Improve your spoken English

We all want to know how to improve spoken English.

 

Practicing speaking is one of the most fun and rewarding parts of learning the English language. Once you can speak even a little English, there are loads of ways to improve your skills quickly while having tons of fun.

Here are some ways on how to get exposed, learn and improve your English language.

 

Think in English

Sometimes the difficult thing about English speaking isn’t the language itself, but how you think about it.

If you think in your native language and then try to speak English, you’ll always have to translate between languages. Translating isn’t an easy thing to do! Even people fluent in two or more languages have trouble switching between languages.

The solution is to think in English.

You can do this anywhere, anytime. Try to use English when you’re thinking about your day, or when you’re trying to decide what food to order. Even try to use an English-to-English dictionary to look up words. That way you never have to use your native language and translate words. You’ll notice that when you think in English, it’s easier for you to speak in English.

 

Speak in English

Be confident and speak as often as possible to as many people as you possibly can! Do not be shy to make mistakes! The more you practice the better and more confident you will become in your pronunciation and vocabulary. Remember, speaking is a skill like learning a musical instrument or new sport – the only way you can get good is to actually do it!

Talk to Yourself

Whenever you’re at home (or alone somewhere else) you can improve English speaking with your favorite person: yourself.

If you’re already thinking in English, try speaking your thoughts out loud. Read out loud, too. Practice is practice, and even if you don’t have anyone to correct your mistakes, just the act of speaking out loud will help you become more comfortable speaking English.

 

Practice in front of a mirror

Whenever you can, take a few minutes out of your day to stand in front of the mirror and speak. Choose a topic, set a timer for two or three minutes and just talk.

The point of this exercise is to watch your mouth, face and body language as you speak. It also makes you feel like you’re talking to someone, so you can pretend you’re having a discussion with a study buddy. Talk for the full two or three minutes. Don’t stop! If you get stuck on a word you don’t know, try expressing your idea in a different way. You can always look up how to say that word after the two to three minutes end. This definitely helps you find out what kind of words or sentences you have trouble with.

Record Your Conversation Practice

Recording is a great way to get the maximum benefit from a conversation with a native speaker. When you listen again, you can evaluate your own pronunciation and notice areas where you need to improve. You can also review the content of the conversation, take notes on new vocabulary or misunderstandings, and prepare questions for the next meeting.

Listen

Listen to news bulletins and songs in English to listen to the pronunciation of words. You can also learn new words and expressions this way. The more you listen, the more you learn! Try copying what you hear to practice your pronunciation and learn which words in a sentence are stressed.

Read out loud

Read the newspaper or a magazine out to yourself. You could even find a script for your favorite TV show and act it out! This is a great way to practice pronunciation because you only need to concentrate on making sure your English sounds great and don’t need to worry about sentence structure or grammar.

Learn a new word every day

Choose a word you would like to work on and use practice it in different sentences. Use the word until you have learnt it and keep using it regularly. Apply it in your everyday language.

 

Watch films

Watch movies in English and pay attention to new vocabulary and pronunciation. Imitate the actors and have fun with it.

Use a dictionary

Online dictionaries often have audio examples so you can check your pronunciation and there are lots of great dictionary apps that you can take everywhere with you on your smartphone. Make sure not to become too reliant on these tools, though. Have a go at saying the words first then check afterwards to see if you were right!

Even if you have nobody to talk to in English, you can still build confidence and master fluency on your own time.

In some ways, practicing speaking is even easier by yourself! Now you know exactly how to improve spoken English by yourself and should feel confident doing so!

 

Relax!

You can be your best helper or your worst enemy when learning to speak fluently! We know it’s hard, but you should try not to worry about how you sound when you speak. Just relax!

If you get stuck or confused, just take a big breath and start over. Speak slower if you have to. Take time to pause and think about your next sentence.

Do whatever it takes to become more comfortable with speaking English.

Even if you have nobody to talk to in English, you can still build confidence and master fluency on your own time.

In some ways, practicing speaking is even easier by yourself! Now you know exactly how to improve spoken English by yourself and should feel confident doing so!