At VOA Learning English, we sometimes get questions like this: How can I speak English with more confidence? That is a great question.

我们频道有时候会收到类似这样的问题：我怎样能够更加自信地说英语呢？这个问题很棒呢！

No matter what language we are learning, we would all love to speak more confidently. Yuliana Vasquez is an English teacher.

无论我们学的是何种语言，我们都希望自己能更自信地表达。尤利安娜·瓦斯克斯是一名英语老师。

She also trains teachers and is a language researcher at the University of Panama. She said lack of confidence can come from having trouble with pronunciation and not having a wide enough vocabulary.

她还会培训其他老师，与此同时，她也是巴拿马大学的一名语言研究者。她表示，缺乏自信是因为发音存在困难，且词汇量不够大。

If you lack confidence when you speak English, you may do one or more of these things without realizing it: Speak in short phrases

如果说英语的时候缺乏信心，你可能符合下方一条或多条不自知的行为特点：说不出完整的长句

Speak too softly Speak too fast or unclearly

说话特别的轻 说话特别快或者含糊不清

So today, we have several pieces of advice to help you gain confidence in your English-speaking ability. Believe it or not, the most important person you talk to every day is yourself.

那么，今天我们就来给大家提供一些建议，希望能帮助大家建立说英语时的信心：大家可能不知道，我们每天最重要的聊天对象其实是我们自己。

In other words: Your thoughts matter. So our first piece of advice is to use positive self-talk.

也就是说：我们自己的想法是很重要的。所以我们的第一条建议是积极地自我对话。

If you lack confidence as an English speaker, you may tell yourself things like, "English is too hard and I will never improve". When you talk to other people, you may say things like, "I'm so sorry for my English".

如果你说英语时缺乏信心，那么你或许会这样对自己说，比如，"英语太难了，我提高不了英语了。"当你跟其他人说话的时候，你可能会这样说，"抱歉，我的英语不好。"

But if you keep thinking and saying such things, you are sure to start believing them. Magdi Saleh is an English teacher and teacher trainer based in Cairo, Egypt.

但如果你一直这样想、这样说，你一定自己也会慢慢认为这是真的。马吉迪·萨利赫是一名英语老师，也是教师培训师，她在埃及开罗工作。

Saleh said many English learners need to show themselves more patience because progress takes time: . You have to be patient with yourself and talk positively with yourself.

萨利赫表示，很多英语学习者都需要对自己更加耐心一些，因为取得进步是需要时间的：你需要对自己有耐心，需要积极地跟自己对话。

He said you can tell yourself something like, "Today, I will learn this thing and tomorrow I will learn other things". So the next time you are using your English, pay attention to what you tell yourself or others.

他说，你可以这样暗示自己，比如，"今天我会把这个知识点掌握，明天我会学其他一些内容。"所以，你下次用英语的时候，要注意自己向自己或其他人传达的信息。

Be sure to replace unhelpful thoughts or ideas with better ones. The next tip is to speak louder and slow down your speech.

一定要把无用的想法换成更优的想法。下一条小建议是：大声说话、放慢速度。

When I taught English at a language school in Washington, D. C. , I noticed something about my students: Those who lacked confidence spoke too softly.

我在华盛顿特区的一所语言学校教英语时，我注意到我的学生们有这样的特点：缺乏自信的学生说话都特别的轻。

And they did not enunciate well. Often, I had to ask them to repeat themselves a few times.

他们发音也不是很好。通常情况下，我都不得不让他们多重复几次才能听清。

To sound more confident, speak loudly enough that anyone in the same room can easily hear you. And try to slow down your speech if you speak too fast.

要让自己听起来更有自信，说话的音量就要足够大，这样同一个房间的人就能很容易听清了。如果说话太快的话，要试着放慢速度。

Many English learners worry that speaking too slow will make them sound inexperienced. But speaking too fast may cause more mistakes.

很多英语学习者都担心太慢会让自己听上去不够熟练。但说话太快可能会犯更多错。

So avoid worrying that you are speaking too slow for the people around you. Our third tip is to speak in complete sentences and give longer responses when possible.

所以，大家就不要担心自己说话太慢了。第三条建议是尽量说完整的具体，回应别人的时候也要尽量长一些。

If you are not confident in a language, you will likely try to say as little as possible when you speak. Trust me: I know!

如果你对某个语言没有自信，你可能会尽量说得很少。相信我：我很懂你们的感受！

When I visited Brazil, for example, I remember asking a building doorman for the fitness center key. In Portuguese, I said just, "Good afternoon. Fitness center key, please".

比如，我之前去巴西的时候，我记得我曾问一个大楼的看门人要健身房的钥匙。我只用葡萄牙语说了"下午好。健身房钥匙，谢谢。"

Saleh says this is a common problem for language learners. For example, if you ask an English learner what their favorite color is, they may give a short, direct response like, "My favorite color is blue".

萨利赫说，这是语言学习者的通病。比如，如果我们问一个英语学习者他/她最喜欢的颜色是什么，他们的回答通常简短又直接，比如"我最喜欢的颜色是蓝色。"

But a native English speaker is likely to give a detailed and less direct response, like this: Well, to be quite honest, I don't really have an actual color.

但母语人士的答复可能更详细，不会那么直接，比如：emm，说实话，我说不上具体喜欢什么颜色。

I guess that if I were buying clothes, I would go for something like blue or grey. Using complete sentences and giving more detail in responses shows listeners that you are not afraid to speak English.

我想，如果是买衣服的话，我可能会买蓝色或灰色的衣服。使用完整的句子、更加具体的回复，这样的做法能让听者认为你说英语时并不害怕。

Now, we move to tip number four: Read out loud. Reading out loud can help build confidence in how your English sounds.

下面介绍第四条建议：大声阅读。大声阅读有助于建立你对英语口语的信心。

So the next time you are reading a website, book or something else that you enjoy, take a few minutes to read the material aloud. Vasquez offers a possible plan of action.

所以下次浏览网站、书或者其他你喜欢的内容时，请花几分钟时间读出声来。瓦斯克斯建议了一个可能的做法：

Before reading aloud, read the story silently first. The second time, if there is audio, you can listen to the speaker as you read along silently.

在朗读之前，先默读一遍。第二遍的时候，如果有音频的话，你可以一边默读一边听讲者说话。

Then, try to read the story out loud alone. Then, try listening to the speaker and reading out loud at the same time.

然后尝试读出声来。再然后，尝试一边听讲者说、一边读出声来。

List words you have trouble saying and then, later, check their pronunciation on Google Translate or in some other place. Saleh adds that learners should read for pleasure and enjoy what they are reading.

请列出那些你读起来费劲的单词，然后在谷歌翻译或者其他地方查询他们的发音。萨利赫补充说道，学习者朗读任何材料都应该本着享受和有兴趣的原则。

So he advises not stopping to check word meanings in a dictionary while reading. I'm Alice Bryant.

所以他建议朗读时不要暂停下来去查询单词的含义。爱丽丝·布莱恩特为您播报。