10 Ways To Improve Your English Language Skills
When we learn our native language, first we listen, then we speak, then we read and finally we write. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the four language skills we need to develop for complete communication.
Listening and reading are receptive: input, i.e. the exposure you have to authentic language in use. Speaking and writing are productive: output, i.e. the action of producing language as part of the process of second language learning.
To achieve these four basic language skills, you need to surround yourself with English: make English part of your life at home, at work, during your free time.
Read on to find tips that will help you overcome the difficulties you might be experiencing to improve your English skills.
Expose yourself to the language as much as possible:
practice makes perfect, which means that if you want to improve a certain skill you have to practice it. As a beginner learner you will need to achieve all 4 language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Listening:
It plays a very important part in learning any language. Effective listening ensures understanding and it helps improve accuracy when speaking , among other things. How can you improve your listening skills? By listening actively, i.e. paying attention not only on what is said, but also how it is said. So, listen:
1. To music –old or modern; the type you prefer, but pay attention to the lyrics. (sometimes reading the lyrics may help you understand the song)
2. To movies, TV shows, news, entertainments, the radio – try the classics. If you can watch DVD’s you can watch the movie several times. Watching with subtitles and then, when you feel more comfortable, without them. You can have English radio at home or on your mobile phone. Even if are not actually listening to it, your ears will be getting used to the sounds of the language.
3. Attend plays, exhibitions, talks, etc. in English organized by English speaking schools or communities.
Speaking:
It is often the hardest of the four language skills, but as soon as you can speak a little English there are lots of ways to improve quickly and have tons of fun.
4. Join voiced chats. Technology has advanced a lot in terms of social networks so, wherever you live, you’ll find a chat-room to join.
5. Talk and record yourself. This may sound funny, but it will help you realize how you can improve by repeating the recording several times till you feel happy with the results.
6. Talk to your classmates in English when you are not in class. You can even make a group to play games, have a meal or just chat together.
Reading:
It is a process of the brain and it takes time to develop: your mind has to attach meaning to the words, phrases and expressions represented by symbols, plus get to understand the grammar and structure of the language used in the passage to read. If you develop strong reading skills, it’ll be very helpful to your future. You can read:
7. Books in English and articles on the web. Maybe, books you have already read in your mother tongue or which have been turned into movies. Try to start with easy books, even children’s books and comics: The images will help you understand even if you don’t know all the words
8. Switch the operating system of your mobile phone, your PC or tablet into English. Associating a function with a certain word, will improve your vocabulary.
Writing:
Even though it may be intimidating to a lot of people, anyone can get used to writing with a little discipline and a willingness to learn.
9. Write down words or expressions you think useful with their meaning and examples. If you see them in sentences you will remember them better. You can use them if you keep a diary.
10. Write comments in English blogs. At present blogs are websites that resemble journals. Lots of people use them to expose their ideas on a certain topic or to explain things – from how to knit a scarf, to very complicated ones where technical or philosophical topics are dealt with. One common feature of all these blogs is that they are interactive: the readers can make comments or debate the ideas stated in the blog. Even if you are not a blog fan, you may find some that really encourage you to take part. So, just do it. You don’t need to be an expert to write a few sentences about what you think or feel about the content of the blog.
All the above mentioned tips can be reduced to just one: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! Whatever learning style you have, whatever your native language is, the key to acquire and master a foreign language is PRACTICE it as much and as often as possible.
Why not practice your English language knowledge right now with our English Test?
27 thoughts on “10 Ways To Improve Your English Language Skills”
Leave a Reply
i find it difficult to speak good english speak in the public
i want to improve my speaking ability
Hi Oluniyi,
Thanks for your comment. Have you tried any of the tips in the article? With practice I’m sure you will improve. Try doing something to practice daily, even if it’s just for a few minutes, and see how you progress.
All the best,
The WSE Team
__really u give me good education that we can learning english language
Thanks for your comment Mohamed! Good luck with your studying!
The WSE Team
Great lesson and enjoy doing this!!!
hi mary .
i just want to let you know , that you have really made my day with that amazing article ! . just great job , and keep it up .
much love from jordan <3
i find a little bit difficult to speak in public and i don’t know what should i do,
Hi,
It’s absolutely normal to find it difficult at first. The best thing to do is to practice with guidance from a teacher. You need to practice using some set phrases so they become completely natural and automatic. Our multi-media lessons give you the chance to build confidence in speaking, and doing our group conversation lessons will really help you as well. So if you haven’t already started, I thoroughly recommend doing our course that is ideal for people who need to focus above all on speaking.
All the best,
The WSE Team
Hi it is amazing. I wanna improve my language skills of English. I think this is right place to improve. Tips are wonderful I will try all these tips. Thanks ?
Hi.. Everyone !
I have a difficulty in oral communication skill andhmmm .. I’m not confident to speak in public bco’z I’m afraid the words of what I say ..bcoz grammar is so
What should I do? And also I’m not good in written
Hi,
The best way to build confidence in speaking, and also in grammar, is to practice in an environment where you feel comfortable and at ease. In our course, you learn through speaking and from the start you speak in front of other people. We’ve seen it’s a great method to enable students to feel confident enough to speak in English when they’re at work and/or travelling.
In order to improve your writing you also need to practice frequently. At Wall Street English you do creative writing texts for each unit of your course, which gives you the chance to use the new grammar and vocabulary you’ve learnt.
Good luck and let us know how you get on,
The WSE Team
thank you for the tips.It could help me a lot to enchance my english acquisition.its really difficult to deal with this language but this tips can help.
Deliberately i will like to recommend the skills from the article,indeed it incourage me massively
Essential tips an individual must have currently..
Good tips and I will try them out I’m
can you help me how can i improve my writing skill
Hi,
Have you read our article about improving your English writing? Here’s a link so you can check it out:
https://www.wallstreetenglish.com/blog/how-to-improve-english-writing/
All the best,
The WSE Team
I am so thankful for all you wrote in the article and I am sure you have changed my mind.
Thank you for the lesson. I will try it.
The problem is I dont have anybody to speak English
Hi,
You’re right that you need to practice speaking. Have you visited your nearest Wall Street English center recently? If not, check it out because it can give you the chance to practice speaking whenever you want. You can do regular conversation classes, social club activities, and above all lessons that are based on listening and speaking.
All the best,
The WSE Team
nice article it will help the person like me who wants to improve the English language
great
The four skills to improve our english i.e listening,speaking,reading,and writing are so good.We should also try these skills to improve our english.
Very good,I’m try to improve.
thanks