How To Improve Your English Speaking Skills (Last Updated: Nov. 1st)

豆豆～UID: 2378384

At the beginning, I have to declare that these all may just be blah blah blah to you. BUT, they are all situations that I've been through, and I believe that after reading all these, you may know something, or at least you can improve your reading skills..... If you don't think they are valuable, just skip it, that's fine:-)

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I just recalled one sentence that I wrote months ago, and I believe it best fits here.

“Just as the caterpillar must endure the humiliating cocoon before he can spread his wings as a vibrant butterfly, we all need overcome all the obstacles in store for us and tread on the path that will lead us to success!"

Share it with all you guys.
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Long time ago, I posted another Speaking Tips(click me^_^) on GTER. The reason why I wrote this second batch of tips is that I think there are certain rules that can lead everyone to success, and I believe no one would fail to get over 22 on the speaking section if you follow these “rules.” Sounds interesting? OK, HERE WE GO!

Look, there tips are for TOEFL, not only for the speaking part, but also for listening, and I want you to start it as soon as possible, because the sooner you stick with it, the better result you would achieve.

I can always hear people complaining about how hard it is for ESL learners to use English, not to mention to excel at it. Well, I gotta say--THEY ARE WRONG! Chances are, they don’t really wanna speak English, so it’s no doubt they would find it difficult to use English adequately when they have to. I’ve quote one sentence in the previous tips posted on GTER and I do want to quote it again -- “The first way, the last way, the never-failing way to develop self-confidence in speaking is--to speak,” said Dale Carnegie, one of the most inspiring public speaker in the world.


VOCAB:

I may say that the foundation of speaking is -- vocabulary. Even if you don’t know how to organize your words into the grammatically correct structure, you can still make yourself understood if you have a large vocabulary. To cite a concrete case: I was once talking with an American, and I was really not good at English then. Bumping out words that didn’t make up a sentence was what I always did and, to tell the truth, I survived. Why? The American guy told me that he can easily understand what I intended to say even I made tons of grammar mistakes, because he is a native-speaker and is able to guess the meaning without much effect only using the main words I said. That truly encouraged me, because I think that the reason why most ESL learners are afraid of speaking out their thoughts using English is because they think others would not understand them, thus give up speaking English forever, I may say. However, just as the situation I mentioned in the case, native-speakers would comprehend your thoughts as long as you choose the right word and are brave enough to bump it out, while if the person you are talking to is a Chinese students just like you, things may change, and that’s also the reason why I don’t support the idea of going to English Corner to practice English unless they are native-speakers. So, get yourself started to remember those everyday-words(I mean, the words that you use everyday, not those freaking fancy big words!), and try to speak to others. Yes, I know the first time is always the hardest, but I guarantee that once you defeat your fear and expose yourself to others, YOU ARE BOUND TO WIN!

***This is the thing that you have to do throughout your life, even for Americans***


READING & LISTENING:

Once you got the “basement” needed for speaking, it’s time to go to the next stage -- know about the English way of thinking. This is extremely significant because if you speak using Chinese way of think, misunderstandings may occur, and I bet that this is not everybody wants. How to tackle that problem? Ummm… It is actually pretty hard, BUT, there is always a way:-)

First, you need to read a lot, and while you are reading, try not to translate the words you read into Chinese, even though you don’t understand them, JUST READ! The more you read, the familiar you would be with English. And here, I wanna say that this is a pretty long shot which needs perseverance. However, you would soon find out how effective it is when you have kept reading for a couple of months.If you don’t want to read that much, you gotta at least listen. I SAY IT AGAIN: YOU GOTTA LISTEN! I cannot compromise any more. You can listen to whatever is related to English, whatever. English songs, English crosstalk shows, English audiobooks, even just  English-word reciting lists! Listening, for most people, is the optimal way to get familiar with English, because while one listens English, he subconsciously absorb the intonation the speaker revealed, the words used, and the feeling expressed. It is the only and best way to resolve the problem of unfamiliarity with English.

Second, you need to murmur. Yes, murmur! There is no need to say complete sentences, fragments are fine. Take myself for example. I’ve watched “Friends”, the sitcom, for over six times and followed the words said by the actors every now and then. Even now, I can still remember some of the lines and say them out. This is to make sure that you can speak English with fluency. While repeating the lines, you would subconsciously(seems like learning English is a subconscious progress, huh?) imitate the intonation, pronunciation employed by the actors. And long after that, you would definitely be able to say English with amazing ease.

***This would approximately take 1 month***

Now, you’d probably be good at speaking English, and we have to start the part of the way to get higher score on TOEFL.

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Sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long!! I really appreciate your support!
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First of all, let me make some points clear that would be helpful for you to grasp the general idea about how the Speaking section is like in TOEFL.

Unlike what most Chinese students have thought, the most important part of your answers is not you pronunciation, but your intonation. Why is that so? Well, why don’t I just cite an example to illustrate that point? Indians all speak English, but have you ever heard of any Indian speak English with amazing American accent or British accent? I doubt so. Indians usually say words with weird pronunciation; however, both Americans and British people would find it not difficult to comprehend what the speaker just said because the intonation that Indian used is pretty much the same as the ones used by either Americans or British people. (If you wanna know more about that point, I strongly recommend “HEROES.” which is a very popular American TV show. There is one person, Mohinder Suresh, who has a strong Indian accent, or whatever… But you would definitely soon find out that his pronunciation is … hmmm … BAD!) So, try to pay less attention on your pronunciation and more on your intonation:-)

Next, I’m gonna tell you some tricks while answering TOEFL iBT speaking questions. The raters are really not looking for something that they would find interesting, and, of course, they cannot. So, what you need to do here is to say things that is extremely familiar with you. How extremely? Well, you have to make sure that you can even say it out aloud without even thinking about it.

