Do you speak English?

Dear Friend,

Do you speak English? Yes, this is a serious question about whether or not you actually speak English. Let's say you are a native English speaker who works as an English teacher. Of course I would assume that you can speak English. However, so far we have been communicating in writing only -- via email and on the forum. Don't you think it's high time we started speaking English with each other? To be sure we could arrange a Skype session or even make a phone call but that would mean we both had to agree on a date and time which can be a real challenge since you live halfway round the globe and your schedule is rather tight. The solution? Very simple: From now on you can record and listen to voice messages on the forum! All you need is a microphone or headset and Java. For more information, please click here: Recording voice messages on the forum?

Yes, I know that most people are afraid of recording their own voice or they simply don't know what exactly they should say. Well, the question is how can you improve your speaking skills if you don't speak? To get you started you should record a very short message just saying your name, where you are from and what you do. As an English teacher you can get your students to introduce themselves using our free online voice recorder. To make your first recording easier, you can first write down what exactly you want to say and then read it out loud. For example, this is what your message could look like:

"Hello everyone,

This is Friend speaking. How are you today? I heard that we can now also record voice messages. That's very interesting. I have already listened to some of your messages and I would like to introduce myself, too. As I said, my name is Friend and I'm from Vietnam. I work for a telecommunications company as an IT manager. Please tell me how I can improve my English. OK, that's it for now. I look forward to hearing your voice replies. Many thanks, Friend."

You won't believe how much fun it can be to overcome the fear of speaking out loud. As I mentioned before, the vast majority of all the people from around the world are afraid of making a free speech. Why exactly that is, I have no idea. The only thing I know for sure is that if you develop the habit of recording a short voice message every single day, your level of confidence will soon increase and it goes without saying that your speaking skills will dramatically improve, too.

So what are you waiting for, grab your mic and get talking! Click here: How to use the voice recorder?

Speak to you on the forum soon,
Torsten