Tips to improve spoken English

Speak in English: If you want to learn something, then you have to do it. Speak in English
whenever and wherever you get a chance.

Speak confidently: Confidence is something that comes by practice. Try to speak with
confidence in English. It conveys the idea that you are familiar with the topic and can
converse easily on it. Small fumbling in words are usually ignored in this case by the listener.

Are you fluent or are you accurate?: Fluency and accuracy are the reverse of each other. If
you think and then speak, then you would be more accurate and avoid errors. On the other-
hand speaking fluently demands a free flow of ideas in your mind, and chances are high that
you can fumble in between. Good fluency comes by practice. Try to be fluent while
maintaining accuracy. If you feel that accuracy is getting compromised, then speak more
slowly.

Use a dictionary: A dictionary is a valuable companion. Whenever you encounter any new
word, just make a note of it. Moreover, a dictionary contains the phonemes before the
meaning of the word. These phonemes are the way to pronounce the word correctly. This
will help in getting the right pronunciation as well as meaning of words.

Choose the right words: In communication the choice of correct words is essential. If you
want to express some idea, selecting accurate words can convey the meaning much more
effectively. Many times people use too many words and sentences to describe even a small
topic. This is not a good practice. Try to speak accurately and to the point.

Make a sentence from any word you learn: Try to make a sentence from any word that you
find as new or difficult. This helps in better remembering the word. When you make a
sentence, then your brain actually works to think over the meaning of that word and how it
fits into a sentence. You also get accustomed to using new words into sentences.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes: You cannot learn something without making mistakes.
Learn from your mistakes and improve yourself.

Avoid using the same words again and again: Using the same words again and again makes
the listener think that you don't have a good vocabulary and that you have poor spoken
skills. Try to vary words among sentences. This helps to keep the listener involved and
interested.
 Involve the listener by asking questions: Communication is always two sided. If you are
giving a seminar or presentation, keep asking small questions. This ensures that the
audience is paying attention to what you are saying and are actively engaged in listening.

Be a good listener: If you want to be a good speaker then listening is very important. For
speaking we must be aware of the correct sounds, phonemes and pronunciation of words.
Being a good listener helps us to attain this.

Speak Slowly: Speaking slowly gives the listener time to understand what you have said, so
they are better prepared for the coming words and can relate to them. Moreover, speaking
slowly gives you time to think over your own words. You get extra time to properly rephrase
your sentence so as to make the best impact. The choice of words is usually much better
when we speak slowly.

Stress punctuation: Punctuation can change the meaning of sentences. Many people speak
sentences in a flow, and they don't stress the correct punctuation. The listener can get
confused or the wrong information.

Pronounce the beginning and ending of words correctly: It is a crucial tip for English
communication. If you say the start and end of any word correctly, then your words will be
much clearer to the listener. Most of the time we enunciate the start of the word correctly,
but jump over the ending part of the word. This makes the pronunciation a bit tricky and
the listener is unable to clearly understand our words.

Read out loud: Reading English text helps improve grammar and vocabulary, but reading
them aloud helps in improving spoken English. The aim is to stretch mouth muscles so they
get used to speaking English words. Moreover the mind gets trained so that the words can
be spoken with confidence.

Do not translate while speaking: Translation between the first language and the target
language slows communication. Avoid translating while speaking as this creates a bad
impression on the other person who may assume that it implies that you cannot speak
English well.

Reference: The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XII, No. 11, November 2006 http://iteslj.org/