In my many years of being a foreign language instructor, I have met thousands of students who have spent many years mastering a language but who can\’t speak a lick of it. Sure, their test scores are off the charts, and they understand grammar points that even many native speakers don\’t fully grasp, but they can\’t communicate! Their lack of speaking skills can be attributed, not surprisingly, to the simple fact that they hardly ever speak out using their target language. Most come up with the excuse that they don\’t have any opportunities to converse with native speakers.It is not necessary to become a person who creates excuses. In this article, I am going to show you several excellent ways to practice conversing in a foreign language, even if you do not ever meet, in person, someone who speaks your target language.

Skype

Have a home in Idaho but would like to learn how to speak Chinese? No problem. Skype, just in case you do not already know, is a cost-free Online communication device. Using this technology, a person in Bangladesh can have a conversation-video included-with someone in Buffalo, and neither person has to pay a cent, assuming that each has an Internet connection. Of course, you must locate someone willing to speak with you, which must be tough, right? Wrong.

You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of Web discussion boards dedicated to connecting language learners from around the globe. Just head over to Google and type in \”Skype language exchange,\” or something equivalent. Once you find a site you like, search for a person who speaks your target language and whose target language is your native language. After you find that individual, the two of you will engage in a language exchange; you\’ll practice chatting with him or her in your target language, and he or she will practice chatting with you in his or her target language. It is a win-win situation for everyone!

Make Some Music

I understand, you feel ridiculous singing to yourself, but if you haven\’t got a native speaker to converse with, you need to make a few concessions. Furthermore, singing has been proven to help second language learners acquire their target language much faster, when compared to speaking alone. In fact, you can find entire language acquisition programs designed around belting out your favorite songs. The best way to use this approach is to first memorize the dialogues you want to speak. After that, simply sing them to the tune of your favorite songs, or merely sing them in tunes that come naturally to you.

This specific learning strategy is successful for two main reasons. The first is because it allows you to concentrate on your target language for considerably longer periods of times, compared to merely reciting dialogues in a normal voice. Secondly, the sentence patterns you\’re learning meld together with the rhythm of your songs, making them stick in your head in a natural and fluid way.

Recite Well-known Speeches

As soon as you move past the basics, like \”What\’s your name\” or \”How are you,\” you can move on to memorizing and repeating prominent speeches that were given in your target language. This method is great for various reasons. First, there are many translated speeches available on the Internet in nearly every language spoken. All you do is get a hold of them and print them out. It\’s simple and it is free! Second, the vast majority of speeches given were recorded for television or radio and are now available at no cost on the web. Just type the title of the speech and the word \”video\” or \”audio\” into Google, and, most likely, you\’ll find a good, clean copy of the speech spoken in your target language. After you\’ve got the written text and the audio or video, memorize a sentence or two. Following that, listen to the speech and then speak it aloud. You can rehearse over and over until you can present the full speech fluently and with proper tones and hesitations. Just make sure you understand the vocabulary. There is no point to reciting something if you don\’t fully grasp its meaning–you\’re not a parrot!

Conclusion

Speaking a target language aloud is important for improving one\’s speaking skills, but, unfortunately, countless learners of second languages ignore it. Don\’t be one of those people. Utilize Skype, sing in your target language, and learn to recite famous speeches and toasts, and, in no time, you\’ll become a well-spoken master of your target language.

Author Bio: Want some more learn Chinese tips? Come by the Live in Asia Blog and pick up my FREE e-book \”Ordinary Ways to Learn a Language Extraordinarily Fast.\” Or, come and check out my brand new FREE Chinese language course. Start with the Chinese Numbers page.

Category: Education
Keywords: learn Chinese,study Mandarin,learn language,learn a language,languages