How to improve vocabulary

Improving vocabulary is not a cake walk. It requires very high efforts from the individual. Today Improve Spoken English is coming up with a very important article on on how to improve your vocabulary. I have done it myself when I was preparing for MBA. Today my friends are amazed by seeing the power of my vocabulary. It happens many times that they say some word, and instantly I say the meaning of that word. It impresses a lot.

I will start from the beginning, from the very starting my vocab was very weak. In-fact i don't knew the meaning of very simple words also. My friends used to laugh at me, but I was not concerned. The things changed, when I decided to prepare for MBA (Masters of Business Administration). I decided to go for the CAT (Common Aptitude Test) for IIM's (Indian Institute of Management). When I started to give mock tests for CAT, I realized that I was good in Maths and Data Interpretation, but every-time, I used to score very low in my vocabulary and English Section.

So I decided to give it a pull shot. I tried many short cuts on various sites, but all of them used to define some words only. I wanted an exhaustive and decent way to improve. When I was fed up with all the short cuts, I finally realized that "there are no shortcuts to success". So I picked up a dictionary. The dictionary was a decent one, with about 3000-4000 words. And I started to cram every page.

My room partner used to laugh at me by seeing that I am learning every page and every word. But to his and my surprise it started to work. I broke my work in 26 modules, one module for each alphabet. Then I started from alphabets which have less number of words, so as to gain confidence as soon as possible. Infact I started from the alphabet "x", which has the least number of words. After learning this, i moved to "z", then all the words starting from "y", and then so on.

I never used to overburden myself. My daily routine consists of learning at least 20 new words, and the most important thing was to give a revision to the words I learned earlier. I asked my room partner, to take that dictionary, and ask the words in random manner from a particular alphabet. To our great amazement, I always used to score with more then 95% of the words as correct.

The most important part is to revise the words which you learned earlier, or slowly the words will dissapear from your memory. Slowly I covered almost every alphabet. The maximum difficulty I faced was with the alphabet which has the most number of words. But still I managed to cover it anyhow.

The time consumed by me for this complete Vocabulary improvement process was about 6-8 months. But my vocabulary became rock solid. If you have a smaller time span, then you can start from a smaller dictionary with less number of words.

All the day I used to keep thinking about the words, even in the night while going to sleep, it used to happen that some word come in my memory and I am not clear about it's meaning. Instantly I used to get up and check the dictionary or else I would not have been able to sleep. Take this process as a very serious and regular one. Do not break your learning process or it can hamper your growth.

I remember that while giving the XAT (XLRI Aptitude test), there were three sections, one for vocabulary with 50 words, the second for mathematics with 5 questions (each question has 10 sub questions), the third section was for general knowledge.

I started from the general knowledge section, in which I knew the answer for 38 questions. Th rest I just guessed. Then I moved to the vocabulary section. There were 50 questions, and I knew the meaning of 49 words from those 50 words. It took me hardly 10 min, to complete that section. The maths section was very very hard, and I was not able to solve more that 1 question (with 10 sub-parts).

Finally I knew that I will not be able to make into XLRI because of my bad performance in the Mathematics section. The main point is that the confidence I achieved regarding my vocabulary was immense.
Even today I rate my self as very good in my vocabulary. All of my friends always keep asking me, about how was I able to achieve this level of excellence in vocabulary.

I would like to summarize my learning for all of you, for a reference.

• Use a good dictionary, normally the one used for GRE is good enough.
• Make a habit of learning 20 new words everyday.
• Do not over burden yourself, as it might lead to frustration
• Always revise the words which you have learned earlier.
• Ask a friend or family member to ask words from that dictionary, and confirm the meaning spoken by you. This will help in analyzing yourself.
• If possible, take mock tests for vocabulary.
• Be consistent, and do not let breaks come in your consistency.

I hope that this article will be beneficial to all of my readers, as this is my personal experience, I bet that if you do it, then you also can attain these limits in vocabulary.

That's it for today friends. Do post a comment to share your opinion about this article.

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Play English Games for Spoken English Improvement

Language improvement is easy, if we enjoy doing it. In-fact everything is easy in this world, if we love to do it. So for improving your spoken English you need to enjoy the learning process. There are number of resources available online, which makes your learning process easy.

The best way to do it, is by using English games. Check out online for a plethora of material for English improvement. The net provides a plethora of information about various activities and ways to Improve spoken English. But you need to find the one that appeals and draws your attention. That is important so as to keep you intact with the learning process.

