A lot has been written about how to improve your English conversation skills. But sometimes, the advice can be so technical that it ends up overwhelming you instead. So for this post, we will explore five simple things you can do every day to improve your English conversation skills.
It can be tempting to speak fast to sound confident or to sound like a native English speaker. But when you’re just learning, being understood is more important than sounding fluent. To improve your English conversation skills, you should focus on getting your message across more effectively. To do this, you should speak slowly. Speaking slowly gives you – and the people you’re talking to – time to think. This can help you choose better and more effective words to express what you are trying to say.
A complete sentence expresses a complete thought using a clear subject and predicate. If you speak in phrases or incomplete sentences, you are assuming that the other person can fill in the gaps to understand what you are trying to say. Unfortunately, that’s where most miscommunication happens. Never assume that people will understand what you’re saying. Be clear. Speak in complete sentences to avoid any misunderstandings.
In order to improve at something, you have to do it consistently. The same goes for speaking. If you want to improve your English communication skills, you have to practice it every day.
You can start by speaking out loud for two minutes each day. You don’t need to have an audience. You can do this while you’re in front of the mirror, in the bathroom, or driving a car. It can be about any topic that interests you. It can even be about something as trivial as video games. Discuss why the game deserves an award. Stress its good points and bad points. The important thing is to choose a topic that really interests you so you won’t run out of things to say.
Listening is a skill that also needs to be consistently practiced. You have to be familiar with how English words sound like, how sentences are constructed, and how both emotions and meaning can be communicated through spoken words.
The best way to learn is to listen to actual conversations where both everyday and technical words are used. You can listen in during meetings or presentations. But, when there are no actual conversations, you can listen to news and other programs you are interested in.
Learning to speak a different language is hard enough. Putting unnecessary pressure on yourself will make it even more difficult. Just like learning any new skill, you will keep on making mistakes before you get it right. So relax and simply accept that making mistakes are part of the learning process.
So go out there, meet people, and converse with them in English. But if you prefer to learn English in an intelligent, interesting, and involved way, ESLGI is here to help.
If you are looking to improve your English conversation skills, click here www.eslgi.com
ESL Global Institute (ESLGI) is an English Language Institute where classes are taught by professionals with diverse expertise from different fields such as business and the academe. ESLGI believes that communication is integral to the immigrant’s journey into the United States and offers English classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced adult students. ESLGI helps its students gain more confidence in the English language so they can perform better at school or in the workplace.
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