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Top 7 ways to improve your English speaking skills

 

Top 7 Ways to Improve your English Speaking skills
Top 7 Ways to Improve your English Speaking skills

 

English is a beautiful language and also a worldwide used tool for communication. 

Studying English can be fun, but like any skill, it takes a lot of practice in order to improve this skill. But practicing may become a tedious task if you are not aware of how to do it. 

But before all that, In order to improve your English speaking skills, you need to actually speak. That’s right! No amount of reading will make up for having no firm grasp of the language. 

But what can you do to help yourself?

In this blog, I have given some ways in which you can improve your English speaking skills at home and will the help of others. 

Use a voice recorder to practice conversation. And then listen and assess. 

The first time you do it, you will hate your voice. You may sound ridiculous. But as you become consistent, this habit will take you far and make you so confident. Just do this three-step practice :

  1. Keep your voice recorder on and speak on a topic. Or just describe how your day was. 
  2. Listen to the recording the next day and assess what went wrong. What words do you use? How you can substitute those words with better words? 
  3. Do this activity every alternate day. 

This is the best way you can practice English. 

Practice English with an English speaking app.

To become a fluent English speaker, you need to speak. Speak with someone who can help you in conversations. And to practice English conversation, you can take the help of the Engvarta app. Engvarta application helps you to practice speaking English with Live English Experts daily for 15 minutes to an hour. The mentors will help you clear all your confusion, help you with the right words while you speak, and correct your pronunciation and grammar if you make any mistakes. This English-speaking practice app helps you to achieve your goal like clearing interviews or giving presentations. 

Listen to English conversations.

Listening is an essential part of learning English. Through effective listening, you learn words, grammar, and pronunciation. Listen to conversations between native speakers as much as possible. Only by listening to real-life conversations, you will understand what native speakers say and how they talk in different situations.

Watch TV shows or movies with the subtitles turned on.

This may sound cliche but watching web series and movies is fun and can help you improve your speaking skills! In fact, some web series are so interesting, that you start to watch them and you binge-watch all night. I had been watching Stranger Things 4 lately and can’t stress enough the number of slang I learned. 

Sometimes when you hear your favorite characters speak a particular dialogue or speak a  phrase. You remember them subconsciously and also start using them in your daily conversation. Just keep your subtitles on and watch them. Try to learn atleast 5 words that are easy to remember. Maybe you can note it down somewhere. 

 By watching TV shows and movies with your subtitles turned on, you can improve your vocabulary and gain the ability to recognize words in context.

Read out loud

You know fewer English words but you speak clearly! That makes you a fluent English speaker. If you want to become one, just practice reading out loud. Grab a book and spend 15 minutes reading something that you really enjoy reading.

 Here’s how you can make your reading sessions more effective. 

  1. Read slowly and try not to rush through the text.
  2. Try different ways of pronouncing words – try saying some of them aloud first, then reading them out loud instead of reading them silently in your head. 

Study words about topics that interest you and relate to real life situations. 

I came across the Catch 22. Catch 22 means a situation where you can’t do one thing because you cannot do the other. For example, I cannot get a job without work experience, and to get work experience I first need a job. I am in a catch-22 situation. 

This idiom was so interesting that I started to use them in my conversation. This is exactly the same thing that you have to do. Learn words that you can relate to your life. You don’t need to memorize a dictionary for that. If you are reading a random article or any note, just memorize a phrase or two that seems easy and interesting.

Be confident! Confidence is the first step to improving one’s English speaking skills.

Being confident is the first step to improving your English speaking skills. This can be achieved with practice and knowing that you are capable of communicating in a language.

It is important to have self-confidence when speaking English because it will help you become more comfortable with your own speech, and therefore, bring clarity to your voice. 

So, no matter how good or bad your English is, don’t be afraid to use your knowledge and speak in English in every opportunity you get. 

All the best! 

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Top 5 Steps that has Helped me to Improve my English

 

Top 5 Steps that has helped me to improve my English
Top 5 Steps that has helped me to improve my English

Just by the thought of speaking in English, I get numb. 

Do you feel relatable?

So the question is how can you overcome this fear & speak in English like a pro?

Firstly, let me tell you that:

 It is not just ‘Your problem’ – but a problem shared by almost every English learner. 

And there are two reasons behind it –

  1. First, you never had an environment where you could learn & speak in English. Your medium of education was not in English. And also, you don’t have people around you to speak in English.
  2. You had people around you & studied in an English medium school. But that traditional method of teaching never helped you to speak English. You fear from making mistakes and being judged. 

