Being a student in India, English speaking and writing becomes a bit significant. Owing to the number of job opportunities, pattern of some competitive exams and better availability of study material, it becomes somewhat easier for a student to access education and better employment if he/she is fluent in English. Moreover, if you want to study abroad, English fluency becomes a necessity then.
However, most of the students face difficulties in fluently reading and writing in English language. Many of them are good writers, but poor speakers and vice versa. This article will emphasise upon 5 tips to improve English for students. Follow these tips consistently to improve your English speaking and writing skills.
- The More you read, the better you write. The more you listen, the better you speak.
This is the fundamental rule to learn and improve any language. Try reading and listening as much English as you can. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a boring source like English newspapers or complex podcasts. You can start with story books, novels and English movies, for instance.
Some book recommendations are provided below. You can start reading these simple English novels.
- The alchemist
- How to win friends and influence people?
- Rich dad, poor dad.
- The power of your subconscious mind
- The secret
- 2. Work on vocabulary
Most of the students complain “We don’t get the right word to express ourselves on the spot and thus we get stuck.” This is not an uncommon problem. Not getting the right word to express yourselves is indicative of your poor vocabulary.
Strengthening your vocab is the next important step in improving your English spoken skills and writing skills.
- Again, books and novels are one of the best sources to increase your vocab.
- You may refer to English newspapers too.
- Try to learn at least 2 new words every day and use them in normal conversation.
- You must have a notepad, either digital or manual, to list down all the new words you are learning.
- 3. Face the mirror, Speak.
One of the fears of students who aren’t much well versed with English is that people will judge them if they try to speak in English with them. This cancels out the possibility of talking to people in English for improvement, as there is a high chance that you may be get discouraged.
A better option, then, is to talk to yourself. Face the mirror, introduce yourself, explain some concepts, talk about your hobbies. Try doing this for 10-20 minutes every day. You will see the improvement yourself.
- 4. Start expressing in English
This is for the written part. No matter how bad you are in English or how much grammatically incorrect you are, it is important that you start writing in English to improve yourself.
At the end of the day, you can express yourself by writing a diary. Every time something good or bad happens with you, try expressing it in words. Write down your goals, vision, thinking, etc. in English. This will not only improve your English but also help you in knowing yourself better.
- 5. Record yourself
Many people complain that they get too conscious while speaking in English. Many of them have problems with their pronunciation.
The best way to get over these things is to record yourself while you are speaking in English, analyse and improve.
You may use a voice recorder or a video recorder as per your need. Recording your voice will help improving your pronunciation, recording a video will help you analyse your posture and appearance while speaking.
All the best!
