Speaking properly and convincingly is the dream or aspiration of any person speaking English. A good diction in spoken English makes people bother to listen to you. It gives you a positive image in the society you belong to as well as making your point of view more lucid and articulate. To acquire a good command of spoken English, consider the following points:
1. Use Standard English
Generally, there are two types of English (British English and American English) but over the years there has developed ‘Regional English’, a term that means the type of English spoken in different regions of the world like Canada, Scotland, Australia, and India. In Africa ‘Regional English’ includes West African English, East African English, South African English, and North African English. There are also smaller brands like Nigerian English, Kenyan English, Egyptian English, Ethiopian English, and Congolese English. Taking time to identify and use Standard English will be very important in speaking better English. Standard English is more refined or polished and it is the language used by civilized or well-behaved people. Colloquial English like slangs and vulgarities are discredited in Standard English – the language recommended for official talks.
2. Listen to English programs offered online
A student who is not a native English speaker needs to know how words in Standard English are pronounced. Examples of useful online programs are Test Your English, BBC Learning English, Alison, and Udemy. Spending a few minutes every day to listen to these online English-learning programs will add cubits to improving your spoken English.
3. Watch and listen to standard radio and TV stations
International radio and TV stations employ announcers and commentators who are good at Standard English. Such stations include the BBC, CNN, CCTV, SABC, and NHK World. These stations are taken as role models because their main objective is to capture an international audience. Another way of improving your spoken English is watching various movies broadcast on local and international channels. So listen and watch news bulletins, documentaries, movies, and even videos displayed on various visual-audio mass media forums.
4. Read texts aloud
When you take a text, be it a book or a newspaper, and read it aloud, your spoken English improves considerably. When you read something aloud, you get a chance of listening to your own voice, as well as reading by maintaining the tempo of spoken English. If possible, read the text in the presence of a friend, family member, or colleague who will listen and correct you when you commit a pronunciation error.
5. Do not be afraid of making mistakes
At the beginning speak freely, without bothering you are committing pronunciation mistakes or not. Remember that language mistakes are common human errors and this reality is realized when a person begins speaking English. Even the native English speakers commit many mistakes. As you persist speaking you will elevate yourself to higher standards of spoken English. Good spoken English comes with daily practice and when practicing, even in sports and games, worry not about mistakes.
6. Use simple and short sentences
In the process of improving your spoken English, avoid difficult and long sentences. Windy sentences full of jargons are unintelligible even to the speaker. Just as long written sentences make the writer’s ideas muddled up, so do long sentences while speaking. It is good to remember that simple and short sentences are easier to pronounce and in case there is a message you want to pass across, it is also easier for your listeners to follow. Remember that clarity in speech is determined by brevity and because of that speak in such a way that your sentences are short and clear.
7. Read as much as you can
Reading recommended publications on proper English speaking will be an enormous contribution to your spoken English. These publications are written by experts in their respective fields and it will pay if you develop the habit of reading them over and over again. This particular reading should bear in mind diversity in topics and specialization. Read the materials that appeal most to you but if you can read without being too choosy your spoken English will improve a great deal. So if you are a timid or novice speaker intending to increase ability in spoken English read books from various fields in the social sciences as well as from pure sciences. Do not ignore pieces of literature like novels, poems, essays, plays and biographies; or books on Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, and Anthropology.
8. Listen to other people’s speeches
Listen to other people’s lectures to understand how experts speak English. Most public speakers have a big experience and listening to them is quite rewarding. However, due to the fact that not all class lecturers or public speakers speak good English, you need to listen with great caution as well as selectively. Unfortunately there are educated people who speak very bad English and because of that try as much as you can to identify good speakers so that you can listen to their speeches.
9. Increase your vocabulary
Words are bricks that build a language. A good speaker is the one whose stock of vocabulary is rich and diverse and a wealth of vocabulary comes with reading extensively. Reading widely and diversely makes a person richer in words because every field of knowledge has its own vocabulary. The best way of mastering spoken English is establishing permanent friendship with good dictionaries, including thesauruses. Make good dictionaries your daily companions, particularly dictionaries prepared for students. Some English words are so tricky in usage that it is only a dictionary that helps. Without a good dictionary – preferably an updated one – you cannot master the correct usage of confusing words like water and liquid, neck and throat, sky and heaven, cook and boil, smile and laugh, car and vehicle, sea and ocean, eat and bite – to mention only a few. Nor can you understand how to use correctly collective nouns like staff, family, herd, crew, fleet, and committee – also to cite only a few. Correct spelling and pronunciation are language skills acquired mostly from good dictionaries.
10. Master rules of English grammar
The principles of English grammar are different from the grammar of many languages. Grammatical rules are important because they enable a person to understand the basic parts of speech and the guidelines that govern formation of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences that form paragraphs and eventually full-length texts.
To sum up, the hints pointed out here are proven guidelines that will enable you to speak better and more attractive English. They are points you can assimilate or put into practice slowly, constantly, and diligently, as you engage in the art of spoken English.
By Godson S. Maanga
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