Speaking analysis means recording yourself speaking and then going back to analyze what you said. It separates the act of speaking (which requires real-time processing) from the act of analyzing (which requires careful attention) — and doing them separately makes both more effective.
How to Do It
- Record yourself speaking — a monologue, a reading, or even a conversation (with permission)
- Listen back and note errors: wrong words, incorrect grammar, pronunciation issues, awkward phrasing
- Identify patterns — do you make the same type of mistake repeatedly?
- Target those patterns in your study
Methods
Self-analysis: Simply listen to your recording and make notes. This builds your ability to hear your own mistakes — a skill that eventually transfers to real-time self-monitoring during conversation.
With a tutor: Play the recording during a lesson and have your tutor point out errors and explain corrections. This gives you expert feedback and deeper insight into what's wrong. You can also discuss corrections and alternate phrasings to learn more.
AI-assisted: Use an AI transcription tool to transcribe your audio, then feed the transcript into a writing corrector or AI chatbot. Words the AI transcribes incorrectly probably indicate pronunciation problems. Grammar errors in the transcript reveal patterns you can study.
Tips
- Hearing your own voice in a foreign language feels weird. You'll get over it. And the analysis is worth the discomfort.
- Focus on patterns, not individual errors. If you make the same mistake 5 times, that's one thing to fix, not 5 separate problems.
- Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick your 2-3 most common error types and work on those.
When to Start
Speaking analysis is introduced in Phase 5C and continues through Phase 7.