Watching an English movie or Ted Talk (using subtitles) and use the speaking log to

express your opinion of the movie.

I recently watched the TedTalk video, "We can make COVID-19 the last pandemic," by

Bill Gates, and was impressed by the manner in which the speaker (Bill Gates) makes valid

arguments. The video is a short speech with amazing ideas on how to best prepare for a potential

pandemic and prevent it. The author proposed that a multi-specialty Global Epidemic Response

and Mobilization (GERM) team should be formulated, implemented, and funded to stop any

potential outbreak of a pandemic such as COVID-19 that has been witnessed recently. The ideas

in the video were chronically flowing, and this made it easier to follow the speaker throughout.

Therefore, it is sufficient to state that the short video met my expectations. The other aspect that I

found interesting was the diction used by the speaker. There were some words that were very

interesting, and with no doubt, I have a conviction that such words will improve my English

language in the future. Some of the words include: upended, infectious, broad spectrum, etc.

Finally, I learned the importance of coherence in language. The speaker's English was very

coherent, which made it easier to understand the context of whatever he was saying. Watching

this video has taught me that listening to videos can be vital in improving language skills. In my

case, English.

Reading an English article and use the speaking log to record your opinion on the article.

I found the article on medium.com by Andrew Jazprose Hill titled "He Slapped Chris –

He Did Not Slap "The Rock" very entertaining and educative. This article was written after Will

Smith slapped Chris Rock at the just concluded Oscars. The incident created a lot of buzz in the

various social scenes, and according to me, this is the article that stood out. The writer’s aim was
to tell the reader that hitting or beating someone smaller is not an act of bravery. The first

outstanding aspect of the article is the title. I realized that the title was very captivating and

would lure a potential reader. The title of the article was unique and had an element of suspense.

The ideas in the articles were arranged in a coherent manner by giving each idea a sub-heading.

This was very important as the reader was able to locate each idea with ease. The writer also

used various figures of speech to make it interesting. For instance, the metaphor of Goliath vs.

David was used. It was also evident that the writer properly used punctuation marks, such as

quotation marks for direct quotes. Finally, I found out that reading the article improved my

vocabulary mastery skills. Therefore, it is evident that reading, whether in electronic or print

form, can improve mastery of English as a second language.

 Conversation Club: Practice

Effective strategies to improve your English

Najla: Good morning, Osama.

Osama: Good morning to you too, Najla. Learning how to speak English is a major challenge for
second-language learners.

Osama: Yes, it has been a challenge for me and my friends too.

Najla: I have been researching ways of addressing this problem, and I have come across some
interesting insights.

Osama: Huh, please share.

Najla: Do you know that it is possible to improve English speaking skills by consistently and
intentionally learning for 15 minutes daily?

Osama: That’s very interesting, Najla. Enlighten me, please.

Najla: I came across this infographic with strategies that can be used to improve English
speaking skills.

Osama: Yes, what did it say?

Najla: There is a shadowing technique that can be used to practice speaking. You use a video clip
to practice.

Osama: Please elaborate.

Najla: In this strategy, you only need to get a video clip, play it, pause it, and copy it. This way,
you will learn to pronounce the words exactly as they are played in the clip.

Osama: That’s very practical. Go on, please.

Najla: I also learned that you can use flash cards so that whenever you go, you can carry the flash
cards and practice on the go.

Osama: These are excellent strategies, as they allow you to refer to a word even if you are not
near your books.

Najla: That’s right, Osama. Alternatively, if you come across new words or phrases that you
need to practice, you can also use sticky notes.

Osama: Yes, how do the sticky notes work?

Najla: You put the new words and phrases in strategic places in the house or office so that every
time you see them, you can remind yourself of their meaning.

Osama: I like that. Sure, practicing these strategies can help me improve my spoken English
consistently.

Najla: Yes, very true. You only need to know the approach and implement it. There is another
strategy where you Say What You Mean (SWYM).

Osama: That sounds interesting. How does it work?

Najla: It simply means that everything you see; you say it out loud. In this case, if you see a
situation unfolding in your environment, you use English words to describe it.

Osama: Aaaah, nice! This way, you speak more English through personal initiative.

Najla: Absolutely.

Osama: You turn your everyday life into a practicing session.

Najla: Videos are a good way of practicing spoken English. So you can also use the Pause and
Respond (P & R) strategy where you pause and answer a question any time you hear it.

Osama: This can work well if you have videos like interviews.
Najla: Yes, exactly. It is very practical in interview settings.

You can also reflect when learning spoken English so that you are aware of what works and what
doesn’t when you are learning English.

Najla: Absolutely. With all these strategies, you can always review and revise what you are
doing to ensure you have the best outcomes.

Osama: I also learned that it is very important to use all the words and phrases that have been
learned to make sure that you don’t learn and forget them.

Najla: That makes complete sense.

Osama: Yes, it does. This way, you learn how to use words to make sentences of your own.

Najla: Najla, if I ask you, of all these strategies that you have learned, which one strikes you as
the most effective? Which one would you recommend to me to prioritise when learning
spoken English?

Osama: I would say that, for me, shadowing is the optimal strategy for learning spoken English.
Even as you complement it with other strategies, it works wonders!

Najla: How so?

Osama: First, most people don’t know about it, and I wonder why, because it is like that magic,
secret weapon in learning English.

Najla: By magic, you mean the results are instant?

Osama: Not exactly instant, because you have to do the work, but because it is amazing when
you ‘shadow’ an audio, as it makes the practice sessions fun and interesting, that you may
learn intentionally and unintentionally. 

