Today, we’re going to talk about ten strategies you can use when you practice speaking English by yourself:

1. Teach yourself a famous speech or monologue.

2. Memorize your favorite quotes to repeat out loud.

3. Memorize your favorite song, and sing it!

4. Memorize a poem that speaks to you.

5. Have a discussion with yourself.

6. Dictate your ideas instead of writing them down.

7. Use the rubber duck method. **

8. Use a voice recording app.

9. Record videos of yourself.

** If you’re raising an eyebrow and thinking, “What in the world are you talking about?” just wait. The Rubber Duck Method is one of my favorite new discoveries.

The Rubber Duck Debugging Method is simple. You find an inanimate object (like a rubber duck or a houseplant) and teach it something. Computer programmers created this method and actually use it in order to solve problems with their code. But you can use it to practice your speaking skills!

This works especially well if you feel strange about talking to yourself. If you use the Rubber Duck Method, you’re not really talking to yourself. You’re teaching a rubber duck something important.

When you’re starting out with this method, choose a subject that you love to talk to people about. So, if you like teaching people about sustainability, films, engineering, or the benefits of gardening, write down a few bullet points on some notebook paper, and give a short presentation to an inanimate object.

Good luck,

Ceci.