Embrace new things - learn a language

Does being able to speak a foreign language improve your confidence? Of course, it does! Even native English speakers are constantly battling with irregular verbs in order to speak English with confidence :-). The long list of  ‘exceptions to rules’ doesn’t help either. This post is not just for my foreign readers – many of whom come from Japan, India, Indonesia and other places. I think there’s a lot here for my anglophone friends as well – even though this is a slight diversion from what we normally write about here. 

After teaching English and Literature at leaving-exams level in secondary (high) school, I trained as a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teacher and have since taught English to students from all the main world-wide languages. However, even I sometimes have to double check my writing and speech for grammar mistakes. 

In my years of English teaching I’ve realised one thing: you don’t have to be able to write English to become confident in speaking it. Many people who study English spend far too much time translating word after word and miss the pronunciation of English words. Languages – especially English were taught in very roundabout ways in the past – writing the words, followed by learning the pronunciation. Thankfully, we’ve learned this is not the best way to study English or indeed any other language.

Consider how kids learn to speak. They don’t know how to write many things the day they start school. However, they’re able to express themselves and make themselves understood; carry on conversations with parents and teachers; and most importantly, make friends. Nowadays it’s easy to study English online. It’s possible to speak English fluently after a few months of lessons, but only with the right tools. I’ve been sent quite a lot of messages after I posted my English Lessons online, (on my writing blog) and since this is my How To Build Confidence site, I wanted to address the matter here.

The best way to study English (or any other language) is to immerse yourself in it. The only way to do this if you can’t go to the country is have an interactive course that allows you to speak. It also needs to guide you in pronunciation. Forget writing out words and translating sentences at the start. This is for much later. Foreign words usually sound different from the way they’re written down and you’ll never be confident in asking for directions, speaking with a stranger, or meeting people if you’re not sure how to say the word you’ve learnt.

So to all the people who’ve contacted me, about studying English, learning English online or speaking English fluently, here’s my answer to speaking English with confidence. Get this brilliant course!

Here’s what it can do to help you speak English with confidence:

• It has an interactive software with speech-recognition technology

• This Rosetta Stone course helps you build your vocabulary of  English words and share ideas and opinions.

• It helps you to confidently develop your skill of speaking English by enabling reading, writing, speaking and comprehension exercises.

• The Rosetta Stone also comes  audio-equipped for CD or MP3 player, iPhone or iPod touch devices.

• Best of all, learning to speak English confidently will be fun with its games, live online lessons etc.

  You can watch how it works and be blown away.

This is a diversion from our normal articles at How To Build Confidence. But it’s necessary to cover this topic because part of building your confidence is being able to meet new people, do new things and learn new experiences. Learning English (or a foreign language) is one of the most popular, fun ways of doing these things.

Thanks to all my non-native English speakers. I appreciate your visit.

Please leave a comment in the box below if you’re visiting here from a non-English speaking country. Tell us where you are and how many languages you speak. If you have already used the Rosetta Stone to learn English, please tell us what you think of it.  Thank you.