ESL, How to speak and learn English language

How to improve your English speaking skills, so that you can communicate more easily and effectively. These tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.

Practice where you can, when you can. Any practice is good - whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.

It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.

Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback.

Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.

Try not to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time and will make you more hesitant.

If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using 'um', or 'er', if you forget the word.

Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.

Try to relax when you speak, and you'll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. When you speak English at normal speed, you'll discover that many of the pronunciation rules, such as word linking, happen automatically.

Final tips¡­

- Try to become less hesitant and more confident.

- Don't be shy to speak - the more you do it, the more confident you'll become.

- Remember to be polite - use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to do something for you.

Final tips¡­

- Try to become less hesitant and more confident.

- Don't be shy to speak - the more you do it, the more confident you'll become.

- Remember to be polite - use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to do something for you.

i wish i would become more confident when i try to talk i do afraid to talk with people because making mistakes!

most of the learners face this problem, aren't they?

Part I: Want to 'neutralise' your accent?

Many deserving candidates lose out on job opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Can I 'neutralise' my accent?

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent -- and you will speak not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles, offers these tips to help 'neutralise' your accent or rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. 

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood.
 
iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.
 
Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'. 

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.   

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.
 
viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day. 
 
Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the 'Indianisms' that creep into your English conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We'd recommend Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and Connie Francis among others.

Books to help you improve your English

• Essential English Grammar by Murphy (Cambridge)
• Spoken English by R K Bansal and J B Harrison 
• Pronounce It Perfectly In English (book and three audio cassettes) by Jean Yates, Barrons Educational Series
• English Pronunciation For International Students by Paulette Wainless Dale, Lillian Poms

 more info: www.ingilizcepratik.net

Respectable All,

hello,

My English is not quite well but reading and writing are not matter for me. I wana remove my stage fear because I ven’t the confidence to speak before others. I think it is very difficult to speak English when you have dozen pair of eyes fixed on you and as many ears alert to catch your words which u speak and find where u tripped. I know confidence is key of success, for this u must be improve Ur but communication skill and English play the major role in communication. Can u people guide me how can I remove this fear??????? I am very upset now-a-days for this because whenever u go for interview , Ur spoken English must be fluent and perfect.

Regards

Tahira