Good Programs/Methods on getting comfortable with speaking?

I’m a bit of a scaredy cat and have not really taken advantage of these forums nor posted anything, so here it goes.

So I know a ton of vocab, and I am still tackling all the grammar rules but as being self taught as a hobby over the last 2 years I feel like I am getting decent enough to want to try my hands at speaking or even having a conversation. But I looked around and haven’t had much luck on which path to exactly take since I have no experience in these sorts of things. Any helpful recommendations on books/study materials/programs or any other recommendations for that matter are insanely appreciated. Thanks!

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=> Italki.
=> Community tutors (cheap ones are ok).
=> Spend 1h practicing.

Once I have the money, I intend to spend 1h a day speaking in Japanese with natives this way. So yeah, that’s my plan. The best method to improve speaking is speaking, after all.

Also, you can do this with exchange partners. But that implies:

  • Always having something to talk about.
  • Focusing on being an actual friend instead of helping each other improve.
  • You have to split your time.

If you can afford lessons with Community tutors (relatively cheap, compared to actual teachers), then I’d say that’s the most efficient way. It’s all about you after all (and you’re able to talk with a lot more people, which helps with diversifying exposure).

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This is exactly what I was looking for, I’m a bit nervous going into it so I am going to work on getting over that mental block and then give it a try. Thanks a million for the recommendation jprspereira.

I personally tried italki but found it to be too expensive overall (also quite a few spam messages if you’re a girl, but that’s the usual online).

Try meetup.com if you’re interested in finding a local language exchange group irl! I found one and have stuck with it for a couple of years and its a great way to make connections with all kinds of people. (YMMV)
As for getting over that initial nervousness, it changes from person to person. It actually took me a solid year before I could really get over it. ^^; Let us know how your search goes!

Also, if you’re too nervous to meet people or have trouble finding something you like, shadowing is a great option to get your mouth used to making the right movements. Satori Reader and Etoeto (if you have access to that) are great options. And of course you can always shadow off of whatever video you can find on youtube, as long as you make sure it’s real (ie not anime/childish/made up fantasy) japanese lol

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I just checked. Just on iTalki, for Community Tutors:

  • In the range of 4-12 dollars a hour, there are 92 native speakers.
  • In the range of 4-10 dollars a hour, there are 56 native speakers.
  • In the range of 4-9 dollars a hour, there are 26 native speakers.

Go with the mentality that you just need 1 lesson. Don’t think about the future for now. That can be decided later. See how you feel after 1 single lesson, because that’s the one that will take you out of your comfort zone. If you don’t like it, you can always stop. Also, you can always go for a 30min lesson instead.

I remember going to the bathroom every 3 minutes before the class. I was pretty nervous. But when it was over, I starting jumping. I was extremely happy that even though I murdered the language, I went through the struggle and got out of that comfort zone we all have :slight_smile:

Good luck!

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So, kind of strange, but I’ll just talk to myself in Japanese. Just talk about my day out loud. I do this in the shower so no one can hear me of course xD.

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I use the series Shadowing Let’s Speak Japanese because I’m not really confortable with my conversation skills yet.

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I used an app called “HelloTalk” to practice messaging/talking to native speakers :slightly_smiling_face: I know there’s some other forums where people talk about their experiences with it too!

I also agree with everyone else’s recommendations as well and there’s a bunch of different ways you can go about practicin

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Seconding “HelloTalk” as well as another app basically exactly the same called “Tandem.” You can have conversations with native speakers via either texting, calling, or video chatting, as well as correcting each other’s mistakes totally for free.

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I find myself doing this from time to time also, hahaha.

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I’ll definitely check this out, thank you for the recommendation

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