How to improve English speaking | Temurmalik Aminov | TEDxLeader Education Center Youth Live

Key Concepts:

• Speaking as a crucial skill for confidence and education.
• The importance of speaking over focusing solely on IELTS preparation.
• Realizing the value of speaking through personal experiences (Russia, tourist encounter).
• Overcoming the initial difficulty of pronunciation and lack of speaking partners.
• Speaking is more important than grammar for fluency.
• Personal dislike for grammar despite its necessity in certain contexts (writing).

1. Introduction and Personal Background

• Timur Malik, 32 years old, expresses his happiness at being at the event.
• He acknowledges being "old" for learning English but emphasizes his enjoyment of speaking it.
• The main topic is the importance of speaking in English.

2. Speaking for Confidence and Education

• Speaking has significantly contributed to Timur's confidence and education.
• He observes that many acquaintances prioritize other aspects of IELTS preparation over speaking.

3. Initial Struggles with Speaking

• Timur faced difficulties with pronunciation when he started learning English.
• He lacked speaking partners, which made the learning process harder.
• He wondered why people were reluctant to speak in English.

4. The Russia Experience: Speaking and Respect

• A trip to Russia in 2017 with his brother highlighted the importance of speaking.
• Initially, they were treated poorly as perceived migrants due to the assumption they didn't speak Russian.
• Speaking Russian changed how people viewed and treated them, earning them respect.
• This experience was a "miracle" and solidified the importance of speaking in Timur's mind.

5. The Tourist Encounter: A Failure and a Turning Point

• While in his second year of university, Timur encountered a tourist while going to the bazaar with his father and brother.
• The tourist was looking for something, but Timur couldn't understand him despite having studied English for 3-4 months.
• He knew grammar structures (present simple, past simple) but lacked the ability to speak.
• He felt like an "alien" and couldn't communicate effectively.
• He eventually realized the tourist was looking for a hotel (utel).
• He used gestures to help the tourist, but the experience was a "failure."
• His father and brother were disappointed in his inability to speak despite learning English.
• This experience made him realize that speaking is more important than grammar.

6. Speaking Over Grammar

• Timur believes that speaking is more important than grammar for fluency.
• He suggests that repeating after speakers is an effective way to learn English.
• He personally dislikes grammar but acknowledges its importance for writing tasks (IELTS task 1 and 2).
• He emphasizes that he is not criticizing grammar but expressing his personal preference.

7. Library and Speaking Club

• After becoming "fed up" with grammar, Timur started going to the library.
• He mentions a speaking club on the third floor of the library.

8. Conclusion

• The main takeaway is the emphasis on speaking as a crucial skill for confidence, education, and integration.
• Personal anecdotes highlight the transformative power of speaking in real-world situations.
• The speaker advocates for prioritizing speaking over grammar, especially in the initial stages of learning English.