Education Blog – Online Universities and Colleges Blog

Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. Effective instructors teach students speaking strategies using minimal responses, recognizing scripts, and using language to talk about language that they can use to help themselves expand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in using it. These instructors help students learn to speak so that the students can use speaking to learn.

So, to start speaking language clearly, concisely while using straightforward vocabulary, you can try using some of these tips:

Start early
The moment you start your preparation for the written test, examine your spoken skills. We are mostly aware of our drawbacks especially when it comes to speaking skills. Our weaknesses show up in one way or the other. We may get tongue tied while talking to people, we may start fumbling for words during conversations, or it may be very difficult to even have a very simple and fluent interaction with anyone.

Using minimal responses
Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking. One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types of exchanges. Such responses can be especially useful for beginners. Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response.

Keep remembering the words learnt
It is not enough just to learn these words in one day. Each day try to use these new words learnt in more sentences to make you comfortable with the use of the word. In fact at the end of each month, the person can try to recapitulate all the words learnt in the previous month. This will help the person to be able to remember the words better.

Recognizing scripts
Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges a script. Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions that are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow patterns or scripts. So do the transactional exchanges involved in activities such as obtaining information and making a purchase. In these scripts, the relationship between a speaker’s turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated.

Correct pronunciation is important
You cannot replace reading with anything. So, while reading those passages for your reading comprehension, start by reading a passage aloud. Learn to articulate those new words either in front of the mirror or do this exercise with a like minded friend. Another useful exercise is to read the newspaper aloud; you could pretend to be a newsreader.

Use proper vocabulary
I will not recommend using words which sound pretentious and verbose. Keep your spoken language vocabulary very effective, simple and to the point. Augment your vocabulary with words learnt during test preparation and use them effectively.

Grammar has no substitute
Fortunately, your test prep journey takes you through the rigours of grammar. Practice what you learn while speaking also. Commonly made mistakes by people are giving up on the tenses mid way. Learn your tenses well by keeping things very straightforward. Speak simply taking care that what is being said is correct.

Don’t translate
Give up translating from the native language to another language, it will always be incorrect. The rules governing language are different; this could be mostly true for every language.