English Speaking

How to Improve English Speaking Skills

In today’s scenario, it is of paramount importance to Improve English Speaking Skills for various reasons. English is referred to as the world’s lingua franca meaning a common language that bridges the gap between people from different native languages use to communicate.

So it is important to improve your English Speaking Skills. English is the official language in almost sixty-seven countries and it is a regional language in twenty-seven other countries. Over one billion people around the world speak the English language, of which around three seventy-nine million are native speakers. The term lingua franca given to the English language seems befitting. This makes English Speaking Skills very important.

Importance of English speaking skills

In today’s scenario, it is highly imperative to Improve English speaking skills to keep oneself abreast of the current happenings. It highly helps in communicating worldwide, along with enabling many learning platforms. With the increase in E-learning platforms, learning from any corner of the world becomes very much possible. The mode of communication is English, it is extremely important to Improve  English speaking skills to be part of the learning community. The more fluent and confident you are, the more exciting, meaningful, and insightful conversations you can have. To facilitate fluency, and confidence and to improve English speaking skills, you will find many learning materials today. Though you can opt for any such course, Henry Harvin’s English speaking course is exclusively crafted for this purpose.

Henry Harvin Language Academy

Henry Harvin Education

 Henry Harvin’s  English Language Speaking Course is designed to make you a confident and proficient English speaker. You get dedicated speaking sessions with native speakers. This facilitates a greater understanding of their accents and comprehension of the local word list. The English speaking course at Henry Harvin follows the  Common European Framework (CEFR). This is an easy way to improve your English Speaking Skills.

Candidates have the option to interact with one-on-one training at a cost of INR1400/- for an hour or take up other modes as well.

Henry Harvin’s 9-in-1 Course

 Henry Harvin offers a 9-in-1 Course that includes live online interactive classroom sessions in six levels. You have projects, Internships, Certifications, E-learning access, Bootcamps, Hackathons, Membership benefits, and assured placements.

The Trainers at Henry Harvin

The Trainers at Henry Harvin are industry experts with 12+ years of working experience, who are carefully selected by the training partners who are recognized by various organizations. These Trainers have addressed 120+keynote classes for English speaking courses. The Trainers have delivered 250+lectures. They are currently empaneled as domain experts with Henry Harvin Language Academy. These trainers aim to Improve English Skills.

Gold membership benefits

The Gold membership benefits are a great bonus that you will benefit from.

The Learning Benefits are innumerable. You become fluent, confident, and flawless which helps to improve your English Speaking Skills. You can communicate and understand ideas, topics, and concepts easily. In the due course, you will be able to express yourself eloquently with your peers and with native speakers as well. At some point, you will be able to participate in debates or speak on public platforms. The best part is that you can prepare for International English Language Exams and fly abroad to be a part of Global Language.

The Recognitions of Henry Harvin include affiliation with the American Association Of EFL, Ministry of corporate affairs, MSME, etc.

Career Benefits

The Career Benefits of Henry Harvin are innumerable. On completion of the course, you will be certified and this opens a world of opportunities for you. You can avail yourself an opportunity to study in the world’s best Universities of English-speaking Nations, get hired by many organizations all around the Globe, start your career as an English teacher, and teach hundreds of aspirants and many more. Acquiring Knowledge is the Best Investment. Never miss any opportunity to learn. Join now and Improve your English Speaking Skills right away.

Ways to Improve English speaking skills

There are many ways to improve English speaking skills in today’s scenario. There are many online reputed institutes that are offering English-speaking courses. Sincerity and dedication is the key to success. If you are sincere and dedicated, you can easily achieve English speaking skills. You need not stress yourself too much and without a classroom setting. This article aims at taking you beyond the foundational aspects to reach communicative competence.

1. Vocabulary-building To Improve English Speaking Skills

It is very important to express yourself eloquently in English to be noticed in a group. To achieve this eloquence, you need to build a strong foundation in vocabulary and correct pronunciation.

Building your vocabulary involves learning new words or words every day and using them in our day-to-day conversations. Building vocabulary builds confidence, and that in turn helps you converse without hesitation. You will be able to improve your English Speaking Skills.

A word a day

You must target to learn at least one word every day, to build your vocabulary. Slowly but steadily, you should increase the number of words. You can note down the new words learned and start using them in your conversations daily. It is important to use different words in order to strengthen your vocabulary. You can make use of a dictionary to know the meanings of the words used. Thesaurus helps to learn different meanings of the same word.

There are many good sources to pick up usage of new words like news, t.v shows, debates, and rhymes for children. Music helps learn new and interesting words which stay in the mind for a longer time. There might be many phrases and expressions which you can capture and it acts as a tool to improve your English speaking skills.

Words in groups

Yet another way to improve English learning skills is to learn words in groups. This helps in achieving a faster and better learning phase than learning individual words.

Native speakers tend to use a lot of such collective words to bring in the idea in the closest form. Some examples like a cup of tea, a pot of coffee, a glass of wine, or a pint of beer can be replaced for tea, coffee, beer, wine, etc. This makes your sentences very lucrative and lends an unmatched beauty to your speech. Yet another way to benefit is by learning words that are related in some way. Words related to the four seasons such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter can be learned together. This method makes learning very easy as well as effective.

