Speaking English
Why I waited a long time before practising speaking, and how I practised.
⏱ About 3 min read
I spoke too early
When I started, I assumed that speaking well meant speaking a lot. That sounds reasonable.
So I joined an English club while my vocabulary was still very thin. I could talk — but only by translating each Vietnamese sentence into English in my head.
A few months of that and the wrong pattern became a reflex. Later, when my level had risen, the same wrong sentences still came out of my mouth, and undoing them was exhausting.
A mistake repeated often enough becomes a reflex
Unlearning a reflex costs far more than forming the right one in the first place.
So when should you start
My answer: when you can comfortably understand native material by ear.
For me that landed at somewhere past 400 hours of listening. It will differ for everyone.
You can speak at any point; nobody is stopping you. But the quality of what comes out is capped by how much you have taken in. Speaking early does not make you improve faster.
Pronunciation is the exception — start it early
This is the one exception. I recommend starting pronunciation from day one.
The reason: if you cannot produce a sound, your ear struggles to pick it out. Pronunciation practice pays back into listening.
1. Get familiar with the IPA chart
No need to memorise it. You just need to see a symbol in a dictionary and know how to say it.
2. Find the sounds you can't currently tell apart
Vietnamese speakers commonly struggle with: final consonants (usually swallowed), /θ/ and /ð/ in think and this, /s/ and /ʃ/ in sea and she, and long vs. short vowels like ship and sheep.
3. Shadowing
Listen to a sentence, repeat it immediately. Copy the rhythm and intonation, not just the individual sounds.
What I used to get wrong was trying to pronounce each word correctly — that is reading aloud, not shadowing. The two-stage approach I use now is in When you know the words but can't hear them.
4. Record yourself and listen back
Hearing your own voice is unpleasant. But without a teacher, it is the only honest feedback you get.
Practising alone
It sounds odd, but this is what I did most, and it worked better than I expected. It also costs nothing.
- Narrate what you are doing, in English, in your head or under your breath.
- After an episode, summarise it in five sentences.
- Argue with yourself about a topic you care about.
Finding someone to speak with
When you are ready, there are three options. I have used all three.
| Option | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|
| A partner at your level | Comfortable, no fear of mistakes | Easy to reinforce each other's errors |
| Native speakers on a language-exchange app | Free, real accents | Quality varies wildly |
| A paid tutor | Systematic correction | Costs money |
On a tight budget, I would put the money into a few tutor sessions a month, right at the point where you start speaking. That is when feedback is worth the most.