For example, if I were asked to answer a question about the most important decision I have made in my life, I would absolutely choose to say that it’s my determination to study abroad, because that’s the most important reason why I’m taking the freaking test answering questions facing a stupid computer. I believe that you would have alotta to talk about why you decided to study abroad. Conversely, if you really tried to think about a “REALLY” important decision you made, 15 seconds are clearly not enough, not to mention you gotta also think about the reasons and organize your thoughts. Thus, do not waste your time thinking about the best topic to say, the easiest one would always be your choice.


Rule #1: You gotta be specific.

You DEFINITELY want to answer the question with SPECIFIC examples. DO NOT just go around at the topic, because that’s what may count down your score, and this approach also applies to your essay. To demonstrate this point, I would use my own example and capitalize all the specific points I made while I was answering my speaking question the first time I took TOEFL.

Topic: If you got a chance to travel, where would you choose and why?

What would a Chinese student possibly answer:
Hmmm, if I got a chance to travel, I may go to the United States. Firstly, it’s really beautiful there. The mountains are high and the air is clean. I would absolutely love to go American to enjoy the scene. Moreover, the food there would be very attractive. Foods from all over the world can be seen here, thus it is very likely for me to have a good taste of all kinds of foods.

My answer:
Well, I think I would probably choose to go to the United States, ESPECIALLY THE WEST COAST, because I’ve already been there once and was totally impressed.The first reason that I wanna say is that, um, the scene there is pretty breathtaking. I can see BOLD EAGLES flying around and TIDES coming and go. What’s more, the food there is very delicious. I can still remember the first time I ate HALIBUT in my host family, that felt pretty great. So, um, that’s why I wanna go to American had I got a chance to travel.

See? It’s not that difficult to be specific, right? All you need to do is just give some words of NAMES and then explain a little bit.


Rule #2: Make sure that your ideas flow together.

DO NOT, I repeat it again, DO NOT recite any kinds of answers before you take the test, because that would only impede your progress of independent thinking, or your answer would sound like many fragments. JUST LET IT BE. If you answer the question by just saying what you wanna say, your idea is sure to flow together; on the contrary, if you want to use some words or sentences that you remembered before the test, you would spend alotta time thinking about how to use it and, thus, your answer could sound idiot.

Rule # 3: Big words DON’T impress

Maybe you wanna be ostentatious(check this word out!) that you have a big vocabulary, maybe you can master how to use these words appropriately, maybe you can even spell those right. BUT, don’t, I say it again, DON’T use big words in any of your speaking answers! Because, they don’t impress. Imagine this: when you are answering QUESTION 1 that asks you to pick one of your favorite books and explain why, your answer is:

Well, my favorite book is Harry Potter. I posses an extremely deep affection towards it. I can still recall the initial occasion when I exposed myself to this book, it was really exhilarating. Ron is my favorite character in that book, because whenever Harry was trapped by thorny setbacks, he was invariably the one to assist him. What’s more, by immersing myself into reading the book, I really ameliorated my reading skills. That’s why I love this publication.

Does it sound weird? Does it make any sense to you? Maybe you should have look at this one:

Well, my favorite book is Harry Potter. I really love reading it. I can still conjure up the time when I read this book for the first time, I was totally amazed by the characters in the book. I especially love Ron in the book, because whenever Harry was in trouble, he’s always the one to stand out and help him. What’s more, by reading Harry Potter, I improved my reading skill, which is a good thing to happen because it’s nearly the most crucial ability in one’s whole life. That’s why I like reading Harry Potter.

How about this time?? Though the words were easy, but they make good sense to you--they will definitely not confuse you whatsoever.

Do you get it now? You may use 1~2 big words, but more than 3 means you are committing a suicide!!! Please, please pay more attention to your contents, not the words.

TO BE CONTINUED...

BTW, please reply with English~ HA~ Thanks!


[ 本帖最后由 豆豆～ 于 2007-11-20 23:05 编辑 ]

jiang08UID: 2391146

这个迟早要加精的;d:
I've been through some of the similar situations as well.

奋斗中～～UID: 2332813

Wow..........flawless!! Your wording apt,analysis insightful,logcal and comprehensive!!

Good one~~;d:

zhoushengyuanlyUID: 2246479

狂顶

iamaeromouseUID: 2330228

除了猛顶别无选择

深海lavenderUID: 2350207

豆豆同学的帖怎么能不顶呢~~;d:
well done!great job!
i especially like your reference to "murmur".that's also what i like to do,just subconsciously.some epics of "friends" are really fun and interesting to imitate,like how rachel said to her father on the phone"it's metaphor daddy!";d:

豆豆～UID: 2378384

"You are a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe!"
"Then I realized, what if i don't want to be a shoe, what if I want to be a ... a purse? or a ... a hat?"

HAHAHAHA~~~

[ 本帖最后由 豆豆～ 于 2007-10-14 19:53 编辑 ]

深海lavenderUID: 2350207

I don't want you to actually buy me a hat...
phoebes is always chewing her hair......
pretty funny.;d:

GeforceUID: 2374820

强贴留名~~;d:

豆豆～UID: 2378384

Chandler: "If I were a guy ..." "Did I just say "If a WERE a guy"...?" "OK... you are right ... but what would a GUY think??"

Those people just can't get enough!

深海lavenderUID: 2350207

yeah,and rachel's coffee...did you make it or are you just serving it?
the sitcom is quite a laugh.

豆豆～UID: 2378384

I'm just serving it.

INDEED. I LOVE FRIENDS!

深海lavenderUID: 2350207

so do I.

zhoushengyuanlyUID: 2246479

strong re

嘻游天使UID: 2246330

Good instructions!
language just takes time to make it perfect.  As long as you practice, you will eventually be the master of the language.