Similarly, the four phases of the moon during the Lunar month are crescent, gibbon, waxing, and waning are related words. These are different ways of improving English learning skills.

Improve English Speaking Skills
Image source: Josefa ndiaz via Unsplash

2. Learning the natural flow of the English Language

 The real secret of speaking fluently in English lies in the natural flow of sentences without any blocks. Whenever you read a piece of poetry, listen to a melodious song, or watch some hilarious movies you may need to pay attention to a few details like the ones below

Contractions

Contractions are shortened forms of two words such as

*I+am becomes I’m

*they +have becomes they’ve

*they+are becomes they’re

*he+will becomes he’ll 

*she +will becomes she’ll

*do+not becomes don’t

*will+not becomes won’t

*are+not becomes aren’t

*were+not becomes weren’t

*should+not becomes shouldn’t

*would+not becomes wouldn’t

The above are a few examples of the contractions which helps during your conversations with others. By using these, you will be able to improve your English Speaking Skills.

Linking 

Linking is an important aspect to Improve English speaking skills. When you notice native speakers, they link words together by joining two sounds and making a sound disappear. Sometimes, they even change a sound for better flow. Thus, Linking facilitates your English to sound rich and ornamentation. In the beginning, you will find it difficult and strange to use them as it is may not appear natural. But, eventually, you will find the flow natural as you continue to use them frequently. Your English tends to become swifter and smoother, the result of which you will start loving your own speech. You will definitely improve your English Speaking Skills by a far greater length.

Stress

This refers to the stressed syllables in a word and stressed words in a sentence. In short, Word Stress is the emphasis we place on a specific syllable of a word when pronouncing it. In English, not all words are given importance while speaking. Words that need attention and care of the listener, determine the necessity to emphasize a particular word. Stress is crucial in properly pronouncing words in the English Language. It helps to capture attention and express meaning and this, in turn, helps to Improve English Speaking Skills.

Rhythm

The rhythm is the overall result of stress, contractions, and linking. Rhythm refers to a pattern of sounds. It refers to the ups and downs and it is the musical feature of English. Maintaining a rhythm in a speech makes the speech, sound natural and fluent. The stressed and unstressed words in a sentence form the Rhythm. Since using only the stressed words in a sentence make a speech sound very dull, monotonous, and artificial, unstressed words are used to make it natural and impressive. The more rhythmic you are, the more interesting your speech becomes. This explains the undeniable role of rhythm in decorating your English speaking skills.

3. Improve your Pronunciation

 Pronunciation is the key to great conversations. Though you might know a lot of words, if you fail to utter them correctly, others cannot understand you. Here comes the role of right pronunciation. So while learning new words, learn the right pronunciation along with it.

You can make use of a phonetic dictionary to understand the perfect way to pronounce a word. Alternatively, use a dictionary, to begin with, and eventually learn to pronounce the words better than before. You may also get access to English pronunciation tutorials on podcasts or YouTube like English Pronunciation Pod or American English Pronunciation to get hold of many aspects of American English pronunciation. Right pronunciation is the key to Improving English Speaking Skills.

Tongue Twisters

Once you master the pronunciation techniques, you may try something more challenging like tongue twisters. Tongue twisters are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency. They also help in improving accents by using alliteration, and the repetition of one sound. Tongue twisters are basically literary workouts.o basically, a tongue twister works the same way as physical exercise. The more you practice, the better your pronunciation will be. This in turn aids to improve English speaking skills.

4. Building confidence to Improve English Speaking Skills

 There are many barriers in your way to Improving your English Speaking Skills. The first barrier is confidence, which is the biggest barrier to overcome. once you overcome this hurdle, you are sure to seamlessly head towards achieving your goal. But it is easier said as this is certainly something that most language learners have difficulty dealing with. One of the best ways to overcome this is to continuously practice speaking. It is very important to practice speaking even though you make mistakes because only when you make mistakes, will you learn the correct way. This way, you will slowly learn ways of gaining confidence. But you must take the help of someone who could find out your mistakes, correct them and help you with rectifying the same. With proper guidance, you can confidently Improve Your English Speaking Skills.

Speak with strangers

Once you are ready to challenge yourself, the next step will be to get out there and converse with strangers. This is, indeed a real big step to Improving English Speaking Skills. Though you may fumble in the beginning, you must continue to confidently speak with all your courage. The more you attempt, the better you get at it.

As the phrase goes” Practice makes you perfect”, everything takes its own course of time to achieve. So practice with confidence and you will get at it. English Speaking Skills improve with time, practice and confidence. So you must have perseverance in order to achieve your targets slowly but steadily. You may check videos on various topics which are discussed on ways to Improve English Speaking Skills. Today, you have access to many such motivational and inspiring videos by many institutes as well as by individuals to hone your English Speaking Skills. https://youtu.be/ASs4cm9lOkw You may also check out the FluentU Youtube channel which guides you through your journey to improve your English Speaking Skills.

