English is known as one of the hardest languages to learn in the world. There are so many words in the English language that mean the same thing. For instance, to “see something” or to “watch something” can mean two completely different things but the words, “see” and “watch” are both something you do with your eyes. This is only one example of many thousands of examples you can use when breaking down the English language.
English can be very difficult and confusing to learn with these types of differentiations unless you spend time immersing yourself in English-speaking cultures. I spent time with some German-speaking friends and their language is much more specific with much fewer variances with meaning using specific words. The rules of English, tonality, grammar structure, spelling, and meanings can be hard to perfect.
English tutoring Calgary
Here are 5 things you can do to become better in your English conversations...
1 - Spend time with others that speak English
- When I was with my German-speaking friends, it was much easier for me to learn German words and phrases than it was for them to learn English. I had been to Germany 3 different times and each time, even though they had some basic knowledge in speaking English from learning it in school, they would constantly be asking me how to say certain things. They learned English and started speaking it more and more as they were with me and as time went on they were getting more and more fluent. Practice makes perfect, and if you are with someone that makes you feel more comfortable, the more you will speak it. You could start with English tutoring first to learn a little bit of the basics of English before you submerge yourself into an English-speaking culture. You can easily find an English tutor in the Calgary area by searching on Google.
2 - Watch more English speaking television
- When you are watching TV, you could do it in two ways that might help you understand how to speak English more fluently. You could watch an English-speaking show with subtitles in your language or you could watch a show in your language and play the English subtitles. Pay attention to the words, and the subtleties.
3 - Read English books
- If you want to better understand how to speak English, one of the best things to do is to learn how to understand how it reads. The more you read English, the better you will understand the differences in words that mean similar things and when and how to use them properly in many variations of speaking. There are many writers out there with many different styles so if you read more, you will learn how to say different things in many different ways.
4 - Learn the top phrases that are the most used in the English language
- There are many commonly used phrases in the English language. You could learn how to say one per day and try to use them as you go about your day. If learning one phrase per day is just too much, try to learn one per week. Eventually, these phrases will build up and you will be speaking more English quicker than you expected to. Here is a great link to the most commonly used English phrases.
5 - Label everything in your house
- A really great trick to learning to speak English in conversations is knowing more small works of objects that would be in your household. Simply get sticky notes and label everything in your household with its English word. Do this for a couple of months and remove the sticky notes from those objects as you learn them.
- On top of this, if you have a family, you could tell them that one day a week you and your whole family must only speak English. If you or they need to ask something, they can use a translation app. Just speak your native language into this app for whatever phrase you want to say, it will say it in English and simply say it to yourself a couple of times, and say it to your family members. They can use the translation app switched around the other way… from English to your native language to understand what you said to them.
These are some very effective ways to learn English and have better conversations with others. Dialects can vary from region to region, however, most people will understand what you are saying. English must be learned in this day and age for many reasons - the biggest one being that English is spoken worldwide. In almost any culture, you can find someone who speaks English. If you are travelling, this is very advantageous if you need directions or need help with anything in your adventures.
