How to Do Practice for Speaking When Learning a Language

Learning a foreign language is exciting — yet many learners struggle with speaking fluently. In this post, we’ll share effective, scientifically backed strategies for how to practice speaking in a new language, so you gain confidence, fluency, and comfort in real conversations.

If you’re looking for structured speaking practice, check out our courses at ILC — we offer live, interactive classes in Delhi and online.

1. Start Speaking from Day One

One of the most powerful habits you can build is speaking from day one. Even if you only know a few words, start using them.

Benefits:

• Better pronunciation: your mouth, tongue, and vocal chords get used to new sounds early.
• Increased confidence: each small attempt builds courage to speak more.
• Active communication skills: speaking—even imperfectly—teaches you to formulate thoughts in the new language.

Tactics:

• Talk to yourself: narrate your day, think aloud in the target language.
• Practice with classmates or friends (if available).
• Join a local language institute (for example, in Delhi or your city) and practice in class.
• Use online speaking tandems or language exchange apps (e.g. Tandem, HelloTalk).

At ILC, our small batch live classes ensure every student gets speaking time. Our emphasis is on interactive sessions and role-playing in class. (See our approach in About Us) Interactive Language Classes+1

2. Prepare Your Subconscious Mind

You can learn vocabulary, grammar, and phrases in your conscious mind, but to speak fluidly, those have to move into your subconscious mind. The goal is that speaking becomes automatic — you don’t need to “think” about each word.

How to transfer into subconscious:

• Shadowing: Listen to audio (dialogues, podcasts) and immediately repeat aloud, imitating accent and intonation.
• Spaced repetition: Revisit vocabulary and phrases at spaced intervals until they “stick.”
• Chunk phrases: Instead of memorizing individual words, learn fixed phrases (e.g. “Could you please…”). Your brain will recall the phrase without assembling word-by-word.
• Immerse yourself: Surround yourself with the language — change your phone settings, watch short dialogues or videos, listen to songs or podcasts daily.

Over time, your responses in conversation will become more natural, less laborious.

3. Set a Clear Objective

Before you begin, define why you want to speak this language. Clear goals keep motivation high.

Ask yourself:

• Is your goal for travel, career, study, or personal growth?
• Do you want conversational fluency, business-level speaking, or professional translation skills?

Once you have clarity, you can tailor your speaking practice accordingly. For example, if your aim is to speak in meetings or patient communication, your speaking drills will use business or medical scenarios.

At ILC, many students enroll in our Medical Tourism language courses (like Uzbek, Russian, Arabic) to build specialized speaking skills for healthcare settings. Interactive Language Classes+1

4. Start with Basic, Everyday Phrases

Don’t wait to master complex grammar. Start with surrounding phrases and daily life sentences:

• Greetings (“Hello, how are you?”)
• Introductions (“My name is …”)
• Asking directions, ordering food, basic transactions
• Words and phrases tied to your daily life and surroundings

These give you quick wins and usable “speaking tools” from day one. Use them, tweak them, and expand them gradually.

5. Develop a Daily Writing Habit

Writing helps consolidate your speaking skills. It forces you to structure your thoughts, helps you notice mistakes, and reinforces vocabulary.

Tips:

• Maintain a daily journal in your target language—just a few sentences a day.
• Write prompts like: “Today I want to say…”, “What would I say in a restaurant?”
• Occasionally, record yourself reading what you’ve written, and then speak it aloud.

Consistency is key: even 5–10 minutes daily adds up rapidly.

6. Stay Positive and Be Patient

Speaking fluently doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll hit roadblocks—moments when you feel stuck, frustrated, or discouraged.

Here’s how to push through:

• Acknowledge that making mistakes is part of the process.
• Take short listening or reading breaks if you feel mentally tired.
• Don’t compare yourself negatively to fluent speakers.
• Remind yourself of your why (see point #3).
• Celebrate small wins (you managed a full sentence, understood someone, etc.).

Over time, those small wins create momentum. Keep going.

Bonus Tips to Accelerate Your Speaking Practice

• Record yourself speaking and then listen back for errors you didn’t notice at the moment.
• Use shadowing with subtitles (e.g. watch dialogues with native audio + subtitles, repeat line-by-line).
• Participate in conversation clubs or language meetups in Delhi, Jamia Nagar, or online.
• If possible, find a native speaker tutor (even just occasional) to correct your speaking habits.
• Use flashcards but speak aloud when reviewing them.

Putting It Together — Sample 30‑Day Speaking Plan

You can adapt the plan for 60 or 90 days depending on your timeline.

Why Learn Speaking Skills at ILC?

At Interactive Language Classes, we emphasize speaking fluency from day one through interactive pedagogy, small batch sizes, and expert instructors. Our students in Delhi and online consistently report improved confidence in real conversations. Interactive Language Classes+2Interactive Language Classes+2

If your goal is conversation, travel, business, or medical translation, we’ve got tailored courses to help you speak well, not just know grammar. Explore our course catalog or contact us via our Contact page to get started with a free demo.

Final Thoughts

Your ability to speak a new language depends on consistent practice, confidence, and repeated exposure. Begin speaking from day one, integrate what you learn into your subconscious, use daily phrases, write regularly, stay positive, and seek feedback. Over time, your speaking will become more natural.

If you’re looking for structured practice, support, and live speaking sessions, feel free to join ILC’s online/offline language classes in Delhi. We’d love to help you reach your speaking goals.