Learning English Online: Where should you start to learn English speaking?

Speechify today is a leading online English speaking course in India. Our students have given us glowing reviews across forums and unanimously claim us as the best online English speaking course available today. We are delighted, humbled and even more determined to help you navigate the tricky world of spoken English fluency.

With the addition of so many new students, we believe its time that we again brush up on some basics on learning English online. Though these article series are more focused for our online patrons, any learner with the determination to master any new language skill can benefit from these.

To learn English online may seem overwhelming and confusing as to where should you start! And we are here to help you with just that. The main purpose of these articles is to enable you with some tips to organize your learning schedule when you enroll to an online English speaking course. And help you decide on the what, how and when to plan your spoken English lessons.

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced English speaker, each one of you will find something to improve on. This blog will give you the tools you need to devise a good learning plan- Step by step actionables that are

Doable
Self-paced
& Simple!

To learn fluent English (though tough to summarize in 4 plain steps) primarily involves the following:

Step 1- Where should you start?

Beginner level English- The focus here should be on learning, developing and enriching English vocabulary.

Step 2- How to improve spoken English?

Intermediate level English- After gaining footwork in English vocabulary, the main focus should be to become proficient in English grammar and slowly navigate your way to communicating if not fluently but at least basic spoken English. This is the toughest step since English word pronunciations and intonations take consistent practice.

Step 3- How to improve English reading, writing & listening skills?

Advanced level English- Once you are able to communicate with others in basic or fluent English, its now time to hone your skills more in terms of reading and writing English. Reading and writing English comes easily to most learners, the emphasis at this stage is to work on their listening skills- the most crucial skill required for effective communication.

Step 4- Long term habits for fluent English speaking

By now, you are already a pro! But however fluent English you may speak, there is always something more to learn! Like any skill, you will require consistency to remember English basics and keep up with your education!

Now that you know what each of these 4 steps are, lets deep dive and understand how can you further simplify each hurdle.

Where should you start to learn English speaking?

As we explained earlier, the answer is English vocabulary. And by this we mean learning “words” – which are compose of 26 primary “alphabets”. Several words together constitute a “phrase”. The Oxford dictionary defines a word as “a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.”

Thus, words constitute the basics of any language. The Wikipedia defines vocabulary as a body of words used in a particular language. A rich vocabulary serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning any language.

Our vocabulary for our mother tongue usually develops over a period of time, from our childhood to adulthood. We learn newer words, phrases, their meanings, their applications in speech and their pronunciations over a gradual phase of time. However, learning vocabulary while studying a second language is tougher!

We at Speechify, have been trying to improve vocabulary and spoken English fluency of our students in our online English classes for last five years. Our online English tutors in India have largely figured out what works and what does not. Refer our detailed blog on tips to improve English vocabulary. These time-tested ways are coming to you straight from the teacher's table who once were students just like you!

If, however this still seems a lot of work, lets make learning fun and not too much work! Start with these

Watch English movies- Choose your genre and with the help of sub-titles read dialogues. Remember that you are watching the movie for learning words, dialogue delivery, phrases, slangs and pronunciations. Re-watch the movie if required, but make a note of the different words that you learnt through the movie.
Speak to virtual assistants- Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant are all new virtual tools that you can use to your advantage primarily to get your pronunciations in check. May sound weird to you but do give it a try since it is tremendously time saving when your phonetics are not in order.
Play word games- If movies and virtual assistants is not your cup of tea, you can learn games like Pictionary, scrabble, crossword puzzles. You can engage in these games along with a friend to make it more fun!
Learn and sing English songs- This is only applicable if you enjoy singing. Challenge yourself with a new song for each week and again, focus on the words/slangs that you learn through songs.
Read books! - This technique is so ancient and we have said this so many times but it still does not give it justice! Reading books or simply speaking, a daily reading habit (read anything like a magazine, the newspaper etc.) will help your vocabulary immensely with – word spellings, contextual meaning, phrases, slangs and so on

These are simple and doable. You can try all of these or only those that you can mix-in with your hobby. Remember, this is step one and hence the toughest hurdle in your language learning journey. Hence, most people struggle to keep the momentum at this stage. Though its not impossible to learn vocabulary by yourself, guided lessons from English teachers can fast-track and help you navigate your way through these tough language mazes.

We will soon come up with the next blog post. Till then, Happy Learning!

We hope you found this blog helpful and look forward to your comments, recommendations and feedback!