4 Practical Tips to Improve English

Do you ever face this - You have a lot to say in a conversation, but you avoid it just because you are not too confident with the language? You think you will mess up with sentence structure or pronounce a word wrong.  While writing in English, you find yourself wondering what word matches your subject, or you just can’t get the active/passive correct. 

 As a non-native English speaker, you face such challenges, and it is absolutely okay. If you think you want to improve both your written and verbal English, here are some tips for you. Even if you think you are fluent in this language, there’s always something to learn.

In this post, we will first talk about the most powerful weapon to improve language - reading. Then we will discuss 4 practical tips that you can follow. 

Keep Reading!

Read, Read, and Read

This is something everybody must have told you. But what nobody tells is what to read, especially if you are not someone who generally reads. If this is the case for you then we suggest that you begin by reading online content. It could be news, op-eds, fanfiction articles, etc. What do you like? You like gardening; read related articles, if you like to travel then read travel blogs. Once you feel comfortable with reading long blog posts then shift to books. 

The aim is not just to learn phrases and fancy words, but to read a range of things that will help you learn different styles and voices. It will help you understand the nuances of the language, and distinguish between good and poor quality writing. 

Practical Tips to Improve English

• Break big words into smaller chunks - big words can be intimidating. How's this word? -  rodomontade. Reading the first time, you will be ‘rodo... rodo what?!’ The trick to correctly pronounce such words is to break them into smaller parts that are easier to pronounce. For example - antiestablishment: anti+establish+ment. This will improve your ability to pronounce words correctly.
• Check for correct pronunciation - if you do not know how to pronounce a word, look for its pronunciation. It is better to check twice and learn the third time than to speak incorrectly. When doing this, if you find some words that are new for you, you can even make a list and go back to it once a month. This will help build your vocabulary.
• Work on grammar rules - this may sound too 7th grade, but it works. Good grammar knowledge eliminates errors in writing and rewards you with clear communication.  Once a week, it's a good thing to spend time and polish grammar rules. There are many websites available for learning English grammar. You can even go back to using Wren and Martin. It’s fun sometimes.
• Communicate - As it is said, ‘practice makes a man perfect.’ One way to improve English is to actually speak. The more you communicate, the more you will know where you make mistakes, and how you can improve. Some websites and forums also allow language learners to connect and learn. You can join such platforms. 

Learning any language takes time. The only way to get better is to be curious, keep learning, learn from your mistakes, and be confident. 

Do you follow such tips to improve your English language skills? Comment and share with us.