Develop your English

A. Clement

English communication is an indispensable part of every aspiring professional in Asian countries. In countries like India, many can understand and speak English. Call centre boom has opened lucrative job opportunities for youngsters. It is not still uncommon to see youngsters feeling inferior when they hear someone talk in fluent English. Many graduates still find it hard to speak fluent and accurate English due to various reasons. Many miss great job opportunities because of their poor English knowledge.

As you see, English training institutes make a lot of money though the training programs are not up to the level. I worked in one of the training institutes as a part time teacher. Many joined the course but the result was poor. They couldn’t improve their language as they had dreamt. Many youngsters ask me how to improve the language fluency. I am trying to give some tips to them.

Keep in mind

No institute can make you speak fluent English in 30 or 40 days. The training institutes can help a bit to understand the language but skills can be improved only by PRACTICE.

1. Don’t be in a hurry.

You have the desire to improve your English. Don’t be impatient to learn the skill. It is a step by step process. You might speak English with less fluency and accuracy. No one can transform you overnight. It needs hard work and persistence. Don’t be deceived by looking at ‘magic formula’ advertisements in newspapers. You join a 30 day course but at the end you feel that there is no change in the way you speak. Don’t feel disappointed. Don’t feel inferior. You can do it.

2. Spare an hour every day

Regular study of English will help you enhance the language skills. English consists of four skills – Listening, Speaking , Reading and Writing. If you want to improve, you need to spend time for each skill every day. Many don’t want to spend time. They expect a magic formula. It will never happen. Sacrifice your TV time or chatting time. My strong belief is ‘ Where there is a will, there is a way’.

3. Improving listening skill

Listen to English news every day. Don’t start with BBC. Start with local English news channels. It should become a habit to you. In the beginning, you will need some concentration to understand each and every word. As the time passes, you will see the improvement in yourself. If possible, sit in a room where no one can disturb you. There are so many English language audio and video CDs available in the market. Buy a cassette every month and listen to it. No pain, no gain.

4. How to improve my speaking skill?

I have been asked this question many- a- time. My constant answer is ‘ SPEAK’. Do I sound silly? No! I am telling you the truth. If you want to learn swimming , you have to jump into the pond. If you want to improve the speaking skill, start speaking in English. You may feel shy but you have no choice. The more you speak, the better you become. The less you speak the worse you become. You have to search for someone who speaks good English and spend time. If necessary, pay some money. I am not kidding. Within a month, you will feel the change in your speech.
TIPS
Listen to other people and try to get new words and sentences. Imitation helps a bit.

5. Reading skill

Reading is a skill. Here you need to focus on your vocabulary – the words. As a starter, you will have to depend on your dictionary. But once you learn a number of words, your reading will be faster and better. Read one news item a day. Refer dictionary for new words. Try to remember the meaning of words so that next time you come across the same word you need not refer the dictionary. Read simple story books recommended for school students. Get your eyes acquainted with English letters and words.
TIPS
Read something in English aloud every day for 15 minutes.

6. Writing

Writing is the difficult part of any language learning. Start with short and simple sentences. Grammar learning is very much essential for this. You can have accuracy only with a strong foundation of English grammar. Buy a good grammar book. Personally I would recommend Raymond Murphy’s Grammar books. They are available everywhere. Visit English websites like www.edufind.com, www.learnenglish.com.

Your success lies in self motivation.