My Norwegian tutor’s away for the next two weeks (boo) and I’m left without a lot of opportunities for speaking practice. So! I’ve come up with a mini speaking challenge. If anyone wants to join me, feel free!
Official start date: Monday 13th June (I’m actually starting today because it’s the start of my two weeks without my tutor, but I’ll post everything a week late so it feels like I’m doing the challenge with you!) Of course you can join late or do this any time! It’s 15 days long, so it will end on Monday 27th June.
Upload or don’t upload the recording - it’s up to you! (You don’t even have to record yourself if you don’t want to, but it can be useful!)
If you do post the recording, let people know if you want feedback/corrections or not
Make a short summary of what you did/how it went/how you felt
Use the hashtag #langblrminispeakingchallenge
Like and leave kind/encouraging comments on other people’s posts
Remember that the rules are more like guidelines, and you should absolutely do what works for you!
Introduce yourself or talk about your day or maybe some thoughts you have. Just go with the flow. This day is for you to see how you feel! Write down how you felt while speaking and what areas you think you need to work on. Then, set yourself at least one specific goal to focus on (e.g. improve my pronunciation of X sound, learn to differentiate between sounds X & Y, stop making X grammar mistake.) My suggestion is to pick 1-2 sounds, 1 specific grammar point or 10-20 words you want to learn (or a combination, of course). Try to refrain from setting lots of goals as this will be overwhelming!
Day Two: Research & Drilling
Try to find information about the sound, grammar or vocabulary you struggle with most. (If there are multiple things, you can work on multiple things, but it’s a good idea to start by focusing on just one or two.) Find/come up with some tongue twisters/minimal pairs to practise that sound or write some sentences with your target grammar/vocabulary, then practise saying them aloud.
Day Three: Describe a picture
Find a picture on any website (unsplash, pixabay, pinterest, social media, news websites etc). Try to describe it: say what’s in the picture, what you think it shows, whether you like it and why (not). If you’re a beginner, look up some words and phrases such as “there is…” and “I can see…” and practise saying them. You can describe multiple pictures if you like.
Practise the drills/sentences you came up with on day 2. Maybe come up with some new ones too if you want!
Watch a short video or listen to a podcast in your target language. Try to parrot back phrases, words or even just sounds (depending on your level). Pay attention to intonation and rhythm in the sentences!
Think of a book/TV show/film and try to summarise the story or the premise. If you’re still a beginner, learn some book/tv/film genres and say which ones you like/dislike.
Practise the drills/sentences you came up with on days 2 and 4. Remember to reflect on your progress!
Talk about your day/week/thoughts/any topic you want. Reflect on your progress so far (there might not be much/any at this point, and that’s okay!) and your goals. Make some adjustments to your goals if you want (e.g. add some new words into the mix, focus on a different grammar point or focus on a different sound).
Find an article, a book or some simple beginner sentences from a textbook/website and read aloud. Make a list of new words/difficult words to pronounce/examples of grammar you often mess up.
Practice the drills/sentences you came up with previously. Alternatively, practice the words/sentences from the list you made yesterday.
Day Eleven: Would You Rather
Go to this website. Translate the Would You Rather prompts given, then say which you’d rather do and why. You can do this as many times as you want! If you’re still a beginner, look up useful phrases or verbs for giving opinions (e.g. “I think…” “I believe…” “In my opinion…”), or just try to translate the prompts.
Day Twelve: Practice mouth shapes
Watch a video of a native speaker speaking your target language (choosing something that’s your level will make this activity easier!) Pay close attention to the person’s mouth. Video yourself saying some of the same words/sentences. Watch both videos back and compare your mouth shape. Repeat the exercise, trying to mimic the native speaker’s mouth shape.
Practice the drills/sentences you came up with previously. Reflect on your progress and come up with new drills/sentences if necessary.
Day Fourteen: Choose a Topic
Talk about one of the topics from the Speaking in 20 challenge week 2 (or any of the other weeks, or choose your own topic). If you’re still a beginner, learn some vocabulary/simple sentences related to the topic and repeat them aloud. If you’re more advanced, try to talk about one (or more!) of the prompts.
Talk about the challenge (if you’re advanced enough - otherwise just write some thoughts in your preferred language), reflecting on your progress and general thoughts/feelings. Were the exercises helpful? What did you struggle with most? Did you make progress in the areas you wanted to? What else could you do in future to help you progress?
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