5. Speech Shadowing

 Speech-shadowing is a time-tested technique to Improve English Speaking Skills. In this method, all you need to do is to ‘imitate’. Try to do this by listening to a native speaker’s accent in learning videos and try to imitate them to the closest. Yet another way is to record your imitated voice and compare it with their pronunciation and correct the modulation. You can pick any video of your choice and listen carefully and closely to their pronunciation.

You may have to tirelessly and repeatedly listen to the meticulous minute sounds. Once you are fairly confident in your listening skills, put forth your imitation skills to practice. You will be successful after a few or many attempts depending on your determination and willpower. On mastering shadowing, you will naturally start sounding very closer to a native speaker. It is important to pick the correct type of video of the accent you wish to achieve. This takes you another step closer to Improve English Speaking Skills.

6. Talking to oneself

This is an important exercise that you need to cultivate which will help you in the long run. Talking to oneself in English loudly helps to reinforce the already gained confidence. It could be a small piece of suggestion like “Let me listen to music now” or like a reminder “I need to submit my project today”.Alternatively, you may pick up a book and read a few pages slowly and loudly. This exercise though slows down your reading and helps to speed up your speaking skills. Yet another way is to record your speech and listen to it and look for wrong pronunciations. If possible you may try to get feedback from an expert or a native speaker. This method facilitates a greater understanding of your advantages and disadvantages. You can definitely Improve Your English Speaking Skills in this manner.

7. Think in English

If you have mastered the above, by now you will be able to think in English. The mind is trained to think about familiar things very easily. So you must work towards making English familiar to your mind and begin to think in English. This process is time-consuming but you must remember that by making it a practice, you can perfect it. The more familiar English is, the easier becomes the thinking. Even if there are imperfections, do not lose hope. If you are already thinking in English, it hardly takes time to respond to day-to-day conversations. You have expressed your thoughts more often in English. Imperfections don’t matter as getting out your thoughts in English with very less effort is important. Always get feedback from experts. You would be now able to slowly Improve your English Speaking Skills.

An English Language and Culture Blog,www.fluentu.com comes to your rescue. This blog contains articles, videos, and blogs by experts in guiding you throughout your learning phase. You will find the right partner in learning and many ways to improve your English Speaking Skills.

8. Retelling a story in English

 The next step is undoubtedly to retell a story in English from another language. You may begin by selecting a familiar, short story of your choice and try retelling it in your own words. Do not translate mere words. Try to bring out the cultural, emotional, and rhetorical nuances. Alternatively, you may choose different words to retell a simple story from Fairy Tales or Fables in English. You will benefit either way by building your communication skills, thereby Improve English Speaking Skills as well.

9. Learn the Art of Public Speaking 

 Public Speaking is a very popular and very useful platform to Improve English Speaking Skills. There are many institutes offering courses in Public Speaking. These courses are available in both online and classroom modes. You may choose the one that suits you the best. These courses are customized to suit the necessity of the candidate. Based on your choice, you will be guided step-by-step based on your learning pace. After you are confident that you can attend public speaking events, you may choose to visit big universities, theaters, and cultural societies. participate in open debates, storytelling gatherings, spoken word readings, etc. You can mingle with like-minded people in such gatherings and move forward to Improve your English Speaking Skills. There are many ways by which you can Improve English Speaking Skills

Other related Courses to consider

English Writing Course

Online TEFL/TESOL Course 

English Writing Course

Conclusion

It is very important to enhance your reading, writing, speaking, and presentation skills to enable you to achieve greater heights in life. By Enrolling yourself in any of these courses, you will learn to speak with Confidence, Accuracy, and Fluency. Many of these courses are tailored to suit you in the best possible fashion. The above article on how to Improve English Speaking Skills will, by, all means facilitate you in making the right decision.

FAQs


1. Is English speaking skills important at all? 

Yes, English speaking skills are extremely important to communicate yourself fluently, confidently, and accurately.

2. Will self-learning help as much as joining a course?

Not really. This is mainly because the tutor’s step-by-step guidance given to correct and improve is not possible in self-learning.

3. Is building vocabulary very important for speaking skills?

Yes, a wide range of vocabulary comes in handy during conversations.

4. Is learning English difficult?

 No, not at all. Nothing is impossible for a willing mind. Anyone can learn English just like any other learner. Just find the right mode of learning and you are good to go.

3 Comments

  • This article offers valuable insights on how to enhance English speaking skills effectively. The step-by-step approach and practical tips mentioned here make it a must-read for anyone aiming to improve their fluency and confidence in English communication.

  • The article offers effective strategies for improving English speaking skills, emphasizing the importance of active participation and self-confidence. The recommended resources and exercises make it a comprehensive guide for individuals seeking to enhance their oral communication abilities.

  • I found the article on improving English speaking skills incredibly informative. The author covers various aspects, such as listening exercises, speaking practice, and self-assessment, which are essential for language development. This resource is sure to benefit individuals seeking to enhance their communication skills.

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