Nowadays, having a good command of English is a great advantage for individuals. English is a global language, and it is essential that people should keep practicing every day to make improvements. However, if you have been studying English for a long time and still find it difficult to make conversation, what should you do to overcome it? You will need a little ingenuity and a lot of effort. Fortunately, learning is now a lot easier with a number of useful tips. Are you ready to get started now?
1.Speak English with native speakers
This is extremely difficult in some places; however, this remains the best way to learn English. Talking to native speakers is the most effective way to improve your English, especially speaking skills. You can chat via Skype, call or ask your English-speaking friends to take some time to speak English with you. Your level will improve faster this way.
If they are tourists, you can invite them to dinner! They are invited to food, and you will learn English. Share your desire to chat in English on social networks. Take one-by-one classes so that you can practice speaking English with your teacher more. Moreover, ask the foreigners that you know to exchange languages. A lot of people out there can help you!
2. Listen to English songs
When you listen to English songs, you had better listen to the melody, the up and down rhythms of this language as well as the intonation. Even if you speak English well in theory with correct grammar but not speak smoothly, you’re not communicating like a native speaker.
Observe the way native speakers make daily conversations with others. See the oral mouth form every time they pronounce the words. Notice how they express emotions when communicating. Focus on how they emphasize in the sentence and how it creates a context for communication. Besides understanding the words they say, pay attention to humor, emotion, and formality in their usage.
3. Speak slowly
First of all, if you want others to understand, speak slowly. The clearer you speak, the easier it will be for the listener to understand. I know you will be nervous and want to say it quickly to put an end to it, but you should not at all! Clarity is the most important thing, even for native speakers.
Don’t worry as they will wait for you to speak! It would be best if you are patient with yourself. This is because understanding what others say even when they speak slowly is much better than not understanding anything at all. Speak quickly, but the tongue twister will not impress the listener.
4. Record when you practice speaking yourself
Although we hear what we say, we don’t know what it sounds like. Therefore, record what you say! Pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses you hear while speaking. Then you can focus on the points you need to improve.
The best way is to listen to a passage on your computer and record how you read it yourself (or imitate the reader); then compare the two versions. By this way, you can often practice until you feel satisfied with your speaking!
If you feel like you are losing a lot of time with this method, just read the book aloud. You will improve your reading and speaking skills. The rest of this battle is to familiarize yourself with new words!
5. Join different classes.
Actually, just taking one class is also very helpful. However, if you join multiple classes with different styles, it will be better. Group classes will be fun, economical, and help you improve your skills, but how about a one-by-one class? With this type, you will have more chance to focus on speaking skills which you are aiming to improve. This is one way to double your practice time.
In addition, you can take some specialized classes such as phonetic class, business English class, travel class, and even the class about culinary English. If you are interested in something, please join! You will learn more than you think.
6. Practice speaking English at home.
One big mistake people often make is that you go out all day, your work requires you to speaking English. Hence, you go to English classes to study and then go home and only speak your mother tongue. Although you still make some progress, it is difficult to overcome the bilingual situation. Try to speak English at home. Speak English while having dinner, watch English programs on TV, and create a 24/7 English environment if possible.
Speak by yourself in English. You can describe your daily activities. When you wash dishes, talk about what you are doing, what you are thinking, or how you are feeling. It sounds silly (if someone catches you doing that!); however, it makes your brain think in English before speaking your native language, which is very helpful. When you do so often, things will gradually improve.
7. Create opportunities
You will easily look at your situation and think that you cannot have the natural English environment you want. Going abroad is expensive, and you do not know any foreigners at all. This is a lazy thought! English speakers are everywhere. You just need to find and ask them for help. It would help if you can reach them.
You can call the English speaking hotline. Call Nike company and ask about their shoes. Call the telecom service provider and ask some questions. You can write a blog if you like. Switch your computer operating system or phone to English. Play English games. Join an English-only chat room. There are always so many opportunities that you can take advantage of.
Epilogue
In order to communicate well in English, it is necessary to practice regularly. Therefore, in addition to the above notes, you should find ways to regularly chat with English people who can detect and correct you in many forms, such as directly or through online chat applications. Hope the above tips are useful to use and you will make certain progress in your speaking. Thanks for reading and see you soon!
