10 tips for improving and enhancing your English speaking skills.
Many students are able to master
the finer points of English grammar and vocabulary, but they often find themselves at a loss
when it comes to actually having a conversation with native speakers. In
reality, the only way to develop fluency in another language is through huge
amounts of listening and speaking.
Here are a few tips for
improving your English speaking skills.
1. Speak!
Be confident and speak as often
as possible, to as many people as you possibly can! Don’t be shy to make
mistakes! The more you practice, the better and more confident you will become
in your pronunciation and vocabulary. Remember, speaking is a skill, like
learning a musical instrument or new sport — the only way you can get good is
to actually do it!
2. Read Aloud
Read the newspaper or a magazine
out loud to yourself. You can even find a script from your favorite TV show and
act it out! This is a great way to practice pronunciation, as you can
concentrate on how your English sounds without worrying about sentence
structure or grammar.
3. Record your practice conversations
After a conversation is over,
take a moment to reflect: How did it go? How much do you think you understood?
How comfortable did you feel with the subject matter? Did you encounter any
unknown words? The mere act of thinking about it in this way will increase your
confidence the next time you speak (and give you targeted things to work on,
such as, vocabulary you didn’t understand).
4. Find an English-speaking conversation partner
It’s important to find a partner
to practice with, ideally a native English speaker. If you live around English
speakers try incorporating informal conversations into your daily life. If that
isn’t an option, consider hiring a private tutor you can meet online via tools
like Skype or Google Hangouts.
5. Use technology
A smartphone can be a powerful tool for learning languages. It can help you find reading material, converse with tutors, or even record yourself speaking!
6. Listen and learn
Listen to news bulletins and songs in
English to listen to the pronunciation of words. You can also learn new words
and expressions this way. The more you listen, the more you learn! Try copying
what you hear to practice your pronunciation and learn which words in a
sentence are stressed.
7. Learn a new word a day.
Choose a word you would like to work on
and use practice it in different sentences. Use the word until you have learnt
it and keep using it regularly.
8. Watch films and television
Watch movies, sitcoms, documentaries etc
in English and pay attention to new vocabulary and pronunciation. This is the
perfect way to learn general vocabulary in context as well as phrasal verbs,
idioms and collocations. Also, have some fun trying to emulate the people and
their voices, it’s a great way to practice and improve.
9. Do interesting activities in English
Take a cooking course, learn an instrument
or join a debating, book or music club. Anything you enjoy doing, make sure that you
do it and communicate in English. Using English to talk about things you enjoy
will make practicing a positive experience, especially considering that today,
you can study almost any subject online, so even if you can’t find anything in
the area where you live, you are sure to find something in the virtual world.
10. Use the audio function on an online
dictionary or app.
Online dictionaries often have audio
examples in both British and American English so that you can check your
pronunciation and there are lots of great dictionary apps that you can take everywhere
with you on your smartphone.
Perfect tips. Nice article post. Learning types of sentences also helps in a big way.
ReplyDeleteGood advices. Thank you.
ReplyDelete