How Can I Improve My English Speaking Skills Free
Irmgard Rossie
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In learning languages, I focus my energy, especially at the beginning, on input, on listening and reading. I enjoy these activities, and I know they will lead me to fluency, as long as I continue long enough. However, just as is the case with most learners, I also want to be able to speak, and to speak well. What are my speaking goals, and how do I get there?
how can i improve my english speaking skills free
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Listening creates a body of experience for the brain. If the content is interesting, and the voice pleasing, listening creates an emotional connection with another language. Listening creates neural connections. Perhaps it is like the function known as mirror neurons, in that listening activates neurons in a way similar to speaking, or perhaps not, but there is not doubt that high resonance listening prepares me for speaking. It gives me phrases, improves my comprehension, lets me hear the pronunciation ever more clearly, and gives me momentum for eventually speaking.
I put a fair amount of effort into searching out content that is high resonance, interesting, sufficiently challenging without being too difficult, and above all enjoyable. Typically I start with short, easier content and graduate to longer more interesting content.
I also make sure that I have access to a transcript of what I am listening to so I can understand what I am listening to. This leads to the second important activity needed to develop the ability to speak well.
So reading gives you words, individual words, and phrases, words in combination with other words. To express yourself you need words. To communicate you need to understand what the other person is saying, and this requires a large vocabulary, a large passive vocabulary. To have meaningful conversations with people, you need to understand what they are saying. This means that your passive vocabulary needs to be larger than your active vocabulary.
Most of my reading is at first limited to reading the transcripts or texts of whatever I am listening to. A lot of this is done on my iPad using LingQ. However, as I progress in the language, I develop the ability to read anything I want, albeit with a small percentage of as yet unknown words. At that point the listening and reading diverge. I engage in both activities independently. This just builds up my familiarity with the language, preparing me for effective communication.
When imitating what we hear, it is often more useful to focus on the rhythm, the intonation of the language, rather than on the pronunciation of individual words. I found that particularly the case when learning Mandarin with its tones. However, all languages have their own intonation, their own music. We need to acquire this through imitation. Doing so helps our pronunciation, and even makes our use of words more natural.
I have to confess to being too lazy to write much in the languages I am learning. About the only writing I do is with the dictation task that LingQ offers as one of the five review activities in each lesson. However, if I did take the time to write, I would improve my speaking faster. When we write, we have the time to look up words, to look up grammar rules, or word endings. We have more time to think things through. This no doubt prepares us for speaking. The difficulty is finding something meaningful to write about. If we do write, it is the activity of writing, rather than any correction of that writing, that is of greatest benefit, in my experience. So if you want to start speaking, maybe you should try to start by writing.
To speak well, you eventually have to speak a lot. If you can find someone near you to speak to in the language you are learning, take advantage. If you have achieved a certain level in the language, you may have to go to the country where the language is spoken to get a lot of speaking experience.
I am thus able to review words and phrases that I want to use, and struggled to use, in the context of a meaningful conversation. This is all high resonance material, and it brings listening, reading and speaking together, and ever so slightly moves me along towards my goal of speaking effectively in the language I am learning.
Speaking English confidently is an important goal for many. Often, we hesitate because we are afraid of making mistakes or embarrassing ourselves in front of others. Sometimes mistakes are unavoidable. But like any other skill, you can improve your spoken English if you practise regularly and follow these simple techniques.
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 favourite 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 transcript of the video if available and practise saying the dialogues with the characters.
Here are some easy conversations in English with transcripts. The practice activities that accompany these audios and videos will provide you plenty of opportunities to practise the new vocabulary and pronunciation.
The third most interesting way to improve your listening and speaking is by listening to audio books. Audio books have become very popular over the past couple of years. They are great for people who are have no time to invest in reading books. They are also a wonderful way to perfect your pronunciation. Here is a great selection of books for people who are learning English. Try to listen to a portion of the text, pause the audio, and read aloud to practise saying the words yourself.
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.
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!
The most common reason why people hesitate with reading is that it takes quite a lot of time to read a book from start to finish. 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.
Here is a selection of reading materials specifically designed to help you improve your language abilities. There are different types of texts and interactive exercises with which you can practise the reading skills you need to do well in your studies, to get ahead at work, and to communicate in English in your free time.
These articles provide a chance to learn about global issues, special days, and festivals while learning English. You will improve your reading comprehension and develop your vocabulary on a diverse range of international events, celebrations, and topics. Each article has interactive exercises to help you understand and use the language.
If you prefer stories, the Story Zone on our LearnEnglish website gives you a wide range to choose from. There are several stories written specifically for language learners. They are easy to read and provide language practice though short activities.
If you are looking to improve your workplace skills along with your vocabulary, try our Business Magazine. You will learn useful language for a wide range of business topics from different perspectives, as well as tips and techniques for dealing with business issues.
Remember that if your goal is improving speaking skills, it is a good idea to read aloud. This will not only help you practise unfamiliar words, but also help you improve your pronunciation and fluency.
Reflection is a very useful step in improving your speaking skills. Reflection is nothing but asking questions to think about what you learnt, how you learnt, what progress you see, what could be done differently, and how to change the way you learn to allow progress.
It is important to reflect on your language learning abilities on a daily basis, especially if you are learning a new language independently. Reflection is another way to provide yourself some good feedback in the absence of a teacher.
Create similar cheat sheets for everyday situations. You will find yourself becoming more confident and ready to speak in English. If you need help, you will find many useful phrases for different situations here.
You could also consider joining an English language course to improve your range of vocabulary and speaking. You get tons of practice and a teacher to provide you with some personal feedback on your speaking skills. You will meet likeminded learners from all over the country or even another country.
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To all the professionals out there, there are so many professions that require pristine communications skills. For students that are shy and/or not good at public speaking and communication, what are some suggestions that helped you?
Research shows that communication skills are strong predictors of your success in the workplace and relationships. Yet, so many people still struggle with verbally expressing themselves. Excellent speakers benefit from:
Most kids learn to talk around 1 to 2 years old, but learning to express yourself verbally is a lifelong learning experience. You can excel in your career and get what you want by mastering the art of talking.
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