1. Best Practice (Method 1) forming sentences using “English speaking lessons”
f you’re a beginner, this is the best way to practice making sentences in English.
Here’s why these lessons are great for beginners:
- These lessons give you instant feedback, which allows you to fix mistakes in your sentences immediately.
- You learn how to form sentences by practicing, not by studying. This is the right way to learn spoken English.
2. Imitate the way native speakers form sentences (Method 2)
To practice this technique, play an English conversation (video or audio) on your computer or your phone.
As you listen to the conversation, here’s what you need to do:
- Listen and memorize a sentence.
- Recall the sentence that you just memorized out loud.
- Move on to the next sentence.
Let me elaborate on each step.
Step 1) listen and memorize a sentence.
If you think this step is easy, let me assure you, it’s not.
Why? It’s because native speakers often make long and complex sentences. They also tend to use words that non-native speakers aren’t familiar with.
Here’s an example: “There are a lot of things that people in our team, including myself, say all the time that we really need to stop saying.”
When you imitate native speakers, you’ll come across sentences like this a lot.
How do you remember a sentence like this?
Well, the key is to memorize a few words at a time.
Don’t wait until the speaker completes the whole sentence. (You won’t remember anything if you do that.) Instead, after a few words have been spoken, pause and repeat those words immediately.
Here’s an example:
-
Native speaker: “There are a lot of things…”
-
You: “There are a lot of things…”
-
Native speaker: “…that people in our team, including myself…”
-
You: “…that people in our team, including myself…”
-
Native speaker: “…say all the time that we…”
-
You: “…say all the time that we…”
-
Native speaker: “…really need to stop saying.”
-
You: “…that we really need to stop saying.”
You get my point, right? When you try to memorize a sentence, you should memorize just a few words at a time. Do it until you reach the end of the sentence.
Step 2) Recall the sentence that you just memorized out loud.
This step is simple and straightforward. You just try to recall the sentence you’ve memorized out loud.
When you try to recall a long sentence, you probably won’t be able to do it. Your sentence might contain mistakes. You might forget some words.
This is perfectly normal. In this case, rewind back to the beginning of the sentence and repeat step 1.
How many times should you repeat? Do it until you can recall the sentence (almost) perfectly.
After that, move on to the next sentence.
When you imitate native speakers, you’re learning to how make sentences in English like native speakers.
Before you start this practice, there are a few things you need to know first:
-
This practice really works. I know it because I’ve used it myself to improve my speaking. (Thanks to this practice, I’m now very satisfied with my spoken English.)
-
If you have trouble understanding native speakers, you need to improve your listening skills (You can’t imitate native speakers if you don’t know what they’re saying.)
-
This practice is NOT a magic solution. It requires work and effort. You need to practice a lot in order to see results. If you only practice for five minutes a day for two weeks, you won’t see any improvement. Instead, you should practice for at least 20 minutes per day for several months.
-
The practice will be very difficult to do in the beginning. But it will get easier over time. So don’t give up!