How to Improve English Communication Skills

In this day and age, possessing good English communication skills is a necessity. English is a global language and we must always strive to improve. However, if you have been studying English for a while but still find it difficult to communicate, how to overcome that obstacle? It will take a little ingenuity and effort, but luckily, learning is a lot easier now. Are you ready to get started now?

Table of Contents

Improve speaking skills

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Speak English with native speakers. In some places it is extremely difficult, but this is the best way to learn English. Talking with native speakers is the most effective way to improve your English, especially speaking skills. You can chat via Skype, make a phone call or ask them to take a moment to speak English with you. Your level will improve faster this way.

If they are tourists, you can invite them to dinner! They get food, and you learn English. Share your desire to chat in English on social networks. Take a one-on-one class and talk to your teacher. Offer to exchange language with foreigners. A lot of people out there can help you!

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Listen to English tunes. Not English music, but English language music – listen to the rhythm, the poetry, the ups and downs of this language. Especially intonation. Even if you speak English well in theory but speak rigidly, you are not communicating like a native.

Observe how native speakers speak. Watch their mouths each time they pronounce words. Notice how they express their emotions when communicating. Focus on how they emphasize the sentence and how that creates communication context. Besides understanding the words they say, note the humor, emotion, and formality of their word use.

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Speak slowly. First of all, if you want others to understand, speak slowly . The more clearly you speak, the easier it will be for your listeners to understand. You will get nervous and want to say fast to put an end to it but you just can’t! Clarity is the most important thing, even for native speakers.

Don’t worry because they will wait patiently for you to speak! You just need to be patient with yourself. Because understanding what others say even if they speak slowly is more pleasant than not understanding at all. If you speak fast, but with a slurred tongue, you will not be able to impress the listener.

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Record what you say. Although we hear what we say, we don’t know what it sounds like. Therefore, record what you say! Notice the strengths and weaknesses that you hear while speaking. Then you can focus on where you need to improve.

The best way is to listen to a reading passage on your computer and record yourself reading the passage yourself (or imitating the reader); then compare the two versions. This way, you can practice regularly until you feel satisfied!
If you feel that it takes a lot of time with the above method, just read the content in the book aloud. You will improve your reading and speaking skills. The rest of this fight is getting to know new words!

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Take different classes. Although you only need to take one class is enough. In fact, taking just one class is very helpful. However, if you take many classes with different styles, the better. Group classes will be economical, fun and help you improve your skills, but what about one-on-one classes? With this type, you will be focused on the speaking part that you always need to improve. Here’s a way to double your practice time.

Alternatively, you can take some specialized classes. Phonetics classes, business English classes, travel classes and sometimes just culinary English classes. If you’re interested in a certain area (actually, sometimes you can’t improve much on grammar) then go for it! You will learn more than you think.

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Speak English at home. There is a big mistake that people often make: that you go out all day, work uses some English, you go to school to learn English and then come home speaking your mother tongue. Although you still have some progress, it is difficult to overcome bilingualism. Try to speak English at home. Speak English while having dinner. Watch English programs on TV. Create an English environment 24/7 when possible.

Speak yourself in English. Recount your actions. As you wash the dishes, talk about how you are doing, thinking, or feeling. It sounds silly (if someone catches you doing it!) but it makes the brain think in English before speaking in its native language, which is very helpful. When you do that, things will gradually improve.

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Create opportunities. It will be easy for you to look at your situation and think that it is not possible to have the natural English environment you want. Going abroad is expensive, you don’t know any foreigners. This is a lazy thought! English speakers are everywhere; You just have to find them and ask them for help. You have to find them.

Call the English speaking hotline. Call Nike and ask about their shoes. Call your telecommunications company and ask some questions. Blogging. Switch your computer or phone operating system to English. Play the game Warcraft. Join an English-only chat room. There are always plenty of opportunities that you can take advantage of.

Improve listening skills

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Understand why listening is relatively difficult. If you have poor listening skills, don’t give up. You feel the skill sounds simple, but it will take a lot of practice. The method of teaching English at school is contrary to the way native speakers actually speak. That’s why it’s hard for you!

So when someone says “Do you want to pass me that bag?” (Can you bring the bag over here?) and what you hear is “Djuwanapassmethabag?” then don’t be confused. Besides that and all the words like “like”, “uhh” and “umm” that you hear can confuse the listener. So when listening, remind yourself: it’s just slang.

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Speak. A real way. Just listening is good, but interacting is even better. If you want to hear well, you have to ask questions. This way, you’ll be in control of the conversation! If you ask someone what they like to do in the summer, you know they can’t move on to the complicated subject of politics. Hope so

Spend more time listening to individual conversations and you’ll get to know them better. English has so many accents that you wonder why you can’t understand the speaker’s content. Please be patient. Over time, you will get used to their accent. English speakers must always adjust their voice to suit the audience.

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Watch TV, movies, podcasts and everything in English. Interactive listening is great, but passive listening is also very effective. Therefore, take the time to sit down and listen to something. Try not to see subtitles! If you can save it to listen to it over and over again, that’s even better. That way, you will clearly see the progress.

