English Recordings

I think "speaking" isn't actually one skill in itself, but rather the combination of a few skills. From experience, I can say that lots of audio input (as long as you're actually paying attention to it, and ideally memorizing it) does indeed help with certain aspects of speaking, i.e.:
- accent
- the "melody" of the language
- confidence in the sounds (this, to me, is something slightly different from a good accent; others may disagree)

One thing that lots of audio has not really helped me with is fluid production, i.e. stringing words together naturally and speaking at a normal pace.

A lot of people say that television is more helpful than radio, because then you have physical cues (topic, picture, facial expressions, etc.) to help you make the correct associations with the words. Personally, I don't have the patience for news broadcasts or the time to watch a lot of movies in my target language, so what works the best for me is cheesy soap-opera type TV shows. Plus, it seems to me that TV shows often have more dialogue than films do.

When you see the circumstances in which a particular character says certain words – and then the reaction they get to those words – you can learn very effectively, because you're bypassing translation and just going directly from oral expression to understanding meaning.

I actually think speaking and listening overlap quite a lot. Whenever we're speaking or writing we're basically reproducing words, phrases and grammar constructions that we've heard used a thousand times before by others, that's the only reason we even know how to use them. If you've heard a term fifty times on the radio one day, it will pop into your head quite easily during a conversation the next day. I've been listening to a lot of French for the last several months and I've noticed improvements in my accent, vocabulary and grammar, even though I've made no conscious effort to improve my speaking.

However, I agree with Cainntear that listening is not enough. It will give you the materials to work with but then you need to know how to use and combine them to fluently phrase your own thoughts and that takes practice.

I'm very interested in languages, and especially in their phonetic aspects.

I was learning Danish for the only reason that it just sounds beautiful.

I was wondering what you guys think is the hardest language to master in terms of pronunciation.

Forget about grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, etc

I think spanish is pretty easy to pronounce, since it has very little phonetic diversity.

I think anyone can pretty much "imitate" a spanish accent fairly decently.

English, on the other hand, and many germanic languages, are much more difficult to pronounce because of its many vowels and diphtongs.

I also think french is very hard to pronounce, because it doesn't really sound like any other language.

I have yet to hear a non-native speaker pronounce french accuratly.

Japanese is fairly easy to pronounce, except for the "u" sound which is quite tricky.

Arabic just hurts my throat .

boy...
toy...
soy...
oil...
join...
spoil...
moist...
enjoy...
annoy...
noise...
boil....
voyage...
point...
joint...
rejoice...
foil...
oyster....
royal…
invoice...
employ...

1. That's a good point.
2. Enjoy your vacation!
3. The world is your oyster!
4. I'd like an invoice please.
5. The milk is spoiled.
6. The employees enjoy health benefits.
7. The Johnsons have a joint checking account.
8. That noise is so annoying.
9. Fry the soy in oil, then wrap it in foil.
10. The boys love their new toys.

I want to learn Chinese.

One of the reasons is that China is getting more important in the world.

Secondly I am afraid of China because they seem to having dwelling on a grudge against Japan.

If I could speak Chinese, I will be able to make friends with Chinese people.

And if I have Chineses friends , I might come to like Chinese people as individuals at least.

I want to overcome my fear.

One of the most effective methods for learning English is to learn the language physically. Research by Dr. James Asher shows that combining physical movement with language learning produces powerful results. Dr. Asher developed a method called Total Physical Response as a way to teach language through physical movement.

What we find is that combining physical movement with intellectual learning creates stronger neurological connections in our nervous system. In other words, we more quickly wire our brains.. thus learning faster, remembering more, and remembering longer.

Studies at San Jose State University show that students who moved their bodies while learning English learned more vocabulary and grammar in a shorter time, compared with students who learned the same material while sitting still. More remarkably, when tested one year later, the students who learned with movement still remembered 80% or more of what they had learned, while the non-moving students had forgotten over 80%.

So how can you put this to use? One simple suggestion is to always be moving while learning English. Go for a walk or run as you listen to a lesson- do not sit still as you learn.

For even better results, try this: as you listen to a story or article, physically mime the action. For example, if you hear the word go, move your feet as if walking. Pretend you are an actor who is physically acting out the action of the story.

By doing this, you wire the language deeply into your nervous system and subconscious. As a result, you will learn more English, remember it longer, and be able to use it more easily.

To be fluent in only 2-3 months, you must create massive intensity. In other words, you have to listen and read 8-14 hours a day, every day. You must listen constantly to English. You must read constantly. In fact, I recommend alternating the two activities. Listen for an hour, then read a novel for an hour. Then listen again for an hour. Then another hour of novel reading.

If you are really focused on speaking well, do more listening. But do not worry, reading will also help your speaking ability. So that is it. That is my simple method for very fast English fluency. Of course, most people do not need to improve so quickly. For most people, two hours a day of listening and reading is enough. But if you need or want to improve very quickly, follow this plan. Good luck!

With the right approach, learning strategy, and attitude, you will make progress very quickly in
the language. In the early stages, as long as you are motivated you will keep up really good progress! However, keeping this momentum up over the long term is going to be hard!

Sometimes we can lose sight of the end goal and our level of enthusiasm can drop – if this happens, you will have reached a plateau.

The question is - do you stay here, or do you charge on to try to bring your progress back on track?

Depending on your learning style and personality, your current approach may need some tweaking if something is holding you back from reaching the next level. Too many people reach
an OK level, where they can get by and basically stop here and never improve on their level. Even
those who speak fluently, but who would like to reduce their accent or improve their proficiency level, will never do so if the way they are going about trying doesn't work for them.

In this case you need to debug the system. Thomas A. Edison was interviewed by a newspaper after 800 unsuccessful tries to make a
working light bulb. “How does it feel to have failed 800 times?” the reporter asked. And Edison’s
answer?

“I haven’t failed 800 times. I haven’t failed once. What I have done, is I have succeeded in proving
that those 800 ways won’t work. Once I eliminate all the ways that won’t work, I will find the one way that will.”

Several years later, after thousands more “successful proofs” he managed to find a way that works, and thus illuminated the world.

This is the approach that you have to take with your language-learning project.

Well, I won't let demagogy take my reason hostage. I'm not that saintly -- I have a stretch to go yet, my speech is somewhat slower than it might have been (lots of "ummm") and is a little on the formal side. But considering how little effort I put into speaking (incommensurable relative to reading and listening), I am pretty satisfied.

And no, I won't encourage everyone to use such a technique. It goes without saying, not everyone is as God-like as me. But give it a shot. Sometimes, you get something for nothing.

With respect to your question: I'd say both listening and reading are essential to improving your communication ability (especially if you espouse the "free lunch" method I follow). Reading will improve your grammar and vocabulary and eradicate errors, listening will improve your comprehension (it does little good to be able to speak well if you can't understand the response) and pronunciation (if you're lucky it may even improve your pronunciation automatically).

As for the other posts in this topic, about speaking to natives. It may be useful for you to speak to natives. But it may not. I myself found that I learned to speak reasonably fluently without speaking at all. I've only had four or five "real" native conversations in my life, but can speak better than most the people who advocate the "speak all the time" method. Moreover, my speech tends to be more accurate and less riddled with errors. I have few reinforced errors like those beginners tend to make, because until I was advanced, I seldom spoke. Hence, by the time I did speak I knew what was correct and what wasn't. My speaking skills improved without practice -- once I didn't speak in the language for over a year (not a single word spoken aloud) and instead read and listened with great intensity. When I once again spoke the language a year on I was much more fluent and my accent was much better despite not burdening my larynx in the slightest.