In this day and age, having good English skills is a must. English has become an international language and we must keep up with the times. But if you've been trying to study for a while and haven't been able to carry on a conversation easily, how do you get past that obstacle? You'll need a little ingenuity and dedication, but luckily it's easier to learn English nowadays. Are you ready to get started right now?
Step
Part 1 of 3: Improving Speaking Skills
Step 1. Find a native English speaker
In certain areas, this is a difficult thing to do, but it is the best use of time. Talking to native English speakers is the most effective way to improve your English skills. So whether you have to contact them via Skype, call them, or beg them to talk to you, do it. This way, your progress will be faster than using other methods.
Even if they're just tourists, take them out to dinner together! They get food, you get English lessons. Place an ad on Craigslist. Take a course and make friends with your teacher. Offer exchange language courses. They are hidden somewhere
Step 2. Listen to the song from English
No, not an English song, but an English song – the rhythm, the rhyme, the melody. The intonation. Even if you speak perfect English technically, but if you speak like a robot, then your pronunciation is wrong.
Watch other people. Watch how their mouths form words. Notice how emotions are expressed through communication. Pay attention to where the emphasis is in certain sentences and how it can provide atmosphere during a conversation. Apart from just taking their word for it, pay attention to their jokes, their feelings, and the formality they use
Step 3. Go slow
Above all, if you want to be understood, then you need to take it easy. The more clearly you speak, the more likely it is for your listeners to understand what you are saying. You'll tend to get nervous and want to get over it faster, but you can't do that! Clarity is key -- this goes for some native English speakers too!
They will be patient with you -- Don't worry! You just need to be patient with yourself. It's less frustrating to understand someone's conversation even if they're speaking slowly, than not being able to understand someone's conversation at all. Talking quickly won't impress if your speech is confusing
Step 4. Record yourself
Even though we can hear ourselves all the time, we don't fully know how our voices sound. So record yourself! Where are the weak and strong parts you can hear in your words? And you can focus on the things you need to improve.
- It's a good idea to listen to a book on tape, record yourself reading an excerpt from the book (or imitating the narrator), and compare yourself to the tape. This way you can do it all over again until you get it right!
- If that's a bit too much effort, you can simply read the book aloud. You will improve your reading and speaking skills. Half the battle is getting comfortable with words!
Step 5. Take courses in a different style
One course is good enough. In fact, one course is already great. But if you can take more than one course – in different styles – that's even better. Group courses can be cheap, fun, and practice all your skills, but adding a private course? You'll get more attention to the speaking skills you've always wanted. That is a twofold increase.
There are special courses you can also take. Less accent courses, business English courses, tourism courses, and sometimes even cooking classes. If you see something you're interested in (face it, sometimes grammar just isn't enough), then go for it! You may be able to learn a lot more than you think
Step 6. Speak English at home
This is the biggest and easiest mistake you can make. You're going about your day, you're doing work that partly involves English, you take an English course, then you go home and go back to using your native language. even if you make slow progress, you won't get past that dreaded language barrier. Make an effort to practice English at home too. Only speak English at dinner. Watch English broadcasts at home. Use English in everyday life.
Talk to yourself in English. Tell me about your actions. While you're doing the dishes, say what you're doing. Think, or feel. It may sound a little silly (if someone else finds out!), but it keeps your brain thinking English before your first language, which is a big thing. Once you can do that, the rest is just to move on
Step 7. Create opportunities
It's easy to see how you are and think that you don't need to use English naturally as much as you would like. Going abroad is expensive, you don't know foreigners, etc. That's a lazy way to look at it! English speaking people are everywhere; sometimes they have to be found and persuaded to come out of hiding. You have to go to them.
Telephone hotline that uses English. Call Nike and ask about the sneakers they make. Call the communications company and make small talk about telephone network plans. Create a blog. Set your computer's operating system to use English. Play the game World of Warcraft. Join an English chat room. There is always an opportunity to be had
Part 2 of 3: Improving Listening Ability
Step 1. Know why it's difficult
If you feel your listening skills are lacking, don't beat yourself up. Seems like the easiest skill, but it can get really heavy. The way you are taught English in school is actually the opposite of how native speakers actually speak. No wonder why it is such a difficult task!
So the next time someone says "Do you want to pass me that bag?" and you hear "Djuwanapassmethabag?" You won't go crazy. Between that and all the "like," "uhh," and "umm," you say can drive someone crazy. So when you have to listen, remind yourself: it's time to use slang
Step 2. Speak
That's right. Passive listening is fine, but engaging in interaction is even better. If you want to get better at listening, you have to ask questions. This way you can control the conversation! If you're asking someone about their favorite summer activity, at least you know they won't confuse you with a talk of politics, I hope!
