During your first days, or even your first months of English conversation, focusing on listening instead of forcing yourself to speak can have some surprising benefits.
Some language schools, like the pioneers of the ALG (Automatic Language Growth) method in Bangkok Thailand take this approach to an extreme.
When new learners of Thai arrive at the Bangkok centre they receive the following instructions:
Don’t analyse
Don’t translate
Don’t take notes
And most importantly, DON’T speak
This continues until they’ve listened to 700-800 hours of Thai. Minimum!
If learners are patient enough to follow this method the results speak for themselves, with learners reaching levels of fluency rarely seen among non-native speakers.
Reducing Stress to Build Confidence
One reason the ALG method is perhaps so successful is that it avoids creating stress in learners.
When we force ourselves to speak too early we experience stress. The conscious effort of constructing sentences word by word, or translating from our first language, can block our ability to process language subconsciously.
Only language we acquire subconsciously allows us to speak naturally.
After 700-800 hours or more of pure listening, learners using the ALG method progress to an activity called crosstalk.
In crosstalk, learners and native teachers speak to each other in their first language - usually English for the learners and Thai for the native teachers.
This soft approach to speaking practice lowers stress, and allows learners to achieve the most important goal of speaking - communication.
Learners build their confidence during this crosstalk stage before finally progressing to speaking Thai.
The ‘Boyfriend/Girlfriend Effect’
The best way to learn a language is to find a native boyfriend or girlfriend.
-Everyone who ever commented about languages on the internet.
You’ve probably heard the classic advice above, right?
In my case it’s true. But don’t worry, you don’t need to refresh your Tinder profile just yet.
Let me explain…
After a year of living in Madrid, my speaking ability didn’t explode until I met my girlfriend.
My Spanish listening comprehension was good, but I still wasn’t particularly comfortable speaking. My girlfriend’s English was good, so our early days together consisted of a lot of crosstalk - exactly like the ALG method, or Han Solo and Chewie (I was probably Chewie in the relationship if I'm honest).
After a few weeks like this, our communication gradually became almost 100% Spanish.
That's how my Spanish speaking skills emerged, but if you can find an English tutor or a language partner who understands your 1st language, I'm certain you can get most of the same benefits.
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t speak during your first conversations.
Instead, if you don’t feel comfortable, it’s OK to allow your speech to emerge naturally when you feel ready.
Until then, it’s perfectly fine to just listen and use your first language when you need to, just like the ALG crosstalkers and bilingual couples around the world.