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People often ask me questions like this:
There isn’t just one answer because everyone is different but here are a few possibilities. You can decide which ones are true for you. How do you feel about speaking English?
Maybe you want to speak up in meetings at work. Perhaps you have to give a presentation or go to a job interview. Or possibly you’re preparing for a speaking exam. But speaking in English makes you so nervous! What can you do? Today I want to tell you how can you sound more confident in English, even if it’s not your first language. Try these strategies, you might not only sound more confident but also start to feel more confident too! Has this ever happened to you? You’re having a conversation in English and suddenly you realise that you don’t know a word that you need. Or perhaps you do know it really but you just can’t remember it at that moment. You freeze and don’t know what to do or say next. Then either there’s a long, awkward silence or you just change the subject because you can’t finish saying what you want to say.
So how can you fix this problem? Today, I’d like to talk to you about dialects. In your country, do people speak your language in slightly different ways depending on where they’re from? Probably yes. And if you speak a language which is spoken in many countries, like Spanish or Arabic, there are probably even more differences, right?
English learners often comment on my Facebook page that they need a native speaker to talk to. Or they say they can’t improve their English because they don’t know any native speakers. I was curious to know why they think this so I asked! I was surprised by the answers!
Sometimes people ask me, “How can I improve my English when I have nobody to correct my mistakes?” Maybe they think it’s impossible to improve English unless somebody is correcting their mistakes all the time. If that's how you feel, then this post is for you!
People often say "I want to speak like you" or “How can I speak English like a native speaker?” I’ve been thinking about how to answer that question and these are my thoughts on this topic.
Whenever I give advice on how to improve speaking skills, the most common response I get is “But I have nobody to talk to.” So what can you do if you're in this situation? In this post, I’m going to give you some possible solutions.
People ask me all the time how they can improve their English speaking skills. I’ve also noticed that some people think they are working on their speaking but actually, they are not doing the right things. That’s what today’s newsletter is all about.
In the classroom and on social media, I’ve been called Katie, Teacher, Teacher Katie, Miss Katie, Mrs Katie, Miss, Mrs, Madam, Ma’am, Sir, Mam, Mom, Mommy, Sister, Aunty, dear, honey, darling and many more!
I’m happy for my students and followers to call me “Katie”. I also accept most other names because I understand that there are cultural differences and I know that people want to be respectful. Some of the names in the above list are better than others and a few are unacceptable in the UK. I wonder if you can guess which ones! Keep reading to find out! Do you need a native speaker to practise speaking with or is it possible to make progress with a non-native partner or even on your own? How would you even find a native speaker to talk to anyway? Keep reading for some answers to these questions!
A lot of people really want to speak English but they are scared. Is this you?
Are you shy? Or you don’t know what to say? Or are you worried about making mistakes? Or worried that people won’t understand you? I tried learning Polish when I was living in Poland so I do know that it isn’t easy to get past this fear. But if you really want to speak English, you have to work on it! Here are some ideas. I had an interesting conversation on Facebook recently about the correct way to speak to your teacher. In many countries, it's important to show your teacher respect in the language you use but things are a little different in the UK, especially in adult aducation. Keep reading and learn more!
If you visit an English-speaking country or work with British or international colleagues, you might wonder about the best language to use to be polite. You might even be afraid of being rude unintentionally. If this is you, keep reading! (Please note that I’m English so I’m mainly talking about British culture here.)
Sometimes people talk about learning a language as if it’s a complicated and mysterious thing. There’s a lot of discussion about the best ways to teach and learn English. However, I think there are just three basic things you have to do if you want to speak better English. Keep reading to find out what they are.
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