Scripts

P = presenter; S = Sally

P: Hi. You’re listening to Ask the Expert and in today’s program we’re talking about languages and how to learn a language. Our expert today is Sally Parker, who is a teacher. Hi Sally.

S: Hello.

P: Sally, our first question today is from Andy. He says, “I’ve just started learning English. My problem is that I’m too frightened to speak. My grammar is not very good, so I’m worried about saying the wrong thing.” Have you got any advice for Andy?

S: OK. Well, the first thing is I think Andy should practice speaking to himself.

P: Speaking to himself? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.

S: I know it sounds silly, but talking to yourself in a foreign language is a really good way to practice. You don’t have to feel embarrassed, because nobody can hear you. You can talk to yourself about anything you like – what you had for breakfast, where you’re going for the weekend – anything. And the more you do it, the more you will get used to hearing your own voice and your pronunciation, so you won’t feel so frightened in the classroom. Andy should try it.

P: Hm, I suppose so. Anything else? What about his grammar?

S: He has only just started learning English, so he is going to make lots of mistakes, but that’s not a problem. That’s how he’ll learn. Andy shouldn’t worry about making mistakes.

P: You’re right. So Andy, try talking to yourself, and don’t worry about making mistakes. Our next problem comes from Olivia in Brazil. She is worried about pronunciation. She says, “The problem is I can’t understand native speakers. They speak so fast and I can’t understand their pronunciation.” So Sally, any ideas for Olivia?

S: Well, first of all it’s a good idea for her to practice her listening skills. She should listen to English as much as possible to get used to how it sounds. Listen to the news, listen to podcasts, (and) watch English television.

P: OK – that’s a good idea.

S: And another thing she should do is to focus on listening and reading at the same time. If you listen to something on the Internet, you can often read the transcript. If you listen and read at the same time, it’ll help you see what the words sound like and how the words sound when a native speaker is talking.

P: Great. Thank you, Sally. Well, huh, I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today, but next week we’ll be …