- Look out for people who speak English. Converse with them. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Ask your friends or relatives or teachers, who know better English, to correct you, In this way you will learn correct English and not incorrect English.
- Picture reading: Take any picture and describe it.
- Read and Tell: Read a story and retell it in your own words.
- Describe your daily activities.
- Learn a new English word everyday and use it in sentences of your own.
- Read a new English book everymonth.
- Read aloud: If you know how to read English, then read aloud. In this way you familiarize yourself with English sounds and become comfortable with the language.
- Use a mirror: If you cannot get a partner to converse with, stand in front of the mirror and speak. Create situations and dialogues and speak. This way you not only think in English but also see and hear yourself speak English. Begin with topics you are familiar with or are interested in – cooking gardening, shopping, travelling, etc.
- Keep a dictionary handy: If you are not sure of a word or you come across a new word, check its meaning in a good dictionary. Look for its pronunciation and also some sample sentences. This way you will know how, where and when to use a word or a phrase.
- Listen to English: Listen to English news broadcasts, watch English programmes and movies. Pay attention to the pronunciation. If you want to be understood by native speakers, you have to come closer to their way of speaking. That doesn’t mean you have to try and copy their accent. With so many varieties of English, what you have to achieve is approximation to standard spoken English for international intelligibility.
- Self- help books: There are many self-help books available which can help you in the beginning. These boks have situational dialogues. You can read them aloud and use them when you find yourself in a similar situation.
- Use Internet: If you are computer friendly, then internet can be a great resource of learning English.
- Record yourself: This is both great fun and great learning. Record yourself and see your progress.
How to speak English fluently?
It is not at all difficult to speak English fluently. If you know basic sentence construction, you can begin immediately. There may be some of you who have been studying English for many years. You know how to read and write English but when it comes to speaking English, cat gets your tongue. You loose your confidence. This is the first thing you should do if you wish to speak English fluently.
Say goodbye to your fear – your hesitation – your inhibition:
Remember, how you learnt to speak when you were a child. You simply babbled. You imitated whatever sounds were produced around you. And in this way you learnt to speak very, very fast. This is what you have to remember when it comes to speaking fluent English. Just speak. Don’t hanker after the rules. They inhibit learning. Nobody ever taught you the rules of your language when you were a child. And still you speak correctly. So is the case with English. Use it, play with it like a child and you will see how fast you begin to speak English.
Some useful tips to begin speaking English:
