Do you get nervous when you have to talk to people face-to-face?
Even if you love to talk in your native language, speaking English can make a simple conversation much more challenging.
Far too often, English students do not look for opportunities to practice speaking their new language outside the classroom.
There are a million ways you can improve your English conversational skills – even if you don’t live in an English-speaking country.
Here, we’re going to share nine of the best ways to make this happen.
In this modern age, you only need to go online to discover tons of great opportunities!
The best thing about English is its popularity. Most people speak it at one level or another. All you need to do is look around and take advantage of the resources you already have to carry your speaking to the next level.
Think about the people you have a good relationship with. This includes your friends, colleagues and family members.
How many of them speak English better than you? How many have a similar fluency level?
If there are cool people in your life who speak English, ask them to practice with you. Set up coffee dates and Skype appointments. Chances are, they’ll be eager to talk to you since this benefits them as well.
As an ESL teacher, I’ve discovered that most of my students have at least one family member or close friend who speaks English more fluently than they do. Yet they never practice together.
Chatting (talking casually), even if it’s just typing, can help with your conversation skills. If you decide to chat in English online, be sure to use good grammar and spellings instead of using online slang.
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Here’s the thing about the internet: While chatting, you usually don’t want to make the other person wait. This means that you’ll try to come up with answers fast. Internet connections are fast these days, so you can still look up words you don’t know and answer your chat buddies swiftly (fast). This assists (helps) you to think in English, making you a faster speaker in the long run.
If you’re using Skype, you can actually speak too. You don’t even have to turn on your camera if you don’t want to. The important thing is that you’re practicing your conversation skills!
Worried about speaking correctly in your new language? Too much concern (worry) about speaking correctly might stop you from engaging in conversations, so you’ll need to relax a little. However, being too laid-back (relaxed) about this won’t help you in the future.
I had one student who was a lot more confident in his speaking than all his fellow students, but he never paid attention to his mistakes. At the end of the term, his confidence was still high but his accuracy hadn’t improved.
Why is this bad? He had the grammar of an intermediate-level student and the speaking skill level of an elementary-level student. He was so confident that he did not care when he messed up (made mistakes). This meant that he would never figure out (learn) the right way to say things. If you want to speak English casually and not use it in your professional life, and you don’t care about advancing to a higher level of English, this is okay. But you’ll need to really consider (think about) what your goals are with English.
If you have the time and money, it’s a great idea to go on vacation in an English-speaking country. You’ll have to practice English for the length of your stay.
However, not every country, city or town filled with English-speaking people is a great place to practice English.
Go to towns and cities that have very few people from your country and other tourists. This way, you won’t pick the easy way out when you feel uninspired, shy or lazy. If there are many people speaking your native language (not English) in your destination, try to avoid these foreign communities and interact with locals instead. When speaking with other people from your home country, insist that you both speak in English if possible.
Picking cheaper destinations means your money will last longer and you can spend more time abroad. So, maybe you should avoid London or New York if money for travel is limited. The pricier (more expensive) places also tend to be more touristy, so that’s one more reason to avoid them. It’s a win-win!
While you’re watching movies or television shows in English, you’ll have some great chances to practice English listening and speaking skills.
Because most TV shows rely on continuity, they’re bound to repeat certain things. Pick a TV show or a movie you already love and don’t tire of watching. Since you already know what’s going to happen and what everyone will say, you won’t have to worry about understanding anything. Watch once and just practice paying attention to dialogue (conversations) and how people speak. Pause at regular intervals to emulate (match, typically by imitation) their tone and pronunciation. Repeating what people say will help you sound more natural.
Do this regularly. You can even record your own voice to catch any mistakes you make while practicing.
But there is one problem with using movies and TV shows to learn English. They can be REALLY hard.
Luckily, there’s a solution: FluentU.
FluentU takes fun videos like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks, and it turns them into English lessons. FluentU does this in two ways. First, you can watch videos with helpful captions. When you click on the captions, you can see images, definitions, example sentences, and even examples of the word in other videos.
Second, there is a “learn mode.” It’s a quiz, but it uses the video examples to create questions.
The best part?
FluentU knows what you’re learning, and it uses it to deliver a personalized experience for you.
You don’t need to be in a country whose first language is English to practice. Even if you’re traveling in your own country, chances are good that you’ll run into many tourists.
Many native speakers actually like and respect the fact that you’re making the effort to speak their language. Non-native speakers tend to appreciate the chance to practice.
If you’re looking for common ground (things you have in common), why don’t you start by asking each other about places you have been to?
