How to improve your English Speaking Skills

SPEAKING is often the hardest of the four language skills.

It's one thing listening and understanding,

or even reading and writing, but it's another talking to a native speaker

and not getting all mixed up and experiencing brain shut down.

But with the right tricks (and constant diligence),

you will manage with more and more ease.

    TEN BASIC TIPS

1)  Practice speaking every chance you get!

            (Example: ordering coffee, shopping, asking for directions, etc).

2)      Read English-speaking newspapers or online articles.

             (Free newspapers like Metro and 24Hrs are a good place to start – lots of pictures!)

3)      Read children’s books, the grammar and vocabulary are easier.

            Get a library card or buy them from the Dollar Store.

4)      Listen to English songs, google the lyrics and sing along

(you might want to do this in private unless you’re a really good singer ;))

5)      Watch English movies and TV shows – No subtitles!

6)      Make friends with people from other countries so you’re not tempted
 to speak in your own language.

7)      Participate in social events, join a salsa class, or a free yoga class.

8)      Join a free conversation group or language exchange. 

(Maybe your co-worker is dying to learn Spanish to impress the cute guy

 in the office downstairs – you can help each other!)

9)      Talk to your teacher for advice on any specific things you need to work on,

for example, maybe there’s one word you always say wrong.

10)  DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES !

The more you speak, the faster you learn !

For very motivated students ...

some more detailed TIPS ...

Improving Your English at Home

 1

Record yourself. 

When you're alone, you have no reason to be nervous.

You can let your brain flow freely -- so record yourself now !

Your English is going to be at its best.

Find a book on tape or a clip online that you can mimic.

Does your English sound the same ?

Or record yourself reading from a book.

You'll be able to actually hear yourself

 (which we surprisingly have trouble with in real time) and be able to define

the probems in your English and where you slow down and have trouble.

Then re-record  it and see how you've improved !

 2

Read aloud. 

If your hands are full or you don't have a recording device,

simply read aloud -- ideally, every day for at least 15 or 20 minutes.

 You'll get used to speaking for longer periods of time

and forming long sentences won't phase you;

And you'll run into words you can add to your vocabulary.

 It's best to choose books with lots of dialogue.

The language is generally more real and a bit simpler;after all, dialogue is conversation.

 Being able to read poetry is great 

but conversations are a much more practical skill, you know?

3

Listen to mp3s, podcasts, and the news. 

We live in such a digital age;

 even if you think you don't have native speakers at your disposal, you actually do.

Scientific American, CBC, BBC and Australia's ABC Radio are great mp3s

to get started with, but there's also a million podcasts out there

and handfuls of news stations, too.

And the best part is that these people generally speak clearly

and have pretty generic accents.

·         Another bonus? You'll have interesting things to talk about in English !

·         You'll be up on all the news - even if you're just repeating

what you've heard (not like anyone will know !).

·         You're improving your English AND expanding your knowledge.

·         Two birds with one stone, really.

4

Listen to music, too. 

Alright, so it's not as good as listening to spoken news/podcasts/etc., but it is good.

If you can concentrate on one song a day or so, even better.

Just make sure you actively try to understand it.

Google the lyrics and sing along !

It's best to stick to ballads -- songs that go a bit more slowly.

Pick one a day until you have it mostly memorized and understand

what the words actually mean. It's a great way to learn idioms and slang, too.

5

Watch TV and movies. 

An integral part of speaking is hearing or listening.

Because of this, the easiest way to involve yourself in a conversation

without actually having one is to watch English TV and movies.

 If you absolutely have to, turn the subtitles on -- but try to resist !

Movies are great because you watch them over and over;

 the more you watch them, the more things you'll pick up.

TV is good though, too, because you develop relationships with the characters 

and you grow accustomed to how they talk and the quirks of their speech.

6

Narrate your world. 

As you go about your day-to-day, talk to yourself.

What are you doing ? What are you feeling? What do you see, taste, smell, hear ?

What are you touching? What are you thinking ?

You're sitting in a chair (probably).

Maybe you're listening to music or have the TV on in the background.

The possibilities are limitless.

Think the future and the past, too. What are you going to do next ?

What did you just do ?

You gotta get to thinking in English consistently to truly get better.

The more you think in English, the faster it'll come out.

Improving Your English with Others     

1

Mimic the rhythm. 

Every language has a musicality about it.

You can have absolutely perfect grammar and if you don't have the rhythm down,

 you won't have that native sound.

So whether you're talking to English speakers or you're watching on TV,

look for emphasis, intonation, and emotion. How well can you mimic it ?

In every sentence, there are parts that are longer, louder,

and said at a higher pitch.

In the phrase "rock and roll," saying "rock AND roll" sounds very strange.

But "rockin roll" sounds a lot more natural. 

This is the icing on the English cake!

2

Observe their mouth movements, too.

Just as every language has a musicality, it has a tendency

to use certain mouth movements as well.

You could be making the right sound, technically,

but if your mouth is in the wrong place, it won't come out correctly.

That's your lips and your tongue for the record !

You can't exactly stop someone and ask them about the current position of their tongue.

But it is something you can be conscious of in your own language.

If you hear someone say a word and you can't mimic it perfectly, experiment !

Maybe it just needs to be a bit further back or higher in your mouth.

It's in their somewhere!

3

Keep a notebook and pocket dictionary with you. 

Whenever you're speaking to someone or hear others speaking

and you catch a word you don't fully understand, write it down

and look it up (you have the spelling skills, right ?).

Instead of thinking to yourself later that night, "Man, what was that word again ?"

you'll be able to flip to your notebook and remember.

Boom. Learning !

It's good enough to write it down and look it up, though.

Oh no, no, no. You must make it a point to use that word you just learned !

(Or you'll forget it.)

So later that night or the next day, work it into your speech.

Make it part of your own.

Copyright "WIKIHOW"