The more often you listen to certain people speak, the easier it will be to understand them. English has many accents, so you may not be able to understand what someone is saying and want to know why. Be patient! Your mind will get used to their accent over time. People who speak English have to adapt to each other all the time
Step 3. Watch TV, movies, podcats, and everything in between
While proactive speaking and listening are great things, passive learning is great too. Sit in front of the TV and start spelling. Try not to see the text! And if you can, record and rewatch it more than once, even better. That way you can see your progress.
Even listening to the radio in the background can help, keeping your mind in the English zone. But the best scenario is to watch the movie over and over again until your mind stops trying to understand but focus on the little things, like intonation and slang. And watch TV shows with the same characters over and over again so you get used to what they say. In other words: repetition
Step 4. Perform an English exchange
If you have an English speaking friend who is trying to learn the language you speak, start an English exchange! Some of the time is used to speak your language and part of the time you use English. Besides that, you can also spend time relaxing and drinking coffee.
If that's not possible, find some friends who want to practice their English skills. While practicing English without native speakers is not ideal, it is better than nothing. You will not be too nervous speaking in front of them and you can learn from each person's strengths
Step 5. Listen to English songs
Even just learning a song a day can add a lot to your vocabulary. It's also fun and uplifting. You can develop your favorite playlist, learn new words, and expand your knowledge without even realizing it. After that you can visit the karaoke bar!
Listen to songs that are slow and clear. Songs from The Beatles and Elvis are a great place to start, although modern tunes are great too – head over to ballads; it's usually the easiest to understand. Rap songs can wait later
Part 3 of 3: Improving Writing Skills
Step 1. Write
Easy as that. In order to get better at something, you have to do it. You have to do it again and again. So write. Every day. Writing could be in the form of a diary, it could be your next bestselling work; not too important. Place the pen on the paper and start writing.
Keep everything in one place. Having a dedicated place to store your English work will keep you organized and motivated. The better your skills, the easier it will be for your development. You can look back and be amazed at how bad you were then and how great you are now
Step 2. Checked
Rather meaningless if your writing is not checked or corrected. You want to get better at the whole language, not the one you're currently fluent in. Here you have two options:
- Internet. That's awesome!; really awesome. Websites like italki.com and lang-8 can proofread your work for free! Don't leave wikiHow just yet, but keep that website in mind.
- A friend. Of course. But the great thing about writing is that you can email your friends wherever they are, correct them, and return them to you. So even if their locations were only a few kilometers away or were overseas, progress could still be made.
Step 3. Add phrases to your vocabulary
If you write like a six-year-old, no matter how correct you are, it will still sound like a six-year-old. The only difference between a six-year-old with good grammar and a 20-year-old with good grammar is their vocabulary. So whenever you come across a phrase you want to include in your writing (or saying), write it down. And specify that you will use it.
It's a good idea to start studying collocations. That's a cool term for words that can be used together. "Get married" is useful enough, but "get married to someone" is even better – that way you know not to say "get married with." If you say "received a cold," you'll get a funny look on the other person's face – but you won't get that look if you say "caught a cold." See how it works?
Step 4. Don't forget the little things
Even if you know a lot of words, if you type like this (your writing isn't going 2 look very good u know?) your writing won't look good. Make sure you use spaces correctly, punctuation correctly, and capitalize in the right places. It is also quite influential.
Unless you're a 15-year-old girl texting a friend, abbreviations shouldn't be used. "You" is "you," not "u." "For" instead of "4." "2" has a very different meaning from "to" or "too." You won't win a medal for writing like that
Step 5. Make use of the internet
The internet has everything you could want. There are websites that have English games, easy-to-read English articles and exercises to improve your skills in every aspect. Here are some pretty good sites to boost your cravings:
- Anki is a flashcard software. The same can be found on websites like Memrise. You can also take the exam.
- Onelook is a type of dictionary that can find words for you, explain them, and translate them. Onelook can also do reverse translation where you can type in the concept!
- Visuwords creates a word map image, connecting the word you are looking for with similar and related words or words that have collocations with it. A great way to increase your vocabulary!
- Similar to Visuwords, Merriam Webster has a "visual dictionary." If you type "tire," then the dictionary will show you a tire, with words that indicate every detail from "tread" to "bead wire."
- Englishforums is a great place to ask questions and have conversations with English speakers. Basically it's a message page for English related questions.
Step 6. Always correct your writing
And by doing so, it means not just "checking it out" as noted above. The point is to check it and rewrite it. You want to have beautiful and perfect English writing created by you. If you just write it down and correct it, you don't really understand what mistake you made and how to fix it. And in this way your agenda book will look more beautiful.
After you've corrected a section, try to write something tomorrow based on the mistakes you've corrected. This way you can prove to yourself that your skills have improved and really know the mistakes so you don't repeat them again. As a bonus, you will get better and build self-confidence
Tips
- Don't feel overwhelmed. Take the words one by one and feel good about learning new words.
- Exercise every day. If you don't, you'll forget!
- Speak, learn and practice with confidence.
- Listen carefully and write down the words to look up in the dictionary. Don't stop reading to understand the word unless you really don't understand the whole meaning.
