How Do I Get Better at Speaking English?

Question:

Many VOA Learning English fans write to us with this question: How do I get better at speaking English?

Answer:

Dear VOA fan:

First, try to speak English each day, even if you can only speak for a short time. Begin by saying "good morning," and "good afternoon or evening" to a family member or a friend.

As you travel to your school or work, think about how you feel like "happy" or "sad" and say it to yourself in English.

When you arrive, find a friend who is also learning English, and ask, "How are you feeling today?" Speaking English every day will help you get better.

Accept a few mistakes

We all make mistakes. You will probably make some mistakes while learning to speak English. But you can still say how you feel. And you can learn from your mistakes.

Ask your friend or teacher to correct them. Practice saying the words many times so you can say them correctly the next time.

Learn some tips

Another way to practice speaking is to read a story from our website and listen to the audio.

Stop after a few sentences. Listen again, and notice how the speaker's voice goes up and down. Repeat the sentences and make your voice change the same way. The more you practice, the more you will sound like a native speaker.

Practice speaking

With a friend, choose a conversation from Let's Learn English and learn together. Then, when you know it well enough, act it out with your friend. Use a phone to record and listen to yourself.

Do you say the words the same way as Anna and her friends?

Next week, we will talk about continuing a conversation in English. And that's Ask a Teacher!

I'm Jill Robbins.

Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

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Words in This Story

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

practice –v. to do something again and again to become better at it