Even turning on the radio while studying or working is very helpful to create an English environment for you. However, the best way is to watch a movie over and over until you don’t have to worry about understanding the content but can focus on the little things like intonation and slang. Watch TV shows with the same characters over and over again so you get used to what they say. In other words, it’s repeated over and over again.

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Language exchange. If you have an English speaking friend who wants to learn your language then try language exchange! You will spend half of your time speaking your language and the other half speaking English. Besides, you should also take the time to drink coffee and relax.

If that’s not possible, find friends who want to practice English. Although it’s not a good idea to practice speaking to a novice, it’s still better than doing nothing. You’ll be less nervous talking to them, and you’ll learn more from their strengths.

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Listen to English music. Learning a song a day also helps increase your vocabulary. In addition, learning is also very interesting and full of excitement. You will develop musical abilities, learn new words and expand your knowledge without even knowing it. Then you can confidently go to karaoke with friends.

Choose a song with a slow and clear tempo. Practice listening to songs by The Beatles and Elvis Presley or modern songs – just choose the ballads because it’s easy to understand. Rap music can be heard later.

Improve writing skills

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Write. Very simple. To be good at something, you have to practice a lot. You have to do it over and over again. Therefore, practice writing every day. Journaling is okay, maybe it will become a best-selling book later. You just put the pen on the paper and write.

Store articles in one place. Writing neatly in a notebook or clipping English articles will help you keep things organized and stay motivated. If you do this well, you will easily see progress. You can look back and be amazed at the previous ability and the progress in the present.

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Have someone check the article. If you just write without checking or editing it doesn’t make any sense. You want to master that language comprehensively, not just stop at the current level. You have 2 options:

Use the Internet. This is a great source. Websites like italki.ocm and lang-8 can help you edit your articles for free. Remember these two pages, do not rush to close Wikihow right away to try.
Thanks to a friend. In fact, once you’re done writing, you can email a friend and no matter where they are, they can receive it, help you correct it, and send it back to you. Regardless of whether they are near or far, they can help you.

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Make sentences for vocabulary. If you just practice writing words like a 6 year old, even if you write them correctly, it will still look like a child’s. The difference between a 6 year old who is good at grammar and a 20 year old who is good at grammar is vocabulary. So any time you come across a sentence that you want to add to your article (or say it), write it down. Then take the opportunity to use.

It’s best to learn some phrases (cplocation). Means words that go together. For example, “Get married” but learning the phrase “get married to someone” is better – that way, you will know not to say “get married with”. If you say “received a cpd” it will make others feel funny, but say “caught a cpd” will make the listener understand that you have a cold. Have you seen the effect of this learning method?

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Don’t forget the little things! Knowing a lot of vocabulary is great, but if you abbreviate it, it doesn’t look good. You should keep the correct spacing between words, correct punctuation, and capitalize when needed. These are all things that you need to pay attention to.

Don’t write in teen language unless you’re 15 years old and texting with you. “You” is still “you”, not “u”. “For” is not “4”. “2” does not mean “to” or “too”. You will get no reward for writing like that.

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Take advantage of the Internet. This is truly the place to have everything you want. For example, the site has games in English, simple readings and exercises to improve skills. Here are some sites that you can try: ^{[1] X Research Sources}

Anki is image learning software. Similar to learning on the Memrise website. You can test your own vocabulary.
OneLook is a dictionary that finds words for you, writes words and clicks translate to find out the meaning. You may not need to write down the exact word you are looking for. In addition, this site has a reverse dictionary that allows you to type concepts to find words.
Visuwords creates a dynamic vocabulary map, linking the word you find with words with similar meanings or words that can be combined to create phrases. A great way to expand your vocabulary!
Similar to Visuwords, Merriam Webster has a “living dictionary”. For example, you type “tire” and you will see a tire with the word caption details on it from “tread” to “bead wire”.
Englishforums is a great place to ask questions and chat with native speakers. Here, you will see reply messages related to English questions.

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Always edit your posts. This doesn’t mean just having someone check it out as mentioned above. After having someone check your writing, you should rewrite it yourself to have a beautiful article with complete English grammar. If you just write and correct, you won’t understand mistakes and how to correct them. This way, your notebook will have more decent writing.

Once you’ve fixed the mistake, write new content based on the corrected mistake the next day. This way, you will see the progress and remember to not repeat the same mistake. You will gradually improve and become confident.

Expert advice

Use the DISC method to understand some expressions of English speakers.

D—Dominance: Dominant speakers usually control the conversation. They act fast and want your answers, so you should get to the heart of the matter.
I—Influence: Influencers are passionate about everything, and they really appreciate your relationships. Before getting to the main point, you should ask them about last weekend’s vacation.
S—Steady: People with a stable speaking style emphasize cooperation, dependence, and harmony. If you’re sharing ideas with someone with this type of talk, emphasize the benefits to the group as a whole.
C—Conscientious: People with a conscientious talkative style are often very detailed. Be prepared to give them lots of information, because they want to know all the facts.

Advice

Practice every day. Otherwise you will forget!
Speak, learn and practice confidently.
Don’t try to force yourself. Learn a word at a time and always be happy to learn new words.
Listen attentively and write down the words you want to look up in the dictionary. Don’t stop to look up what the word means unless you don’t understand it at all.

Steps

Improve speaking skills

Improve listening skills

Improve writing skills

Expert advice

Advice

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