Try English games like spoken Hangman, Vocabulary games, quizzes, buzzer rounds etc. at home to fasten up for progress. Once you have opted for ESL, then be sure of the fact that you have made a very good decision. I will be working on to incorporate as many games as possible in this blog, so as to help my readers get the most out of it.

Apart from these, there are many spoken English articles, which could be very useful. The audio courses  available on the net are helpful to make your self accustomed to the way the English is spoken. Apart from that the games which the site provide are very very useful.

English games are the best way to enjoy the process of English learning. You can play alone, or any of your friends can accompany you in these games. Games like grammar quizzes, Hangman, etc. makes to strive for more. And you compete to know more and more. It is a nice way to improve your spoken vocal capability. Not to mention that it enhances your vocabulary also.

Internet is wide, and unlimited, search for resources, but stick to those which you like and are able to understand. Because that will help you to gain confidence. Sometimes too many resources also can hamper your progress of English learning, as you could be confused regarding which to choose. But narrowing your search to a few genuine and authentic English teaching sites, can boost your performance in an amazing way.

I am done for today, will be soon with yet another article on How to Improve Spoken English.

You might like these games too:-

• Vocabulary Game for Improving Spoken English
• Play Topic game to Improve Spoken English  
• Spoken English Exercises

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Enhance spoken English with Wikipedia Spoken Project

Hi all of you waiting for your spoken English to be a cake walk. Today I am going to share a very useful link, and that is from a very authentic site, that is Wikipedia. Wikipedia has come up with a great project to improve the spoken English of everyone.

The link for this great project is Wikipedia:Spoken articles. This link contains spoken audios of various words and their meanings. The best part is that the user can scan for any word in their list, and they will give a vocal explanation of that word or phrase. The article in reading is also there, but on a separate page.

It is a very good way for improving your spoken English, as you come to hear good English by very authentic sources. Moreover you get to know the meaning of that word or phrase also. The current development on spoken articles contains audios on the following categories:-

1.      Art, architecture, and archaeology
2.      Biology and medicine
3.      Business
4.      Chemistry
5.      Culture and society
6.      Education
7.      Economics
8.      Food and drink
9.      Geography and places
10.      Geology, geophysics, and mineralogy
11.      History
12.      Internet
13.      Language and linguistics
14.      Law and crime
15.      Literature
16.      Mathematics
17.      Media
18.      Music
19.      Philosophy
20.      Physics and astronomy
21.      Politics and government
22.      Psychology
23.      Recreation and leisure
24.      Religion and beliefs
25.      Royalty, nobility and chivalry
26.      Sport and games
27.      Technology
28.      Transport
29.      War
30.      Wikipedia-related
31.      See also

Though the categories of articles is going to increase over time, with more and more audios added to each category. You would love to spend some quality time hearing these audios, and practicing their pronunciation.

Remember that if you want to improve your pronunciation, then you have to listen to quality audios, and quality English. This is a brain tuning exercise, which records what we hear. And when we speak those words, our brain guides us about the correct pronunciation.

It is an exhaustive collection of audios, and you will have more then enough audios to practice communication skills improvement by hearing audios. If you want to know more about this Wikipedia Spoken project, then check the link for it. It involves with speaking the articles present on Wikipedia loudly. So you can easily hear how to correctly pronounce words, and talk normally in conversations.

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Read English Dailies Loudly

Hello everyone, Improve Spoken English has come up with yet an effective article to improve your spoken English. Today I am going to discuss the most important method that I used to improve my spoken English and communication skills. Yes it is with the help of self practice and reading English news papers loudly.

 

Reading loudly of English dailies or English magazines or might be an English novel really helps. It can be practiced in your free time, and there is no hesitation in practicing alone and in solitude. It is very effective because the more you speak in English, the more you get used to the English pronunciation and words. Keep a dictionary along with you while reading news papers. While reading the news papers keep a pen or pencil along with you. If you feel that any word is new, then just underline it, but don't stop reading loudly.

 

Once you have practiced reading news papers loudly for a sufficient time, then you can give a view to all the words that you have underlined. Open your dictionary and check out the meanings. Try speaking the words loudly and their meaning many times. This will help you to get accustomed to the new words. This process will enhance your vocabulary, reading capability and your English communication all at the same time. That's the main reason that in my previous article I have emphasized on the use of dictionary.

 

The time spent for reading loudly the English dailies or magazines depends upon the spare time you have. But still a minimum time of 1 hr should be dedicated to it daily. The maximum time limit depends upon the individual level of comfort with the English language.

 

This does not end here, you also need to practice the word you learned in your daily communication. Talk to friends, and try to use the new words you have learned. It will help you to memorize the words and get used to them for normal conversation.

