I received an email from a woman who is working on improving her English. From her email I could tell that she had a good understanding of the English language. Although there were a few grammatical errors, I understood exactly what she was saying. She asked a great question that I think many of you are probably wondering. She asked,
“I always try to speak in English but I can not speak English very well because I’m always thinking that I’m not correct with English grammar. Do you have any suggestion for improving my English speaking? Could you please tell me what should i do first?”
And here was my response:
“I think you are on the right track when it comes to learning to speak English well. It takes a lot of time and practice to feel comfortable with grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. You seem to have a good understanding of how to put English sentence together. The trick is to speak English as much as possible and don’t be too worried about making mistakes. You’re going to make A LOT of mistakes but that’s okay. Keep practicing.
Also, make sure you are reading as much as possible in English. As you read, your vocabulary will improve as well as your fluency. Reading out loud helps with pronunciation as well. I wouldn’t worry too much about pronunciation until you feel pretty comfortable speaking in English. There’s just too much to think about when you are first learning to speak English, pronunciation can come later.
So, remember these two things:
1. Speak English as much as possible and don’t worry about making mistakes. That’s part of learning.
2. Read as much as you can in English. This will help with grammar and fluency. Read out loud sometimes too to work on pronunciation.I hope that helps! Thanks for your question!”
If you have any questions for me, send me an email or comment here on the blog and I would love to answer them.
Have a great day!
-Annie
