A Conversation with Yourself

Hello. My name is Duncan Brown and I am an English Facilitator, here are some of my thoughts about learning the English language.

Practise makes perfect

There are few opportunities to practise when studying English in a country that doesn’t speak it. Whether you study online or face-to-face, in a group, 1-2-1 or by yourself, it’s good to practise what you have just learned.

Ideally when practising, it would be with someone at native speaker level of the language. Alternatively, practising with others who are studying the same thing is another way. Taking turns roleplaying a situation can feel funny at first but it is very practical for both speaking and listening.

Textbook answer

You may have seen in English textbooks example conversations to demonstrate the target learning point; A speaks to B, B replies, A continues using targeted learning point again and again. Repeating the same thing over and over does help to remember things.

All by myself

If you don’t have anyone to practise with and have no examples to copy, why not talk to yourself? While the lesson is fresh in your mind, become an actor and play two parts: A and B; Duncan and Mr Brown in my case.

Duncan: Mr Brown, this guacamole is delicious. Where did you buy it?

Mr Brown: Thank you. I didn’t buy it, it’s home-made.

Duncan: Home-made! Did your wife make it?

Mr Brown: No, I did.

Advantages

The advantages of practising a dialogue alone are:

• Practice any time, you are always available to review what you have recently learned.
• By playing both roles in a conversation, you are being both active and re-active at the same time.
• Like a real conversation, you can use the target learning point as part of a larger dialogue. The above example can lead to talking about “Mr Brown’s” wife, or how to make guacamole, or favourite foods, or a scenario at a barbecue.

Disadvantages

There are disadvantages of practising alone though:

• You may not know when you’ve made a mistake and continue to make that error.
• Practising alone is not challenging as you have control of what is being said.
• Listening skills aren’t being practised.

In-between practice

Some practice is better than no practice. When there isn’t anyone to practise with between lessons, have a conversation with yourself.

*****お知らせ*****
【ご自身が英語でコミュニケーションを取れているかどうか】を知りたい方、
【ご自身の英語のコミュニケーションの改善点】を知りたい方はお問合せから
【無料英語コミュニケーション力ミニ診断】と件名にご記入いただき、ご連絡ください。
毎月先着３名様のみ受付中です！

ー　オンライン英語コミュニケーションプログラム　ー

【あなたの心が伝わるあなただけの英語】

英語でのコミュニケーションをあなたらしい英語で。一人一人のレベル、能力、
興味に合った教材や方法を用いたテイラーメイドの英語コミュニケーションプログラムです。

”あなたの英語”でコミュニケートしたい方は、まずは無料カウンセリングをご予約ください。