10 Tips for speaking English

Manek, an engineering graduate from Bhopal, said that the following practices helped him when
he was learning English:
1. The first thing I would do after getting up every morning was to read the newspaper, front to back. It
doesnt matter which newspaper you subscribe to, as long as it is a major English-language paper, such
as The Hindu, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, etc. While different people have
different opinions on the quality of each paper, they are all more or less equally useful in getting to learn
the language. It is also not necessary to read every page and article; it is time-consuming and,
sometimes, boring. However, you should most definitely look for articles that interest you.
2. I bought a pocket dictionary. They are cheap, compact and useful. There were many words I came
across on a day-to-day basis that I did not know, and carrying a pocket dictionary everywhere allowed me
to look up these words immediately so that the matter would not slip off my mind later.
3. Once learned, I also made a conscious effort to use the words in conversation. This instilled the
words in my head and I was able to draw on them whenever required.
4. I convinced some of my friends to come together and form something of a study group; we were all
interested in learning English, and I figured it would make it easier and more fun for us to do it together.
We met twice a week in the evening and discussed the words and phrases we had come across,
suggested articles, magazines, and books to each other, etc.
5. Another thing my group of friends and I kept in mind was the importance of talking only in English,
whenever possible. During our weekly meetings, not a word of Hindi (the only other language any of us
spoke) was uttered. This sort of commitment is absolutely necessary if you want to develop fluency.
6. A couple of weeks into my learning experience, a friend talked about the issue oflanguage of
thoughts during one of our meetings. This, too, is an interesting aspect of ones linguistic foundations:
what language do you think in? I realised that I thought in Hindi, and thus whenever I spoke in English, I
was, in a way, translating in my head. This made the entire process slower and more laborious. So I
decided to start making a conscious effort to think in English. When I spoke in Hindi, I was often trying to
figure out beforehand what the phrase would be in English before I said it. This takes some getting used
to, but soon you will find it becoming a second nature; the phrases will come faster and easier then.
7. I made it a point to pick up at least one English book a month. I cannot stress the importance of this
enough; books introduce you to the possibilities of the language, expose you to the various ways in which
words can be manipulated and played around with. Your vocabulary of words, phrases, colloquialisms,
etc. will increase sharply this way. Also, reading develops thinking, i.e., as you read, you automatically
begin to think more in the language that your reading material is written in.
8. Every night I would watch an English news channel (NDTV, Headlines Today, CNN-IBN, etc.) for at
least half an hour. The news anchors and reporters generally speak very crisp and proper English. It is
also useful to watch English TV shows.

9. My friends and I would rent the DVD of an English movie every week, and watch it with the subtitles
on. This way, you can always make out what the actors are saying, and the context of the movie helps you
understand what unfamiliar phrases might mean.
10. I developed the habit of paying close attention whenever I was within listening distance of a
conversation in English. This may seem like eavesdropping, but when someone is speaking loud
enough in public for others to hear him or her, it is unlikely that anything very personal is being discussed.
At least, I defended my practice with that rationale, because it helped me pick up common phrases on a
daily basis

14 Methods for Improving Your Spoken English Without a

Speaking Partner
1. Think in English.

Sometimes the difficult thing about talking in a new language isnt the
language itself, but how you think about it.
If you think in your native language and then try to speak English, youll
always have to translate between languages. Translating isnt an easy thing
to do! Even people fluent in two or more languages have trouble switching
between languages.
The solution is to think in English.
You can do this anywhere, anytime. Try to use English when youre thinking
about your day, or when youre trying to decide what food to order. Even try
to use an English to English dictionary to look up words. That way you never
have to use your native language and translate words. Youll notice that
when you think in English, its easier for you to speak in English.

2. Talk to yourself.

Whenever youre at home (or alone somewhere else) you can practice your
English with your favorite person: yourself.
If youre already thinking in English, try speaking your thoughts out
loud.Read out loud, too. Practice is practice, and even if you dont have
anyone to correct your mistakes, just the act of speaking out loud will help
you become more comfortable speaking English.
3. Use a mirror.

Whenever you can, take a few minutes out of your day to stand in front of
the mirror and speak. Choose a topic, set a timer for 2 or 3 minutes and just
talk.
The point of this exercise is to watch your mouth, face and body language as
you speak. It also makes you feel like youre talking to someone, so you can
pretend youre having a discussion with a study buddy.
Talk for the full 2 or 3 minutes. Dont stop! If you get stuck on a word you
dont know, try expressing your idea in a different way. You can always look
up how to say that word after the 2-3 minutes end. This will definitely help
you find out what kinds of words or sentences you have trouble with.
4. Focus on fluency, not grammar.

When you speak in English, how often do you stop?

The more you stop, the less confident you sound and the less comfortable
you become. Try the mirror exercise above, but challenge yourself to speak
without stopping or stammering (taking pauses between your words) the
entire time.
This might mean that your sentences wont be grammatically perfect, and
thats okay! If you focus on speaking fluently instead of correctly, youll still
be understood and youll sound better. You can fill in the correct grammar
and word rules as you learn them better.

5. Try some tongue twisters.

Tongue twisters are series of words that are difficult to say quickly.
One example is: The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the
throne throughout Thursday. Try saying this a few times! Its not easy.
Word games like this will help you find the right placement for your mouth
and tongue, and can even help your pronunciation. You can find a list of
great tongue twisters here.
6. Listen and repeat.

Do you watch TV shows or YouTube videos in English? Use them to improve

your fluency. Choose a short part of a show and repeat it line by line. Try to
match the tone, speed and even the accent (if you can). It doesnt matter if
you miss a few words, the important thing is to keep talking. Try to sound
just like the native speakers on the show.