Subtitle (284)
0:00Vanessa:
I want to be a
0:01fluent English speaker. Have you ever said that?
Well, I have some bad news and some good news.
0:08I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com and
the bad news is I do not have all the answers,
0:17but I do have some good news. I have searched
the internet far and wide for the best English
0:24teachers so that they can also help to
answer this question, how can I become
0:30a better English speaker? How can I speak
English fluently? So today, drum roll. I
0:36would like to present to you 15 wonderful,
incredible English teachers here on YouTube
0:44who will be helping to answer the question,
how can I become a better English speaker?
0:51All of these teachers tips are tried and true.
Tried and true means they actually work. In fact,
0:58I used Lucy's tip when I was learning French
and I used Anne-Marie's tip to get a great
1:05scholarship into my college or university. So I
challenge you to use these tips. And what's more,
1:12I have a free PDF worksheet for you with all
of these teachers' tips and ideas plus a link
1:19to their channel so that you can continue to
learn more with them. You can click on the link
1:24in the description to download that free PDF
worksheet today so that you can speak better
1:30English and go out into the real world and use
it. Are you ready for our first speaking tip?
1:36These are in no specific order except that my
tip will be at the very end. Here we go with
1:43how to be a better English speaker from some of
the best English teachers that I know. Let's go.
1:50Bob:
Hi, I'm Bob from the YouTube channel Learn English
1:52with Bob the Canadian. The technique I think you
should be using to improve your English speaking
1:57is called narrate your life. This is when you
simply say out loud everything that you're doing
2:04as you do it. Here's an example. I am sitting on
this park bench. I am putting on my sunglasses. I
2:11am enjoying the day. When you say everything
out loud as you are doing it, it not only
2:18improves your spoken English, but it helps you to
start thinking in English as well. And of course
2:23you're going to want to do this when you're in a
place like this where there's no one else around.
2:28So start to narrate your life. If you want an
advanced version, try talking about the past,
2:34the present, and the future. Yesterday I sat
on this park bench. Right now I'm sitting on
2:40this park bench. Tomorrow I'm going to sit
on this park bench. So start to narrate your
2:45life. Start to talk about what you're doing out
loud and it will improve your spoken English.
2:50Tiffani:
Hey, I am Tiffani from Speak
2:52English with Tiffani, and my English-speaking
tip is embrace your mistakes. One more time.
3:03Embrace your mistakes. As an English learner,
my friend, you are going to make mistakes, but
3:11instead of feeling frustrated, instead of feeling
overwhelmed, instead of feeling discouraged,
3:18I want you to realize when you embrace your
mistakes, they will actually propel you forward.
3:27They are showing you the things you need to tweak,
3:30the things you need to hone in on, the things
that you need to fix in order to be the amazing
3:37English speaker you can be. So instead of being
frustrated, I want you to embrace your mistakes.
3:49of Vanessa's students. I'm Lucy and I run the
English with Lucy YouTube channel. If you are
3:56constantly reaching for vocabulary, you don't
have it already in your brain, it stops you
4:02from speaking fluently. My tip for improving your
English speaking is very simple and it's all to
4:09do with vocabulary. I know that it works because
it's the strategy that I used to learn Spanish
4:18and I speak Spanish fluently. I kept a simple
vocab diary on my phone. I went about my daily
4:26life and I started to narrate in my head what was
going on in the world around me. I did this when
4:34I was walking, when I was traveling to work,
when I was sitting in a cafe, people watching.
4:40I narrated in my head in the language I was
learning, and every single time that I came across
4:47a word that I didn't know how to say, I wrote it
down in my own language. Then every single evening
4:53before I went to bed, I made a commitment
to myself. I translated all of those words
5:00and I reviewed them again the next morning.
So I was constantly learning new words that
5:06were related to my daily life. They
were useful for me. It was amazing
5:10how quickly this strategy made an impact
on my language skills. Keep a vocab diary
5:16and never miss an opportunity. Make that
commitment to yourself. Onto the next tip.
5:22Dori:
Hi, I'm Dori. I speak English and French.
5:26Brittany:
How old are you?
5:27Dori:
I'm three. I'm one, two, three.
