在国外Quora平台上看到的一个回复，令我惊奇的作者的回复手法，作者使用的都是平常最为普通的单词，最简单的事例。令人敬佩。
How can I improve my spoken English?
Answer by Dennis M. Keating,
Dennis M. Keating
MBA
American educator and businessman who has lived outside the continental USA for more than 40 years. He has taught university courses on International Business and Marketing; and has been on the faculty of universities in Germany, China and the USA. He earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in business at Notre Dame and Baylor Universities and teaching credentials in Oxford, England. Also, he has guests lectured in Mexico and Thailand.
He is an author and poet with ten of his books available on the internet through Amazon. His additional credentials include being a Principal Actor in a Major Hollywood film and appearing in television commercials in China and Germany.
He has run 9 full (42 kilometer) marathons in Honolulu, San Antonio and Paris and has also served in the US Marine Corps and Chicago Police Department.
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-improve-my-spoken-English-30
Practice. Practice Practice. Never pass up a chance to practice. So, what if you mix things up? Today is just practice. Tomorrow is another day.
I am an American who has worked in two dozen countries and spent 10 years in China as well as many years in Germany and several years in Thailand. So, I have much practice with non-native speakers, such as you.
1st, you are probably not too bad at English.
2nd, You probably put too much pressure on yourself.
3rd, Don’t worry about your mistakes. They are building blocks.
4th, Choose an American or Brit or Aussie or Kiwi who you admire, and say to yourself, “Someday, I want to talk one-on-one with that person in good English.”
Maybe, that person is Barack Obama. Or maybe, it is Queen Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter. Your choice. In the meantime, everyone else you speak to in English is practice until you meet that special person.
From now on, every English speaker you meet is just practice, until you sit down and talk to that one important person. Before that, it is just practice. It doesn’t matter that you fail, each and every day. It’s just practice. So, enjoy your practice and your failure. It’s practice.
5th. Again. You are putting too much pressure on your self. Relax.
You are probably comparing yourself to native English speakers. Yes, it will be a while before you reach that level. Don’t worry. You are only practicing.
Do you think, Babe Ruth, the American baseball hero of the 1920’s and 1930’s, hit a home run, every time he came to the bat in baseball? No. He practiced.
Do you think Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls basketball hero, scored a three pointer, every time he shot a basketball? The answer is, “No.”
The secret :Every time you try to speak English, you are practicing. You practice. You make a mistake. So what??? You go home and learn from what didn’t go as well as you hoped. Then figure out how to make it better.
I am lucky to live in Hawaii. Years ago, I wanted to learn Japanese. Everyday, I would go to Waikiki Beach and ask a Japanese tourist questions such as, “What did you do yesterday? Tell me about your job? What do you plan to do in Hawaii?” I would go home and learn learn from my mistakes. The next day, I would go back to the beach and have a new teacher. Step by step, my Japanese becomes better. You should do the same thing.
You will not hit a Home Run the first time at bat. But, after 20 times, you will start to hit home runs with some consistency. (Watch the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray). Practice makes you better.
My wife was probably much like you. She is a Hakka, a minority person from China. She grew up in a small, minority mountain village in China. She set a goal of learning English, (probably because, as a minority, she would not meet her goals in China). From then on, she never passed up an opportunity to try and learn English. That was how we met. I am very, very proud of my wife. My wife got up early each morning to watch the English television news from Hong Kong. She worked as a waitress in an International bar in China to improve her English. She didn’t miss a chance to assist a westerner shopping in a local market. On Sundays, she awoke early to take a two hour bus ride into the city to go to an English Corner session where she could talk with westerners.
Now, she is in Hawaii. She graduated at the top of her University of Hawaii undergraduate and graduate classes. Now, as a manager, she continues to work diligently and is on her way to becoming an executive in a 5 star hotel in Hawaii.
Her comment, “It is easy to succeed in America. All you have to do is work harder than everyone else.” But you do have to work hard, and use every opportunity to practice your skills.
I encourage you to keep trying and don’t worry about your mistakes. It is all about practice. Remember, what you are doing now is practice for the future. Don’t worry, if you make a few mistakes today. Tomorrow is another day.
Also, I suggest, you write my wife’s above comment on your mirror and read it to yourself every morning. With practice you will become an excellent English speaker.