HOW TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILL
My most important piece of advice
is: "Do something (anything). If you don't do anything, you won't get
anywhere. Make it your hobby, not a chore, but above all have fun!"
Don't be in too much of a hurry.
You're setting off on a long journey and there' will be delays and frustrations
along the way. Sometimes you'll be in the fast lane and other times you'll be
stuck in traffic, but there will also be lots of interesting things and
interesting people along the way. Take your time to really enjoy the
experience.
There are many ways to improve
your level of English, but only you can find the right way for you. Here are a
few tips that might help:-
Improve your
Learning Skills
Learning is a skill and it can be improved.
Your path to learning effectively is through knowing
- yourself
- your
capacity to learn
- processes
you have successfully used in the past
- your
interest, and knowledge of what you wish to learn
Motivate yourself
If you are not motivated to learn English you will become frustrated and
give up. Ask yourself the following questions, and be honest:-
- Why do you
need to learn/improve English?
- Where will
you need to use English?
- What
skills do you need to learn/improve? (Reading/Writing/Listening/Speaking)
- How soon
do you need to see results?
- How much
time can you afford to devote to learning English.
- How much
money can you afford to devote to learning English.
- Do you
have a plan or learning strategy?
Set yourself achievable goals
You know how much time you can dedicate to learning English, but a short
time each day will produce better, longer-term results than a full day on the weekend
and then nothing for two weeks.
Joining a short intensive course could produce better results than joining
a course that takes place once a week for six months.
Here are some goals you could set yourself:-
- Join an
English course - a virtual one or a real one (and attend regularly).
- Do your
homework.
- Read a
book or a comic every month.
- Learn a
new word every day.
- Visit an English speaking forum every day.
- Read a
news article on the net every day.
- Do 10
minutes listening practice every day.
- Watch an
English film at least once a month.
- Follow a soap,
comedy or radio or TV drama.
A good way to meet your goals is to establish a system of rewards and
punishments.
Decide on a reward you will give yourself for fulfilling your goals for a
month.
- A bottle
of your favourite drink
- A meal out
/ or a nice meal at home
- A new
outfit
- A manicure
or massage
Improve Your English
Speaking and English Pronunciation Skills
My first piece of advice is not to get too hung
up on trying to sound like a native speaker. Would you start learning the piano
in an attempt to sound like Mozart? The first rule of speaking English is to
learn to speak clearly and concisely and remember you won't just be speaking to
native speakers: There are roughly 380 million native speakers out there, but
as many as a billion people speak English as a second language, you do the math.
Try to avoid using idioms and slang (I always say
learn it, but don't use it). It might sound clever to say "You're barking
up the wrong tree," but if you use it in the wrong situation, or if the
other person simply doesn't understand you, you'll only look silly when you try
to explain what you meant to say, or what it actually means.
There's also a saying in English "Have you
swallowed a dictionary?" It is applicable to anyone who uses long,
complicated words when a shorter word will do. Short sentences are just as good
(if not better) than long rambling explanations. The value in what you have to
say is what you say, not how clever you look or sound when you say it. So it's
a good idea to try to use simple, clear vocabulary, KISS - keep it short and simple,
Here's a fun video that illustrates
what I mean.
English speaking tips
Get over any fear you might have of making mistakes. You will make mistakes.
Be patient with yourself. Learning any language can be frustrating, but
frustration won't help you, so let it go.
Grasp every opportunity you have to speak with people in English.
Talk to friends who are also
learning English. Go out together for coffee and only speak English to each
other!
Read short stories out loud and try to see, say
and hear the words to reinforce your memory. Record yourself and play it back later,
how does it sound?
Find English speaking friends:-
- You
might not be able to find any friendly native speakers where you live, but you can find English
speaking people on the Internet! If you
can't find anyone who'll actually help
you, don't worry, you'll still be able to figure out if they can
understand you.
- Get
onto Second Life. It's the one place I've
found where you're guaranteed a conversation - it's an adult environment,
and you won't always want to talk to the people you meet, but for every
blood sucking vampire who asks if they can bite you, there are at least
ten, nice people who just want to socialise. If you want a list of nice
places to go, just contact me on the forum.
- There
are several internet based voice chat programmes out there: iVisit | Pal
Talk | MSN
Web Messenger | Yahoo!
Messenger | Google Talk | Skype
and I'm sure there are lots more.
- Look
for people with the same interests as you. It's no good asking everyone
you meet to help you with your English, rather develop natural friendships
based on your hobbies etc. Eventually you will make friends and they will
be much more likely to give you correction / guidance.
- Join an English club or conversation group.
Around the world there are many English speaking clubs, these clubs aren't
just for expats but for people interested in the English way of life. They
can be friendly and fun. For a list of English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as
your phone book, your local newspaper and your local university. Or if there
isn't one in your area - start one! Place an advertisement in your
newspaper for people interested in starting a group or go to Meetup.
- Visit an Irish/English/Australian theme pub or
British food shop, you can usually find one in the larger cities. Often,
the waiters and waitresses come from English-speaking countries, the menu
is often in English too!
- Once your English is good enough, go shopping
in some tourist areas. You'll find lots of shop assistants speak very good
English.
- If
you can travel to an English speaking country, do it.
Singing
Try singing along to English songs. With friends or in the privacy of your
own bathroom. Lots of the major games consoles have karaoke games nowadays,
like Sing Star on the Playstation.
!On the internet :- You can speak to me
on Skype or in
Second Life (see the forum
calendar for times and dates) - you can also listen to or chat with other
learners and native speakers there, or join one of the many social networking
sites. They are all free, so there are no more excuses.
Pronunciation skills
Accents really don't matter any more. You can spend a fortune and waste a
lot of time trying to "get rid of" your accent, time and money that
you could spend learning more English. So, unless you are up for a role in a
film, don't worry about your accent too much. That said, people need to be able
to understand you, so pronunciation and enunciation are important.
Be playful. Mimic famous people, play with the different accents in films
etc. I do a mean John Wayne.
List words that have the same
sound add to the lists as you learn more words.
For example words that rhyme
with me:-
Work on one problem sound at a time. Read slowly
concentrating on the pronunciation of particular words. Record yourself, keep
the tape and record yourself later, have you improved? Don't be shy - ask a
friend to listen to the tape too.
Don't worry about sounding like a native, it is
more important to speak clearly and pleasantly than it is to sound like the
Queen of England - Even the Queen of England doesn't sound like she used to.
The most important thing to think about is can
people understand you? If you have a problem being understood then find someone
who speaks English clearly and try to copy the way they speak. Pay particular attention to
speed and enunciation.