One way I have been told is an excellent way to improve your speaking skills in a foreign language when you don't have a language partner to practice with is to make a video blog of yourself speaking in your target language. When I first came across this idea, I was so excited to give it a try, I ran out and bought a handheld video camera and started outlying all the various themes I was going to discuss. I was so inspired to get going, I forgot one small detail. I charged the camera, set up a spot in my kitchen to practice, and pressed record. Then came the silence. I had never been comfortable in the spotlight and suddenly I was facing a camera, recording my every move. I froze and had absolutely nothing to say. I quickly paused the recording and went back to the drawing board. My original plan had been to speak "off the cuff" with only a few notes to keep me on track, but I found myself stumbling over my words, forgetting what I wanted to say, or conjugating things entirely wrong. My next plan was to script it all out in advance and read it like a speech. The problem with this was that it took me so long to write out the script, by the time I was ready to record, I was tired and had lost the desire to go through with it. Needless to say, I have a nice camcorder here in my kitchen that has only been used a handful of times since purchasing it last fall.
I did manage to make a few short video clips on the days I was really feeling ambitious, however I feel so awkward watching recordings of myself, I hid them away and never really critiqued them as is the purpose. I'd really like to try again, especially before I leave for Spain. I want to make a documentary style video of my trip, recording myself having conversations with people I come across in Madrid and Valencia. In addition, I wanted to have a collection of "before and after" style videos to chronicle my progress, but as the days creep by, I fear it will soon be time to depart and I won't have much more than a few short clips of me reading my blog entries.
Facing a camera is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In fact, despite my shyness, I am more comfortable talking to a total stranger than I am in talking on my own to a camera. Something about being able to go back and see the mistakes I make is unnerving. Certainly, we've all had moments like this when it comes to using the language we are studying or simply putting ourselves in a position of awkwardness that we have to overcome. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can get over my timidness towards my camera, I'd love to hear them. I'm certainly not looking to go pro, but it would be nice to have a video to show my friends and family when I come home. Feel free to share your ideas here with me and perhaps we can work this out together!
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