I spend a lot of time trying to think of a way for my clients to practise their speaking skills, because the real goal is to get them speaking in their own time, not just with me.
But this is tricky. We don't all have access to English speakers, nor time to meet with them, and paying for this service can be expensive.
However, I think I've found a solution. A fun and easy way to improve your English skills. You won’t need any extra time, private English classes, schedule changes or childcare, you can do it together with people you like and there’s no cost!
But it may need Pulla and the help of your HR boss.
I’ll explain. But first, let me tell you about English in Finland*. Finnish people have good English skills. Actually, they have great English skills. I know. I have seen these skills first hand in the clients that come to me for help.
On many occasions I've also been the beneficiary of these English skills: from trying to find biscuits at the supermarket, to checking if something is vegetarian at a restaurant; from trying to find out where my daughter has left all of her clothes at nursery, to discussing a confusing copywriting brief; from orienteering meets to chats in the public sauna (am I revealing too much about myself?).
In all of these occasions, and more, Finnish people have skillfully, successfully and patiently used English to help me resolve the problem I’ve created for myself.
Of course, there are mistakes, some of which raise their ugly heads over and over again. Among others these include rolling ‘r’s, pronouncing silent syllables ‘com-for-ta-ble’, saying ‘the other and the other’, pronouncing system ‘soostem’ or women ‘woman’, forgetting the plural ‘s’ and using too many ‘woulds’**, etc.
But nothing terrible. No vuori too big to climb, and certainly nothing that would prevent successful communication.
So, sounds great right? Well, yes. But it could be better. I’m a freelance language coach and my business is to help people improve their English skills. And here’s my conclusion about English in Finland. It’s all a bit passive.
English skills are excellent here for several reasons. Good education, lots of English language TV (without dubbing), lots of English language music, English language gaming, and English being a lot more useful than Finnish globally and for internet content.
But they tend to be passive skills. Reading and listening without much speaking. Reading and listening are great for developing language skills, but without speaking you’ll never develop that fluency, that speed to use language quickly and automatically. And without that, you’ll always feel unsure - nervous about joining in with more fluent speakers, at work, online or just in the pub.
It’s like you have a smart watch, but you only use it to tell the time.
I’ve talked about this lack of speaking before, so I’ll keep this rant short. (If you want to jump straight to the conclusion, click here.) It seems like such a missed opportunity to me. It’s like you have a smart watch, but you only use it to tell the time. You’ve all got such a great base that, with just a little regular speaking practice, you’ll develop a new skill, a new arrow in the quiver, and one of the most important in terms of career opportunities. Imagine being fluent. Being able to shout at a native speaker on the phone in English, or shouting over other people in a meeting in English, or shouting across a noisy party in English. The shouting possibilities are endless.
So, mini rant over. Here’s my quick fix solution: Speak English at work!
Why not create an English Speaking Time regularly on the work schedule? A safe place where the staff can all meet for 30 minutes once a week and speak English. Here the objective would not be to study, nor even learn, but just to USE English.
I’ve helped run such courses before. In these, my job is to create the environment necessary, focus on relevant areas of speech, give feedback, etc. However, as much as I like to take credit for the wins, in all honestly, the main improvement comes just because the students are speaking - to each other.
There’s no need to complicate this. Colleagues can just meet and talk about typical topics: work, weekends, tv, etc. That’s just fine, because you’re creating a place where people can use English at work: building confidence and building fluency. Familiar topics are great.
And think of all the secondary benefits. There are so many I’ll have to list them.
A regular social event at work. Didn’t covid teach us that too much isolation makes us terrorise our families (or was that The Shining?). This would be a reason to go into work, a chance to chat with your colleagues.
Integrating English use into the work environment. Make English speaking a normal thing in the office.
Sharing skills. You all have different vocabulary but for the same business area. This is a chance to interchange and share your language skills. To grow together.
Team building. Sharing and forming new bonds with your colleagues (water coolers are so 2010).
A break from online. Talking to real people with bodies.
And if there’s a desire to push things a little, great! Try discussing some less familiar topics. Put one up on the board for everyone to see and discuss. I publish some here.
Now, the more cynical among you might say, “But people are too busy for this Henry! Most people prefer to stay at their desks and get some work done”. Well, that’s what the pulla are for. You could even throw in some coffee. And I promise you, the pulla budget will be a lot less than hiring a teacher.
So go for it. The hardest part is getting started.
Below is a quick guide for structuring the session if you need it.
Pulla and English at work session plan. 30 minutes.
10 minutes warmer:
Say hello and talk to someone about the weekend (past or future). This is a familiar topic with vocabulary we are likely to know.
10 minutes discussion:
Change partners. Talk to your partner about work. What you’re doing at the moment. What you have to do later on. Again, a familiar topic, but also a relevant one which would be good to develop.
10 minutes discussion:
Discussion topic of the day. Choose your own or find one from this list. Now we’ve warmed up, a less familiar topic is good to help us use new vocabulary and structures.
But remember. The main objective is just to talk. So if you spend 30 minutes talking about Love It Or List It Vancouver or Master Chef Australia – fantastic. You are activating your English, and that's what it's all about. Well done.
I'd love to hear any feedback on this. If you think it would or wouldn't work, or if you've tried it already. If you need any help or tips, let me know.
Henry
*Disclaimer. My generalisations on Finland are based very much on my Helsinki-centric life.
**How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck if the woodchuck would be Finnish?
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