Learners of English who are confident about their written English are often anxious about their speaking skills. Of course, thinking about what you want to say as well as how you say it in another language is challenging, but it’s something that most learners want to master. This post talks about the importance of conversational English as well as giving you some handy tips for building your confidence when chatting in English.
Why do I need to learn phrases for conversation?
It’s relatively easy to learn vocabulary for particular situations, for example things you need to say at school or at work. The words and phrases for these specific contexts are usually taught by teachers and covered in course books. However, the phrases that we use for chatting with people in a general way are just as important. After all, for most of us, the ability to interact pleasantly and effectively with other people is one of the most important life skills.
The problem is that conversational phrases can be quite idiomatic. In other words, if we haven’t made an effort to learn a particular phrase, it’s unlikely that we can produce it ourselves. We might, as a solution, translate a phrase from our own language and hope that it will sound natural, but we may worry that it doesn’t sound quite right, or doesn’t convey exactly what we mean. So spending a bit of time specifically on the language of conversation is definitely a good idea.
We may feel especially anxious about what to say in difficult situations, for example when something bad has happened to someone. For more help with this, see Showing Kindness and Sympathy in Conversations.
What makes someone good at conversation?
We all know people who can make friends with anyone, who seem to be able to express themselves with only a few words of a language. That may be because of their personality, but probably the best tip we’ve ever heard for conversation is this: If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested. In other words, listening and showing interest in what the other person is saying is just as important as – maybe more important than – what you say yourself. So if someone asks you something, remember to ask them something back, and try to look interested (even if you arent’!).
That said, you do need to be able to respond too and even the briefest of responses vary from language to language, so it’s worth your while learning specifically how to respond to what someone else says.
How can I think of things to say in social situations?
If you are going to be in a situation that makes you feel shy or nervous, prepare a few things to say first – you can use our book, Conversations in English: 30 days to learn over 600 natural phrases to use in conversation, to help you. For more information on this, see What is the best way to improve spoken English?
Is it OK to use informal phrases in conversation?
Yes! One of the great things about conversation is that you don’t need to be as formal or accurate as you do in writing. In fact, it’s usually more appropriate to be informal in conversation – it can sound strange if people use formal language in speech.
What’s the best way to learn phrases for conversation?
Try to find opportunities for conversations with people who have English as their first language, and notice the phrases they use. You could also watch soap operas in English, as the language they use is often fairly realistic. And of course, for a quick and thorough way to improve your conversation in English, you can use our book!
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