If you find yourself struggling with any of these situations – It is totally okay & not to be something embarrassed about. 

Speaking in English is not a measure of your intelligence or success. 

It is just a medium through  which you can broaden your horizons. Whether you are in a corporate world, own a business, a home maker or a student, it can help you to drive towards success & become more confident in life.

English is just like any other skill you acquire. Some may take time to acquire the skill & some may learn it fast. It all depends upon how easy peasy & stress free you make the whole journey of learning for yourself.

If I talk about me – I don’t have an infinite jargon of words. I have a limited vocabulary but this doesn’t stop me from speaking in English. My thinking language has always been English & also I have clarity in my thoughts which makes me confident.

I will share with you today all the best steps that I have up my sleeves.

Step 1 : Start making English your ‘thinking language’. 

If someone is still suggesting you start by ‘learning grammar rules’ and ‘reading newspapers’ – You need to stop doing that right now. 

The biggest mistake that you are making  is ‘You’re still thinking in your native language’. You know when you think in English – it becomes really easy to put down your words into expressions. Language becomes faster & easier when speaking it out loud.  

In no time, Speaking in mind becomes speaking with mouth. By thinking in English you internalize the language. That means the language is part of your life. You don’t have to remember any rules or read bulky textbooks. All comes from within you.

I want to really stress on this step because it is what has helped me in speaking in English. 

Step 2 : Speak chunks of sentences

If you’re a beginner or you are unable to speak in English without gaps, you must start speaking in chunks. A word makes a sentence and sentences makes a paragraph. If you know the right word, you are good to go.

 So, start using English words more frequently while speaking even in your native tongue. Instead of calling out things in your native language, try to Speak it out in English. This step is highly recommended to those who don’t speak in English at all or have just started to speak in English.

Because if you are a learner, I assume that you have already started listening to a lot of English content and also reading them. There is a lot of intake happening and now you need to focus on input & output. Listening & reading is the process of intaking the language whereas writing & speaking is the output. 

After you start gaining confidence in speaking in chunks, you can finally start speaking in English.

Step 3 : Observation of English language. ( Acquire Instead of Learning )

 Whether you want to improve your Public speaking skills, spoken English or writing skills – Observation is the best tool to master it.

You are not ‘learning’ the language but acquiring it. And there is a major difference between both. You may deliver a speech by memorizing but you cannot start a conversation until you have words  to express your thoughts . The best way to acquire a language is – Observe the language from outside. 

Don’t worry I am not suggesting you watch tedious English lessons but you can watch anyone or anything who speaks in English. You may watch vlogs, food channels, music, travel videos or anything that grabs your attention. 

Listening to English speakers will help you acquire their style of speaking. We have the power to mirror anyone we follow if you observe them closely.

Also, repeated exposure to English speakers will help you to know the right way to structure sentences. 

In my experience, I also realized that extensive listening helps to understand grammar rules implicitly. And the best part about this step is – You’ll definitely enjoy it !

EngVarta follows the same philosophy. You learned your native language by listening to people around you. In the same way, listening & talking to English Experts can also help to learn English. EngVarta Experts push English learners out of their comfort zone and help them speak English by correcting their mistakes. 

The less mistakes you start making, the more you get confident.

This is how it works. 

Step 4 : Clarity in thoughts

Getting lost in thoughts can be frustrating!

When your thoughts are grounded  & you are clear about what you want to say, speaking English becomes really easy.  When you speak a language, you need to have words on what you are speaking about and your target is to sound as easy as possible for the listener. 

Now, there are two ways in which you can easily speak with clarity –

  • Speak slowly and clearly.

My biggest flaw while speaking in English was I used to speak fast. Speaking fast did blunders and hampered my speaking skills so much. While I kept on speaking, I lost in my thoughts & skipped words. 

  • Use simple English words

We think we sound cooler when we use fancy words. The truth is we hardly use them in our daily conversations. People love to listen to someone who speaks easy to understand English. In short, use words that are easier to sound. 

Step 5 :  Confidence is the key 

My fifth point is not about practicing. Because this is where a major portion of the English learners face difficulty.  You may be surprised to hear that a lot of people amongst you make great speakers. But just because of lack of confidence, you never dare to speak in English. 

Embracing mistakes is a crucial part of learning any skill. Until you keep on saying, “ What will people think about me if I make a mistake”, you’re not going to improve. Because even if you become ‘A Perfectionist’, People are gonna judge you for that too.

Confidence is actually a ‘catalyst’ to the whole process. And somewhere someone had truly said that ‘ Confidence doesn’t come from you always being right, but fearing from being wrong.’