How to Improve English?
Speaking English fluently and confidently is
an important goal for many people. Often, we hesitate because we are afraid of
making mistakes or disappointing ourselves in front of others. Occasionally
mistakes are unavoidable. But like any other skill, you can improve your spoken
English if you practice regularly and follow these simple techniques.
1. Listen
Listening is the first step in improving your
speaking skills.
Listening to English has many benefits – it
allows you to pick up new words, phrases, and ways to respond in conversations.
Secondly, listening provides opportunities to understand pronunciation, how
some words are omitted when speaking, how some are joined together, the rhythm,
the intonation, and the sounds of language.
What should you listen to? There are
many resources available to you to listen to for free. Start with short
English clips or videos: pick your favorite English TV show or
YouTube channel. Listen to a clip and notice carefully what the characters are
saying. Repeat any dialogues or phrases that interest you. Replay the same clip
until you understand every word. You could also turn on the subtitles or look
at the video transcript if available and practise saying the dialogues
with the characters.
English podcasts are
another popular way to listen to English and improve your listening and
speaking skills. Podcasts are short audio clips that are available online on
various topics.
The third most interesting way to improve your
listening and speaking is by listening to audiobooks.
Audiobooks have become very popular over the past couple of years. They are
great for people who have no time to invest in reading books. They are also
a wonderful way to perfect your pronunciation.
Finally, nothing can beat actual English
conversations with people. Listen to your colleagues speaking in
English, listen to your boss giving presentations and conduct meetings in
English, and listen to your teacher speaking in English – all of these real-life
conversations will help you become a better listener and a better speaker of
the language. Remember that listening as much as possible will help your
speaking significantly.
2. Imitate
Now that you have listened to lots of English
conversations, it’s time for some imitation. Yes, that’s right! Imitating or
copying someone is a wonderful to improve your speaking skills. Not convinced?
Watch babies and children – how do they learn a language? They copy everything
an adult says.
Another benefit of imitation is that it will
help you become more accurate in English without having to learn grammar rules.
With lots of practice, you will begin to remember chunks of words and phrases.
This helps in remembering word patterns in a sentence and how certain words go
with others.
To effectively improve your speaking skills,
you need to follow these steps:
· Listen: Pick your favorite video or audio clip from any of the sources
provided in the earlier section of this article. Play the audio and listen to
it carefully. Play as many times as you like to understand how each word is
spoken.
· Repeat and record: After playing the audio, repeat saying the words and conversations
exactly as you heard. Pay special attention to the intonation, stress, and
rhythm of language. Record yourself while repeating the words. The recording will
provide you an opportunity to listen to yourself and self-correct. So, do not
skip this step.
· Compare: Listen to the audio again and compare it with your recording. Does
it match? Note down changes that you may need to make.
· Correct: Repeat the entire process again until you get better and more
accurate.
As this process involves listening to
the same audio clip several times, choose a topic that is interesting to you.
If you stick with the routine, you will see improvement in your pronunciation,
vocabulary, accuracy, and overall speaking abilities in no time!
3. Read
Reading is yet another important skill to have
when learning a language. Whether you prefer a novel or an article, reading for a
few minutes every day will help you acquire new vocabulary.
The most common reason why people hesitate to read is that it takes quite a lot of time to read a book from start to end.
However, when learning English, reading even for a few minutes is greatly
beneficial. Short articles or notes in English are
great for this. They only take a few minutes to read and are quite easy to
find.
You can start with materials you
find every day. Think of notes and memos at work, pamphlets, and
brochures at your local supermarket, or notices and safety instructions in the
elevators – wherever you are there is always something to read.
and topics. Each article has interactive exercises
to help you understand and use the language.
Remember that if your goal is improving speaking
skills, it is a good idea to read aloud. This will not only help you practice
unfamiliar words but also help you improve your pronunciation and fluency.
4. Prepare
A lot of us hesitate to speak or take part in
conversations in English because we are nervous about what to say. We are
anxious that what we say may not be appropriate or that we may make mistakes. We can
easily fix this problem by preparing ahead. Are you going to a restaurant with
your colleagues? Think of situations that require you to speak English. Order
food, perhaps? Ask for changes to a dish? Ask your colleagues’ preferences? Ask
for the bill? What vocabulary do you need in these situations? Write up a
simple list of phrases to use.
Here is an example:
|
Situation
|
Useful phrases
|
|
Arriving at the restaurant and
asking for a table (if booked)
|
Hello. We’ve booked a table
for ___. (say the number of people for which you booked the table)
The booking is in _________ ‘s
name. (say the name of the person you provided at the time of booking)
|
|
Arriving at the restaurant and
asking for a table (if not booked)
|
Hello. We need a table for
_______ (say the number of people). Can you fit us in?
|
|
Asking for the menu
|
Could we see the food menu,
please?
Could we see the drinks menu,
please?
|
|
Asking about food
|
Is this dish suitable for
vegetarians?
Does this dish contain nuts? I
am allergic to nuts.
Could you help me understand
what this dish contains?
|
|
Choosing what to order among
your colleagues
|
I’d like to order a hamburger
with a side of fries. What about you?
I prefer coffee to tea.
What would you like to have?
Do you prefer soup or salad?
That sounds delicious.
|
|
Placing your order
|
We are ready to place our
order.
Could we have bottled water
for everyone?
I would like ___________ (say
what you would like to eat)
Could I have ___________ (say
what you would like to eat)?
|
|
Giving feedback
|
That was delicious. Thank
you.
That was lovely. Thank you.
It was a great meal. Thank
you.
The food was a bit cold.
The dish was a bit spicy for
my taste.
|
|
Paying your bill
|
Could we have the bill, please?
Can I pay by card?
This is on me. (When you want
to insist on paying for everyone).
|
Create similar cheat sheets for everyday situations. You will find
yourself becoming more confident and ready to speak in English.
5. Speak
Yes, speaking. There is no magic pill that would help you speak better.
You must put yourself in situations where you are forced to speak in English to
get better at it. Start small. Take advantage of this situation by speaking
to people around you. It could be at your workplace or even at a coffee
shop – doesn’t matter where, as long as you can speak.
If you don’t have that advantage, practice speaking in English with
your colleagues or classmates. It is easier if you choose someone
who speaks a different language than you do as it forces you to communicate in
English.
6. Practise
We cannot stress this enough. Regular and consistent practice is the key
to success when it comes to speaking English. The tips and suggestions that
we’ve described above only work if you use them regularly. So, here’s what we
recommend. Start small – spend just 10 minutes every day doing
1-2 of the above things. Maybe listen to a short video clip today and imitate it.
Reflect on what you learned. Tomorrow, pick up a short article. Read aloud and
summarise in your own words. Reflect on what you read and the new words.
Some days you will find more time. Dedicate more time when you
can but do the minimum every single day. You will see a big change in
your abilities in no time! As you improve, you’ll get more confident and more
ready for bigger challenges. This is the time to find speaking partners and
to put yourself in situations that require speaking in English. Don’t worry
about making mistakes. Most people don’t care if you make mistakes.
Finally, don’t forget to have fun. It’s easier to learn something new
and commit to learning when you’re having fun. Practice English by singing
along to popular songs. Practise tongue twisters with your friends.
Try all these tips today and start your language learning journey right
away!
