Speaking 2

Students need to practise their speaking skills on a daily basis. Lack of confidence is one of the reasons students are afraid to speak in public to mother tongue speakers of English. They fear ridicule and they are afraid that they will appear foolish in front of others.

Students need to forget about these fears and they need to jump right in and start practising their English on anyone and everyone who speaks English. When out shopping, visiting, staying in homestays, on public transport, or wherever they meet people, they need to constantly practise.

Students should be made aware that most people want to help them. Friends who keep speaking their mother tongue such as Cantonese, Russian, German, Japanese, Korean etc to them, are not helping them to gain confidence in speaking English.

Responding to questions in class should be encouraged. Grammatical errors should not be constantly corrected as this will interrupt the flow of conversation. A few errors could be noted and commented on at the end of the lesson or at the end of each speech. Students should be positively reinforced to promote confidence.