With so many social networking sites and active online forums, you can find at least a couple of websites that focus on your interests. Just pick a website you like, create a free account and start chatting with like-minded people.
If you notice other users are being strict about grammar and use of language, start by saying that English isn’t your native tongue. They’ll be friendlier and more understanding about your mistakes. And while you shouldn’t worry too much about being 100% accurate, it won’t hurt to read what you have typed before sending it out there. This self-editing practice will help you in the professional world as well.
I use the international networking site Meetup. I get alerts in my inbox when someone creates a Meetup group in an area I’m interested in, like Italian conversation practice. There are usually several English language practice groups in any major city, so all you have to do is look around. Joining any Meetup group is free. You only have to pay a small fee if you form one yourself.
This is especially true when you’re spending time in international coffee shop chains or pubs where speaking to strangers is more or less expected.
Coffee shops are great places to meet with friends, have a cup of coffee and unwind (relax). They’ve become so popular that nowadays they’re frequented by several different demographics (particular groups of a population), so you’ll probably see many people about your age.
People usually go to coffee shops to work (or play) on their laptops and use the wireless internet connection, so it’s easy to start a conversation by asking how it works (if you’re new there) or helping newcomers with their questions.
You don’t have to be best friends, but when you spot a foreigner you can offer friendly advice and take it from there. Sometimes people will talk to you first.
If there’s a college or institution nearby that offers classes in English and you can afford them, give them a try. As long as the students are encouraged to speak in English, even a cooking or dancing class will make it possible for you to practice your conversation skills.
Integrating English into your everyday life might sound like a difficult task when you don’t have much free time, but it’ll be worth it. Even 15 extra minutes every week will enhance your confidence and fluency. Just make sure you don’t completely let go of accuracy, or focus too much on it that it prevents you from conversing freely. Remember, learning English is supposed to be fun! Hp serial number.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.
Have you tried to learn English with YouTube?
YouTube isn’t just about cats and silly videos anymore.
You’ll quickly find thousands of English learning videos on YouTube—for free.
But then how will you know what to watch?
To help you, I’ve picked my top 11 channels to help you learn English with YouTube. The styles are all very different, but they’re all really fun and interesting.
So, you might be asking: “Why should I use learn English with YouTube?”
Here are a few reasons:
One of the best reasons to learn English with YouTube is that most of the lessons are short, but convey a lot of information in easy-to-understand ways. There’s no chance of you losing your focus. By dipping into one short lesson a day you will soon notice the difference in your ability to speak English.
Learning any new language is going to be a challenge. But the experience doesn’t have to be painful. You can even find thousands of YouTube videos with extra English learning features on FluentU. FluentU takes YouTube English lessons plus authentic English YouTube videos (like movie trailers, music videos, inspiring speeches, etc.) and adds fun learning tools.
For example, FluentU provides interactive subtitles. You can click any word in the subtitles for an instant definition, memorable picture and examples. Every FluentU English language video also comes with flashcards and fun quizzes to make sure you remember the words you’ve learned.
The videos are conveniently organized by level (beginner to advanced) and you can take them anywhere with the FluentU apps for iOS or Android.
Whether you are a child, teenager or adult, absolute beginner, intermediate or advanced ESL student, YouTube has a lot of English learning videos and channels that are available for free. Hope you enjoy the ones shown here!
This is one of the most popular YouTube channels for English learning videos. It’s easy to see why.
Misterduncan is passionate about his topic. He’s excited about English and you can feel it in these well-made videos. He uses humor a lot of the time to help you learn. Misterduncan teaches English to the world for free and has had a channel on YouTube since 2006.
There are many lessons on topics like the senses, slang, news, fashion and money. They’re easy to watch and are about how the language is spoken instead of grammar.
Designed for rapid English language learning, these interesting video lessons cover many aspects of American and British culture. So you can discover more about the countries as you learn their language.
If you love their videos, there’s much more that you can learn from EnglishClass101 by Innovative Language.
It’s so much more than a YouTube channel! It’s actually a complete English learning program with over 1,000 English language video and audio lessons. You can sign up for free and learn more on their official website, here.
Real English is one of the best YouTube channels for English language beginners and has a large library of free lessons. Each one includes two videos, one with subtitles and one without and a handful of exercises.
It has real people and real-life situations, so you get a true feel for how people really speak English.
From one of the world’s most famous broadcasting companies (the British Broadcasting Corporation) comes a bunch of free English language lessons. They’re in a variety of formats such as real-life situations, cartoons and interviews.
There’s also a really cool collection of videos for words you’ll hear in the news. The videos are short but filled with a lot of really good information.
