10 USEFUL TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR SPOKEN ENGLISH

 In many countries, English is everyday language speakers chose as a language of communication. Many speakers are good at it, and other speakers are poor at the speaking of English. If the truth be told, English is a lingua Franca in many societies in this contemporary world. 

Everybody speaks English; few people speak right. The first speaker says, 'The wedding was very interesting', and the second speaker says, 'The wedding is absolutely interesting'. The speakers speak in English; but, only the second speaker speaks right. The first speaker speaks badly - because, INTERESTING in its original meaning, has VERY in its definition already - but, the second speaker modifies INTERESTING with ABSOLUTELY which is grammatically acceptable.

Here, you will be exposed to the tips that will help you speak right in the public. The tips that will help you to be improved on your spoken English will be discussed below. 

To be improved on your spoken English, the useful tips below should be well studied and adhered to:

1. Read regularly.

2. Think in English.

3. Listen to BBC news regularly.

4. Watch English movies. 

5. Listen to advanced speakers. 

6. Record yourself and listen later. 

7. Use English dictionaries regularly.

8. Get feedback from close friends.

9. Take to correction when corrected.

10. Find reasons to speak in public. 

Let's shed light on the aforementioned tips that could help you improve on your spoken English skills:

READ REGULARLY

Everybody believes that, practice makes perfect. What you do or practice regularly, you will definitely be skillful at it. At some point, reading will be something you do on a daily basis - in fact, it has to be what you do on a daily basis. The more you read, the more you know. Therefore, cultivate the habit of reading to become a leader as a result of the reading. Till tomorrow, readers will be leaders. 

THINK IN ENGLISH

It seems people think it's not all human beings that think. For the record, everybody thinks. When you see a man staring at a spot but not really seeing what is in the particular spot, s/he must be thinking or cogitating on something (ir)relevant . Thinking in English helps your spoken English skills. Everybody voices out what s/he thinks - so, what people hear from you is believed to be what your thinking is. Everybody has opportunity to make necessary correction while thinking before voicing out.

LISTEN TO BBC NEWS

On the radio, there are news broadcast in English, broadcast in Pidgin, broadcast in Yoruba, broadcast in Igbo, broadcast in Hausa etc. For the sakes of a better speaking skills, you can give more attention to BBC News - in order to speak right. Listening to BBC News births speaking of British English; if your intention is to speak British English.

WATCH ENGLISH MOVIES

One of the best way to learn speaking is to watch English movies. Many a time, you speak what you hear - not really your usual way of speaking. The movie you watch might make you or break you. If you truly want to spice up your spoken English skills, watch English movies and keep your eyes on the subtitles (if it's subtitled) for words you might not understand.

LISTEN TO ADVANCE SPEAKERS

Listen to Les Brown, Steve Harris, Praise George and many other public speakers. The point of fact is, people choose advanced speakers based on what they are looking for. There are motivational speakers, inspirational speakers - and, there are speakers like pastors, teachers, coaches etc. If your intention is to become a pastor in the near future, you'll have to look out for a pastor that speak the gospel truth with good communication skills. Then, you try to practice what s/he does in your own unique ways.

RECORD YOURSELF AND LISTEN LATER.

Presenters often record themselves in a studio - to listen to themselves back at home. They want to either judge their performance themselves or send to friends to judge their performance. If you listen to your own record and you feel bad about it, your audience/congregation must be feeling the same way you are feeling - once bitten, twice shy. 

USE ENGLISH DICTIONARIES REGULARLY

The final judge that can give a reliable fact is an English dictionary. An up-and-coming elocutionist must consult English dictionaries always - to understand the subtle intricacies of English grammar and English phonics - then, the use of English. All you've got in your speech can only be adjudged to be grammatically and phonetically correct if they are acceptable in English lexicons.

GET FEEDBACK FROM FRIENDS

To know how far you've gone or improved, you will need bonafide friends that will give you genuine feedback on your performance. The genuine feedback you get from them will reveal your strength and your weakness that you will have to work on before another presentation. 

TAKE TO CORRECTION WHEN CORRECTED

The feedback you will get from your friends might appear like discouragement, but you've got to submit yourself to their gospel truth. When corrections come, take note of them, write them down and thank them; so that you'll get more from them. They will definitely tell you the truth on your strength too; but, you must not be fooled or carried away by the truth. Let your attention be on correcting the weakness. 

FIND REASONS TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC 

In case you have nowhere to go to speak in order to record yourself, go out or call your friends on the phone to speak with them on anything that you'll have to be the speaker. Sometimes, you will not be giving speech to deliver, nor a message to preach in your church, mosque or at school - then you have to find another reason to speak with someone around you.  

In conclusion, always speak to yourself and write it someone in your room that; speakers are leaders.

Since you want to be a leader like other successful leaders, you will always be optimistic and work harder - to become a sought-after public speaker, too.