English Speaking

In today’s world, English is the most widely used language across the world. Businesses across the world are widely using English as an official way of communication.

Whether we talk about employees, business owners or parents, English is required in various aspects of life. Depending upon the country & city, the need may vary but broadly speaking, English definitely creates more opportunities for everyone.

Hence people throughout the world are wanting to learn to speak English. There could be many ways to achieve that though there are some insights which would be further helpful:

1. Conversational English: There can be various benchmarks to learn the language. One such benchmark is as adopted by Eduction Institutions is to teach English with correct usage of grammar. Though the majority of the English speakers in the world are non-native English speakers and their priority is to have a conversation in English. Hence spoken English to the level that it’s communicating the message is essential even though it may not be very accurate on grammar. Hence one needs to first identify the immediate requirement for which they need English
2. English vs Skill Gap: In majority of the work (job & business), English is expected these days. Though it is observed that depending upon the work, it’s requirement level may vary. It is commonly observed that some people just think that they are not getting work because they can not speak, English though they are usually not aware that they are lacking even on their competency. Though an environment is created the majority of people identify the issue with English but very few are able to realize the skill gap too. E.g. some entry-level software engineers might think that they are not getting job because of English communication, though they might not be aware that they are not having strong programming skills.

As the majority of the people are looking to develop conversational English hence here are some best practices to improve Conversational English:

1. Speaking Practice: To learn any language one of the best ways is to speak it more.
   1. Start speaking with some friends in English. One can make a commitment they they will speak in English for 30 min to 1 hour daily
   2. Read the newspaper loudly: To develop a common sense of language, one can read English newspapers or any other magazine “loudly”. If someone practices this for 1 hour daily for 2 months, they can observe remarkable improvement in their English conversation.
2. Listening Practice: There are two parts of communication. One is speaking and the other is listening and understand. To improve understanding English speech, one may watch English Movies, Serials, News
3. Join some English Speaking Club e.g. Toastmasters: Toastmasters is an international organization with a focus on improving public speaking skills. But a majority of the toastmasters club expects the participants to speak in English hence, by joining a Toastmasters club, one can improve the public speaking as well as English speaking abilities.

While English speaking is essential, it is equally important to understand the power of one’s Native Language. A combination of Native Language and English Language can create a win-win situation.