English is a prominent language across many countries. Moreover, many companies are searching for candidates with excellent speaking and writing skills in English. At times, other country spokespeople hire a translator to convert their native language into English, especially at major meetings and conferences.
Furthermore, there are 50,30,00,000 and 62,60,00,000 results on Google on “how to improve – English writing and writing skills?. Therefore, the importance of the language is well established on the web. Many foreign-language speakers, especially India, are searching for the best ways to improve English writing and speaking skills.
Speaking fluent English requires focussing on pronunciation and vocabulary besides grammar. You can improve your grammar while you learn to write structured English.
The following methods can help with speaking skills:
Practicing
Improving your speaking skills in English requires constant practice, primarily focussing on pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. You can speak more with a person, reciting a monologue, repeating jokes, and reading aloud passages from a book, journal, magazine, etc. These practices can come handy if you are preparing for competitive exams like IELTS and TOEFL to gain admission, relocate, or work in a foreign country.
Also, using these practices can help you acquire more general knowledge about day-to-day discussions and make you a more interesting person in the room. Moreover, a constant practice would build up your confidence to take interviews, or at public speaking events, or communicating with a foreign client.
Reflecting
The second step is to identify and rectify your mistakes. You can learn about them from the person you are communicating with or reading out sentences slowly to understanding their meaning or taking spoken English or IELTS classes. Being a part of a spoken English class would put you along with a group of people trying to achieve the same goals as you. In contrast, IELTS Academic training would prepare you with people trying to improve their spoken English skills for an academic level. Additionally, you can even opt for personalized online sessions for both types of courses.
Recording
If you record while you speak, then you can learn more about your strengths and weaknesses. You can also check the improvement in your pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar over a duration. While you are listening to your recordings, note your mistakes on a piece of paper and try to avoid them in your upcoming sessions.
Also, try to speak without hesitation for a minute or two as you would on a topic in an IELTS speaking test. You can make recordings on your opinions, environment, politics, economics, history, or select trending newspaper columns, news articles, passages, etc. These would appraise your speaking skills in English.
The four forms of writing are expository, persuasive, descriptive, and narrative. Expository writing involves a subject explanation to the reader. Persuasive writing states a writer’s opinion and influences the reader. Descriptive writing resembles expository writing but adds more pictures and details.
Narrative writing consists of storytelling as fact or fiction. Therefore, before pursuing to improve writing skills in English, an author must decide the type of approach he/she is going to follow. Once you have selected, here are a few methods on how to improve English writing:
Spelling
There are four broad types of writing languages, namely, American (U.S.), British (U.K), Australian, and Canadian. All writing formats follow different language approaches. In India, most companies follow the U.S. English writing format. But it would be best to know the type of language structure your company follows before you start writing. If you are new to the language, the U.S. English writing would be most suitable for you.
Once you have decided your language form, you need to start adding new words to your vocabulary and learn their best pronunciation and application in a sentence. You will learn to use the best synonyms, antonyms, verbs, and nouns required for your writing form. Additionally, you will improve your speaking skills in English.
Common Problems
The next approach is similar to the recording approach of improving spoken English skills. It requires your attention to details like misspelled words, sentence structures, passive voice, and repetitive mistakes.
Fortunately, you would face less common problems in English than an average person because you followed the spelling approach that requires paying attention to synonyms, antonyms, verbs, and nouns for improving sentence structures.
You can even take practice tests online on sites like Indeed, Fiverr, LinkedIn, and Freelancer to learn more about your writing aptitude. Moreover, you can take free online English writing certifications and use them in your IELTS or domestic job application.
Other ways to eradicate your common errors is to read, listen, speak, and watch more in English. The repetitive practice of these four steps would enhance your confidence level to a level that you can help others find their mistakes.
Distinguish Between Formal and Informal Writing Styles
Formal writing includes composing letters, academic articles, business manuscripts, etc. It comprises complex and specific sentences, sophisticated vocabulary, serious tone, literary meanings, avoidance of contractions, involves a third-person perspective, standard spellings & pronunciation, references, and organized paragraphs.
On the other hand, informal writing can consist of figures of speech, slang, broken syntax, a personal tone, direct speech, incomplete short sentences, contractions & abbreviations, empathy, and emotion.
The best way to improve your writing skills in English is to read more formal and informal articles and rewrite them based on your understanding. Moreover, you can always search the same topic on the web for similar results and create a better-structured article, letter, manuscript, or passage.
The easiest way is to improve your English writing skills into practice rewriting at least one passage a day. It would take an effort initially, but eventually, you will get the hang of it. We hope that tips and methods come handy in your efforts to improve your English speaking and writing skills.