Top 5 ways to speak English like a pro.
Throughout your English language journey, you may have studied all the grammatical points, read all the English books you could get your hands on, watched as many English movies as you could and reviewed endless lists of vocabulary builders… but… when you open your mouth to speak, nothing comes out! Producing language is probably the hardest part of learning a language and that’s normal.
Speaking a foreign language in front of other people takes courage and confidence. These tips will help you build up your confidence and speak like a professional.
1. Slow Down
Taking your time when learning a language is OK. If you’re in a classroom, your teacher and the other students in class understand that this might be difficult for you. The most important thing for you to do is breathe, think about what you are going to say and try. There’s no problem in trying to practice all the important things you’ve learnt – just do it slowly.
2. Think
This one might seem obvious to you but our advice here is to think in English. Although this is a challenging task, if you manage to do this your speaking skills will improve. If you are thinking in your language, every time you want to speak in English you have to translate to English, change the structure of the sentence and then speak! This takes time and makes your English speaking skills a lot weaker. The more you practice, the easier it gets.
3. Practice, Practice, Practice
The more you practice, the easier it gets – we’re going to repeat this a lot! When you’re trying to improve your skills in something, the best way to get good at it is to practice, practice, practice. Some key ways to help you improve your language skills include; reading out loud or recording yourself – this should be done alone to help build your confidence. Another way is to find a friend who is also trying to improve their English skills and talk together, have a conversation, go for a coffee and listen to each other. The best way to do that is to join a speaking class. At Maltalingua, we offer Intensive Courses to help you improve your speaking skills and gain the confidence to talk.
4. Listen
The next step is to listen. A big part of being scared to speak is worrying about how you sound to others. Listening to a native speaker and repeating what they say is a great way to copy their pronunciation skills. Interacting with people is great, but sometimes you need to practice on your own first. Take a look at our English Language Lessons to give you the boost to speak more fluently.
5. Relax
Probably the most important tip to improve your English Speaking skills is to relax. There’s no need to stress about speaking perfectly – it’s all about learning at your own pace and feeling comfortable about your achievements. Eventually, you will gain the confidence to speak fluently and have a conversation about anything you want.