I’ve been unable to speak up all these years – what should I do?
Thread Content
I’ve been studying English for so many years; I’ve passed the CET-6 exam and scored 70 on the postgraduate entrance examination’s English test. Yet I still can’t speak English – I’m basically like a ‘deaf-mute’. Are there any experts in English who can share how they overcame this barrier?
I can speak as soon as I see someone, but basically no one else understands me, which is even more embarrassing!
Dare to speak + practice more*. Join an oral version; it’s at least useful at the beginning, but in the end it still depends on practicing more on your own.
The original poster is amazing – you’re already at level 6 yet still too shy to speak up. Hehe, you plan to reach level 12 before saying anything! It depends on the translation level; you earn money on a daily basis, with earnings of over 1,000 dollars per day. I was just joking, don’t get upset. I suggest that you listen more, watch more, and read more. In half a year you’ll be able to speak. Remember, you must first understand what’s being said, then repeat it after hearing it, and finally read it by yourself. Especially, watch more original foreign movies. Of course, if you have the opportunity to talk with a foreign girl about life and dreams, I guarantee you’ll be able to speak fluent English in just a week.
Hehe, the original poster should first have confidence in themselves. With such good test scores, what is there to worry about? One of our guys blurted out this phrase at a drinking party: “Can you please help me?” Just look at his enthusiasm and courage! If possible, you could hire a foreign teacher first; after all, money has already been spent, and it would be a shame not to start speaking, which might help one begin to speak.
The original poster is really good at English; I’m not good at it, which is why I don’t dare to speak.
If you don’t use English in your daily life, it’s indeed quite difficult to improve your spoken skills. One can only listen and watch more. If there are words you can’t say, you can post in English on our forum; it’s also a form of practice that can help improve your ability to construct English sentences.
When speaking, don’t set too high a standard for yourself. Don’t worry about grammar, don’t try to choose the perfect words or phrases, don’t strive for elegant wording, and don’t focus on having a perfect pronunciation. Speak with confidence, say whatever you want to say; it doesn’t matter if it sounds like Chinglish. Just speak whatever comes to mind, after all, it’s not our native language anyway. Find a foreigner to practice with; you can’t achieve the same results by practicing with Chinese people. Actually, foreigners are smart too; if you throw out a few words, they will understand what you mean. Just like when we meet foreigners asking for directions and can understand their broken Chinese. And once you start speaking, you’ll realize that you actually speak quite well, after all, you have such a solid foundation.
Reply to 8# sslook: I’ve been watching European and American TV shows for a long time, and I’ve noticed that my English has improved – I can understand simple sentences. But without subtitles, I still don’t understand much; foreigners speak in a way that’s quite unclear, so it takes a lot of effort to understand them.
I also speak English in a limited way... The original poster scored over 70 on the postgraduate entrance exam English test, which is quite high
I can’t speak; the problem is that there’s no atmosphere. Go to English corners more often; there, the atmosphere is conducive to speaking English, and gradually you’ll start speaking on your own. Also, it might help to find classmates with similar interests to practice speaking with. At first, it might not be done very well, but practice makes perfect. If you’re willing to practice more, with a level as high as the original poster’s, you’ll definitely be able to develop authentic spoken language skills.