Question:
How is SpeechTraining4ESL’s program different from watching a YouTube video or reading a book?
Does personalized coaching in effective English communication result in different outcomes from a DIY approach?
Answer:
A DIY approach to most anything seems to be the norm nowadays. Whether it’s fixing your washing machine, replacing a brake light on your car, or finding a fitness routine to try, we have access to information at our fingertips. We can find answers and tutorials for just about any topic, and that even includes learning a language
CONVENIENCE
It is convenient to be able to use your phone to watch a video or read an explanation of English grammar. Googling how to say a particular word solves a problem in the moment you need that information. Looking up a word you want to say in English by consulting an online dictionary in your native tongue eases the communication barrier at just the right time. We all have become accustomed to fast, easy solutions without much effort. The convenience of 24/7 information cannot be understated.
CONSIDER THIS
But I would like you to consider this. When it comes to learning effective English communication, whether it be pronunciation, grammar or word meanings, how much do you remember of what you looked up on the internet? How much do you truly put into practice and retain over time? A quick fix is just that: a fast solution for the moment, easily obtained and quickly forgotten.
WHAT DOES MY PROGRAM OFFER?
In order to answer the question posed above, let me tell you what my program includes. Compare it to a DIY approach, and decide if they are even compatible.
Individualized coaching in effective English communication takes into account principles of learning: modeling, repetition, relevance, scope & sequence, and feedback.
MODELING
When we learn a new skill, we need to see it or hear it from someone else. It needs to be modeled for us, and the model needs to be equivalent to the community in which the skill is needed. In other words, if you are wishing to speak English clearly and naturally, you need to hear models of speech that are similar to where you live. If you reside in the states, that means models of North American English. You may have learned English in your home country from a native speaker of your first language. That’s a model that is not similar to where you live now. Or maybe your model was a British English-speaking teacher. If you live in the states, you know that our pronunciation and word usage is quite different from that spoken in the UK. Modeling matters.
REPETITION
You may be thinking, well I can get an appropriate model from YouTube, and that is true. But do you get multiple opportunities to practice, repeating a skill so that you will remember it? That is hard to do if you are your own instructor watching or reading about communication in English. A personal communication coach will design your program to include multiple opportunities to practice in multiple situations until that skill becomes automatic. It’s hard to make that happen yourself.
RELEVANCE
How about relevance? Is watching a YouTube video on pronunciation relevant to you? How do you know? When I work with my clients, we start our program with relevance in mind. I assess my client’s speaking skills and determine which sounds, patterns of intonation, grammar, and word meanings the client needs to work on. It is all interpreted in consideration of the client’s native tongue. How you pronounce English is directly affected by the sound system you learned in childhood, that of your first language. A speaker of English from Brazil will not have equal pronunciation needs to a speaker from Russia, China, Korea, India, etc. Each native language has its own set of rules for how the sounds are pronounced. This is what you automatically learned as a child. Once you speak another language, how you pronounce the sounds of that language is directly tied to the sound system you inherently know. This is what gives each of our our accents. A video or DIY book cannot take this into account.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Consider scope and sequence, meaning what skills to learn, in which order, and for how long before moving to the next skill. In my coaching, you will be taught specific skills in an order where new skills build upon ones previously learned. This may look like learning intonation patterns in words, then sentences, finishing with longer messages. It may also look like learning vowels in the order in which you presented the greatest need in your assessment. The roadmap or sequence of what I will teach you is determined by both your assessment and individual desires. It will take into account relevancy to your professional life, immediate needs that will make a big impact for you, and multiple realistic practice opportunities so that you not only learn new skills but master them. A DIY approach does not offer this. You alone would have to determine what you want to work on, for how long, and when you are ready to move on. How would you be able to make those decision without any input from someone else?
IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK
This leads me to my last principle of learning that I include in my coaching which is immediate feedback. We need feedback about correctness of the skill we are practicing and tips on how to do it more accurately the next time. Feedback is essential for learning a skill the right way. Feedback is essential for helping you to keep that skill and generalize it into your life so that it becomes a part of you. DIY approaches don’t offer that. You have to give yourself your own feedback, and that really isn’t possible.
IN CONCLUSION…
If you compare my coaching approach to a DIY approach, you will see my program provides learning opportunities for you to take English pronunciation, grammar, and word meanings to a level at which you can become a confident speaker of English. My program addresses essential principles of learning. The end result for my clients is increased motivation and confidence so that so they are successful communicators of English in all areas of their lives.