11 Tips on How You Can Improve Your English Speaking Skills

This is the most asked question by the English Learners around the world.question by the English Learners around the world.

English is the world’s lingua franca, a common language that people with different native languages use to exchange ideas.

Thanks a lot to English, people from completely different native languages—maybe Hindi, French and Japanese—can come together and have a great conversation with each other.

English is now spread across countries and various cultures, and the ability to speak this language well provides many opportunities for your career and for your social life.

The more fluent you are in English, the more interesting, exciting and insightful conversations you can make with the people around.

It adds more ability in your life-enriching experiences like traveling, studying and working abroad, not only in English Speaking Countries but also in many other countries where English is widely used.

The world is your oyster (the world is yours) and English is the language of the world. So, learn English.

The good news is that you can easily improve English speaking skills without a classroom partner or stressful lessons. It’s totally possible to have fun and master speaking a language at the same time.

Pronouncing the words correctly is the key to expression, but it is not everything you need. This article will take you ahead of the initial aspects to reach communicative ability.

How to Improve Your English-Speaking Skills

Make a Strong Base

In order to articulate yourself powerfully in English, you need a broad variety of glossary and the correct articulation.
 
Develop your vocabulary

Learn New Words Every Day with Suniltams

Learning new words a day in, day out is a good way to extend your word power. Commit to a fitting goal: it can be three daily words or it can be ten daily words. But, You should learn new words daily.

Even if you only have time to learn one new word per day, it is still worth trying. By learning one word every day, after one year you will have learned 365 new English words. Isn’t it?

Write the number down to remind yourself often. If you have a learning associate, share it with her/him so that she/he can check on your advancement.

Some good resources for words are the news, songs and TV shows, depending on your daily habits. If you love listening to music, pay attention to the lyrics and take note of the words you do not know. Songs often contain a lot of useful vocabularies, phrases, and expressions, hence, they are great for learning English. You can do the same thing with Suniltams Videos.

Learn Words in Phrases and Chunks

It is significant that you learn words in groups. For example, you refer to beverages as a glass of wine, a pint of beer, a cup of tea, a pot of coffee, etc. It is better to learn those phrases than merely wine, beer, tea and so on.

You can also benefit from learning words that are connected. The moon has four phases during a lunar month: crescent, gibbon, waxing and waning. It is more competent to learn all four words at the same time.

Improve your accent

You might know a lot of words, but if you fail to say them correctly, you will not be understood. That seems like a waste of the time spent on remembering words, right?

When using online dictionaries such as Macmillan and Merriam-Webster, make use of the little speaker symbol to check the pronunciation of any word that you are not sure about. There are English pronunciation tutorials on YouTube or podcasts like English Pronunciation Pod or American English Pronunciation to teach you the many aspects of American English pronunciation.

When you are ready for something more challenging, try out tongue twisters. Some examples are available here. Personally, I love the Fork handles sketch from the show “The Two Ronnies.” It might not be a typical example of everyday conversation, but it shows you the richness of spoken English. Besides, you will have a good laugh.

Learn the natural flow of English

Being able to say individual words correctly is great, but the secret of speaking fluently lies in the flow of sentences. Whenever you read a piece of poetry, listen to a melodic song or watch a hilarious sitcom, pay attention to the following:

    Notice how native speakers link words together: joining two sounds, making a sound to disappear or changing a sound for a better flow.
    Contractions are abridged forms of two words. For example:
        I + am =I’m
        he + will =he’ll
        they + have =they’ve
        do + not = don’t
    There are stressed syllables in a word and stressed words in a sentence.
    The rhythm is the overall result of stress, contractions, and linking. It is the ups and downs, the musical feature of English.

Techniques to Improve English Speaking Skills

Now that you have a strong foundation, you can apply some techniques to hone (improve) your English speaking skills.

Speech Shadowing

In a nutshell, this technique is about imitation. You listen to how a native speaker says something and try to copy it.

    Pick your favorite video with subtitles.Make sure that it is something you enjoy watching because you will…
    Listen to it many times.Listen to the video once and read the subtitles to get a good grasp of the general content and flow. While you are playing it again, complete the next step.
    Imitate the narrator sentence by sentence. Listen. Pause. Speak. Record (optional). Copy the speech pattern as best as you can. If you choose to record your practice, you can compare yours and the original. Or else, just listen to your own sound and be critical of the difference or similarity. Repeat this step until the end of the video.

Self-talk

Talk to yourself in English loudly. It can be anything from a suggestion like, “Shall we go get a glass of water?” or a reminder, “I need to do a load of laundry today.”

Alternatively, pick up a book and read a couple of pages out loud. This exercise might slow down your reading, but it will speed up your speaking skills.

You can also record yourself, listen to the recording and watch out for any wrong pronunciations. If it is possible, ask for feedback from a native speaker.

Think in English

If you already think in English, it takes less time to produce or respond in everyday conversations. No translation needed!

A good way to start rethinking is to keep a diary where you express your daily thoughts in English. It does not have to be perfect, it is more about getting out thoughts in English with less and less effort.

Rephrase a story in English

Take the challenge a step further by retelling a story. You retrace other people’s line of thoughts in your own words.

I would start with a familiar story from your civilization. Your translation needs to convey not only the meaning of words but all rhetorical and cultural nuances.

On the other hand, you can choose different words to retell a simple story in English. Start from the basics, reading something like a fairy tale or a fable. Either way will be beneficial to your English communication skills.

Frequently Practice to Improve Your English Speaking Skills

Practice makes perfect, so do speak English in plenty. Some people think that they do not have the opportunity to practice speaking because they do not live in the US or another English-speaking country. They might also be discouraged because English is not used at their workplace, or they do not know any native speakers.

There is some validity in those excuses, but do not let them hinder your learning. Thanks to the growth of globalization and technology, you have more chances than ever to practice speaking English. You’ll find many ideas below.

Participate in public speaking events

Big universities, theaters and culture societies organize events like open debates, spoken word readings, and improvised storytelling gatherings. These are places where you can come and mingle with like-minded people and practice speaking English.

Many cities are now hosting TED or TEDx talks where you can register to participate and share your innovative ideas. Check the events page of your local university to see if there are any available. It might be a nerve-racking experience, but it would be great for your English!

Go to language Clubs

If public speaking terrifies you (and I know it does for many), you can opt for language cafes. Those cafes create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for people who want to practice and exchange languages.

You can find language cafes through local universities or the Meetup groups available in your cities.

Using apps

Another option is to use an app to talk to native speakers online, in the comfort of your own home. Some popular apps are HelloTalk, Tandem, WeSpeke. Basically, you register for an account, introduce yourself, your native language and your hobbies. The app will find you some matches—the people who speak English and want to practice the language you know well. All you need to do is to press a few buttons and start talking.

Chat with Siri

I find chatting with Siri is a great way to force myself to speak more clearly. As Siri is a machine, you cannot rely on environmental clues and facial gestures to get your ideas across. Your words are the only tool you have to make yourself understood. Thus, you need to speak as clearly and precisely as you could.

Another plus point of using Siri is that she is always available (as long as your phone is charged and connected to a WiFi network). Just press the home button and start asking questions.

If you own an Android smartphone, you can practice speaking with Google Now.

So, off you go! Choose your favored method to enlarge your vocabulary, correct your articulation, and improve your English speaking with the methods that are right for you.

Do not forget to practice as much as possible.

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