What can I do to prolong my English speaking?

Welcome to fluther. Hang out on here and answer and ask questions. You’ll get some crap as you learn but ignore that. And prolong means to extend the time something happens. You could also try Youtube or skype.

There are several people that have English as a Second Language.
There are also a couple people that teach English for people that are not native speakers.

Welcome to Fluther.

From the little you’ve shown with your question*, you seem to understand the basics of sentence construction, pronoun use* and subject / verb agreement.

*Your follow-up detail was an incomplete sentence, however, which is seldom a good idea, and the pronoun “I” is always capitalized.

Now what you need to do is work on vocabulary. You don’t want to “prolong” your English speaking, I think – unless you really do want to make it “longer”, which is not very sensible. You want to “improve” it. So you need to do it. Use the language; write longer sentences and paragraphs; write complete sentences. Argue with people online (Fluther is great for that!). Use the language.

I’m mindful that you didn’t ask about writing; you asked about speaking. After you’ve written, read what you’ve said out loud. (Even as a native English speaker of nearly 60 years, I still “read in my own voice in my head” what I write, to see how it sounds.) It makes for better writing – and better speaking, too. So to finally improve your English speaking, speak. There’s not only no better way, but there’s other way.

English is my second language, but having lived here in US for 40+ years I now have to watch Japanese programming on Television and struggle to understand. Languages are a living thing and change over time. I think in English now and could never read Japanese as I was a child when we moved here. I try to speak to Japanese people as I come across them and try to explain that I have the command of a Japanese 9 year old. Still my syntax and vocabulary is almost Elizabethan I am told.

I had no idea, @majorrich. I thought you were a native.

I know we all learn differently, but reading all sorts of books and listening to people speak helped me out a great deal in the beginning. I read any book I could get my hands on, and it didn’t matter to me that most of the time I didn’t understand much of what I read. Also, I watched tons of sitcoms (Friends and Will & Grace being two of my favorites) and always kept a notebook and pen next to me so that whenever I heard a word or idiomatic expression whose meaning I didn’t understand, I would jot them down and then look them up or ask someone at school.

My main advice to you is to not shy away from speaking the language. You will make mistakes and you will feel embarrassed but, in my experience, people won’t make fun of you. If anything, they’ll actually want to help you out when they see your eagerness to learn English. However, if you feel any trepidations, just keep reminding yourself that at least you’re trying and, one day, you’ll be so comfortable with the language that you’ll look back and be proud of yourself when you realize how far you’ve come (it’s been 9 years since I was first introduced to English and to this day I still look back and am amazed at how much I’ve learned and continue to learn; and it always makes me feel good when people are surprised to learn that English is not my first, second, third, or fourth language). Until then just practice, practice, practice. Oh, and don’t forget to practice a little more. ;)

@della First and foremost, welcome to Fluther.

You’ve already gotten some excellent advice. All I can think of to add is that if you run into criticism of your spoken or written English, tell the critic that you are sorry for your imperfections, but that you are just learning the language, and really want to improve your skills in English. Ask for their constructive criticism. It’s a way to make sure you’re informed when you are wording things improperly or awkwardly, and also to avoid the anger that can flare when you react negatively to what you view as unfair criticism. After all, you’re just learning, so unduly harsh criticism is unfair. But also after all, the critic probably doesn’t know that unless you tell them.

If you have access to English language educational television or even news programs, pause or mute the program and practice responding to what is being discussed. Record the result and get helpful feedback from someone who speaks English very well.

If you live in the USA or Canada, I am willing to have skype or telephone conversations with you so you can practice.

@Della Don’t be too hard on yourself either, my cousin Moved to America about six years ago and still struggles occasionally, even with an American father. She got a great job working as a translator for a Japanese businessman in California though.

@Dr_Lawrence So nice!!