I know what to say, I have thoughts in my mind, but I cannot speak.’ You might have heard it many times from your students, just like me. Developing students’ speaking skills is a difficult and time-consuming process, but with daily practice and guidance this task can be made easy. This article serves as a guide for those who just started teaching spoken English and students with a beginner level in English.
But before we delve into those methods, it is important to learn why students have such a difficult time – to put their thoughts into words – to speak. From the researcher’s perspective, as mentioned by Handini et al. (2021), it is mainly due to having issues with arranging the words and their low vocabulary mastery. Similar issues, such as fear of making mistakes, low motivation and lack of knowledge, were also mentioned by other researchers (Abdullahp et al., 2024; Maji et al., 2022; Ghafar, 2022). Let’s discuss these common issues in detail.
Afraid of making mistakes
‘I know I am going to make mistakes in grammar, so I don’t want to speak.’ A student said this to me; he was only struggling with speaking due to poor grammar. This was also observed in a study by Heriansyah (2012) which found that students hesitate to speak because they do not want to make any grammatical errors. Furthermore, internal fear prevents them from practising speaking; they worry that others will laugh at them if they make mistakes. To tackle this, I encourage my students to speak, make mistakes and ignore criticism from others, as the idea of being judged by other people significantly affects their speaking skills (Ayop & Namacot, 2023). Teacher encouragement greatly helps students overcome this fear, and once they start speaking you can work on their grammatical errors.
Lack of practice
Most people find it difficult to practise speaking on a daily basis, either due to their busy work schedules or because they do not have anyone to speak English with. Regular practice trains our minds, helping us pick up different words and making it easier to pronounce them correctly. Anyone who wants to develop their speaking skills should find a friend or tutor so they can practise regularly and improve.
Unauthentic resources
No doubt, books are a great resource for learning the important rules of the English language. However, if we use resources that are not well written or contain incorrect tips for developing English, they will do more harm than good. Therefore, students should choose books wisely – ones that start at the basic level and progress to the advanced level. I recommend the English for Everyone (DK, 2024) series; it has everything a student needs to develop their speaking skills as a beginner.
Improper learning environment
Another common reason why people struggle to develop or improve their English speaking skills is the lack of a suitable learning environment. A good learning environment is one where students can listen to, read and speak English daily. It provides students with an opportunity to learn the language daily without the fear of being judged. In non-English speaking countries, people tend to be judgmental and shy. Those who want to speak are either criticised for their mistakes or struggle to immerse themselves in English by listening, reading and speaking.
Let’s discuss some effective methods to improve the speaking skill of English language students.
Picture explanation
As Canning-Wilson (2000) said, ‘pictures, illustrations, cartoons and other types of visual aids facilitate learners in acquiring different language skills’. We know that some students face difficulty while speaking because their brain cannot quickly come up with words related to the particular scenario. Therefore, this is one of the best techniques which focuses on forcing students to immediately generate words according to the situation. It helps students process the information in the picture and generate words accordingly.
In this method, you can use some interesting pictures such as a picture of a lion hunting a deer, or snow falling on mountains.
Once they see the picture, ask them to think of different words related to it. These words could be nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs or other parts of speech. Then ask them to develop complete sentences using those words. By doing this, students will be able to change visual information into words, thus improving their thought process and generating sentences in English quickly.
Tell a story
Storytelling has been effective in improving students’ speaking skills because it encourages them to use their imagination and speak based on past experiences (Tambunan et al., 2020). It does not force them to talk about a specific topic or use a limited vocabulary they may not know, as they have the flexibility of choosing a topic of their own interest.
In this method, I write a short sentence starter such as ‘He was asking me about’, then ask students to develop the story further in any context they want to. Additionally, this technique allows us to introduce different verb tenses and help them learn English grammar.
Book reading
A short reading practice from any book or novel has helped my students improve their speaking skills after one or two months. The purpose of this practice is to train the tongue, familiarise it with different sounds, and strengthen the connection between speech and thought. As they read, they train their minds to understand and pronounce words simultaneously. A similar relationship was found in research conducted by Mart (2024), which observed significant improvement in speaking skills through reading practice. It is better to start by reading simple texts and then proceed towards more complex reading passages. A great website with simple reading texts is ESL Fast (2025). It offers short and easy English reading passages with audio, making it useful for learners at different levels to learn vocabulary, pronunciation and improve their speaking skills.
Imitating the sentences
This method is similar to reading practice but incorporates visual aids as well. One helpful website for this approach is the British Council’s (2025) Learn English speaking skills resources, which features short videos on various topics where listeners are asked to repeat sentences after the speakers. Once a week, I hold this activity in my class and ask students to repeat after hearing the speaker. As they imitate those sentences, I correct their pronunciation mistakes and help them learn different grammatical structures being used in those videos. This can help the students to develop several key skills, including:
- accurate pronunciation – repeating after L1 speakers helps learners master correct pronunciation, intonation and stress patterns;
- useful phrases for daily conversation – since the videos cover common topics, learners pick up natural expressions and sentence structures that are relevant to real-life communication; and
- sentence construction – listening to and imitating various sentence patterns helps learners internalise correct grammar and syntax, making it easier for them to form their own sentences in spoken English.
Mind mapping
Mind mapping involves choosing a main topic, writing vocabulary related to the topic and organising the words in a way that students can generate a story. This method helps students structure their thoughts clearly and expand their vocabulary. We could further help the students by including a picture according to the main topic, as visual aids can enhance understanding and creativity. A study done by Wahyudi and Irawati (2020) proved that mind-mapping techniques significantly improved the speaking skills of students, making it an effective tool for language learning. By this method, students can improve their storytelling skills, express themselves more logically and acquire confidence in speaking English fluently by visually organising language and concepts.
Conclusion
Improving English speaking skills is a journey that requires patience, consistency and the right techniques. Many learners struggle due to fear, lack of practice or an unsupportive environment, but these obstacles can be overcome with effective methods. Techniques like picture explanation, storytelling, reading, sentence imitation and mind mapping encourage active language use, helping students gain confidence and fluency. By practising regularly and using well-structured resources, learners can develop their speaking skills naturally. Ultimately, the key to success lies in persistence – those who embrace mistakes, seek opportunities to speak and stay committed will see remarkable progress in their spoken English.
