To speak in a language implies that we want to communicate to others; using words and sounds! Here we shall focus on English- if you want to improve your spoken skills without being labeled as a “wannabe”, you need to work on these four (4) key areas:
1. Pronunciation
The first action in speaking is to utter the word- correctly.
A good pronunciation is necessary to communicate properly, else people will not understand what you are saying!
You should be able to make the different sounds that each word makes in English, to speak clearly and in a manner that people are able to understand.
People often confuse Pronunciation with Accent- An accent doesn’t make “bad” English, it only means your tongue rolls out words in a certain manner. To pronounce a word correctly doesn’t necessary mean to use a British or American accent, but that you say it clearly.
2. Listening
Sounds simple- anybody with ears can do this, right? Wrong! Here listening means you should be able to understand what is said to you. You don’t actually have to understand each and every word (if you don’t need to), but you should be able to “catch” the “gist” of the line. There are situations when it’ll be okay to just listen to the idea and there are situations when every word would be crucial! You decide.
3. Fluency
Fluency doesn’t always mean that the person is very good at English. It means that the person speaks without pauses, connects the words fluidly. Not knowing many phrases is okay, but long pauses, not okay. If you give long pauses, people won’t feel connected to you or interested.
4. Rhythm and Intonation
When you speak, it should sound natural, and easy to understand with no dead air in between. The correct pitch and timing makes your English sound perfect for the moment- a pitch up or down changes the whole meaning! For e.g. “ happy” when said in one way means excited, while in other way, it could sound sarcastic.