5:30Brittany:
Don't learn to speak English with me. Here are
5:33three tips from my child instead. Children copy
everything they hear. Choose a character from a
5:45TV series. This is your mom now. Copy everything
this person says. What percentage of the day do
5:53English words actually come out of your mouth? All
day long, my son talks to his toys, he talks to
6:01animals. He makes his toys talk to each other.
He talks to the wall. Is his English perfect?
6:09Dori:
My english perfect.
6:13Brittany:
He makes hundreds of mistakes a day,
6:16and that's okay. All of these mistakes will
one day make him a fluent English speaker.
6:22Dori:
Thank you, Vanessa.
6:23Emma:
Hi, I'm Emma from mmmEnglish and Hey Lady,
6:28a speaking community for women. The best way
to improve your speaking skills is to speak,
6:36but if the thought of actually speaking to
other people in a real English conversation
6:42makes you feel a little ill or anxious, I would
argue that it's because you do not yet have the
6:49space or the people who will help you to feel
good as you start speaking English. To improve
6:57your speaking skills, you simply need to gain
more experience speaking English. Experience in
7:05different conversations with different
people talking about different topics.
7:11The best thing that you can do to improve your
English-speaking skills is not to learn more
7:18words or to study more. It's to put yourself into
more speaking opportunities where you can use the
7:27thousands of English words that you already
know and learn through that real experience.
7:34If you don't have a supportive space where you can
regularly speak English, make that your priority.
7:42My name is Hadar from Accent's Way English
with Hadar, and thank you so much Vanessa
7:47for inviting me to share my advice with your
audience. And what a great idea, by the way.
7:52So my piece of advice for you is to learn and
practice pronunciation to improve everything
7:59about your English. Let me explain. We're used
the thinking of pronunciation work as a way to
8:05just improve your clarity and your accent, which
is true, but it's so much more than that. Working
8:12in your pronunciation can help you improve your
listening skills because by repeating words and
8:17phrases and reductions, it makes it easier for
you to recognize it when other people speak.
8:23Repeating common words and new vocabulary and
new grammatical structures will help you learn
8:29those structures and words subconsciously, making
it automatic for you to use them. Therefore,
8:35you're improving grammar and vocabulary
simply by practicing pronunciation,
8:41not to mention the confidence boost that
you're going to get by no longer avoiding
8:46words and sounds that you're not sure
of how to pronounce. So with all that,
8:52I believe that learning pronunciation can level
up your fluency and your confidence in English.
8:58This is why I'm passionate about it and I hope
you will be too. Thank you so much and good luck.
9:04Veronika:
Hi, I'm Veronika from
9:06Veronika's Language Diaries, and today I want
to share a powerful mindset shift with you.
9:10The words you use when you talk to yourself
have a tremendous impact on your language
9:15learning journey. If you constantly think, "I'm
just not good at English. I can't get past this
9:20beginner stage," then you're setting up
mental barriers that hold you back. This
9:24negative self-talk can trap you in a cycle
of frustration and keep you from achieving
9:29your English goals. Every time you tell yourself,
"I'm stuck at the intermediate plateau." You are
9:34actually reinforcing that belief and you make
it even harder for yourself to move forward.
9:40What if instead of focusing on what you
can't do, you start focusing on what you
9:44can achieve. For instance, instead of saying,
"I'll never understand native speakers." Shift
9:50your language to, "I'm improving every day
and soon I'll understand more and more."
9:55When you start telling yourself,
"I'm capable of becoming fluent,"
9:59your actions will start aligning with that belief.
You'll find yourself more motivated to practice,
10:05more open to making mistakes and learning
from them. My native language is Russian
10:10and I know firsthand how daunting
it can be to learn a new language.
10:14I used to have the same doubts and the same fears,
but I made a conscious decision to change the way
10:21I spoke to myself. I believed in my ability to
improve and I took consistent action to make
10:26that happen. I've been where you are and I've made
it to the other side. If I can do it so can you.
