Take a conversation class. This will help you improve your fluency and pronunciation in English.
Develop friendships with people who want to speak English with you. If you can't find a native English speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
Record yourself speaking in English.
Read a simple paragraph and record your voice. Ask a teacher to give you feedback on the recording.
Listen to something spoken by a native English speaker. Record yourself repeating the same information, and compare the two.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different topics without a lot of preparation.
Write down several questions about various topics. Select a question and answer it aloud.
your family
your hobbies
your friends
your school
Ask a friend to give you topics and record yourself discussing them. Ask someone to listen with you and suggest ways for you to improve.
Think of a story that you are familiar with. Tell the story to several different people. Try to tell the story faster each time.
Use books that come with audio recordings to study pronunciation, stress and intonation in English.
Take a conversation/pronunciation class. This will help improve your fluency and pronunciation in English.
Develop friendships with people who want to speak English with you. Interaction with others will help you to improve your speaking ability. If you can't find a native English speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different topics without a lot of preparation. Time yourself as you speak.
Write down several questions about general topics
family
friends
cities
countries
places you are familiar with
Select a question and answer it aloud. Try to speak for one minute.
Give yourself about 20 seconds to think about what you did yesterday. After 20 seconds, begin to recount what you did. Try to talk for one minute.
Pay attention to your use of the past tense.
Try to use connecting words and phrases such as first, then, while I was.
Give yourself about 20 seconds to think about what you will probably do tomorrow. Try to talk for one minute. After 20 seconds, begin to talk about what you are planning to do.
Try to use different forms of the future tense.
Use books that come with audio programs to study pronunciation, stress and intonation in English.
Look for opportunities to speak to native speakers of English. Interaction with others will help improve your speaking ability.
Find a speaking partner. Set aside time each week to practice speaking to each other in English.
If you can't find a native English speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different topics without a lot of preparation. Time your responses to questions.
Make a list of some general speaking topics
people persons you admire
places you enjoy visiting
things you enjoy doing
Think of a specific example for each topic (a parent, the market, reading books) and talk about each for one minute.
Select one of the topics above and write down three verbs and three adjectives relevant to the topic. Try to use the words as you speak.
Concentrate on speaking clearly with good pronunciation and intonation. Speak with confidence and open your mouth more widely than you normally do.
It is difficult to understand you if you speak word by word. Try to speak in "thought groups."
Take a reading passage and mark the thought groups first. Then read it aloud paying close attention to these groups of words and ideas.
Get a book on tape or get a transcript from a news report, interview or play.
Listen to the performance and mark the pauses, stress and intonation on the transcript.
Then read the transcript and try to imitate the pauses, stress and intonation patterns.
Use books that come with audio recordings to study pronunciation, stress and intonation in English.
Look for opportunities to speak to native speakers of English. Interaction with others will improve your speaking ability.
Ask a native speaker to provide feedback on your pronunciation problems (if any).
Join an Internet voice chat.
Listen to the radio and watch TV and movies. Pay attention to idiomatic usage of the language and different accents or speech patterns that are used.
Write down new expressions you hear. Use the expressions in your everyday English conversations.
Choose a character from a film or TV show. Repeat the character's words, following the intonation patterns, as he or she speaks. Include the gestures or other body language of the character you are imitating.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different topics without a lot of preparation. Time your responses to questions.
Make a list of questions on topics that interest you (for example, hypothetical situations or academic topics). Answer each of the questions aloud. Try to speak for at least one minute.
Use books that come with audio recordings to study pronunciation, stress and intonation in English.
Practice speaking English every day. This will develop your fluency and confidence.
Develop friendships with people who want to speak English with you. Interaction with others will improve your speaking ability. If you can't find a native speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
Practice expressing opinions.
Read an advice column in the newspaper (such as "Dear Abby" in the United States).
Identify the problem being described. Tell a friend about the problem (summarize the problem) and then say what you think would be the best advice.
Read the advice given in the column. Compare your suggestions for a solution to the advice given in the column. Talk about the differences with your friend.
Read a short newspaper article and give your opinion about it.
Practice summarizing information you heard or read.
Read a short newspaper article.
Write down important vocabulary from the article and look up the pronunciation of these words or ask an English speaker to tell you how to pronounce them.
Summarize the article using the new words and practice your summary several times. Each time you will become more fluent.
Watch a short scene from a movie or TV program (about two to three minutes long). Summarize what each character was doing and explain why the character was doing it.
Practice the summary and explanation several times; then record yourself as you speak.
Practice pronunciation and intonation by reading aloud.
Record yourself so that you can hear your accent; pay attention to your mistakes.
Practice speaking English every day. This will develop your fluency and confidence.
Find a speaking partner. Set aside time each week to practice speaking with your partner in English.
If you can't find a native English speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
Practice speaking about everyday issues relevant to students' lives.
Read articles from campus newspapers or on the Internet.
Discuss the articles with a speaking partner or friend.
Practice summarizing the articles and expressing your opinions about the articles.
Listen to a college radio station in your area.
Make a list of the kinds of topics being discussed.
Use the list to generate discussion topics with your speaking partner or friend.
Concentrate on speaking loudly and clearly with good pronunciation and intonation.
Practice speaking in "thought groups." It is difficult to understand you if you speak word by word.
Remember to pause after prepositional phrases and related thought groups.
Drop your voice and make your intonation go down to indicate that your thought is complete or that a sentence has ended.
Add emotion and feeling to what you are saying. Practice the same speech in your native language and pay attention to your hand movements and emotions. Use the same emotion when you give your response in English.
A good resource is the book English for Academic Success, published by Houghton Mifflin. There are 16 books with a companion website.
Look for opportunities to build your fluency in English.
Take risks and engage others in conversation in English whenever possible.
Join an Internet chat room.
Listen to the radio, and watch TV and movies. Pay attention to idiomatic usage of the language and different accents or speech patterns that are used.
Write down new expressions you hear. Try to use the expressions in your everyday English conversations.
Choose a character from a film or TV show. Repeat the character's words, following the intonation patterns, as he or she speaks. Include the gestures or other body language of the character you are imitating.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different topics without a lot of preparation. Time your responses to questions.
Make a list of questions on topics that interest you (for example, hypothetical situations or academic topics). Answer each of the questions aloud. Try to speak for at least one minute.
Use books that come with audio recordings to study pronunciation, stress, and intonation in English.
Practice speaking for a limited time on different academic topics.
Read a short article from a newspaper or a textbook. Write down key content words from the article.
Write down two or three questions about the article that include the content words.
Practice answering the questions aloud. Try to include the content words in your response.
After practicing, record your answers to the questions.
Concentrate on speaking clearly with good pronunciation and intonation.
Try to speak in "thought groups." It is difficult to understand you if you speak word by word.
Take a reading passage and mark the thought groups first. Then read it aloud paying close attention to these groups of words and ideas.
Get a book on tape or get a transcript from a news report, interview or play. Listen to the performance and mark the pauses, stress and intonation on the transcript. Then read the transcript and try to imitate the pauses, stress and intonation patterns.