Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > English

How can we improve our spoken English?

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Souren:
A lot of students ask from the teacher what is it that they should do to improve their Spoken English. So here is a post to tell them what we feel can improve in English skills.

Thinking about it and realized that we were lucky to be born in a family where, despite being Bangladeshi, Indians, and any other country English was the language of choice.

A lot of people don't have such a family environment. The first language they learn is their mother tongue. The next will be Bengali language (as indigenous people), if they are based in Bangladesh. Then when they reach school they finally learn English as the third language.

As a result, here are a few tips that I have collected to help improve Spoken English.

1. Get comfortable with the language. Read for 20 minutes in English. It can be a newspaper, a short story, a poem, or even a novel.

2. Develop your written language. If you don't have the requisite vocabulary you won't be able to communicate.

3. Start Speaking. Try out your spoken English on anyone who will be able to respond to you. Don't be afraid of making mistakes.

4. Keep your ears open for the accent. Watch the English news on Television. Watch BBC for the British Accent, CNN for the American Accent and NDTV 24/7 for the urban Indian Accent.

5. Record yourself. Listen to your voice and catch your pronunciation mistakes. Make a deliberate effort to avoid them.

6. Grammar is important. The parts of speech, tenses, form of verb, articles and modals all contribute to fluency. Make an effort to learn them.

7. Make the Dictionary your best friend. Familiarize yourself with its meaning and use it in a sentence that very day.

8. Have someone proficient read aloud to you. A storybook or a newspaper article will do. Watch how they move their lips while pronouncing certain words.

9. Learn one, two or three new word a day. To increase your active vocabulary start memorizing the meaning of a word you had heard but were not sure of. Use it regularly to absorb it into your vocabulary.

10. Start writing a Diary. It will allow you to practice the language in a totally non threatening environment. Write one entry of at least 100 words every day.

11. You mustn't be afraid of making mistakes but once you make them you have to rectify them with the help of a grammar book or a dictionary

12. The best way to improve your fluency is to not just speak in English, but think in English, because if you are thinking in your mother-tongue and you try to translate your message to English before actually saying it, you will not only speak in a slow way, but you will spoil that day's English advantage and learning. Just try to speak inside of your mind (think) in English, and it will come out in a more natural way.
 
13. Also, when you're out and about, or even at home, think, and also SPEAK OUT LOUD, the things you are doing, the things you see. And speak to other people! Always remember it's good to make mistakes, because you can learn from them and improve by remembering what you did wrong and improve that.
 
14. It’s a good idea to speak loudly.

15. Listen to English songs as much as possible and try to sing along.

16. Read English articles, books and reviews as much as possible.
 
17. Whenever you come across a new word write it down somewhere and find out the meaning.
 
18. BE CONFIDENT. Give yourself auto suggestions that you have good English

Consequently your Spoken English will improve, but not if you are lacking in commitment. It's all very well to be pumped up today about learning the language and forgetting all about it tomorrow.

Always remember the skills involved in any language are Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

Good Luck

palashmahmud:
It is helpful every student.

shibli:
The Best way to learn English is PRACTICE.

Please start practicing the following:

Start reading English newspaper at least for one hour daily. For sometime, you can  read it out but  please make sure you are not irritating people around you. However, you should hear your voice. Initially read it slowly just to get control over pronunciation. Also, don't bother for the meaning of the words. After one week or so start understanding the meaning of the words, sentences. You should take help of a good dictionary. Also, you can note down difficult words with meaning and pronunciation. Try to use these words in your day-to-day life.

Start talking in English with friends, family members, colleagues. Avoid using same words again and again.

Hope this will help you to start speaking English.

nusrat-diu:
Regular practice is important in improving speaking skill.

shibli:
"The following suggestion is given by an expert who teaches English

"The real effective approach to improve SPOKEN ENGLISH is the following.

1. Practice FREE SPEECH every day and if possible record your voice and later find out the flaws you have made and later correct them by verifying,this way you will keep eliminating your errors

2. Observe and watch DIRECT SPEECH of native speakers....not newspapers and news but INTERVIEWS AND INTERACTIVE SHOWS.This way you can learn correct PHRASES,DICTION AND PRONUNCIATION as well.Reading newspapers can improve rapid reading,voice modulation and knowledge but there you run the risk of pronouncing as per your pronunciation,just as the way we learned our mother tongue by observing,listening and responding and not reading.Reading is a tool to be used later to enrich an already grammatically correct speaker.

3.start THINKING IN ENGLISH as your FIRST LANGUAGE INFLUENCE problem will be aborted and you will construct sentences first in mind and then speak hence less errors.

4. ABOVE ALL....HAVE PATIENCE & PRACTICE WITH PEOPLE as it is a gradual but dynamic process.

I have incorporated these techniques with my participants who are from vernacular medium and have reaped results dramatically.

Hope it turns the same for you,Wishing you kindle the flame of knowledge and good speech."

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