Tips for speaking English - part 1

Six top tips to help you speak English more easily

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Hello everyone!

How are you? I can’t believe it’s March already! Can you? It’s finally starting to feel more like spring and less like winter here in the UK.

Today I want to give you a few tips on how to improve your speaking. This is usually the number one goal of students, to speak English more easily. Unfortunately, there are no quick and easy shortcuts but you will definitely get better if you work hard and follow my suggestions!

​1. Practise, practise, practise

Obviously, the most important thing to do is to speak as much as you can! Find someone to speak to and practise as often as you can. Talk to native speakers, non-native speakers or even yourself!

2. Talk to native speakers

If you want to talk to a native speaker, you can find a teacher who gives lessons online using an app like italki or Cambly, or you could book a lesson with me! If you don’t want to pay or can’t, maybe you can find a language exchange partner. This is an English-speaking person who wants to learn your language and you help each other for free. Search for “language exchange partner” on Google or find an app for your phone, such as Hello Talk.

3. Talk to non-native speakers

Many people think that they can only improve if they talk to a native speaker but that isn’t true. Talking to other learners will also help you to develop your confidence and fluency. Ask all your friends and you’re sure to find somebody else who’s learning English. If not, try joining Facebook groups or making friends on social media.

4. Talk to yourself!

No, you don't have to be crazy to do this!! Talk to yourself in English, out loud or in your head! Imagine you are telling somebody about your day or about the film you just watched, for example. If you are shy, this could actually be easier for you than talking to other people and it can build your confidence. Also, when you talk to yourself, you can take the time to notice which words you need but don’t know, and which grammar you find difficult. Then you know what you need to study next.

5. Time yourself

If you're talking to friends from your own country, I know it’s so difficult to keep talking in English without going back to your own language. Could you have 10 minutes a day when everyone has to speak English? And when you can do this, increase it to 15 or 20 minutes.

6. Record yourself

Find a video online and try to copy some phrases. Use your phone to record yourself saying them and then listen to yourself. Compare your voice with the original. Maybe you should check first if it’s the version of English that you want to learn: British, American or Australian for example.

I hope you find these tips helpful. There will be more tips coming soon so make sure you sign up for my newsletters below so you don’t miss them!

Have a great weekend!

Katie