Better Speaking by Bbc
betterenglish
LEARNING
BETTER
SPEAKING
A GUIDE TO IMPROVING
YOUR SPOKEN ENGLISH
Welcome
Welcome to Better Speaking. This booklet is designed to help you overcome some of the most common problems which people face when they are learning to speak English.
Using extracts from the BBC World Service radio series, Better Speaking, we look at how you can become a more fluent speaker of English, and at some of the skills you need for effective communication.The topics we look at include…
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Becoming a confident speaker
Fluency or accuracy?
Finding the right words
Learning language in chunks
Showing where you are going
Keeping the listener interested
Being a supportive listener
Sounding natural
How to use this booklet
Each page looks at a different area related spoken English. On each page you’ll find…
•
•
•
•
•
a short introduction to the topic which explains why this aspect of speaking is important. an extract from one of the Better Speaking radio programmes related to the topic. a reading and a language task to accompany the extract. key tips to help you improve your speaking. a task to help you practise what has been explained.
On the final page of the booklet, you will find a glossary of the terms which have been used to talk about Better
Speaking.Words which are in bold and italics (like this) in the text can be found in the glossary.
1
Becoming a confident speaker
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
LEARNING
BETTER
SPEAKING
A GUIDE TO IMPROVING
YOUR SPOKEN ENGLISH
Welcome
Welcome to Better Speaking. This booklet is designed to help you overcome some of the most common problems which people face when they are learning to speak English.
Using extracts from the BBC World Service radio series, Better Speaking, we look at how you can become a more fluent speaker of English, and at some of the skills you need for effective communication.The topics we look at include…
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Becoming a confident speaker
Fluency or accuracy?
Finding the right words
Learning language in chunks
Showing where you are going
Keeping the listener interested
Being a supportive listener
Sounding natural
How to use this booklet
Each page looks at a different area related spoken English. On each page you’ll find…
•
•
•
•
•
a short introduction to the topic which explains why this aspect of speaking is important. an extract from one of the Better Speaking radio programmes related to the topic. a reading and a language task to accompany the extract. key tips to help you improve your speaking. a task to help you practise what has been explained.
On the final page of the booklet, you will find a glossary of the terms which have been used to talk about Better
Speaking.Words which are in bold and italics (like this) in the text can be found in the glossary.
1
Becoming a confident speaker
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