In this lesson you will learn how to properly describe a person in English.

TRANSCRIPT

There are millions of English learners across the world. Everyone wants to speak English, but the problem is you don’t have anyone to speak with like a native English speaker. So, how do you study English when you’re alone? Well, there are five methods to studying English without a native English speaker. They are Mirror and Read, Mimic, Teach, Shadow, and Narrate and today I will teach you how to do each of them.

Welcome to Speak English With Tiffani. I am Teacher Tiffani. Let’s jump right in.

Okay, number one is Mirror and Read. Basically, you look in the mirror and you read out loud. Okay, so let’s look at this in more detail. The purpose of this method is that it will help you get more comfortable speaking in front of other people. You can spend about 10 to 15 minutes practicing this method. You can do it a little more or a little less. It’s up to you, but my suggestion is 10 to 15 minutes and you want to do it about three times a week.

Now, there are a few things that you must remember about this step. First, remember it’s not crazy. You know, a lot of people or a lot of students think talking to yourself is not effective or you feel a little weird or awkward. But actuality, it’s an excellent way to practice speaking in English. The next thing to remember is right here. You want to remember to keep eye contact.

You see, what happens is the more eye contact you practice, even if it’s looking at yourself, the more comfortable you will become when you speak with other people. Okay? You become more comfortable making eye contact when you do speak to someone who is a native speaker. Okay? So remember, this practice will help you with eye contact. Okay? This is a very good practice. And the last thing you have to remember is this is excellent for expressions. Now, this is dealing with facial expressions.

You see, English is not just a language that is focusing on the words you use. It also focuses on your facial expressions. So, this will improve your facial ex, let’s go to the next line, expressions. As you speak, you’ll recognize if you’re smiling or if you’re frowning when you’re speaking. So, you want to make sure to be aware of your facial expressions. Okay, let’s keep going. Alright, the second one is Mimic. Basically, you’re going to mimic specific conversations. You can find them online, you can find them in movies or in tv programs.

Wherever you can find these specific conversations you’re going to mimic them. So, let’s look at it in a little bit more detail. You see, the purpose of this step is it will help you learn how to speak naturally in various situations. Okay, it’s not just about learning expressions. It’s about learning the right expressions for the right situation. Now, for this step it’s important that you practice between 20 to 30 minutes, because you need to do it over and over. And my advice is that you do it once a week. Because it’s something that will take a little bit of time, you don’t want to do it every single day.

You want to try to do it at least once a week. Now, what you want to remember is this word, mimic, simply means, let’s put this right here, the meaning of this is to copy, let’s fix this c, what you see or hear. Now, this is important: what you see or hear. Remember, English is about visuals and also audible things, okay? Let’s keep going. Now, the second thing is, this step will actually improve your ability to express yourself naturally. You see, what you’re doing is you’re watching and you’re listening to other people who are native speakers express themselves in certain situations.

So, your English speaking ability will naturally improve even though you’re not with another native speaker, because you’re watching or looking at them. Okay? And the last thing to remember is that with this step you will learn situation-specific sentences and expressions. Now, I’ll explain what this means, okay? Sentences and expressions. We’ll just put exp for right now. Sentences and expressions, you will learn these things that are specifically applicable, or focused on, a certain situation. So, for example, what do I say at a job interview? What do I say when I go to get fast food?

You’ll learn expressions specifically for that situation. Okay? Let’s go to the next one. Alright, the next one is Teach, or in other words, you will teach someone what you already know. Now, don’t get confused. This is still something that you’re going to practice alone. When I say alone, it means without a native English speaker, however you can still teach other people what you know. Let me explain. So, the purpose is this will help you gain confidence in your English speaking ability. You see, what happens is when you teach someone what you know, it makes the information you already have inside your brain stronger, and it also helps it to be more solidified in your brain.

Okay? So, I want you to practice this for 30 to 60 minutes. It’ll really feel like a class when you’re teaching the individuals what you already know. And you should do it at least once a week. Okay, again this is a different method. You want to switch up the methods that you practice so they can also help you grow. Now, let’s look at it a little closer. Like I said earlier, you don’t need a native speaker, okay, to practice your speaking ability. Actually teaching other people will help you improve and remember. It’s pretty amazing how the brain works.

When you teach someone else, it also helps you learn, too. Okay, so this is what’s happening in your brain. Let’s say this is what your brain looks like right now. When you teach someone, this is your brain, when you teach someone it actually helps you to organize what was already inside of your brain and it makes it even stronger inside of your brain. So what you already know becomes stronger. So, your English ability will continue to improve.

Okay? Now, the last thing you’ll notice right here is if there’s no one around you to study with you can even teach yourself, similar to the other method of looking in the mirror. Okay, so you can teach yourself in the mirror. Okay? It’s all about practicing. Okay? Alright, let’s keep going to the next step. Alright, the next one was Shadow. In other words, Shadow, Visual, and Audible Situations. Important, visual and audible situations. Let me explain it. Alright, the purpose of this method is it will help you practice actual natural conversations, and my advice is to do this for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Okay? And you want to try this about two times a week. Now, the reason you can do this more often is because it may be a little bit more interesting, because you’re watching and you’re also listening. Okay? So, you could find a YouTube video, you could find a television program, or something that is actually interesting to you. Okay. Now, let’s look at it a little bit more detail. The first thing we want to look at is that it is similar to Mimic, remember the Mimic step we did or the Mimic method, but your goal here, your goal here is speed. Okay? Speed and fluency.

Okay, speed and fluency are very similar, but speed and fluency and also pronunciation when you’re speaking. Okay? That’s what makes this method a bit different. Speed, fluency, and pronunciation are the three things you want to focus on. Okay? And also what you need to remember is English is an expressive language. I mentioned before that it’s not just the words you use, it’s also your body language. Okay? How you move when you are speaking. So, you need to learn how to use proper body language.

Remember this is all important when you’re focusing on improving your speaking ability. Okay? Let’s keep going. Alright, and the final one is Narrate or Narrate Your Daily Life. There are things that you do throughout the day, but now you want to think about them in English. You work, you go shopping for food, you relax at home, and then you sleep. But, you want to think about these things in English. Okay, so let’s look at it in a little bit more detail. The purpose is it will help you to express more about your life in English.

You should spend about 15 to 20 minutes, and you should do this on a daily basis. Now remember, you’re going to be thinking about your day throughout the day. So, when you’re working in your mind just say to yourself, “I am working on a project.” When you go to the store, say in your mind, “I am shopping for food.” Then, when you come home in the evening, you combine that. Okay? So, let’s keep going. Now, let’s look at this right here. Okay? Alright, the first thing is you need to think in English. Okay. This is why this is so important.

So, throughout the day you are thinking in English. Okay, this is your brain thinking in English. Then, next you need to begin organizing your thoughts in English. Okay? All of this happens before you speak. And the third thing that happens is now what was going on in your brain throughout the day becomes the words that will come out of your mouth, let’s see if it fits there, the words that will come out of your mouth. So, you will improve your speaking. Okay? So, this is why this is important to narrate your day.

So, again there are five ways to speak without having anyone with you. Mirror and Read, Mimic, Teach, Shadow, and Narrate. I have a free Speak English ebook that I would love to give to you. If you haven’t received yours, yet, please go to speakenglishwithtiffani.com/ebook and get yours today. There are tons of expressions, idioms, and vocabulary words, and hundreds of example sentences. Also, watch my next English video lesson on the left and keep learning English. I’ll talk to you next time.

METHOD 1

LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND READ OUT LOUD

~Teacher Tiffani’