Our life is full of questions and answers.

And that is not a metaphor. Think of your day: at work, in a supermarket or a café you make questions and requests, you are given answers in return. That is the foundation of communications. No wonder, every English course starts with ‘what is your name?’ and ‘how are you today?’.

Mind you, with every next unit these courses tend to move away from ‘small talks’, as their point is to provide all the grammar and vocabulary range for a certain language level. But let’s face it: we don’t use all the variety of words and constructions every day. And what’s the reason in knowing how to make a reported speech sentence in passive voice, when you’re not sure what to say in return on ‘Oh, I’m so tired today, and you?’

I’m not saying that you don’t need passives or complex tenses. I only want to turn your attention to the fact that you should feel comfortable with speaking simple things, before moving to academic ones. Don’t hunt for high level grammar of sophisticated vocabulary. Find sites and communities to discuss everyday things. Attend speaking clubs at local language courses. Arrange English speaking hour with your friend or partner.

My teacher used to tell me: ‘If you want to learn reading, read. If you want to practice grammar, do exercises. But if you want to be able to talk, find someone to talk to’. I followed her advice and it works, you know.

That’s why I started my speaking training, to practice every day conversations. Feel free to join