Najla: I am curious to know more about how to shadow using video clips.
Osama: As I mentioned before, all you need is to select an English-speaking video clip. If you
don’t have basic competency in English, select a simple clip so that you can build your
competency level from simple to complex slowly.

Najla: Interesting...

Osama: When you listen to the words in the clip, you pause it and repeat them aloud.

Najla: I am excited to try this out.

Osama: Yes, please try this out. Learn how to select audio clips that build your English to avoid
stagnating at the same basic level for too long.

Najla: Oooh, yes, that’s true.

Osama: Most importantly, remember that as you pause to repeat what has been said in the audio,
you repeat it as if you’re listening. This will either make you identify the areas where you
are going wrong or signal that you can go on practicing more.

Najla: Another important tip for beginners learning spoken English: once you listen to the audio,
get a transcript of the audio and repeat the audio with the transcript.

Osama: Based on what you have shared, I do believe this is a very effective strategy. As you
progress, you will be able to show without the transcript.

Najla: You got that right, Osama.

Osama: That was an interesting resource. Are there any other ways you can recommend to
improve spoken English that aren't included in your infographic?

Najla: Yes, absolutely. There are other strategies that I have seen work for my friends before and
that are highly commendable.

Osama: Great, please share some.

Najla: I believe that there is no better learning environment for spoken English than doing so in a
natural setting where the language is being spoken. To learn how to perfectly speak the
language, being in an environment where people are speaking in English will help you
learn much faster and better.

Osama: Yes, I have heard about it, and it is much like shadowing in terms of the real spoken
practice.

Najla: Yes, only that this time you are immersed in an environment where you have to practice
English and communicate with it on a daily basis, all day every day because it is the
dominant language of use. You can also try changing the language settings on your
computer and phone so that you are very intentional in your interactions with the
language and practice it naturally.

Osama: You are well informed, Najla.

Najla: Yes, Osama, you learn about everything and then you choose what works for you in the
long run based on your situation. Information is power.

Osama: That’s true.

Najla: It is also important that you make learning spoken English fun. If you do it the same way
you learn mathematics or science, it is going to feel very complicated, when it can be a
fun and lovely adventure.

Osama: I like how this sounds. Please tell me more.

Najla: I mean that you can watch your favourite movie and still learn some English while doing
it. All you have to do is to find the trending movies on programs such as Netflix and sit
down to watch them. Endeavour to focus and understand the movie. This will arouse your
senses and direct your attention to the language used, as well as any new vocabulary that
you may encounter.

Najla: Wow, that is a very good strategy.

Najla: Yes, you will be amazed at how much you can learn from watching the movies, from new
vocabulary to English language structure, so that you are even able to construct simple
sentences in English.

Osama: Yes, that is very possible. One only needs to be intentional about it and patient.

Najla: True. And as many young people are on social media, it can help you to improve your
English if, for example, you have important people you follow on Twitter who tweet in
English. Since you like to understand and subscribe to their ideas, you will learn a thing
or two in a friendly and interesting way.

Osama: Good, so that makes it fun to learn, even without knowing it.

Najla: Yes, it is all about making the small steps that bring huge results consistently.

Osama: How about YouTube? Can it help?

Najla: Yes, in a very big way. Now that we are discussing interesting ways of improving your
spoken English skills, YouTube can help you by subscribing to YouTube channels that
interest you according to your individual preferences. Because the videos on YouTube
are based on your favourite topics, you will enjoy learning English while at the same time
enjoying the content of the videos.

Osama: I hadn’t even thought about it like that. I was thinking about how you can use YouTube
to search for videos that teach spoken language.

Najla: You can also set a time during the day to learn something that you really want to know.
The good thing about YouTube is that it helps in all the areas that you need it to.

Osama: Yes, yes! It is a wide resource pool where you get everything.

Najla: Your friends can also be a huge resource when learning how to speak English.

Osama: Yes? How so?

You can learn together and challenge yourselves to speak English whenever you meet, so that
you can teach each other a few words that you have learned. Learning from friends is also
a natural way and sticks in the mind better than when you learn from YouTube or story
books.

Osama: very interesting. It's as if friends become tutors to one another.

Yes, in this case, you can help your friends become better at speaking English without feeling the
burden of being a tutor by immersing yourselves in a natural setting where you just help
each other speak English using natural conversations. You will notice that your friends
will become drawn to you and want to have more conversations with you because it has
the promise of helping them improve their spoken English.

Osama: Can these work even if my friend is learning English in a formal setting?

Najla: Yes, in this case, you can also recommend to them all the strategies that we have
discussed today so that they are more resourceful in choosing the strategies that work
well for them according to their needs, objectives, and preferences.

Osama: I understand. You have been very helpful, Najla. I have learned a lot, and I am sure these
strategies will help me improve my English and also help my friends who will need me
for the same.

Najla: It is my pleasure. Best wishes and have a wonderful day.

Osama: Thank you very much.

Najla: You are welcome to consult me anytime.

 References

Gates, B., 2022. We can make COVID-19 the last pandemic. [online] Ted.com. Available at: <

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_we_can_make_covid_19_the_last_pandemic/

transcript > [Accessed 24 April 2022].

Hill, A., 2022. He Slapped Chris — He Did Not Slap ‘The Rock’. [online] Medium. Available at:

< https://medium.com/illumination-curated/he-slapped-chris-he-did-not-slap-the-rock-

8bcdf22fe957 > [Accessed 24 April 2022].