Hi there,
I want to improve my oral skills, so could you please advice me in this matter.
Thank you,
Hi Abdulll!
The best way to practice speaking is just to do it! Find someone that speaks english and practice with them, hiring a QUALIFIED tutor is a good plan as they will be able to help you progress further and know the best techniques to use for each individual learner. There are plenty of people here on LingQ that will be happy to help you, but make sure if you want to hire a tutor that they are qualified in some way otherwise you may be spending your points on something you could get for free.
It really depends on your goals, if you just want to be able to get by at a reasonable level, then it makes sense for you to find some (native English speaking) friends to practice English with. If you have other areas your struggling with and/or want to improve to an advanced level, then hiring a qualified tutor makes more sense.
I hope this helped you, and good luck!
Elle
Find friends as much as possible from English speaking countries and try to converse with them using skype, yahoo, or msn. Or if you can’t find native speaker friends , find English Language Tutors who will help you improve your spoken English.
It is usually good advice to “go for it” and not be worried… You have to be almost fearless and don’t worry about making mistakes! Forums and chat are good places to practice…
Ideally you have face to face language exchanges or paid lessons face to face. If not possible, then find a good teacher/partner on skype with a good connection. (It sucks when they cut in and out)
Then you can ask them to point out all your mistakes; grammar and pronunciation.
Repeat and repeat.
@Cazasigiloso
"Then you can ask them to point out all your mistakes; grammar and pronunciation. "
I think most people don’t like this. Personally, I really don’t mind when people correct me because I see it as a conversation, none-the-less. I’ve spoken to many people who see it as an unwarrented break of flow in the conversation.
Which do you think is more effective; correction, or lack thereof, in a conversation?
This is from a web based discussion on language teaching. I think that correction is highly overrated.
Matt Bury • Hi John,
To me, the research appears to indicate that explicit form focused instruction (EFFI) and corrective feedback (CF) as they are commonly practised don’t have a particularly significant effect on learners’ underlying linguistic systems (See John Truscott’s criticisms of corrective feedback for example). This isn’t to say we should abandon EFFI and CF altogether, I think most learners expect them and need them to feel motivated and engaged,
@Djv: When I do skype chats with my language partners I type out their mistakes while they talk to me. (and they tell me they want to be corrected) This way, I’m not interrupting them and they have a record of the mistake so they learn from it. I think correction is EXTREMELY important once somebody gets to a relatively advanced level because you aren’t aware of the very rare errors you make. And if the errors are never noticed, then you just learn how to speak incorrectly. Now, if somebody is just starting with English I don’t think it is good to correct everything; probably just the biggest mistakes.
Other people don’t care for corrections and that is obviously their prerogative.
@Steve, I just read some of the pdf of John Truscott and I found it interesting. I guess if the person gets discouraged then it is not helpful. Personally, I remember my mistakes, especially if they are very embarrassing!
What about this: if the other person makes a mistake and says something like, “I have 22 years”, you just correct them indirectly by saying, “Oh, you are 22 years old?” That is what I used to do when I tutored languages. But some of my language exchange buddies just say, “Interrupt me! I want to know my mistakes–don’t be polite!” The study wasn’t sure if “recasting” or correction was better. I’m sure it is something that is almost impossible to prove due to the variables involved.
It is not that correction does not help, it probably does, a little. I know that I appreciate being reminded of my errors. However, I am just as firm in my belief as our friend cazasigiloso here, of the opposite, i.e. that it does not matter much. Two reason.
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I forget most, although not all, of the corrections I receive. I quickly make the same mistake again. As do most people. Most people who make mistakes have been corrected frequently in class, and still make the same mistakes. “It go” and the like.
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Most of our mistakes are corrected through natural exposure. They are too numerous to be corrected by a “corrector”. People with a lot of exposure and natural conversations speak better. People with a lot of class correction speak more poorly, in my experience.
Perhaps a combination of some correction, and lots of input, is the best combination.
Oh, I think corrections do help and do matter. The only time I get annoyed is when some natives talk to you like you are a dummy and after having hours and hours of high-level conversation, they ask you if you know something that a first semester HS student would know. That annoys me.
I remember most of my mistakes; especially the most egregious ones. Maybe people are just different and some remember their errors while others don’t? I think corrections are extremely important for advanced speakers, but maybe less so for beginners.
Oh, I think corrections do help and do matter. The only time I get annoyed is when some natives talk to you like you are a dummy and after having hours and hours of high-level conversation, they ask you if you know something that a first semester HS student would know. That annoys me.
I remember most of my mistakes; especially the most egregious ones. Maybe people are just different and some remember their errors while others don’t? I think corrections are extremely important for advanced speakers, but maybe less so for beginners.
I like written correction. When I do a writing and make a mistake, then am made aware of the mistake, and why it is a mistake, it becomes engraved into my mind. I like to look up what I did wrong, and how to do it correctly, in some grammar reference, and usually it is then that I understand it. It is worth noting that I have yet to find any other use for a grammar book.
Usually I rewrite (by hand!) the entire piece with the correction to further ingrave the idea into my rather thick skull.
In speaking, at least to me, the mistakes are less clear. I don’t remember what I say sentence - to - sentence in English, let alone in French. I have no way to look back on what I said and fix it. Even if I am told the sentence in which I made the mistake, later, it is forever out of context.
That’s why I write down the person’s mistake on Skype instead of interrupting them by saying it. And it helps to type fast, too.
But returning to the topic: lots and lots of practice will help to improve oral skills in any language.
Further re correction
With regards to CF and by implication EFFI, John Truscott’s response to Ferris’ criticisms of Turcott’s arguments against CF, he raises this point:
"The Burden Of Proof Bias
So what is left of the case fir grammar correction in L2 writing classes? Little more than the lingering pro-correction bias. But this bias remains powerful. It usually expresses itself in an extremely strong and usually implicit assumption about the burden of proof in the correction debate. On this assumption, the case for correction and the case against it do not enter the debate on an equal footing-far from it. Instead, those who reject correction are expected to produce an absolutely conclusive case that it is always a bad idea, while those who support correction need only raise doubts about the case against it. Until these doubts have been eliminated, teachers should continue using the technique, and using it very generally.
This assumption is rarely made explicit, so discussion of it is difficult. But it forms the implicit core of many pro-correction arguments and no doubt makes a very large contribution to the common beliefs that teachers must correct grammar errors and that there is no serious alternative to this method. This assumption, therefore, must be brought out into the open, where it can be examined rather than simply assumed. Ferris’s response provides a good opportunity."
Source: http://www.hss.nthu.edu.tw/~fl/faculty/John/The%20case%20for%20the%20case%20against%201999.pdf (page 9)
By Matt Bury
I couldn’t open it, Steve. How do they do their studies? You would have to have two people with equal language aptitude, have the same starting native language, and have them learn under the same teacher. And all variables would have to be constant except the way in which they are corrected or not corrected. Maybe if you have two identical twins enrolled in a class and hope that one is not doing more work outside of school than the other.
No, caz, they deal with groups of students. The variables sort of cancel each other out.
But I don’t doubt that just as with most research in the humanities, studies can be found that prove the opposite. My experience, however, confirms to me that correction does not do much.
Well, that works for you. 
For me, I prefer getting corrected. I’m sure there are lots of people that prefer your way and people that like my way.
I agree that many people like being corrected. It is what they are used to. The bigger issue is whether correction really does much.