Tips for Becoming a Confident Speaker.

Learning a language is like learning anything else. The more you practice, the better you get.

The more you speak, the easier it will be to speak. The more you speak, the better your English will become. The better you speak, the more confident you will be at speaking a second language. This will be an incentive to encourage you to speak even more. Before you know it, speaking English will be as natural as going for a walk or riding a bike, driving a car, or catching a bus.

So, make it your goal to practice, practice and practice, even more, every single day, and with that, no matter who you are, you will become a proficient communicator.

Reading out loud

Find something you enjoy reading and read it out loud. By reading out loud, you will develop fluency, which is the art of speaking smoothly and having the words, phrases, and sentences flow. It’s okay to stumble on a few words or have to look a word or two up in the dictionary. Just continue to read.

Record yourself

A smartphone can be a powerful tool for learning languages. Use it to record yourself speaking then listen back to see how your English sounds to other people. Make the most of all your favorite productivity apps to organize your practice time and make a note of all the new words you learn.

Practice, practice, and then practice some more.

When something becomes natural to us, like learning to ride a bike or driving a car, we begin to feel confident in doing it.

And the only way we can arrive at this ‘natural way of doing things, is through practice and repetition.

Be confident and speak as often as possible to as many people as you possibly can! Do not 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 a new sport – the only way you can get good is to actually do it!

Watch films and television shows

Today, with at-call television channels such as Netflix, Disney, HBO etc, watching movies and television shows in English is so easy. Just pay attention to new vocabulary and pronunciation, imitate the actors, and have fun with it.

Improving Fluency and Pronunciation with Tongue Twisters.

Make friends

Whether in person, or online, make friends with Native speakers or other people who are learning to speak English and practice, practice, practice. With native speakers, talk about whatever takes your fancy. With other language learners, talk about things that you have learned and exchange ideas.

Have a debate

Debate all the topics that interest you with friends in English. Try to use as much vocabulary as you can to get your point across and listen to the other arguments carefully so you can argue against them effectively.

Consciously speak more slowly

English learners can lose confidence if they are misunderstood, or not understood at all by the listener.

Normally they think that something is wrong with their English. In most cases though, you are either misunderstood because the listener is not accustomed to your accent, you are not prepared properly, or you are speaking too fast.

If somebody is not used to your accent, then at the beginning they could have difficulty understanding you. As well as this, when nervous you typically speak faster than normal which affects pronunciation and grammar. This for sure makes it more difficult for listeners to understand, which then affects confidence.

When this situation occurs, take extra care in pronouncing your words and consciously speak slower.

When you see that people understand you better and don’t need to ask you to repeat something, this increases confidence.

10 simple tips for improving and maintaining your English speaking skills.

Face difficult situations with confidence

Most English learners who lack confidence prefer to avoid situations where they have to speak English in front of other people.

This makes sense because it is natural to want to avoid uncomfortable situations when possible.

But you are only going to build your confidence in speaking English by being brave and by putting yourself in situations in which you don’t feel comfortable or confident.

The secret is to face your fears, but only when you are certain that you have prepared properly.

Prepare cheat sheets

Part of nervousness around speaking is the feeling of not knowing what to say. To combat this, prepare a cheat sheet. Are you going to the doctor's? Before your appointment, research vocabulary relating to your condition and some common phrases you’ll probably need. Use the technique before going to pay a bill, eating at a restaurant, doing job interviews, making a complaint, or for any other situation that might make you anxious.

Reflect on your conversations

After your 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 that subject matter? Did you encounter any unknown words? The mere act of thinking about it in this way will increase your confidence for the next time you speak (and give your targeted things to work on, for example vocabulary you didn’t understand).

Well, I hope that these suggestions are helpful for you as you move forwards with your journey to achieving a proficient level of Advanced English.

Good luck and good studying.