Tips to improve

• Speak, speak,and speak.

Commit to practicing often and with as many different people as possible. f you’re learning in your own country, increase your practice time by meeting your classmates after class, finding an language exchange partner or joining an online community of learners

• Reflect on your conversations

The mere act of thinking about it in this way will increase your confidence for the next time you speak and give your targeted things to work on, for example vocabulary you didn’t understand.

• Listen and read

Read books, magazines and blogs. When listening and reading, find new and interesting expressions, slang terms and synonyms, write down this new material and look up anything you’re not familiar with. All this will provide more vocabulary for you to use next time you practice.

• Prepare cheat sheets

Before your appointment, research vocabulary relating to your condition and some common phrases you’ll probably need. Use the technique before going to pay a bill, eating at a restaurant, job interviews, making a complaint, or for any other situation that might make you anxious

• Pick up the phone

On the phone, we can’t see the other person’s body language or watch their mouth move, both of which are tools that really help communication. To feel more confident on the phone, start small with phone conversations with friends. Then, move on to more challenging calls like making appointments or inquiries.

• Record your voice

Hearing yourself on tape shows you things you might not realize, maybe you tend to speak quickly when nervous or something like that. On the other hand, you could be pleasantly surprised to hear that your speaking is far better than you thought! For bonus points, take your recording to your teacher or to a native speaker friend and have them give you feedback.

• Learn phrases rather than single words

Instead of automatically asking “Hello, how are you today?”, mix it up by choosing other expressions like “What’s up, man?” “Hey dude!” or “How ya going, mate?”. But, be careful though: Some expressions will be very informal and not ideal for some situations!

• Have fun

It’s far easier to learn something new when you’re having fun. Inject silliness into your speaking practice by talking to yourself when you’re alone, singing along with popular songs in English, doing tongue twisters