Written English skills - no issues, but English speaking skills – not a chance!

The traditional way of learning English “Many people know how to read English words but few know how to read English, understand spoken English as well as form their own sentences to converse in English. From a very young age, the focus of children and their parents is on scoring marks in written exams. As a result, children manage to do extremely well in exams but when it comes to speaking they are unable to put a simple sentence together. By learning English the traditional way you can become very good at writing but you still won’t be able to speak English fluently, because the traditional way focuses on reading and writing skills. Also, as education progresses further, students keep focussing on acquiring higher qualifications but still find it extremely difficult to be able to speak in English. Needless to say, one must be able to balance one’s knowledge and expertise with the confidence to communicate the same as otherwise, a lot of acquired knowledge would remain unused. Writing in English Vs Speaking in English When we learn our own (native) language, speaking skills comes before written skills. In fact, we learn to speak almost automatically. It is natural. We usually write with correct grammar and in a structured way. We organize what we write into sentences and paragraphs. We usually speak in a much less formal, less structured way. We usually speak in a spontaneous way, without preparation, so we have to make up what we say as we go. This means that we often repeat ourselves or go off the subject. However, when we speak, other aspects are present that are not present in writing, such as facial expression or tone of voice. This means that we can communicate at several levels, not only with words. The cold reality is that unless someone points it out to that person, the likelihood is that he/she will carry on without being consciously aware of the real situation! Focussing on the real need – Speaking fluently in English Speaking is the most common way of communicating. The choice of words and the way things are said in speech are known to have an impact on people. There is no way to improve English speaking skills than by speaking itself. The friendly atmosphere at inlingua enables students to leave their fears behind to speak with confidence. The students are discouraged from writing in the class so that the entire concentration is on developing listening and speaking skills. Careful listening is also an extraordinary skill which when developed helps people to be able to respond appropriately. Speaking in English is NOT about grammar alone!!! English speaking skills are also improved by not learning grammar as a book of rules and regulations but in understanding the concept which helps people to use the language as life situations occur. This method enables students to remember things for a longer period of time as unlike school, there is no rote learning but empowered learning which is purely application based and extremely relevant. The activities selected carefully by the instructors help students to practice and speak as much as they can. Eventually a student progress from making single and simple sentences to sustaining a conversation for a longer period. They begin to put newly learnt language with language already learned and use their own creativity to experiment with the language, therefore making their learning fruitful and truly worthy of all the time and effort.”

Sherin D'Souza, 9 February, 2015 (12:52 AM)