英语杂谈：86 Hints to improve spoken English 2

Find the problem. What kind of person are you—one who focuses on accuracy or one who focuses

 on frequency? the first step is to recognize your problem and go to work no it. Think about situations where you’ve used English and how you felt about making mistakes. Do you always try some new language even though it might not be correct? Or do you feel embarrassed by mistakes? Focus on one problem at a time. When you speak English, find the mistakes you make most often. One mistake Chinese often make is omitting the “s” from the third person singular verb. Or you were speak too slowly as if you were searching for the right word and correct grammar. The next time you use English, try to work on those problems you have identified. If it’s fluency¹, try to focus on it. If you have a problem with the third person singular, try to concentrate on when you make such errors. Don’t spend time thinking abort² other mistakes. By choosing an area to work on, you can isolate³ problems and help yourself overcome them. Vary your practice. If you go to an English club, try to change the types of activities you take part in so that you practise both fluency and accuracy. Public speaking allows you to slow down and be sure you have time to concentrate on the language. Meanwhile, discussions are good practice for fluency, especially if you don’t stop each time a mistake is made. Learn the difference between fluency and speed. Some Chinese think that speaking fast is the same as speaking fast is the same as speaking fast is the same as speaking fluently. In fact, speaking fluently involves not only speed. It also involves stress, pronunciation and intonation⁴. If you make a mistake in these, speaking fast will only make it worse. Don’t sacrifice understanding for speed. Try recording⁵ yourself. Take a tape recorder and record a conversation with a friend or a speech or monologue⁶ as you do it naturally! A two-or three-minute recording is enough. When you’ve finished, listen to yourself. Can you identify and correct any errors? Make it a regular practice. The more you record yourself, the more confident and natural sounding you will become.

 

1 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

2 abort   

v.使流产，堕胎；中止；中止(工作、计划等)

参考例句：

• The captain instructed them to abort the mission.上尉指示他们中止执行任务。
• With this button the user can abort the audio sequence.用户可以用该按钮终止音频序列。

3 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

4 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。