In today’s era, where every morning begins with a message to our loved ones, English has become a necessity in every walk of life. One needs to have a solid English base whilst communicating with all.
It is becoming the most used language all over the globe and we need to keep up in pace to go hand in hand with the world.
Also, when living in the land which bags the place of the third “most people communicating in English“, it involves a lot of work to match up to the society’s expectations.
Words do not come easily. Even if you have spent endless number of hours memorizing a list of vocabulary, idioms and grammar, it never falls on the right place and you end up stammering in front of a chunk of audience.
So how do you brush up on your skills and master it well not to feel as a loss while expressing yourself?
Here is how to implement this practice and get around the learning slump of mastering on a particular language:
Ways to Improve your English Communication Skills:
Apart from the three basic ways of improving English which are Reading, Listening and Speaking, one needs to have a look at the other possible ways of improving English. Following is the list of a few possible steps:
1. Speak, Speak, Speak:
You need to be confident enough while speaking. Whatever rubbish you talk, keep in mind to be confident while speaking. It is okay to make mistakes in the first place as nobody is a born talented person.
One learns from their mistakes and there is no need to be shy of anybody and from anybody. The more you speak in a particular language, the better you master that skill in less time.
2. Listen to news:
News anchors have got that inbuilt skill of bringing out the best in every news article they focus on. It adds as a plus point to your listening capability. Also, it brings out the best in you as it adds on to the beauty of your communicating skills.
3. Use Google translation:
There are times when you are unsure of a word or a sentence to be used or not. So at such times, Google is the best and only solution to this issue.
It is quick ,instant and easy to use. You just have to enter the word in the search bar and n number of options would be made available to you within seconds.
4. Read aloud in front of the mirror:
Mirror is the best companion at such times. Whenever you feel low about being less confident, it gives you a boost of confidence within no time.
Reading out loud in front of the mirror adds on to your confidence and thus proves as an efficient way in improving your English Communication Skill.
5. Learn a new word:
One should be dedicated towards while learning a new language. Thus, learning a new word daily helps to increase your communication skills. Put emphasis on learning new words always in all ways.
Be it through any social networking site (the only place where new words are being generated every day), through newspapers, magazines and many more.
6. Search for native English speakers:
This does not involve much work as you just have to find for a speaker with whom you can communicate a lot any time of the day. So whenever a new word pops up into your mind, you just go to that person and make the best use of that word, in framing crispy sentences and catchy phrases.
Though, it does involve a bit of hard work in finding such a person as in certain areas, it is the hardest thing to do. Talking continuously in English through Skype, texting, calling, is an effective way to improve English, or otherwise.
7. Listen to English songs:
This is like the most effective way of learning English in an easy way. Tons of catchy phrases and wordings in one single song. Even if you download just one song and keep listening to it a hundred times, you would definitely master that accent in a day or two.
The intonation, the lilt, the prosody and the sing-songy-ness of it. It acts as a way of learning quick English in no time.
8. Slow down your pace of talking:
If you want to be understood by all, then it is you who has got to take the initiative. Slower down your speed of talking. The more slowly you talk, the more you would be understood by people and they will be willing to listen to you more.
There are certain cases wherein a person has tremendous amount of knowledge but the only issue is the barrier of venting out properly on a particular language.
9. Record your own voice:
It is a fact that we listen to ourselves daily but we do not know how we sound like. So start recording your own voice! The more you record and listen to your own voice, the more you get to know about your flaws and get time to improvise on them.
A great idea is to record your voice on a tape of a recording machine and then work on the low and high pitches of your voice.
10. Try speaking English at home:
This is the biggest drawback at times. Even if you work partially in the English language, you need to draw a fine line between your mother tongue and the language to be learnt.
Mother tongue is like one language which is known to you and you are familiar with it since birth. So it is okay to set aside your mother tongue for a while, whilst working on the language to be learnt.
Try communicating in English while at home, cleaning dishes, watching TV, having dinner. It helps in brushing up your English skills so that your mind starts reciprocating in the English language 24/7.
11. Do your favorite hobbies in English:
Whatever hobby or an interesting activity you take up on, make sure to do it in English. For instance, you join a cooking class, make sure you make the best of it by communicating in English with all the people present over there and improvise on your skills, talking in English and cooking it out.
The same applies to other activities such as working out, learning on a new instrument, dancing, singing and many more.
12. Debate:
Debate is the only easy way to brush up on your skills in an immediate way. You get to interact with people in an easy note and on a larger scale. Debate on interesting topics to get the best output and give out the best input from all.
Remember, try to keep it as a healthy debate. Try using as much vocabulary and catchy phrases as you want. Get your point across with the power of play on words.
13. Think as much as you can:
Give yourself time to think. You may feel that the ones who are listening might be impatient enough to not listen to your talks. But that is not the fact.
You got to be patient and calm while thinking and vent out your thoughts in an organized form of talking. Talk, because it helps you pour your heart out!
14. Shadowing:
Watch your favorite TV show or movie in the English language, and as the character speaks, repeat. The moment you hear them say something, repeat those words loud enough to be heard by you. Do not worry. Just keep focusing on the language, the accent they use, the pronunciation and the usage of idioms. Keep moving in a slow pace and you will master this language in no time.
15. Practice, practice and practice:
Practice makes a man perfect, because nobody is born intelligent. You keep on dedicating your entire time and love to learning a new language and you will definitely reach the zenith of success in mastering this language in no time.
Nothing can substitute the art of practicing. Practice it loud with real people in real environment.
16. Start a blog:
This gives out a direct output of your learning skills. The comments you receive in the comment box will definitely add up to your love of learning more of this language.
You keep on learning new sides to this language and starting a blog is one of them. It is the best way to pour your heart out and vent out your thoughts in the form of writing.
17. Work on your pronunciation:
It is a must whilst improving one particular language. Pronunciation and accent are two sides of the same coin. And that coin being English, it is necessary enough to work on your dark side.
Use the web and refer to few good online dictionary sites which will help you in improving your accent as well as the pronunciation.
18. Reading out a magazine or newspaper:
Whatever your choice is, hand out a reading material and focus on the content. Read it loud; do not feel shy while listening to your own voice. The more you practice, the better you become.
19. Maintain a diary:
It helps in writing off your daily happenings and will thus indirectly help in learning the language.
20. Make use of a dictionary:
There are hundreds of online sites that give you the feel of a hard copy dictionary. Gone are the days when you used to sit with a dictionary in hand and skim through the pages while looking out for a word. Refer the web to check out for a hell lot of dictionary sites to help improve your English.
Conclusion:
The importance of this fast growing language cannot be overemphasized. Hence, it is necessary enough to break the ice and walk hand in hand with the world whilst improving your English.
However, there is no quick and instant fix while commanding over a language and hence everything needs patience. Time will set its own limits and will definitely bring out the best in you!
Practice is undeniably the best way to keep learning and improving in life. Fluency is much more important than accuracy. It always requires a lot of time and effort to master a language.
