Whether you’re preparing for a presentation, networking with clients, or networking with peers in a professional setting, it’s important to speak confidently. It’s more than just knowing what to say. Being able to put your thoughts into words clearly and articulately will make the difference between success and failure when sharing your ideas.
English Speaking Partner
Whether you’re preparing for a presentation, networking with clients, or networking with peers in a professional setting, it’s important to speak confidently. It’s more than just knowing what to say. Being able to put your thoughts into words clearly and articulately will make the difference between success and failure when sharing your ideas.
5 Reasons to find a speaking partner
If you’re simply reading this article you may be wondering why I think it important to find a speaking partner when nearly everyone in the world is required by law or social convention always tell their stories without help of any kind. Well read on and let me introduce the reasons:
1. Speak English, don’t just learn
It may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s far better to hone your English skills than learn another language. Your speaking partner offer opportunities for you to actively develop your English in all public speaking situations.
2. Your partner can edit and give feedback on content, structures
A good speaker knows when to change a sentence, or maybe use an entirely new one from their existing repertoire rather than continually repeating the same words again and again. After you speak with another person they may be able to help you improve this skill.
3. Break your language barrier
A good native English-speaking partner should be able to speak intelligently in a wide range of situations, and even if they can’t help you with your English speaking needs at least they’re evidence that good English skills are possible. The English partner will give you the tools you need to use English in the real world.
4. Speak more fluently
When you practice with a speaking partner, you will probably be speaking at a much slower pace than usual. You may speak less slowly, but you’ll also throw in fresh sentences from your existing lexicon to keep things interesting between sessions.
Your partner is able to listen carefully and check each sentence with you as it’s said so they can pick out any errors or odd speech patterns left over from the primary learning process of reading aloud over and over again (reading being one of the most common tools with all foreign learners).
5. Learn common sentences and phrases
If a basic sentence or phrase is your main obstacle in speaking English, the partner will be able to provide suggestions for you. In addition, they can also teach many general lexicon expressions and grammar structures that are easily understood by native speakers.
When you practice pronunciation with someone who has good English skills it’s more likely that they will respect what I am doing so speak less harshly than non-native speakers.
What is a speaking partner?
An English-speaking partner is a person you talk to in English the target language with him/her. A speaking partner will also correct your English and add/delete from notes to make sure you speak correctly and fluently. Seek out a colleague who is at least one level above you, and ask to practice with them. A speaking partner can help take the pressure off when meeting new enemies in the marketplace; together you’ll be able to laugh about your fears surrounding public speaking after each experience.
How do we choose our speaking partners?
People often ask me this question, but unfortunately, it’s not a very simple answer. If there’s an obvious “hot list partner” I’ll tell them about him/her beforehand so that they can prepare for the conversation ahead of time. Find the right conversation partner – time permitting We have a tendency to think professionally when we believe others don’t know us well enough, which might prevent finding other potential partners because it seems unlikely anyone else would want to spend so much time with us – this is not always the case, however.
Where to find a speaking partner?
Generally, colleagues in our same department have a good start, but avoid those who use slang terms or vocabulary – they rarely understand you. People from other departments are likely to be more conversant with difficult English and will also help build your confidence by suggesting improvements before any mistakes appear in the presentation – this is important when learning. Speaking partners should ideally have some experience teaching or interacting with foreigners; otherwise, it’s safe to assume what may seem perfectly understandable will be a mystery to them.
How can I find a language partner for free?
There are a number of choices, but I’d generally advise against them. Never pay for teaching by an “expert”; the lesson will certainly differ from someone who knows the language skills they teach you and be much harder to understand. It is completely acceptable that six hours with your local teacher can seem like only 30 minutes! This also applies when asking friends or family -make sure you know what actually takes place at this time and consider what you want to learn.
How can I find an English-speaking partner in a short period?
(Probably the most popular question!) You can try finding someone on the web (app), using a translator or partner website mentioned above; but often there isn’t too much choice. If you do have limited time for this type of language training then I’d seriously consider signing up for Skype (chat) – business-advantage international students we’ve found in our study here at RBTH use it heavily and find it very helpful when looking for teaching partners from the EU. Another great resource for finding lesson partners with similar interests is the Facebook Language Exchange groups (though these are mainly populated by English speakers and English learners).
Strategies for Finding Local Speaking Partners:
- In many cultures, two things make a person ‘worthy’ – the ability to pay and the right personal appearance. The few times I’ve been lucky enough to participate in language exchange events where paying isn’t such an issue (such as at university or during work)
- Visiting professionals from other countries before you meet pupils could help too: if your local school has a teacher who is currently on exchange with another school/company then you could ask the head to check if their other instructor would be willing to speak with some of your students.
- Ultimately it depends on where you are and what language(s) are part of your CV – If this sort of work isn’t important or won’t hinder you in any way then I’d seriously consider taking up such an offer – where it starts to feel genuine and ethical becomes harder, so I’d err on the side of caution).
In summary, there are many ways to find speaking partners and you can use a variety of methods depending on your situation. It’s definitely worth trying at least once – it can be very useful and enjoyable, but don’t expect the first time to be easy!
Good luck with your language learning exchange speaking skills search!