10:32Anne-Marie:
Hey, I'm Anne-Marie with Speak Confident
10:34English. And first, a big thank you to Vanessa for
this opportunity. If you're feeling shy, stuck,
10:40or too nervous to speak, here's my favorite
strategy to improve speaking skills. Give
10:45yourself the gift of clarity. Clarity to know what
you're doing well and what you want to improve,
10:52plus the certainty to know that you can make
those improvements. This is a strategy I use
10:58time and time again for myself, and it's perfect
for getting unstuck, refining small talk, prepping
11:05for job interviews and gaining confidence
to share your thoughts. And here's how.
11:11Choose a specific topic or question like
an upcoming meeting topic or a conversation
11:16starter. Next, record yourself speaking naturally,
just like in a conversation. Then listen back and
11:24evaluate your pronunciation, clarity, vocabulary,
and grammar. Take note of what you've done well
11:31and what you want to improve. Finally, record
again, focusing on those improvements. As you
11:38repeat this process, you'll notice your speaking
skills becoming sharper and more confident.
11:44Laura:
Hello. We are Laura and Bez from Smashing English.
11:48tip for improving your English speaking is this.
11:51let perfect be the enemy of good. We teach
students every day and they are so focused
11:56on being perfect and making perfect sentences
that they just stay in their comfort zone.
12:02the same words and sentence
structures again and again and again.
12:05Laura:
They are so worried about not sounding
12:07like a native speaker, that they don't challenge
themselves and try new words and phrases.
12:11Bez:
This is how vocabulary and speaking
12:14skills get stuck. You will never improve if you
say the same stuff over and over and over again.
12:19Laura:
So when you are practicing
12:20either on your own or with a teacher, take risks.
Say something even if you think it might be wrong.
12:27is not the time to be perfect. It's
the perfect time to make mistakes.
12:32like training at the gym. You are not supposed
to look good at the gym. You're supposed to look
12:36sweaty and red-faced. Learn to appreciate your
mistakes because they're the things that help you.
12:42Hello, I'm Greg from the English with Greg
YouTube channel where I teach British English
12:47pronunciation and grammar. And one piece of advice
that I always give to my students is when you're
12:56speaking English, don't focus on everything
that you don't know. Don't worry about that.
13:02Don't feel embarrassed or blocked just because you
don't know the word for something. But instead,
13:10focus on the grammar and vocabulary that you
already know and use that to describe everything
13:17else. If you are at work and you need to say that
something is in the warehouse, but you don't know
13:24the word warehouse, you can say it's in the big
building where we keep all the products. Easy.
13:33And when you do this, you soon realize
that you are able to talk about advanced
13:39topics with quite basic English. So change
your mentality and don't think, "Ah, panic,
13:46I don't know a word." Instead, think, "Wow with
a bit of imagination, I can say anything in
13:54English." And the best thing is that when you do
this and people understand you, you feel great.
14:01It fills you with confidence and isn't that
what you want? To speak English confidently.
14:07Anna:
Hi, my name's Anna from
14:09English Like a Native, and my speaking tip for
you is to value all practice regardless of where
14:17you get it and of the level of the person you're
talking to. I'm a great squash player, but the
14:24majority of my playing time has been practicing
with people the same level, a little bit higher,
14:31but mostly lower than my level. I've had a
few hours of coaching, but I'm a great squash
14:38player because I've practiced for thousands
of hours with people at all different levels.
14:45When you speak, it doesn't matter if
you know the vocabulary and the grammar,
14:49you have to practice the recall
of those lessons. So practice,
14:56practice, practice. It's all valuable
and it will all serve you. Good luck.
15:02Luke Thompson:
Hello, I'm Luke Thompson from Luke's English
15:03Podcast and my advice for improving your speaking
in English is actually to do more listening. Do
15:09loads of listening in English because if you
think about it, how can you expect to learn how
15:15to speak this language if you don't know what it
sounds like? So doing lots and lots of listening
15:21helps you to get a natural sense of the speech
patterns of this language, the pronunciation,
15:28the intonation, the sentence stress, the connected
speech. Basically, just get used to hearing how
15:35this language is spoken by people when they're
communicating spontaneously and naturally.
15:42Also, it exposes you to lots of
vocabulary and grammar. Basically,
15:46listening a lot really feeds your speaking.
