How to improve my communication in english

[deyatanudey]

Dear All,
I am sorry I am asking you very fundamental question.
I feel myself not so rich in english communication in any format. English is not my mother tongue. I grope for words lousily when I want to communicate because of lack of vocabulary skills. Is there any way I can be enriched in vocabulary. Any good books available? Any other way I can improve my communication power?

Many thanks,
Atanu

 

[piotrekpodgajny]

In my opinion, the best way to practice your communication skills is to actually speak in English. Try looking for conversation partners and practice with them. Or - you could try to watch movies without subtitles and simply listen to English. Good luck!

 

[deyatanudey]

In my opinion, the best way to practice your communication skills is to actually speak in English. Try looking for conversation partners and practice with them. Or - you could try to watch movies without subtitles and simply listen to English. Good luck!

Many many thanks. That will encourage me to improve in english.

 

[Tdol]

Simply learning vocabulary often doesn't help that much- it is better to focus on knowing how to use words properly than just getting to know a lot of them. :up:

 

[markteacher]

Really, the secret to learning English is to USE IT. Speak English as much as possible, listen to English all day long (passive listening), and so on. I cannot post links yet, but message me and I can send you the full link with tips on how to do this.

For vocab, don't study a huge list of words. Only study one or two words a day, but study them multiple times a day (morning, afternoon, and night, then again a few days later). And when you practice your English, try to use these words, even if it's a bit awkward. Using the words will help you learn them forever because they will be part of your long-term memory.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

- Mark

 

[student22]

My native language is Arabic . I studied English in my country but was not enough to speak fluently . now I am trying to improve English by learning new words and their meaning with examples . Unfortunately i did not find chance to practice these words . I asked your advises to help me .........
thanks a lot

 

[markteacher]

A few more tips:

- Learn words in English, not in Arabic! I suggest using a learner's dictionary, such as Merriam-Webster's. You can search for one online (I still cannot post links). These dictionaries are only in English, but use very simple English to help ESL students.

- You can also search online for example sentences to get an idea of how the word is used. For example, if the word is "recover", you can search for "example sentences recover". You can also read the example sentences or phrases listed in the dictionary.

- I recommend using a word of the day service or two. This makes it easy to get new words to learn every day. Again, search the internet or try my website. Also, make sure the word of the day is ONLY IN ENGLISH, not a translation from Arabic!

Good luck with your studies!

- Mark

 

[jgreen79]

watching movies and reading books would always help.

Dear All,
I am sorry I am asking you very fundamental question.
I feel myself not so rich in english communication in any format. English is not my mother tongue. I grope for words lousily when I want to communicate because of lack of vocabulary skills. Is there any way I can be enriched in vocabulary. Any good books available? Any other way I can improve my communication power?

Many thanks,
Atanu

 

[spanishflame]

Some would suggest that you can enrich your vocabulary by reading books, magazines, newspapers. This is true but the vocabulary from books is suitable for written English mainly.
When you encounter native speakers written English sounds odd and funny. You might give the impression you want to sound more educated perhaps even snobbish.
Instantly your chance to speak to a native speaker is gone.
The most natural way to improve, enrich and pick up the right words is watching native speakers talk about everyday life situations and listen to them.
I apologize for any mistakes which may occur as I am a foreigner myself.

 

[Roaa1]

Does anyone know the best chat program to improve my conversation :-(

 

[student22]

thank you I also need the best chat programme to practice English .

 

[Tdol]

Most chat programs do broadly the same things, so any should do.

 

[spanishflame]

exactly, you need to learn in context and it will help you to start thinking in the language

 

[spanishflame]

I do not understand one thing why should English Native speakers waste their time on helping foreigners to improve their language skills for free, when they need to strain so much to understand them.

 

[Tdol]

The vast majority of the communication here is relatively strain-free.

 

[5jj]

I do not understand one thing why should English Native speakers waste their time on helping foreigners to improve their language skills for free, when they need to strain so much to understand them.

I do not consider helping learners to improve their language skills to be a waste of time.

 

[markteacher]

I do not consider helping learners to improve their language skills to be a waste of time.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'd much rather be helping someone in my spare time than doing something pointless in the long run (TV, video games, etc.)

 

[yunaszaire]

Hey all, I am new here and I'm glad that I found this forum.

I have problem to communicate in English, which is embarrassing especially during presentation in class.
I could not talk fluently and usually I lost my words, ideas and everything when I speak in front of the class.
I am now 22 years old and I really need to improve my English language as I'm going to graduate soon and search for job.

It is really frustrating when I failed to express my ideas and thoughts in front of my classmates.
Honestly, if now I am standing in front of people, I am sure enough that I can not speak my mind out.
I am better at writing (even my grammar sucks and my vocab is not so good).

How can I help myself in this matter?

 

[Tdol]

Your writing certainly isn't bad, so you know enough language to speak. Therefore, the problem may be one of confidence. Many people worry about making mistakes when speaking and this can create a feedback loop. When speaking, mistakes are important if they impede communication, so focus on getting your message across, which is the most important thing. If your listener understands you, you have communicated successfully. Worry less, speak more. :up:

 

[Esredux]

Making mistakes while speaking is common but how can we know that we made mistakes unless the other person or listener correct it; if the other person doesn't correct it how we should identify that we made mistakes!! Please help!!

By self-study. Invest enough time and effort in learning the language and you'll be surprised to notice that you can hear your own mistakes. With time, the something in your head that helped you spot your mistakes will become powerful enough to correct any inaccuracy before the utterance.
Speaking to anyone who is at least a level higher than yourself, apart from developing speaking skills, is a good indicator of how well your have been doing in language study.

ps. Talking to someone who is constantly correcting your mistakes means this somebody is a teacher. :lol: Otherwise, there'll be very little of a natural conversation - people don't "correct"each other unless " the mistake" is about the content/meaning/sense or attitudes.