Confidence is a very important element in learning to speak a language. Many learners worry that they are going to make a mistake, or that the people listening will not understand them. How can you learn to relax when you want to speak English? First, look at a piece of ‘real’ English – taken from an interview with tennis star Goran Ivanisevic just after he had won the Wimbledon tennis championship.
This was my dream, all my life and… er… you know… to serve for the match, suddenly I have a match point out of nowhere, you know… I came here, nobody even talked about me and now I’m holding this trophy. And it’s, it’s just… this support today is like… er… I mean… I was… er… three times in the final but this, this is just unbelievable, This is too good… .
Question a) How does Goran feel about his win? Which words tell you this?
Question b) Look for the following words, sounds or phrases: … er… / … you know… / … this is… / … it’s… Why do you think he repeats these words?
Answer
This was my dream, all my life and… er… you know… to serve for the match, suddenly I have a match point out of nowhere, you know… I came here, nobody even talked about me and now I’m holding this trophy. And it’s, it’s just… this support today is like… er… I mean… I was… er… three times in the final but this, this is just unbelievable, This is too good… .
Question a) How does Goran feel about his win? Which words tell you this?
Question b) Look for the following words, sounds or phrases: … er… / … you know… / … this is… / … it’s… Why do you think he repeats these words?
Answer
- Goran Ivanisevic is very happy. He uses phrases such as ‘this was my dream’, ‘this is unbelievable’, ‘this is too good’.
When a spoken interview is written down, we can see that many of the sentences are not grammatically correct and that the speaker repeats words to give himself time to think about what he is saying. He also uses ‘fillers’ like ‘er…’ – which are not words but ‘noises’ – to give himself more time.
Although the grammar in this extract is not always correct, we can understand Goran Ivanisevic’s message easily. If a message is given confidently, the listener won’t worry about any mistakes.
But how can you sound more confident?
Practise often The more often you speak, the easier it becomes.Try to think of people you can talk to in English, or places in your town where English is spoken a lot.You need to put yourself in a position where you need to speak. How about joining a club, or going to a conversation class?
Relax and think about the message It’s easy to become nervous if you only focus on grammar rules when you are speaking. But, as you see from Goran Ivanisevic’s interview, what you want to say is usually more important than how you say it! The key to relaxing when you are speaking is to talk about something which you find really interesting. Speaking is easier when you have something to say, and you are enjoying the conversation.
Rehearse what you want to say If you are very nervous, try to practise saying what you want to say to yourself a few times. Planning and rehearsal can make your speaking more confident. Remember, however, that you need to think about the person who is listening to you – what are they likely to say in response?
TASK Confidence-building
Imagine you are joining a new club or class. How would you introduce yourself? What would you tell other people in the group about yourself? What would you like to know about them? Practise introducing yourself and asking questions about others.
If you have a friend who is learning English, or you are a member of an English Learning Circle, you could play this as a game. Everyone should choose a new identity – a new name, job, hobbies etc. Now introduce yourselves and find out about each other.Who has the most interesting ‘new identity’?
Although the grammar in this extract is not always correct, we can understand Goran Ivanisevic’s message easily. If a message is given confidently, the listener won’t worry about any mistakes.
But how can you sound more confident?
Practise often The more often you speak, the easier it becomes.Try to think of people you can talk to in English, or places in your town where English is spoken a lot.You need to put yourself in a position where you need to speak. How about joining a club, or going to a conversation class?
Relax and think about the message It’s easy to become nervous if you only focus on grammar rules when you are speaking. But, as you see from Goran Ivanisevic’s interview, what you want to say is usually more important than how you say it! The key to relaxing when you are speaking is to talk about something which you find really interesting. Speaking is easier when you have something to say, and you are enjoying the conversation.
Rehearse what you want to say If you are very nervous, try to practise saying what you want to say to yourself a few times. Planning and rehearsal can make your speaking more confident. Remember, however, that you need to think about the person who is listening to you – what are they likely to say in response?
TASK Confidence-building
Imagine you are joining a new club or class. How would you introduce yourself? What would you tell other people in the group about yourself? What would you like to know about them? Practise introducing yourself and asking questions about others.
If you have a friend who is learning English, or you are a member of an English Learning Circle, you could play this as a game. Everyone should choose a new identity – a new name, job, hobbies etc. Now introduce yourselves and find out about each other.Who has the most interesting ‘new identity’?
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