Millions of students need to improve their spoken English and only a small percentage of them will succeed. It isn't a matter of money or intelligence. It is simply a matter of working consistently and having a proper study method. It amazes me how few people study correctly.
I've had hundreds of students ask me how they can improve their spoken English. They've been told that speaking to foreigners is the only way. Obviously this helps, but it's a poor attitude to think that the only way to really improve your speaking is to have a native partner all the time. It simply isn't necessary. I'm going to give you some useful secrets that I'm sure will help you.
1. Improve your listening.
Vocabulary is nothing if you can't understand it when it's spoken. English that us used daily by native speakers is much simpler and much different that anything you can read. Listen to what they say to each other and make note of it. The only way to get better at listening is to practice it. Podcasts are a great way to do it but you need to find one for your level. Young kids can speak fluently in any language but they can't read or write. They learn all of this from listening.
It doesn't matter your age, you can make huge improvements if you spend more time listening to native speech you can understand. After a certain point, the English will start to flow naturally from your mouth. Don't quit though. This takes several hours of dedicated listening before you will notice anything. If you listen for 50 hours, you will be shocked at how much you've improved.
2. Write down your thoughts
This is not essay writing like you'd do in school. I'm talking about keeping a diary about your daily life. Use descriptive words and write in a way that you would speak. Try to write stories. Try to write exactly what you would say to your friends. Write a story about your dream vacation. Write a story about what you did during your favorite summer. Write about the first time you fell in love. Write about what you want to do with your life in the future.
The answers to all of those questions will be in the form of how you would actually speak. They are much different than essays or what you'd read in the newspaper. The more you write, the more you'll notice what you need to work on. There will be some stories you can tell more easily than others. If you can't write your ideas, you won't be able to say them. If you can write down what you want to say clearly, your spoken English will follow.
It's the combination between this style of writing and listening that will give you major progress with your speaking. You need to do both or you will get no results. If you want to spend some time reading too, that's fine, just remember, reading should only be to learn new words and don't make it take up the majority of your studying. It's fun and easy to read, but spend more time listening and writing. You'll be amazed at how clearly you'll be able to express yourself with even a small vocabulary. Native speakers don't use a very large vocabulary when they are speaking anyway.
Take advantage of technology like Ipads, Iphones, Ipods, Podcasts, PDF's, Ebooks, and other useful English learning stuff. You should be able to listen and write anywhere with no more excuses. Check out this English course. It will really help you improve spoken English.
Article by: www.englishbaby.com
11.9.10
5.9.10
Most Frequent English Learning Obstacles
Out of all of the languages there are in the world, English is one of the most difficult to learn. There are many reasons why English learners have such a difficult time learning the language.
The following lists the most frequent obstacles when you are learning English:
1. Motivational Obstacles: There may be external reasons why someone may not want to learn or enjoy learning the English language. This can include: school conditions, job reasons, other activities taking up too much time, bored with the method of instruction, and a lack of an adequate support system. As well, many learners have low self esteem. They develop such self defeating thoughts as I can’t learn, I am stupid, I am wasting my time, and I am too old to learn.
2. Organization Obstacles: Teaching methods and learning materials are not adequate. A learner may also not know what they should study to learn English.
3. Unreasonable Expectations: Some learners go into an English learning program expecting to pick up the language quickly. They become frustrated and begin to lose interest.
4. Method of Learning: Many students do not take advantage of new and innovative methods of learning. Instead of reading texts and doing writing exercises, learners now have a wealth of learning resources on the internet as well as electronic learning devices that allow them to learn anywhere and anytime. There are also chat rooms that allow English learners to meet and chat with other online English learners. One can also enlist the services of an online English language teacher.
5. Pronunciation: Some learners find the English language difficult because the pronunciation can vary depending on how it is being used. For instance, some letters are silent and other letters are pronounced several different ways. Consonant and vowel sounds can also vary such as the words ‘the’ and ‘thought.’ The differences in pronunciation can be frustrating to learn.
6. Grammar: Nouns, adjectives, and adverbs can be very confusing to an English learner because they are different than most other languages. There is no specific order to grammar in the English language. Understanding the various sentence structures and when to use them can take some time to learn.
7. Verb Tense: The English language has a broad connotation of verb tense which makes it difficult to learn. For instance, verb tenses such as ring, rang, and rung, can be complex to the new English learner.
8. English Slang: The English language contains a lot of slang which becomes mixed with regular English phrases. This requires the English learner to understand all of the jargon which can be complicated. An example of English slang is the phrase: ‘brain wash.’
Because the English language is one of the most widely spoken languages, learning the Language has many benefits for one personally, socially, and in the work place. It is important to seek out the new, creative, and fun methods of learning English. The result will be immense satisfaction once you have conquered the language.
Article source: http://mbas.co.in
The following lists the most frequent obstacles when you are learning English:
1. Motivational Obstacles: There may be external reasons why someone may not want to learn or enjoy learning the English language. This can include: school conditions, job reasons, other activities taking up too much time, bored with the method of instruction, and a lack of an adequate support system. As well, many learners have low self esteem. They develop such self defeating thoughts as I can’t learn, I am stupid, I am wasting my time, and I am too old to learn.
