India - the Home of Fluent English?
October 16th, 2008
Hi Everyone,
Today I came across a website about English fluency called Fluentzy.com.
It’s pretty cool in the fact that they’re basically talking about all the same issues with speaking fluent English that I do!
You have to speak English and have pre-planned the speech in your head. But when it comes to speaking with a person for real, you just can’t say a word…
And the actual reasons behind this issue is the following – learning the English language through your mother’s tongue. You know – it’s the traditional way of learning a language.
You write the English words down in your copybook and translate them into your native language. Then you memorize the meaning of those words and you’re perfectly fine with using them in your writing, speaking in the class and so on.
Filed under English Fluency | Comment (0)= Improve English Fluency… Have A Coffee Break! =
August 9th, 2008
I’d like to share a funny story with you this time. As you already know, I’m not a native English speaker – and I live in a country called Ireland.
I’ve been here for quite a long time and I’m not planning go back to my own country in the near future. And now I’m feeling like I’ve become a part of this whole culture, Irish traditions and everything else.
But the first thing that struck me when I just arrived here was the local accent. Yes, I had studied English at home – but the way Irish spoke was something completely un-understandable! I always had to apologize and ask to repeat the same question again and again until I was able to get it!
And I guess you may have experienced similar feelings having gone abroad or living in a foreign country, haven’t you?
But today’s story isn’t about how well we can understand other accents and ways of pronunciation. It’s about how well the native English speakers can get what WE say.
Filed under Funny Stories | Comments (8)Simple Action Plan To Boost Your English Fluency
July 3rd, 2008
Hi my friend, this time I’m going to give you a plain and simple action plan to instantly improve your English confidence – and I bet you’ll be surprised how EASY and EFFECTIVE it is!
So enough rant – let’s get to the matter straight away!
- Step one – STOP being ashamed of yourself.
Did I just insult you? Sorry, no offence meant. But the cold truth is – everyone who struggles speaking English fluently is actually shy deep inside. Whether you are aware of it or not – you constantly COMPARE yourself with others, or with a particular person.
It could be your best friend, or workmate, or a person being your role model – and it constantly nags at you – ‘He’s speaking better than me…’
Filed under English Confidence | Comments (8)Do You Get Stuck In English When Hearing Yourself?
June 17th, 2008
Hi Folks,
This time I’d like to tell you a strange thing from my own experience - and I must stress - it’s really weird!
It’s about getting confused while speaking English with someone - and you know why? Because I suddenly start hearing myself - my speech. And I instantly get knocked out of the normal speech rhythm and have to gather myself up.
Why is it happening? Why would hearing your own voice make you feel embarrassed to an extent when you start speaking with a really bad accent and get stuck?
I don’t know the exact answer - but many of you have sent me e-mails telling the very same thing…
Filed under English Confidence | Comment (0)Get Rid of Monkeys in Your Mind!
June 2nd, 2008
Speech management and confident English go hand in hand with managing yourself and your thoughts.
Do you often have this feeling of a racing mind? Do you feel you have hundreds of different thoughts constantly crossing your mind, repeating all over again and making you anxious and irritated?
In Zen Buddhist philosophy such a state of mind is described as a room full of jumping and screaming monkeys running wild!
This state of mind is very closely related to all kinds of anxieties, worries, fears – and among them the English speech anxiety.
No matter how well you’re trying to speak English, you head is full of English words, phrases, sentences, grammar rules – all at the SAME TIME! You’re trying to say something – but regardless your toughest attempts you get the English grammar wrong, misspell and mispronounce words and notice this at the very moment of speaking them out!
To deal with this issue of inability to speak English normally you first have to deal with monkeys in your head. Here I’ve written a few basic steps to calm down your mind and start thinking just ONE THOUGHT at a time instead of trying to encompass EVERYTHING at once.
Filed under English Confidence | Comments (10)