Songs are among the most enjoyable and effective ways to learn a new language. Their melodies and rhythms help to create strong memories, vital for picking up new verbs, expressions and colloquialisms.
Both children and adults who are learning English as a second language can benefit from listening and singing along to nursery rhymes (traditional kids’ songs), as they help to improve memory and recall skills.
The British Council’s Learn English Kids is a superb channel that’s packed with animated videos of nursery rhymes. Each well-produced English language video features entertaining cartoons and subtitles in English.
Children love being read stories and the British Council’s YouTube channel also features animations of favorite children’s tales including “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” As with the nursery rhymes, the cartoons are accompanied by subtitles in English.
https://youtu.be/Oaw-d3r_gIc?list=PL17E353040E588A05
The channel also features a “word of the week” English language video series where you can see and hear children from around the world say a new word.
You can ask for directions, get a meal in a restaurant and tell the time in English. But what if you’re called on to attend a business meeting conducted in English?
There’s no need to break out into a cold sweat as Business English Pod has it covered with clear and thorough lessons on topics such as supply chain management, finance/economics and contract law.
VOA is something a bit different. The channel offers subtitled news reports that are read out at slower speeds than normal. This gives the viewer time to hear every word clearly and to see the shape of the announcer’s mouth as he or she reads the script.
VOA also posts its Google+ Hangouts where callers from around the world discuss in English the stories that have been making the news. Other Hangouts provide tips on grammar and different aspects of speaking the English language.
English with Jennifer is a rich collection of hundreds of videos that are grouped into easy-to-use playlists. There are lessons for beginners, lessons to improve your writing in English, lessons on grammar and many more.
What marks them out as a cut above the rest is the fresh and simple presentation and the special focus on pronunciation. There are no scripts and no actors, just real, natural English language speaking. In common with many other language learning channels, there is interactivity as well.
Britlish takes a different approach from many other language learning channels. It concentrates learning around interesting things that you may encounter. For example, there are lessons about the vocabulary you will need at an airport, creepy-crawlies (insects) and types of musical instruments.
The narration is straightforward and accompanied by subtitles and occasionally some fascinating scenes. The lessons all link to follow-up interactive elements on the Britlish website, which are also free.
Learning English with YouTube is a lot easier with EF podEnglish. These are slick, bite-sized five-minute English lessons that are aimed at English language learners at every level, from absolute beginners to advanced students. They’re well-structured with a three-part lesson plan: watch, learn and try.
There’s a great range of topics, too. These include families, pets, directions, weather, films and technology. Some of the lessons use humor to get the points across. These are welcome touches that make learning easier and ensure that new words are memorized.
This channel’s videos are designed to help you learn English quickly and include real American slang, idioms and phrasal verbs.
This is a good introduction to common American words that differ from their English counterparts.
Well, that’s my list of 11 great channels to learn English with YouTube. With these great free English learning videos, nothing stands between you and fluency!
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.
Pick a topic that your class would enjoy. Poll the students or choose a topic yourself that fits in with your curriculum. Select a video and save the URL. If you do not have an Internet connection in class, try Keepvid, a site that allows you to download videos to your computer.
Watch the video a few times and create a guide to any difficult vocabulary. Prepare a short introduction. Free marriage and divorce dates. The more context you provide, the better your ESL students will understand the video. Include your introduction, the vocabulary list, and the URL (web page address) of the YouTube video on a class handout. Then create a short quiz based on the video.
Distribute copies of the handout. Go over the introduction and difficult vocabulary list to make sure everyone understands what will happen. Then watch the video as a class. This will work better if you have access to a computer lab, so students can watch the video repeatedly. Students then can work on the quiz sheet in small groups or in pairs.
Most likely, students will enjoy the video and will want to watch more. Encourage this. If possible, give students 20 minutes or so at the computers to explore YouTube.
For homework, assign your ESL students to groups of four or five and ask each group to find a short video to present to the class. Ask them to provide an introduction, a difficult vocabulary list, the URL of their video, and a follow-up quiz modeled on the worksheet you created. Have each student group exchange worksheets with another group and complete the exercise. Afterward, students can compare notes on the YouTube videos they watched.
Basics of English Speaking for beginners using common expressions. |
Regular English Lessons Learn what to say and how to say things in daily conversations. |
Business English Lessons Improve your English fluency in a business and office setting. |
Improve your listening skills with fun questions and answers. |
Basics of English Grammar Build basic grammar skills pertaining to English speaking. |
Idioms and Phrases Learn idioms and phrases that are hard to translate. |
Interview English Lessons Prepare for any kind of interview conducted in English and gain confidence. |