English is considered a tough language by a lot of people. The importance of English cannot be overstated. English is considered the Universal language and since it is spoken by over 1.35 billion people all over the world, it is necessary to understand and know the language. Quite a lot of people are scared to talk in English because they feel that their pronunciation is not great or are not sure about grammar and vocabulary.
10 Easy and Effective Tips to Improve Your English
Before we move on to the tips that would help you improve your English, there are two things that you should keep in mind.
- Define the Purpose: Why do you want to improve your English? It is totally fine if you just want to get better at it because as mentioned, it is the universal language!! However, if you have a specific reason, for instance, to appear for an exam or test, then you have to prepare accordingly. The books that you should read, the phrases that you should familiarize yourself with, etc. will change if you are preparing for an exam. This blog has covered topics in general.
- Evaluate Yourself: It is of paramount importance to understand where you stand in terms of knowledge about the subject. You should analyze how much you know about the grammar rules, common usage, etc. so that you can take on new challenges every day.
1.Read. Read. Read
“You can never be wise unless you love reading.” – Samuel Johnson
You cannot improve your English without inculcating a habit of reading. You need to read even when you feel as though you don’t understand. One of the major problems that pop up when people start reading is that they choose tough books. This will immediately put your interest down. Choose books that are easy to read and do not have illustrations. Illustrations might distract you from reading and will take your focus away. You can choose books that have big, bold letters. If you feel that you are stuck and when you feel as though you don’t understand a particular sentence, take your journal and note it down.
2.Watch English Movies or Listen to English Songs
The King’s Speech is a brilliant movie that can help you with improving your vocabulary and pronunciation. It is a movie about a king who had problems with speech and it takes the viewers through the journey of the king and how he overcomes his shortcomings. It is not only inspiring but also has scenes wherein the king takes pronunciation lessons and hey, what better way to learn! Listening to English songs will also help you learn new words. However, the pronunciation might not always be correct when it comes to songs. There are a lot of online classes that help you learn English.
3.Let go of fear
One of the major reasons why people don’t talk in English is due to fear. The fear of being judged and being made fun of stops people from doing things that they want to do. Let go of the fear because many studies say that even native speakers are not entirely aware of the rules and usages. You are trying to get better at it and that’s why you are reading this article. Understanding that you need to get better is the first step to victory and you are already halfway there. Do not let anything stop you.
4.Keep a journal
Note down your improvement and keep a note of the words that you have learned. As discussed previously, take down notes when you feel stuck while reading a book or watching a movie. The journal will help you keep track of your progress. This will also act as a repository of words and phrases. This will also help you stay focused.
5.Record yourself
Record yourself talking in English and listen to it. This will help you evaluate yourself better and it goes without saying that you are your best judge. You will be able to spot your flaws and mistakes and you can improve yourself accordingly. You will also be able to understand what your weaknesses are and this will help you improve your English considerably. You are not a native speaker and it is absolutely fine if your English skills are not that great. English communication skills can be improved with the right strategies and the right mindset.
6.Set Realistic Goals
It is necessary to be confident and determined. However, one should not be overconfident. Set smart, achievable, and realistic goals. Achieving Shakespeare’s level of knowledge in a month is a foolish goal. You can set goals like learn 100 new words a month or so. Based on your capacity to retain information, you can increase or decrease this goal. English is a language with a lot of levels and rules. You cannot learn everything in a year or two or even twenty for that matter. Every day, you get to learn something new.
7.New Day, New Word
Make it a point to learn at least one new word every day. That way by the end of the month, you would have learned at least 30 new words. As mentioned, you can take this down in a journal and you can also revise these words at the end of the month. You can also try and frame sentences with the word that you learned.
8.Learn Idioms and Phrases
When you are trying to improve your English communication skills and English skills, it is of paramount importance to focus on idioms and phrases. It is not just enough to improve your vocabulary. For instance, let us take the example of, “break a leg”. This is an idiom or an expression and when taken literally, it means to break someone’s leg. However, the meaning of this idiom is “do well.” You can use this expression before someone is about to participate in a competition.
“Good luck John, go break a leg!”
9.Practice Thinking in English
“I speak three languages, write in two, dream in one.” These words are written by Kamala Das and are widely popular. Dreams have no language and that’s what she means by these lines. You might have noticed that when you think, you do that in the language that you are most comfortable in and in most cases, the mother tongue. It is a little difficult to change this because that’s what we have been doing since childhood. Practice thinking in English. Cook up scenarios and this can be an exercise that you do in your free time.
10.Don’t Memorize Rules
One of the most common mistakes that people make while trying to improve their English communication skills is that they try to mug up the rules and conditions. While it is important to have a general idea of the rules, you don’t have to memorize them. You will get the flow once you start reading English books and watching enough English videos.
Conclusion
Next to the fear of death, what people fear the most is public speaking. So, you are not alone when you feel scared to speak up in a social setting. Good English communication skills will definitely help you to boost your confidence, but that’s not the only thing that matters. As mentioned, it is great that you have decided to improve your English and taking a step towards bettering yourself is never a wrong decision. We hope the tips on how to improve English helps you and when we talk about how to improve English, it is necessary to understand that it starts with you! We will be back with more interesting content, stay tuned.
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