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Tell me which is you:
- a) I am still in a lockdown.
- b) I am in a semi-lockdown
- c) I am free to live my life without a lockdown
I bet you’re like most of the world: you’re “A” or “B.”
While this is great for squashing the COVID19 virus, and good for public health, it doesn’t help you improve your English—especially speaking. I mean, it’s hard to meet face-to-face!
But it can help you improve.
Here’s how to use this negative as a positive.
Below you’ll see 37+ tips to practice speaking English.
The first 7 tips are part of the Living in English: 365’s podcast episode #54. It’s called “Practice Speaking English at Home: 7 Ways to Save Time & Reach Fluency.”
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Excerpt
“By the end of this podcast you will be able to choose 7 different ways to practice speaking English at home. One for each day of the week.
This is going to help you in three major ways: to practice spoken English alone, to train your muscles used for speaking, and for you to practice recalling vocabulary and grammar before you actually have to speak to someone…”
1
Talk to yourself. This explains itself—it’s self-explanatory. You don’t need another person to talk with you if you’re talking to yourself to practice.
2
Start a community. If you can’t find people for English speaking practice, make a group, club, or community.
3
Quora (or Reddit)
What’s Quora? In case you don’t already know, Quora is a website available in many languages where people ask questions and others answer it. Reddit is a site that’s basically a massive forum where users share news, content, or comment. It’s kind of a fun community in many ways.
Do you use Reddit?“
4
Phone it in. Phone it in. Don’t know what that phrase means? Listen to tip four in the podcast episode to find out. Take it easy! Relax a bit when you’re speaking. Just start speaking.
5
Teach your phone something. Use your phone to help you speak English. I don’t mean translate something. Your phone is an object. Talk to it. Yes, really! Just practice speaking by talking to your phone.
6
Be SUCH a baby about it.
7
Speak AT your partner.
8
Talk to Siri, Alexa, or Google
9
Use Google dictation to write, blog, or diary.
10
Use voice-to-text.
11
Similar to #1: make a “mental” talk show as you get ready in the mirror in the morning, or driving to work. You could also pretend to be a newscaster or meteorologist), cook show host (as you prepare breakfast, lunch, or dinner), or a sportscaster for the sports you watch and enjoy.
12
Record yourself summarizing something from work. Also, you could review or criticize something you watched like a book, play, movie/film, TV, or on YouTube.
13
Put your phone, T.V., computer, tablet, etc. in English.
14
Think in English. Use your mental self-talk (that little voice in your head) to your advantage.
15
Act out a scene from a movie, play, or T.V. series. Then change it. Add a scene. Delete some words. Change the setting. Change the characters, etc.
16
Or practice a conversation from a movie, TV, etc.
17
Volunteer for an international organization, or do it online. Click here for a list of activities.
18
Make a skit or a play. Then do #15 above.
19
Use essay prompts or discussion questions and respond to them out loud.
20
I heard this one from someone over at I Will Teach You A Language. The 3 second rule. You have three seconds to approach someone, start a conversation, and then and leave the conversation (or continue you it if you want.)
21
This is the same as #5, but you use a rubber duck instead of your phone. Cute!
22
Try a chat bot like eviebot and clevrrbot.
23
Use your flash cards. Choose any number of cards, for example 5-10. Then say a story, or a monologue aloud.
24
Do def poetry jam, which is spoken word poetry.
Here’s a recent example from January 2021. It is read by Amanda Gorman at President Biden’s Inauguration.
25
Meet up with others on couchsurfing (this is no longer a free site to use, I believe), Air BnB, Internations, Facebook Groups, Reddit Language Learners, MeetUp, Interpals, or other language exchange sites.
26
Try toastmasters! They’re international and will help your public speaking skills.
27
Karaoke is always a fun choice!
28
If you want 1-to-1, try the Italki or Lingoda. The sites are not free, however.
29
Read your textbook(s) out loud.
30
Similar to #29, read/recite a children’s story aloud in English
31
32
Talk to a native speaker
33
If your lockdown isn’t too strict, and you have the money and time, go abroad—travel!
34
Shadow reading.
35
Tongue twisters in English (give those mouth muscles a workout!)
36
Use WhatsApp video, Snapchat, or Messenger to talk to your friends who are also learning and practicing English!
37
Find a language speaking buddy.
38
Start a podcast or YouTube channel.
40
Similar to #7, talk AT a pet, or a plant. You could also train your animal in English.
There you have it. 40 perfect ways to get English speaking practice without a partner.
Which is your favorite?
Vocabulary
squash
self-explanatory
buddy
strict
criticize