You may have memorized endless lists of vocabulary, you may know all the grammar needed to hold
any conversation, and still find yourself at a loss when wanting to speak correct English.
I am pretty sure, you are facing this situation.
Why am I not able to speak correct English? Or why is your English not improving? There
are various reasons behind this, some of them more or less the same that all of you face.
In this video I would like to give you a few tips, to help overcome the problems, you might
be experiencing, in learning English. I would tell you some of the simplest methods to improve
your English communication skills.
The first thing you need to do is - slow down your speaking speed.
Yes, you heard it correct Slow down Your Speaking Speed
You might be great at communication when it comes to your mother tongue, but expecting
the same level of communication from yourself, when speaking in English may not be very realistic.
Especially if you’re at the early stages of learning English. Students are often told
not to worry, about the mistakes they’re making, however, it is easy to understand
why you would like to make a good impression on your listeners.
To overcome this difficulty you may try slowing down your English speaking speed.
Nobody will hold it against you if you speak more slowly and clearly. Great speakers do
the same to get their message across. Selecting your words carefully may also be seen as a
sign of respect towards your audience. It shows that you want to give them the best
possible answer. So remember, slow down your speaking speed.
The second tip I have for you is - Give Yourself Time to Think.
You may be worried that the people you are talking to are impatient and would like you
to say what you want to as quickly as possible.
First of all it may not be true, people often prefer a well thought out answer to a rushed
one. So just relax.
Another practical thing you can do is equipping yourself with fixed phrases. You can use these
fixed phrases instead of remaining silent. Doesn’t that seem to be a good option? Let
me explain that to you, with an example.
If someone asks you why is there so much violence shown on the TV? You could reply saying, that’s
a good question. Let me think for a moment, I haven’t really
thought about it before. Well, I suppose, and then you could give your answer.
By doing so you get considerable amount of time to reflect just by repeating the question
and adding a few sentences. If you do the same, you’ll sound more fluent and won’t
feel the pressure of having to say something before you’re ready.
Fixed or set phrases are phrases whose words are usually fixed in a certain order they
can be verb patterns, idioms, collocations basically anything, we always say in one particular
way. Let's look at some examples of fixed sentences, you could use in your conversation.
Well, during the day In the meantime, why don't we
It’s been a long time since Sorry to trouble you, but…
Would you mind if…? Oh, come on!
I’m just kidding!
The next tip I have for you is - Learn complete Sentences Not Only Words or vocabulary.
In a way this will take the pressure off you too. When you learn a new word try to memorize
a couple of sentences that contain that word in it.
There might come a time when you can use one particular sentence with little or no alteration
at all. Unfortunately, many people learn words by heart but have no idea how to use them
in a sentence when it comes to real conversation.
You could also visit our YouTube channel- Daily Video vocabulary on this channel you
would learn a new word, idiom or a phrase daily you would have more than ten sentences
to practice the vocabulary you have learned. The link is mentioned in the description of
this video, you can check that out after watching this video. Coming back to this lesson
When you learn complete sentences it will be such a relief not having to worry about
whether the sentence is correct grammatically or not. Let’s look at an example
To appreciate. To appreciate means to recognize the value of something or somebody. If you
have to use it in a sentence you could say,
I think it’s necessary to feel appreciated in a relationship.
I appreciate all your hard work. Isn’t it much more useful to memorize ’appreciate’
in this manner, by learning complete sentences?
I hope that's pretty clear to you. Let's move on to the next tip.
The fourth tip I have for you is - Learn to Listen.
When speaking English, you might be so focused on what you are saying and whether it’s
correct or not that you forget to listen to what others are saying.
This is a big mistake as they might be using the exact words or grammar that you’ll be
needing later on. So pay attention to what’s being said around you it’s your most important
resource at the time of speaking to someone.
The fifth tip I have for you is - Practise asking questions.
We also need to keep in mind the fact that communication is a two-way process. You don't
just project yourself as uninterested in the conversation but you also come out as a rude
person. If you don’t ask questions you might also end up being the one who has to do all
the talking. So, when you’ve run out of ideas about what to say next remember: others
might have something to add. Some of the English phrases you could use to keep the conversation
going are -
What are your views on that? How about you? What do you think?
Why do you think there’s so much violence on TV?
Questions like these will keep the conversation going and will show your interest in other
people’s opinion. That will also give you time to relax a little and start enjoying
yourself.
Asking questions can be quite tricky, so make sure you spend enough time learning the correct
ways of asking questions.
Well, the last tip for today is - Produce, Produce and Produce.
As I said at the beginning of this English lesson you might know a lot about the English
language but this is passive knowledge that must be activated somehow. Your aim is to
be able to speak correct English. Practice is undeniably the best way to learn and improve
your English.
Writing is one way of activating and practicing the English language it may help you get used
to and reflect on the ways English operates which in turn might prove to be useful when
speaking English.
Spoken English on the other hand is a much more spontaneous process and nothing prepares
you for it better than actually doing it. So, find people you can practise with either
on Skype or on language exchange sites or here on our channel in the comment section
you could answer some of the comments, ask some questions as well. Don't you think it
would be a great learning curve?
So use all the tips that i have shared with you to improve your English communication
skills. Don't forget to click on the bell icon to get notifications of your new English
lessons when they are up on our channel. Subscribe to our channel and watch other lessons we
have a library of more than nine hundred English lessons for you. It's time for me to sign
out I would see you soon with some interesting tips, to improve your English skills. Till
then you take care.