How can a programmer gain experience in spoken English?

Question

IT education

Let's take a spherical developer in a vacuum.
Lives and works offline, in a Russian-language web studio.
He studied English at school and university, but still cannot speak.
How to get practical experience of spoken English?
Reading books, listening to the radio, watching movies is all good, but it does not give the main thing - the practical skill of communication.
So where can you find this very "native speaker" interlocutor who will improve his communication skills and point out mistakes in pronunciation?
Let's assume that the ultimate goal of training is to move and get a job in the USA.

Answer 1

> Let's assume that the ultimate goal of training is to move and get a job in the USA.
To do this, you need to have tolerable spoken English. The USA is a country of migrants and no one is surprised by the accent and pronunciation errors, grammatical errors. I would suggest not to bother with this, but to pump over technical skills, English will catch up in the process, including spoken language.
And when talking on the phone, you will still be very stupid at first, no matter how hard you try.
My friend was helped by a three-month study at a Philippine language school. Passed from the level of "My name from Vasya. London from the capital of Great Britain" to intermediate and got a remote job in some startup from the USA. Including put him and spoken English.

Answer 2

In St. Petersburg and Moscow (maybe other large cities) it is relatively easy to find native speakers among exchange students in Russia. Usually they come for half a year, and of course they are looking for a part-time job as tutors for moderate money. I did this with a few English girls.
And I will tell you that if this student is not a teacher in his language, then some problems appear:
Much more effect will be from a Russian-speaking experienced teacher. Not from a student who graduated from high school yesterday, but from a person who has been doing this for 10 years or more. Such a teacher will not only tell you exactly what needs to be said and where, but also, based on his experience, he will be able to explain specifically for you in a more understandable form - this is the key difference between a professional teacher and the best book or textbook.
And a couple of tips:

• If you are not going to get a job related to the language (journalist, reporter, singer), then forget about pronunciation for now. All speakers with a Slavic accent are perceived very well by English speakers, unlike the same Chinese or Indians, who not only swallow sounds, but also cannot pronounce some, and use remotely similar analogues from their languages.
  
• Read more fiction (can be adapted), and not just technical. When you read, you say everything to yourself, and this is very useful.
  

Answer 3

A programmer can get the experience of spoken English in the same way as a non-programmer - by going to English courses with a native speaker for individual or group lessons.
If you are a real programmer, you may be able to find something similar online and participate from the comfort of your home. BUT in general there is no difference between a programmer and a non-programmer.

Answer 4

You are looking bad. In a more or less large city, finding a native speaker in English is not a problem. I found a Peruvian in my province, with whom I successfully download Spanish. English is like dirt. Take a look in your city, but in our country, for example, the so-called English clubs have become very popular lately. In fact, stupidly once a week they gather in a cafe, there is one or two native speakers from some school. The whole conversation is only in English (starting from the order and ending with conversations for life). Thematic meetings are often held - stories about life in different countries, etc. I went there a couple of times, a very useful thing at the first stage.

Answer 5

For boltology - training via Skype. There are aggregators of Skype courses. There are teachers there. With ratings, reviews, hourly pay and a personal touch. This is if it is paid and systematic.
And if it's free and for the fan, then the same video conferences, but on a voluntary basis. You find an interlocutor for the evening in any convenient way, you offer to sharpen your laces and go ahead.
Or chatroulette, even simpler, you can hook up with someone with your tongue.