How to be more confident when speaking English

A big problem for many people is the inability to express themselves in English. They are comfortable reading and writing in English, but when it comes to speaking English, they get tongue-tied. They prefer to speak in their native language with their family and friends, knowing full well that the more they speak English, the better they will improve. These articles talk about some things that, if done regularly, can overcome doubts and make a person fluent in English.

The first step is to make a goal. A goal should be to speak English confidently by a certain date. Make a poster of that date and until that date, eat, live and breathe English.

Second, make sure you spend at least an hour reading and writing in English. Pick up any newspaper and spend time reading it. It is true that you can get bored reading the political news or the editorial. Try to read what interests you, it could be the sports page or the entertainment page. It doesn’t matter what you read, what matters is that you read in English.

Now is the time to focus on written English. Make a summary of what you have read in the newspaper. Start with a hundred word abstract and slowly increase the word limit until you are writing five hundred words every day. Writing gives you the opportunity to structure your thoughts and be coherent. However, more important than writing is having someone proofread your writing. This someone should be a much better English speaker than you. Ask him to point out all the mistakes you’ve made. Now try and rewrite the essay after correcting those errors. This will ensure that these errors do not appear in your spoken English.

Tell everyone in your house to speak to you only in English. Even if they speak to you in their regional language, you must reply in English. You should also try to involve your friends with you. A great way is to make a conversation group and practice English every day. This helps all members to improve and is also a source of motivation in the English improvement process.

There are so many other things that can be done to improve English. Some people only watch English movies and shows on TV. Others practice the language in front of the mirror. All of these techniques can be useful and effective if you are determined to become fluent in English.