It really kind of helps your speaking,
15:52inspires it and allows you to find something that
you can kind of copy. It leaves an imprint on
15:59you so that when you open your mouth, hopefully
the right words and structures will come to you
16:05because you've inputted so much. That's the basic
idea. What do you listen to? Well, of course,
16:10listen to podcasts for learners of English.
So I'm Luke Thompson, and that is my advice.
16:15Hannah:
Hey everyone,
16:16I'm Hannah from English Fluency Journey, and first
of all, I want to say a huge thank you to Vanessa
16:21for giving me this amazing opportunity to share my
wisdom with her audience. The best tip I can offer
16:28to improve your English-speaking skills is to find
the method that works best for you. The only way
16:34to improve your speaking skills is by speaking. So
use every opportunity to practice English, but to
16:41be more specific, I'd say that shadowing is one of
the most effective ways to improve your speaking
16:46skills on your own and for free. Those of you who
know me know that I rave about it all the time.
16:51Shadowing is like playing a fun game of copycat
with English. And here's how it works. You listen
16:56to someone speaking English, it can be from a
podcast or your favorite TV show or Vanessa, and
17:02then you try to repeat what they say as accurately
as possible. But you're not just mimicking words,
17:07you're also matching their speed, intonation
and accent. And the magic of shadowing is that
17:12it helps you improve your pronunciation,
rhythm, listening skills, vocabulary,
17:18and even grammar, all while getting you used
to the natural flow of the language. Plus,
17:24it's a great way to feel more confident speaking
English, even if you're just talking to yourself.
17:29And remember, no matter what method you
choose to improve your speaking skills,
17:32the key to success is consistency.
Speaking English has to become part
17:36of your routine and everyday life. If you manage
to incorporate English into your daily routine,
17:42your improvement and success are inevitable.
17:45my name is Brent from American English
with Brent, A huge thank you to Vanessa for
17:51allowing me to share my tip on how to speak
better English. Over the last four months,
17:56I have been lucky enough to travel to
three different countries, Brazil, Poland,
18:02and Turkey. I've spoken to many non-native English
speakers and the first thing they said to me was,
18:08"I'm sorry for my English." My tip to you is be
confident in your English. If you're speaking
18:15to a native English speaker, chances are they
only know one language, you know at least two.
18:22If it wasn't for you, the two of you wouldn't be
able to have a conversation. Don't be embarrassed
18:28about your accent. We all have accents. If I went
to England, they would think I had an accent. So
18:35my tip to you is be confident when you speak
English. It's probably better than you think.
18:41here from English with Patricia. Vanessa, thank
you so much for having me. Today we're talking
18:46about speaking. I know how it feels because I am
not a native speaker. I am Brazilian. But when I
18:52was in England, I learned that I had to listen
and I had to copy what people were saying. So
18:58I heard someone saying that they were eating
something and they said that it was delicious.
19:03So I came home, grabbed myself a yogurt, I
swear to you and did the same. Delicious.
19:12I started to copy people and really hear my own
voice speaking. I was at school and everyone
19:20around me said, "See you later." And I always
said, "See you tomorrow." And one day I was like,
19:26"Hold on a minute. Everyone's saying see you
later, I'm going to do the same." So remember,
19:31do lots and lots of copying and
one day you'll be ready to create.
19:36my name is Wes from Interactive English. And when
it comes to improving your speaking skills, I
19:42often hear people tell me that, "Well, whenever I
try to express a thought, opinion or idea, I just
19:48get stuck and I lose my train of thought." So if
this has ever happened to you, then one suggestion
19:54would be to use a speaking framework. And there
are many of them. So you could use the PREP
19:59framework. It stands for point, reason, example,
point. So I'll give you an example right now.
20:06I think that you should try to use this
speaking framework because it's going to
20:12help you structure your speech and you'll be able
to get your point across easily. For example,
20:18if you are in a meeting at work
and you want to share your idea,
20:21you'll be able to do so easily and quickly. And
for this reason, I think you should try to use
20:29this speaking framework. Point,
reason, example point. Give it a try.
