The best thing you can do to improve your speaking skills when learning a new language is to practice. So, here are some ways to practice speaking English, even if you’re not living in a country where English is spoken.
1. Talk to Yourself
- Pick one time a day — whether it’s while you’re getting dressed in the morning, on your lunch break, or even in the shower — and just talk. Even if you only know a few basic sentences, just saying them out loud will make you a much more confident and effective speaker over time. Do this frequently and your pronunciation will drastically improve – guaranteed
2. Sing
- You know that new American song that you can’t stop singing? Good — keep singing it! If you want to get even stronger, look up the lyrics and sing along with those. That way you’re not only practicing the pronunciation, but also maybe learning a few new words too.
3. Role Reversal: Become the Teacher
It’s often said that the best way to test whether you really know something is to see if you’re able to teach it to someone else. So, grab a friend or family member who’s willing to help out, and teach them a few sentences or phrases. This is a great excuse to practice speaking aloud, and hearing your “student” repeat things back to you will give you an idea of how it sounds and what the hardest aspects of pronunciation are. Plus, you’re helping someone else learn!
4. Love music? Try figuring out the words/lyrics of your favorite songs
Watch video clips with lyrics on YouTube and sing along. Read the translation and build up your vocabulary. Listen to “clean” versions of songs and try to figure out what dirty words were taken out.
5. Watch TV clips and episodes in English
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand what they’re saying, watch anyway! Try to understand why something is funny or sad . If the joke is related to the word itself, then maybe that is why the joke does not make sense in your native language. What would be the best translation into your language then?
6. Engage in a conversation on Facebook with friends who post in English
When you have English speakers in your timeline, you see their posts daily and get inside information about news and viral videos in English. Your friends can be your teachers! Their timeline basically sort out the best material for you to study.
7. Produce, produce, produce. No matter how shy you are or how much you don’t “get” English, force yourself to speak
Help out a tourist who looks lost. They won’t mind you struggling with the language while you’re doing them a favor! After class, talk to your teacher about how things are going and what you need help with in English. When traveling, ask around for directions in English, even if you don’t need them! Try purchasing things online and by phone, or using customer support in English. It does not matter if you talk slowly, you are learning, that’s only natural!
8. When seeing a new movie look up the original title on IMDB.com
The translation sometimes does not correspond directly to the original. Find out what the original title really means. Ask yourself how the translation makes sense. What is the relation to the movie? You will never forget a new word that once it’s associated with an unforgettable movie. Works every time!
(articol preluat de pe www.voxy.com)
