Becoming a Better and More Natural English Speaker
- Contributed by Sania Green-Reynolds
- May 11, 2016
- 5 min read
Great Habits to Improve Your English Speaking Skills
The ability to speak English is becoming even more important each year. English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language in a large number of countries and also the business language of the world.
The dominant business language is English, therefore it is becoming more of an essential requirement for people to speak English if they are to enter a competitive global workspace. English speakers who have the required skills are better positioned to compete in the global workforce and land their dream jobs.
Last time, you were given tips to improve your listening skills. This time we will discuss ways to improve English speaking skills so that you can speak confidently.
First, one of the most important thing to do is to actually identify the problems you have when speaking English.
You can do this by getting feedback from your English teacher or peers. If you have an objective ear, you can record your speech and listen to the replay. When you listen to your replay, you should be able to spot some of the challenges you are having with speaking English naturally.
Remember your greatest speaking goal should be TO BE UNDERSTOOD without too much effort or stress.
Here are some factors that may affect your English speaking skills. Use the tips given to help you overcome these challenges.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENGLISH SPEAKING
-Poor listening comprehension.
Fact~ You won’t be able to speak on a topic or answer a question if you don’t understand the line of conversation or what is being asked of you.
Tip- Always listen for the main idea. It’s not necessary to hear every single word to understand the speaker’s key message, words, phrases or the main ideas.
-The urge to always be grammatically accurate.
Often times native speakers do make grammatical or structural mistakes however, they are often understood when they speak.
Non-native speakers, on the other hand, usually struggle to express themselves accurately as their mistakes often change the whole meaning of the sentence they’d like to express. The result of this is misunderstanding.
Misunderstandings can be costly- especially in the workplace or place of study. They can cause you to fall behind in your professional goals as well.
Research done by grammar experts on LinkedIn reveals that;
^Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their profiles had achieved higher positions.
^Fewer grammar mistakes correlate with more promotions.
Good grammar, according to researchers as well as feedback from successful company owners, is a fairly accurate indicator of professional success.
TIP: Use simple grammar and sentence structures and take small steps to use more complicated grammar and sentence structures as you advance in your English studies.
- Challenge to pronounce words properly.
Mispronunciation is one of the most common challenges in spoken English. Don’t worry! Even native speakers face this challenge from time to time.
English has many rules and exceptions to those rules. Do not be ashamed if you struggle to pronounce some English words. With hard work and intentional efforts, you will overcome this challenge.
TIP: Remember that English, unlike other languages, is not purely phonetic. Some words are spelt differently from how they are pronounced.
Yes, that’s true! What’s the past tense of ‘read’ again? It’s ‘red’ spelt ‘read’, right?! (Just saying, haha!)
- Inability to organize ideas/details
Framing your speech, ideas or discourse in an easy-to-follow manner is essential to being thoroughly understood. The aim is not to ramble, beat around the bush, or to try to impress others with an ‘intelligent sounding’ vocabulary, or big words. Stating your main idea or topic should be your first aim. Do that as quickly as possible. This will help your listeners know what you are talking about right away. They will appreciate that. After you state your main idea, support it with relevant details, such as examples, statistics, research data or reports. Then always wrap up your thoughts by summarizing what you spoke about in the first two steps.
TIP: Get to the point straight away then stick to that point.
Follow an easy paragraphing style until you advance to more complex structures of paragraphing.
Remember:Topic sentence
Supporting details
Summary (conclusion)
-Inability to speak fluently
To be considered a fluent English speaker, you must be able to use the language with ease.
Punctuating your English speeches or dialogues with long, awkward pauses, and overuse of fillers such as ‘ah’, ‘um’, ‘you know’ take away from your fluency. Practicing your English daily, especially with guided assistance, is key to becoming more fluent.
Once more, the importance of listening cannot be overemphasized. Listening to great English speakers can inspire and educate you to be a better, more fluent English speaker.
TIP: Find credible sources and resources to help you develop your fluency. Podcast, YouTube channels, live streams, TV and radio programs are some great resources that you can use at no or very low cost. Use these resources to your advantage.
Other General Tips to Help You Improve Your English Speaking Skills
1. Be audible- While you shouldn’t shout, you shouldn’t speak too softly either. Be clear and audible.
2. Be confident- Self-confidence is everything! Believe you can be and are a good speaker, focus on being so and put yourself out there. Start recording yourself, hopping on to live streams and speaking to more people.
For holistic self-confidence strategies, get a copy of one of the most practical and concise book, written by Sania S. Green. This will help you develop overall confidence which will impact your English speaking positively.
3. Be enthusiastic- It’s important to be comfortable but in being comfortable with yourself, you should aim at capturing your audience’s attention.
Don’t be B-O-R-I-N-G or disengaged!
Put all your energy and soul in your presentation. The more you do this the more proficient you become as a speaker.
4. Know your audience - This will help you to organize your ideas and vocabulary in a way that is easily understood. If you use appropriate vocabulary and sentence styles your audience will appreciate you.
5. Use gestures and other non-verbal aides - Your gestures, when appropriately and intentionally used, will give your audience useful cues and clues. They can help convey importance and intensity (or the lack of it).
6. Build your vocabulary- one word at a time
Try to learn a word over a period of time that is reasonable for you. This may be daily, twice a week or even weekly. The important thing is to study and use this new word to improve your speaking.
There are many other ways to improve your speaking skills. We will discuss more strategies in another post. For now, be clear about your English goals as well as your English speaking goals. Remember too, that to be a great speaker you must be an equally great listener. Speaking is more than saying words properly. It’s about responding to tasks (questions, conversation) or expressing oneself appropriately and meaningfully, as well as connecting with your audience.
All the best on your next English speaking assignment. To practice your English, sign up to join eEnglishLive Practice Group by clicking here.
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