7 Tips To Help Learners Improve Their English Speaking Skills

Let's Get You on the Right Track

Learning to speak English fluently is often a lot more complicated than reading and writing it. With different pronunciations of similarly spelt words (like ‘tough’ and ‘dough’) and confusing regional accents, most people who pick up English as a second language occasionally struggle when it comes to speaking. This is prominent if they’re put on the spot. This can cause problems for a learner’s English speaking skills

That’s why we’ve collected 7 tips to help any English learner improve their skills and sound more like a fluent or native speaker, whether you’re an absolute beginner or are already practising your conversational skills with others.

Let’s get into the list.

1) Listening to Native Speakers

When you’re learning to speak English fluently, it’s always important to listen and learn from native speakers, regardless of what stage you’re at.

Listening to native or fluent English speakers helps you to understand the rhythmic flow of words within each sentence. This is where different intonations are placed within each word, and even how different accents might pronounce words differently.

Get Weekly Tips By Email

2) Listening and Repeating improves your English Speaking Skills

Listening to native English speakers in conversations, TV shows and other media is a great first step towards understanding how the language is spoken and pronounced, but it doesn’t get you very far in your own practice.

This is where repetition becomes important.

Next time you’re watching an English language movie or TV show, don’t just read the subtitles and listen to the pronunciation – try repeating the subtitles out loud. Repeating well-worded English sentences from native speakers will align your voice closer with the correct tones, pronunciations and rhythms you are looking for – all while building your confidence to speak clearly

3) Immerse Yourself in English Spoken Media

Repeating subtitled movies is a great method of learning a second language, but it’s important that you don’t get stuck using informal patterns of speech. Practising formal speech is just as valuable as mastering conversational English.

One of the best ways to make sure your English speaking skills are well-rounded and practical in all types of situations is to immerse yourself in different forms of English media. Podcasts and news reports are good examples, spreading your learning across works of both fiction and non-fiction.

Audiobooks are also surprisingly helpful in formal practice, especially if you own a physical copy of the book as well. Following along with famous and formalised English texts has countless advantages, such as helping your understanding of how the language is spoken and emphasised, informing your use of proper grammar and expanding your vocabulary.

Pay attention to the rhythms and inflections of the narrator’s voice. Notice where they place emphasis upon syllables or words in each sentence. And obviously, listen to their pronunciation. This will help tremendously in making your spoken English sound less robotic and more like an native!

Uncategorized
British Culture Reading E-Book 1
Rated 0 out of 5
$10.00 Add to basket

4) Rephrasing Things in Your Own Words

Copying native speakers and reading text aloud is a great way of picking up new words and understanding how they are formed, flow and interact within different contexts. But eventually, you’ll want to move past imitation and start wording your own complex and unique opinions instead.

One of the best ways you can practise this is by summarising English media (TV/film, news articles etc.) into your own words. If you were going to tell an English-speaking friend about the documentary you watched last night, what would you say?

This is a great exercise for improving your English skills. It encourages you to reflect on how much you’ve actually learnt from the media you’ve consumed. It can also find the gaps in your language which may have stopped you from gaining a full insights.

Start IMPROVING Your Pronunciation Today!

5) Practice Using Voice Recordings with improve your English Speaking Skills

Recording yourself speaking English and listening back to it is a fantastic way of building confidence in your speaking voice. By analysing each voice recording you’ll be able to pinpoint where your emphasis, rhythm or pronunciation may be inaccurate. You can even send these audio files to friends overseas or other native speakers for a second opinion, especially if there’s a particular word or phrase you’re struggling with.

If you’re learning how to speak English without a tutor or are learning a language online, this tip will be vital for you.

6) Expanding Your Vocabulary

Expanding your vocabulary is crucial if you want to speak a language fluently. This goes beyond writing down new English words in your phone notes and finding out the meaning behind them! It’s essential to know how to speak in a formalised manner. However, in conversational settings, phrases, idioms and colloquialisms are what will truly make you sound like a native speaker. Even if you’re learning English solely for business or professional reasons, understanding slang can still help you grasp the different cultures of English speaking countries, their humour.This can help you understand how you can possibly relate to them on a personal yet professional level.

You can expand your vocabulary with our latest courses. Click here for more.

7) Practice Speaking Regularly

Consistent practice is the key for amplifying any new skill – and speaking English fluently is no exception! Regular practice naturally cements all you’ve learned in your mind, and gets you feeling comfortable in your abilities quicker. The more on-the-spot interactions you have with native or fluent speakers, the better you’ll become at understanding what is being said. After that, you’ll find confidence in holding a natural conversation.

These tips are sure to help you. Do you know any others? Put them in the comments.

Keep up the hard work.