Effortless English: Learn To Speak English Like a native

Less Stress
There’s another benefit to spending a lot of time listening to English – it reduces the
anxiety people often feel when speaking a new language. Many English classes push
new students to speak right away, but this is an unnatural approach.
In fact, being required to speak too soon can slow down language learning. Your

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brain hasn’t had enough time to process the new words and store them in your
memory. So while you may be able to repeat familiar phrases in English, you still
won’t understand what people are saying to you. This is an unnatural and stressful
situation.
In one study of beginning-level English students, researchers found that those
who weren’t forced to speak but were trained in listening comprehension did better
than students taught using conventional methods. In addition, delaying speech also
had a positive effect on students’ overall attitudes about English, and kept the
classroom free of anxiety.
Dr. J. Marvin Brown took this idea even further. The director of a Thai language
program for foreigners, Dr. Brown created a program that mimics the silent period
of babies and small children. In his AUA Thai program, students listen to
understandable Thai every day but they do not speak for six months or more. The
students focus completely on learning with their ears.
For many foreigners, Thai is a difficult language to pronounce. Dr. Brown found
that the silent period had a strong positive affect on learners’ pronunciation,
eventually producing superior pronunciation much closer to that of a Thai native
speaker.
The same principle works with English. Though a silent period is not necessary
for most intermediate learners, you still might try it. Why not focus completely on
English listening for a few months, and then return to English speaking? You’ll
likely find that your speaking has improved even though you never practiced it.