【Transcript of Podcast Episode #28】
Hello, everyone.
Today, I want to share my conversation practice method, which I had been using as a beginner learner of English.
When I first went to the U.S., I was shocked by the fact that I couldn’t understand what local people were saying.
When I reached the airport my homestay family was waiting for me
and asked me if I was hungry and wanted to go (and) eat at McDonald’s.
I didn’t understand what they were saying at the time, so I just said “yes” and smiled.
I still remember that scene clearly.
I knew all the words they said but I didn’t get it.
I think many of you can resonate with me on this.
It’s very stressful if you cannot understand what you’re being asked.
I asked the person (I was talking to) to repeat a few times
but if I still didn’t understand what they were saying,
I took a wild guess and just said yes or no, and I felt so disappointed in myself.
As it continued, I felt scared to be talked to.
I wanted to talk to my classmates and teachers but I felt nervous thinking…
What if I couldn`t understand what they were saying…
What if they were annoyed by me asking to repeat many times…
Then, I got an idea!
“I should speak to them first before they talk to me!”
But since I couldn’t put together what I wanted to say quickly on the spot,
I prepared what I wanted to say every morning and practiced before going to school.
(And) it helped me a lot.
My classmates asked me some questions afterwards
and sometimes I couldn’t answer them.
But it’s okay.
It’s important to make a conversation
and little by little I (got) confidence and (was) able to understand what they were saying.
If you are a beginner learner of your target language,
you should book a conversation lesson or set a session with your friends or conversation partners
and prepare what you want to speak to them in advance.
It will encourage you to prepare well and memorize necessary words.
Alright, that’s all for today. I hope you find it useful.
If you want to find out more language learning methods, please check out my website.
Thank you so much for listening and I hope to see you next time.
Bye!
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