- 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:
TIPS AND ADVICE ON ENGLISH CONVERSATION AND VOCABULARY LEARNING.
I have found important information that may be valuable for all students of English. I am a former English (ESL) teacher. I have undertaken a thorough comprehensive research on the most effective methods and aids for learning English. Those aids include audios, videos, websites, study books, etc. I want to share with you that information for English language learners.
Of course, everyday talking in English to native English speakers on a variety of topics helps best in order to be able to speak English fluently. But relatively few learners of English have such long-term opportunity. To eventually be able to speak English fluently, first of all one must have materials with important content on all everyday topics (audios, videos, printed texts/study books, etc.) for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of study. The materials must include dialogs, monologues (thematic texts), questions – answers with important content, thematic lists of difficult word meanings and phrases (expressions) with usage sentences, and comprehensive vocabulary on all everyday topics. I believe that one can master English conversation and vocabulary with the following methods:
1. One must listen to each sentence in conversations (thematic dialogs) in audio materials several times and see printed texts at the same time, and understand everything in those sentences clearly.
2. One must read (pronounce) each sentence aloud and compare one’s pronunciation to the announcer’s pronunciation.
3. Speaking activity with self-control. One must check if one can orally convey the content of those dialogs closely to the original dialogs as much as possible, that is try to be an actor for both speakers in the dialogs. The most important thing is to speak English yourself, and to check in printed conversations (dialogs) whether you have made any mistakes in speaking.
One can also make one’s own written questions on the dialogs that require long answers contained in the dialogs to facilitate (make easier) one’s imitation of the dialogs. Alternatively, one can write key words and phrases, or main ideas as a plan to make easier
for one to imitate those dialogs.
4. One must also prepare potential questions and answers with important content on all everyday topics and practice speaking. To show different ways of expressing one’s thought one can make several potential questions and answers on one point in this speaking activity. There are two websites that contain a lot of ready-made questions in English on a large variety of topics: http://www.esldiscussions.com; http://iteslj.org
5. One must have lists of difficult word meanings and of phrases (expressions) on every topic with usage sentences. One must read those ready-made vocabulary usage sentences many times if needed. Longman Language Activator Dictionary (unique English Idea Production Dictionary) covers this issue thoroughly. One must also make one’s own sentences with that vocabulary, taking into consideration real life situations.
6. One can learn a lot of vocabulary on every topic from thematic English dictionaries. Good thematic English dictionaries provide clear word usage explanations and also a few usage sentences for each word meaning, which is especially important. One must also make one’s own sentences with difficult vocabulary. Think about the real life situations where and when that vocabulary can be used.
7. One can also learn English vocabulary by reading thematic texts (materials), first of all on everyday topics with important content, for example: Practical Tips and Advice to Make Everyday Life Easier and Better (practical solutions for everyday problems). Such self-help books on settling everyday matters are available at book stores.
One must write out unknown vocabulary in whole sentences. One must practice telling the content of the texts that one has read. As people say, practice makes perfect.
8. Constant review of material ensures solid knowledge and success in learning.
9. One must also make use of other important aids on a variety of topics to improve one’s English conversation and vocabulary skills: audios, videos (English learning videos, travel videos, etc.), Internet resources, English learning magazines, newspapers, newsletters, radio programs (especially the BBC English learning programs/materials), TV programs (educational programs, documentary films, movies, news), books and e-books on a variety of subjects, online communication with native English speakers (chat, by email, by Skype).
Good libraries have a wide selection of English learning aids.
I wish that you publish this information on your website as my contribution if you find it important (with my name and my email address). We could also discuss the issue of effective methods and aids for learning English. Information exchange could be mutually beneficial to us. I am open to your suggestions to improve my Tips and Advice on Learning English Conversation and Vocabulary.
All the best.
Sincerely,
Michael Chtcherbitski
Hello Michael,
I am so grateful to you for the above comment, it is so helpful for English learners like me.
Thank you veru much.