Improving Your Speaking Skills

Tips

1. Use English in your daily life as much as possible.

It’s more important to have frequent contact with English than to have hours and hours
of study. Using English for 10 minutes a day, every day, is better than studying for 1
hour only once a week.
Even if you don’t live in an English-speaking country, there are still many ways to do
this!

Here are just a few suggestions for making English part of your daily life:

 Listen to English as you drive to work.

 Read the news online in English instead of in your native language.
 Practice thinking in English while you are doing housework or exercise.
 Read articles, listen to podcasts, and watch videos in English about topics you enjoy (this
is important! You will make much more progress if you are having fun during the
process).

2. Listen
Listen to news bulletins and songs in English to listen to the pronunciation of words. You
can also learn new words and expressions this way. The more you listen, the more you
learn! Try copying what you hear to practice your pronunciation and learn which words
in a sentence are stressed.

3. Read out loud

Read the newspaper or a magazine out to yourself. You could even find a script for your
favorite TV show and act it out! This is a great way to practice pronunciation because
you only need to concentrate on making sure you English sounds great and don’t need
to worry about sentence structure or grammar.

4. Reading and Listening is NOT enough. Practice speaking what you hear!
Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any language. The
same is true for English. However, speaking is the only requirement to be fluent. It is
normal for babies and children to learn speaking first, become fluent, then start reading,
then writing. So the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, and then writing.

5. Practice talking to yourself.

This is REALLY an excellent way to develop your fluency and build your confidence.
There is no pressure to be perfect, and nobody else will hear your mistakes.
 For speaking ideas, go to this website and choose a topic. Imagine somebody is asking
you the question. Then practice answering it by talking to yourself out loud.
Yes… it feels a little bit silly. But you can do it alone where no one will hear you, and it’s
a great step to putting your English into practice.

Useful phrases

Fancy a cuppa? = Do you want a cup of tea?

I’m easy = I don’t mind
I’m off = I have to go / I have the day off
Cheers = thank you
I’m having second thoughts = you’re not sure
I’ll sleep on it = when you have to think about it very carefully
Fair enough = it is ok for me

Phrasal verbs

Ok everybody settle down = pay attention, silence.

We’ve got a lot to get through = we have a lot of work to do
Let’s crack on with it = let’s start with this
We need to get down to business = we have to work
The meeting has been called off until further notice = the meeting has been cancelled
Can I just bring up one more thing? = to mention something
Thanks for pointing that out = to draw attention to something
I’m looking into it = I’m investigating it

Ways to say no

Informal (depending on the situation)

No way
Don’t even think about it
Not in a million years
You must be out of your mind
Over my dead body

Formal
Actually, I’d rather not doing this now…
I’d love to but…
I wish I could but…
I’m afraid I can’t…
I’m not really keen on

Idioms

Better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t)
Speak of the devil
To kill two birds with one stone
When pigs fly
You rock! = You’re great
Go the extra mile = to make a special effort
Pull yourself together = to calm down
Hang in there = be patient
Blow me away = it surprises me so much
It’s a no-brainer = an easy decision
Freak out = to be scared
Hit the books = study very hard
Miss the boat = miss an opportunity
24/7 = all the time, constantly
Once in a blue moon = rarely
Stick your nose into something = to interfere (She always sticks her nose into other’s
businesses)
Take it easy = relax