2. Organization Obstacles: Teaching methods and learning materials are not adequate. A learner may also not know what they should study to learn English.
3. Unreasonable Expectations: Some learners go into an English learning program expecting to pick up the language quickly. They become frustrated and begin to lose interest.
4. Method of Learning: Many students do not take advantage of new and innovative methods of learning. Instead of reading texts and doing writing exercises, learners now have a wealth of learning resources on the internet as well as electronic learning devices that allow them to learn anywhere and anytime. There are also chat rooms that allow English learners to meet and chat with other online English learners. One can also enlist the services of an online English language teacher.
5. Pronunciation: Some learners find the English language difficult because the pronunciation can vary depending on how it is being used. For instance, some letters are silent and other letters are pronounced several different ways. Consonant and vowel sounds can also vary such as the words ‘the’ and ‘thought.’ The differences in pronunciation can be frustrating to learn.
6. Grammar: Nouns, adjectives, and adverbs can be very confusing to an English learner because they are different than most other languages. There is no specific order to grammar in the English language. Understanding the various sentence structures and when to use them can take some time to learn.
7. Verb Tense: The English language has a broad connotation of verb tense which makes it difficult to learn. For instance, verb tenses such as ring, rang, and rung, can be complex to the new English learner.
8. English Slang: The English language contains a lot of slang which becomes mixed with regular English phrases. This requires the English learner to understand all of the jargon which can be complicated. An example of English slang is the phrase: ‘brain wash.’
Because the English language is one of the most widely spoken languages, learning the Language has many benefits for one personally, socially, and in the work place. It is important to seek out the new, creative, and fun methods of learning English. The result will be immense satisfaction once you have conquered the language.
Article source: http://mbas.co.in
2.9.10
Take A Free English Speaking Course Online
You might think that the only way you can take an English speaking course is to actually enroll in classes, but you can take such a course completely online. This type of course will help you learn and practice conversational English enabling you to carry on a conversation if you decide to move to an English-speaking country of if you want to do business with a company in such a country.
Speaking English is not just about using the proper pronunciation of the words. It is possible for a person to know what how to pronounce words and to read sentences, but if you do not know the rules of grammar and be able to understand what you read, you cannot really call yourself a fluent English speaker.
There are many free online courses you can take to help you learn to speak English or become better at speaking the language. While some people just want to learn English for the sake of knowing another language, there are those that want to attend college to gain a specialized diploma or degree that is only offered in an English-speaking country and others want to learn to speak English to advance their careers. Also, there are those who feel that only a course that charges tuition is of any value to them but this is not so. There are very comprehensive online courses in English that are completely free.
Your reasons for taking the course will dictate the commitment you make to the learning process. You should set a schedule for yourself so that you will have a certain time that you dedicate to your studying online. You should also vary the activities you do so that you don't get overwhelmed when you keep doing the same task all the time. This includes doing some of the listening activities, repeating the sentences, doing the activities and playing some of the games.
If you did enroll in classes, the instructor will use various techniques to help you learn and perfect your speaking skills. The same is true of an online course. You can take an audio English course in which you listen to conversations and passages on a wide variety of topics. Since the script of the passages is available on the screen, you can read along with the speaker and then record yourself reading the same passages. This activity will help you learn the correct nuances of pronunciation of the English language.
An online course also includes lessons on the rules of grammar that start right at the beginning with how to introduce yourself to someone else. This takes the form of short dialogues that you can read on the screen and listen to. Then you can go to the instruction on how to use the various structures and then to different kinds of practice exercises to make sure that you have learned the concept. The practice exercises for the audio lessons take the form of comprehension questions to make sure you understand what you hear and read.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Johnson
Speaking English is not just about using the proper pronunciation of the words. It is possible for a person to know what how to pronounce words and to read sentences, but if you do not know the rules of grammar and be able to understand what you read, you cannot really call yourself a fluent English speaker.
There are many free online courses you can take to help you learn to speak English or become better at speaking the language. While some people just want to learn English for the sake of knowing another language, there are those that want to attend college to gain a specialized diploma or degree that is only offered in an English-speaking country and others want to learn to speak English to advance their careers. Also, there are those who feel that only a course that charges tuition is of any value to them but this is not so. There are very comprehensive online courses in English that are completely free.
Your reasons for taking the course will dictate the commitment you make to the learning process. You should set a schedule for yourself so that you will have a certain time that you dedicate to your studying online. You should also vary the activities you do so that you don't get overwhelmed when you keep doing the same task all the time. This includes doing some of the listening activities, repeating the sentences, doing the activities and playing some of the games.
If you did enroll in classes, the instructor will use various techniques to help you learn and perfect your speaking skills. The same is true of an online course. You can take an audio English course in which you listen to conversations and passages on a wide variety of topics. Since the script of the passages is available on the screen, you can read along with the speaker and then record yourself reading the same passages. This activity will help you learn the correct nuances of pronunciation of the English language.
An online course also includes lessons on the rules of grammar that start right at the beginning with how to introduce yourself to someone else. This takes the form of short dialogues that you can read on the screen and listen to. Then you can go to the instruction on how to use the various structures and then to different kinds of practice exercises to make sure that you have learned the concept. The practice exercises for the audio lessons take the form of comprehension questions to make sure you understand what you hear and read.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Johnson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)