer we wait, the more our brains get involved in our actions. And when it comes time to speaking in a foreign language, you don't want to feel overwhelmed by self-doubt. What if I make a mistake? What if I sound silly?

I mean, we all have this internal dialogue. So if you speak quickly, you bypass the anxiety and train your brain to initiate conversations. Now, if you're in the United States, it's not abnormal to strike up a conversation with someone you don't know. Strangers chat all the time. A good place to start is at a coffee shop or a grocery store. Just say hello and

Ask someone how their day is or comment on something. I'm a big fan of have you ever questions. If I'm at the grocery store, have you ever tried this cheese before? Or have you ever been to that restaurant on the corner? Somehow, have you ever questions always lead to entertaining conversations and lots of stories. And after all, that's what we're looking for, right? So yeah, ask someone a have you ever question.

You don't need to have a scripted speech and it doesn't need to be perfect. Like Nike says, just do it. Once again, the five second rule isn't just for food falling on the floor. Although you'll hear a lot of native English speakers talking about the five second rule when it comes to food still being edible after it drops. In this five second rule, I'm talking about the time you have to speak up.

Now, every time you break through that hesitation, you'll get a little bit braver, a little bit better. So break the fear before it grows. So this is great, of course, to initiate the conversation. You have the have you ever question to get the conversation rolling, to keep it interesting. Sometimes it throws the ball in their court.

to get them to speak a lot, and then you can sit back and relax a little bit and just listen, which is sort of nice if you feel a lot of pressure from speaking. And then I think last but not least, because you've started the conversation, at one point you probably want to leave, right? Or if not, then fantastic, you found a friend. But if you want to leave,

I think one very simple way to do it is to look the person in the eyes and just say, well, it was nice talking to you. See you later or bye. And it can pretty much end any conversation anywhere. I think just that eye contact and that very direct goodbye is a simple and friendly way out. So, yeah.

Well, it was nice talking to you. Enjoy the rest of your day, right? You can change it up a bit. Anyway, I do want to end my section on tips with one very important question related to self-awareness. How often do you speak English? Do the math. Calculate the actual time you speak per week and per month. You might be surprised by what you find.

Many of my students did the math, and their grand total was about three hours per month. That's not much, is it? Chances are, if you don't record yourself, take classes, or meet with a language partner, then you might speak much less than that. Just asking yourself this question can be eye-opening. How do you expect to be great at speaking if you never speak? Peace of mind comes from confidence in your process.

And there's a quote that I love from Ed Sheeran, the singer, that explains this perfectly. When you start writing songs or doing anything creative, your first stuff is going to be crap. It's like turning on a dirty tap. The water's brown at first, but if you keep it running, clean water eventually comes out.

Now, I love this. And he's right. Awkwardness and making mistakes isn't just part of the process. It is the process. And that quote has stuck with me for years because it applies to everything from songwriting to public speaking to language learning. We're bad until we're not. The people who succeed aren't the ones who never make mistakes.

They're the ones who keep the faucet running, right? They get out the dirty water. They're the ones who find joy in the process. When you have fun, you keep doing whatever you're doing. You prioritize fun. So I encourage you to celebrate small wins and remember that your first small win is already happening. You're doing step one by listening here today.

All right, let's wrap things up. One of the most important takeaways from this episode is that your speaking doesn't start to improve while in class. It starts before. It starts with listening a lot, hearing your own voice, forming your thoughts. You can do these things on your own through writing or speaking.

Forming your thoughts, whether on your own or in the comfort of a classroom, is like a rehearsal for a performance. And it comes back to self-awareness. How can we expect to be confident when we lack self-awareness, when we haven't formed our thoughts on our own or heard our own voice, and we have no idea how much time we spend practicing the activity we want to improve?

Really think about that. Build awareness. Prove to yourself how good you are. Record and analyze yourself. Or, you know, you could even record and analyze yourself and then have classes with someone who can tell you what you need to work on.

We can all benefit from having a friendly, caring teacher who expects our best effort. You won't want to let them down. And as a teacher who's taught many, many, many classes, I can tell you watching students succeed made me very proud.

It wasn't just some casual, oh, look it, they're doing better. No, it made me realize that my work was valuable and that I was valuable. So find a teacher who cares. You won't want to let them down. As learners, we can progress a lot on our own with free resources and podcasts.

One of the most important things I've learned as a teacher and learner is finding harmony between inputs and outputs. An input is like listening and reading. Information is going into your head and you are processing it. An output is writing and speaking. You're creating something with what you've learned or maybe with what you've just heard.

The more we create or use the language, in other words, the more output we have, the better we are at recalling vocabulary when we need it. Because it's like the rehearsal. We've done it before once we get to the real performance. If you struggle with remembering words and phrases during conversations, consider increasing your output.

Listen to a podcast and force your brain to recall the vocabulary it's heard. Write sentences with new words or a story. Have fun with it. Or retell what you've heard in English to a friend or family member. Combine input, listening and reading, with output, writing and speaking. From my experience, that is when learning happens. Let's review what we've learned.

Once again, the five points are, number one, listen a lot. That helps you work on your pronunciation, your listening comprehension, and build your vocab. Number two, speak and actually use your voice. Train your actual mouth muscles and everything around it to make English feel comfortable coming out of your mouth. Number three, record and analyze.

Build self-awareness in how you sound. You can self-correct and you can track your progress, which of course is the best motivator. Number four, schedule language classes. Create a habit of speaking, right? And more discipline. Don't hate yourself for not being self-disciplined. I also struggle with it. That's why I like language classes so much.

Number five, remember the five-second rule, right? We are all nervous. As I mentioned in the beginning, it doesn't matter who you are. It's part of human nature. So don't think about speaking too much. Give yourselves five seconds to speak. So limit that fear by not giving it time to develop, right? Speak fast.

So as a mini action for today, I encourage you to first calculate how much you speak and then do one of the following. Number one, schedule a language class from the link in the episode notes, if you want that discount. Number two, practice speaking out loud. Talk about what you did today in detail from the moment you woke up. Be specific.

Or if you're not ready to speak out loud yet, then write. It's also an output and it'll give you extra time to think about what you want to say. You can work on phrasing. You can boost your vocabulary by looking words up as you go. And the perk of writing is that you can correct it for free using AI.

and then improve it. Just copy and paste what you write into a service like ChatGPT and use the following prompt. Correct my writing using casual spoken English. Use three idioms in the text. You can also, if you want to understand the idioms better,

Say, in a separate section, please explain the idiom with a definition and two example sentences. Bam! You've formulated an answer to a question that you could have been asked in a conversation, you had more time to prepare it, and you leveled up your answer with more advanced language.

So that is a great way to improve your spoken English by actually considering what you'd say before a conversation. In writing, that is the end of today's episode. Once again, I've added very important resources mentioned in this episode to the episode notes. Check them out. And until next time, bye.

Thanks and hope to see you soon.

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You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy, just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates, so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs.

Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash ARTS. Just go to Indeed.com slash ARTS right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring. Indeed is all you need.