20:34Ariannita la Gringa:
Hey everyone,
20:35I'm Ariannita la Gringa and I'm a native English
teacher. As you know, this video is about how to
20:42improve your English-speaking skills. Well, from
my own experience learning a second language,
20:49the fastest way for me to improve
my Spanish-speaking skills was by
20:54practicing with native speakers. So I started
making friends who spoke Spanish and I hung
21:00out with them everywhere. After a couple of
months, I realized how much my Spanish had
21:06improved. So you can apply the same method to
learning English. And if you're wondering why,
21:13well, I feel like speaking English won't feel like
homework or a chore when you're with your friends.
21:18You'll naturally pick up common
phrases and expressions and you'll
21:23feel more comfortable to speak around them
since they're your friends. For example,
21:28my friends who made English-speaking friends
have improved much faster than those who didn't
21:35because they can practice real-life English
outside their English course, outside work,
21:41etc. So for me, this is one of the best ways to
improve your English-speaking skills in a natural
21:47way. But remember, this is only one way to improve
your speaking skills. So follow this tip and
21:54other teacher's tips too to help you improve your
English-speaking skills. Thanks for watching. Bye.
22:01I'm Ethan from RealLife English and my tip
is called practice like you play. When any
22:07professional athlete goes out for game day, it's
not the first time that they are playing. They've
22:13done tons and tons of practice beforehand, so
they're prepared when it really comes time to
22:18perform. However, most language learners will just
throw themselves into a conversation hoping that
22:24things will go well based on what they've
already learned. So in language we practice
22:29like we play using scripts. You can write a
script for any sort of situation. If you've
22:34not had many interactions speaking English, then
a great place to start can be with an introduction
22:39of yourself because this is something you're
going to need to do with anyone that you meet.
22:44So in your script, you're going to write out
everything that you need for the situation that
22:48you're preparing yourself for, and then comes
time to practice it. So you'll practice it on
22:53your own at first, and then you can actually
record yourself, listen back and think of
22:57ways you can improve it. And then finally, it's
game day. It's time for you to actually go use
23:01it in an English conversation. And I promise
you, if you've done all of this preparation,
23:06all of this practice, you're going to
feel so much more natural and confident
23:11when you actually have that conversation. All
right? So I hope it helps a lot. Good luck.
23:16Vanessa:
Thank you so much
23:17to those wonderful English teachers for your great
tips about how to be a better English speaker. Now
23:24it's my turn. How can you speak better English?
Well, the number one thing that I tell my students
23:30is that I highly recommend that you speak in
English with another person for at least 30
23:37minutes per week. When you set up this appointment
to speak with someone else, you will have instant
23:44motivation to speak better English because
nothing is more motivating than knowing that
23:50you have a deadline and you need to do it. So as
humans, I think we are naturally procrastinators.
23:57We wait till the last minute, we put things
aside that we don't want to do or that are
24:01too hard or we feel worried about. So when
you know that you are going to speak in
24:06English on Mondays at 8:00 PM well that
whole week or at least a few days before,
24:14you are going to start preparing, you're going
to study English, you're going to be thinking
24:19about your conversation. You might even use
some of these teachers tips like shadowing,
24:24recording, listening to English. You will
start to prepare because you know you have
24:29a deadline coming up. You're going to be
speaking with someone else at that time.
24:34And when you do it every week, you're going to
be building on your English skills each week.
24:39And after a few months, you'll be amazed
at how much your English skills and your
24:44confidence grow. If you're not speaking with
someone once a week, at least for 30 minutes,
24:50I highly recommend starting that now. Well,
thank you so much for learning English with me
24:55and all of these wonderful English teachers. Yes,
there are many more wonderful English teachers on
25:00YouTube. Most of them I reached out to. Some of
them were not available to participate. So if
25:06there's someone you love who is not in this video,
it is not because they're not great, they were
25:11just not available. Well, don't forget to download
the free PDF worksheet for today's lesson.
25:16It will include every single teacher's
tip, ideas, and a link to their channel
25:22so that you can continue learning English
and speaking better day by day. You can
25:27click on the link in the description to
download that free PDF worksheet today.
25:31A big thank you to all of the teachers
who have participated in today's lesson,
25:36and I will see you again next Friday for a new
lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait,
25:43do you want more? I recommend watching this video
next where you will practice speaking with me
25:49specifically about if you are a guest at my house
for multiple days, what kind of conversations
25:56would we have together? Well, you can practice
in this video here and I'll see you there.
