Are you learning to speak English?
Well, of course, you are, why else would you be at this site reading this article.
Well, I am going to give you some valuable advice and tips that you can use to practice English speaking at home and alone without needing a partner.
Before we begin our daily English conversation practice. We need to prepare a little. I would like for you to choose three people (real or imaginary), three places, and three situations.
Example:
Jennifer (Jen) (roommate) At the Supermarket Shopping for Dinner
Robert (coworker) At Lunch in the Cafeteria Talking about the Weekend
Adam (Handsome English teacher) After Class Talking about your English Goals
Let’s take the first example:
Imagine you are in a supermarket. You and Jennifer are walking around talking about what you want to make for dinner.
You: What do you want to eat for dinner tonight?
Jen: I dunno (don’t know). How about spaghetti?
You: I was thinking about hamburgers. I wanted to eat something with meat.
Jen: How about we make meatballs and have spaghetti with meatballs. Oh! And garlic bread!
You: Ooooh Garlic bread sounds good! Okay, let’s have spaghetti and meatballs. Let’s also get a bottle of wine.
Jen: That sounds good. This is becoming a fancy dinner. How about dessert? Tiramisu?
You: Do you know how to make Tiramisu?! That recipe is beyond me.
Jen: Nope, not at all. Let’s check around the bakery’s cakes. Maybe they have some.
…
As you can see, this conversation is one that I would have with my friend.
Imagine that you are doing these things in your native language.
What would you say to your friend/roommate about dinner in your native language?
How can you use English to have the same conversation?
Let’s take another look at a different example:
Robert in the Cafeteria talking about the weekend:
Robert: Do you have any plans this weekend?
You: Not really. I was thinking about going shopping. I want to get new running shoes.
Robert: You go running?
You: No, but a friend of mine started and he recommended it.
Robert: I thought you didn’t like running?
You: I don’t. I think it is boring. Seeing the same street, the same houses, and taking the same routes. But my friend suggested that I use an app that will make it more fun.
Robert: Well, if you do try this, you shouldn’t invest too much in your shoes. You might regret it later.
You: Yeah, I agree. How about joining me? We can get some lunch and we can both start running!
Robert: Uhhh no, not interested. I go swimming twice a week and that’s enough exercise for me. But you go ahead and give running a try. If that doesn’t work out, you can try swimming next.
You: Okay, I will take a look at the swimming equipment while I am at the sports store.
Robert: Don’t get carried away, like you always do.
This is another conversation that I can imagine happening.
It starts off by talking about the weekend and the plans you have. I was planning to go to the sports store to look at running shoes (true story). My coworker might give me this advice.
I will leave the last example for you to practice with.
I also want you to do this activity with your own ideas.
Remember, we are practicing with ourselves, playing both sides of the conversation.
Feel free to get creative with your responses but try to keep it simple and real.
Let’s look at a few example phrases to get started:
What do you want to eat for dinner?
What do you want to do this weekend?
How do you want to use your English in the future?
Okay, I hope this will be enough for you to start off with. Try to include new vocabulary that you have been studying and any new phrases or grammar structures.
But as always:
HAVE FUN with it!!!
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