1.

Two heads are better than one

There are many different ways that you can practise speaking and you should get into
a habit where you employ at least one or two of these methods for practise each day
or week.

Practise with a friend; find a partner who is also learning English and set aside a time
where you both communicate in English each day or week. By phone, online, or in
person, conduct your everyday conversation through English over a coffee or tea and
don't worry if you need to fill in some gaps with your native language, just use as
much English as you can and keep these chats regular.

Put learning into usage; look for an opportunity to use the recent language you have
learnt in conversation as soon as you have learnt it to ensure that it becomes an
active part of your range. As you learn a new phrase, make sure that you keep it top
of mind so that you can use it at the next opportunity.

An English dictionary is always handy.(Flickr CC: Trevor)

Always keep a dictionary at hand. If you have a pocket dictionary, keep it with you or
if you have a smartphone, then find a dictionary website that provides access that
you can keep in your bookmarks. When you come across a new word, check it in your
dictionary and make a quick note of the word so you can come back to it later.
When you have some spare time, familiarise yourself with the different styles and
symbols that your dictionary will use as this will help you later when you need to
quickly access definitions and meaning from the dictionary. For example, many
dictionaries will use abbreviations or shortened words to explain the word or phrase
in focus. Examples include:

Vb - verb

Adj - adjective

Syn - synonym

When you do look up a word in the dictionary, ensure you expand your knowledge
by reading through the list of synonyms. A synonym is a word that has the same or
nearly the same meaning such as 'happy', 'joyful' and 'elated'. It is a good idea to look
at the list of synonyms as this can help you to attach other words that you may know
to the new word that you have just learnt.

Watching English movies with sub-titles is a good way to learn the language.(Flickr CC:
Dennis Skley)
3. Turn the subtitles on

English movies are a great and fun way to build up your language skills and can be
very useful to practise listening, pronunciation and build up your vocabulary. As well,
viewing movies in English will expose you to some very natural and authentic
exchanges in everyday situations.

Where you can, turn on the English subtitles for movies and listen and follow along.
Use the pause and rewind functions to pick up on any vocabulary or phrases you are
not sure about or that you are interested in. If there are close ups of the actors then
use the close ups as an opportunity to study how they are making different words
through mouth and facial movements, then pause and practise those sounds
yourself. You might even find it helpful to use a mirror and imitate the sounds and
movements yourself.

Active listening is a very useful way to improve your skills, listen to what you hear and
apply it. If you have the captions on, turn them off and listen to what you hear and
write down what you hear. Listen, pause and then write what you hear and then
rewind and come back and check your understanding. This type of dictation will help
you focus on the individual sounds in and around words, as well as how words link
and the different stress points in those linkages.

Listening to the radio is important.(Flickr CC: Svein Halvor Halvorsen)

It is important to listen to different voices and the more the better. Listening to the
radio is one way that you can keep your awareness of the sounds of English active
and at the same time, work on your pronunciation. There are many different options
for free radio both online and through shortwave. Find out what radio stations
operate in your area in English and familiarise yourself with some of the
programming and if you can, arrange your schedule so you can listen to a broadcast
or part of a broadcast each day or week.

Pronunciation is a key part of learning a language and can be done in many different
ways. Just focusing on a word and listening for syllabus stress and practising the right
form yourself can be very productive. To do this you need to find the correct version
of the word. and this can often be found as an audio file in most free online
dictionaries. Look for the icon that indicates 'to listen'.

Listen to the word and then imitate the sounds you hear. Again, this might be aided
by using a mirror where you can watch as you make the sounds of English.

Write down the English words you learn.(Flickr CC: Marco Arment)
5. Use it don't lose it

Look to attach English language to everyday situations, as you are working or as you
are in your house think about the situations you are in and use English to describe it.
If you talk to someone on the phone for example, after the phone call think about
how you would conduct that conversation in English. Pick a few phrases and key
vocabulary and think about how you would use that in the phone conversation.

If you want to practise speaking you could even say the phrase aloud and pretend
that you are still talking on the phone, only, you are speaking in English, although you
might need to be home by yourself to do this!
Camels talking to each other.(Flickr CC: Peter Nijenhuis)

Identify at least two or three sources of English content to use regularly, these might
be websites, newspapers, social media sites or books. Once you have found them, get
into the habit of activating some key learning techniques. One way is to keep a
notebook list of new words, write the new word down and then write an example
sentence using the word or phrase. Note the form of the word - is it an adjective, a
noun, an adverb or a verb? If it is a verb then write down the different forms of the
verb. If you want, even translate the word into your own language.

Keep your list handy and when you have a few spare minutes open it and review your
new vocabulary and make sure you use those new words whenever and as soon as
you can. After all, the only way to successfully learn a foreign language is hard work
and, practise, practise and practise.