 

Speaking loudly clears your throat, and makes your vocal cord used to speaking the particular words more easily. A clear throat is a must for clear and effective communication. The advantages are immense, you gain self confidence and you feel good.

 

Feel good factor is a must for any learning, if you are not happy with your progress, then automatically you will try harder to achieve your goal. This might lead to frustration at times. But remember that "he who never gives up, wins the race". So have a "never say die" approach. Be a fighter, if you wish to conquer the English Language. Victory goes in the hands of the person who tries for it.

 

Practice is the key, do not follow the routine of practicing for a few days then taking a break for next few days, and then come back. This will hamper your progress of English Language Communication learning. Make a consistent routine, practice at least for an hour a day, and talk as much in English as possible.

 

I myself followed the routine for at least 2 months, before gaining ample confidence. Make mistakes, because you learn from them. No one can be perfect in English, so don't bother about become a perfect English vocalist. But you still need to strive for perfection, because that is the way to improve yourself continuously. It is a continuous process and breaks in this continuity can hamper your growth.

 

A good English Communicator deserves respect, and if there are few peoples talking, and you make some comments in decent English, then it makes a very good impression. It can be very helpful at times. Suppose that you have an urgent business requirement and you need to woo your client at any cost. In these circumstance, a good English communication can do wonders for you.

 

Speak up to your friends about the English words which you have learned, and discuss the meanings of them. The more you make a habit of this, the better for you. No one give you a medicine that OK take this, and now you are a good English speaker. A person has to make efforts from his side, to achieve what he or she wants.

 

Play English games, like in which every person is supposed to stand up and give a speech in English on any topic for 2 to 3 minutes. It helps to wash hesitation away, and is a very good time pass also. This way you enjoy the learning process, and achieve your desired goal very soon.

 

I am done for today, posting of comments is required from your side, so that we can be in touch. Keep checking Improve Spoken English for more ways to improve your English communication.

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Use a Dictionary

Improve Spoken English is back with another very effective way to improve the power of your communication. Thesaurus or a dictionary is the best friend of a person willing to get accustomed to a language. It is not only for beginners, but professionals also. The dictionary is the best tool to improve your vocabulary.

 

While communicating in English, often there are words with which we are not familiar. Remember to make a note of such words, and check the dictionary for that. If the dictionary is a good one, then it will contain the way to pronounce it correctly. In a dictionary, after every word, there is some syllables mentioned in bracket, and after that the meaning is given. Give a good look on these phonetic syllables, as they are your guide to pronounce any word in English language correctly. Moreover you come to know the meaning of the word also.

 

The more you keep checking dictionary, the more your phonetic capability and the understanding of the meaning of the word will increase. Next time it might be that you are the one who use that word while speaking in English. You will slowly realize that the power of your vocabulary is increasing and you are gaining self confidence.

 

When you consult a thesaurus, then try to read that word aloud many times, this will help in your ears getting used to the sound of that word. A very effective technique for getting used to the word. In a dictionary there are thousands and thousands of word. You need not go for every word. Normally in spoken English, we don't use the entire dictionary. It is just a set of words which are usually used in daily communication.

 

The more you speak in English, the more you will realize that there are few words which we use most of the time. We add on more words to our vocabulary by communicating more and more. It is a good practice and answers the basic question of how to improve spoken English.

 

Using of a dictionary is very helpful, and for learners of English Language, it is a must to keep a small pocket dictionary along with them. You never know when it might be useful, so it is better to carry along with you. Anytime you are stuck with any word, then just open your thesaurus and check the meaning and pronunciation with the accent of that word. It is very helpful and you never have to hesitate in doing so.

 

Asking the meaning from the person you are talking to, is also an option. But sometimes it is embarrassing, so why to depend on someone else. Just keep a pocket dictionary and you are all set.

 

If you have some friends who are also willing to learn English as second language, then it is very good for all of you. You can form groups and speak among yourself only. Make some word meaning games, and ask the meaning of some word to the other group and let the answer come. It is a very effective way to improve you vocabulary, as this will increase your enthusiasm to learn, and also shed all the hesitation that you have in speaking English.

   

Try and explore new words which you have heard somewhere, look for the meaning and discuss over that word. We often let the things go and don't concern ourselves in getting the meaning of it, but this is not the way to improve. Stick to the words, and be adamant to know the meaning and usage of that word.

   

I have made my point clear, do post a comment in case you liked the article, or if you have any issues. Improve Spoken English will soon be coming with a new way to unleash the power of communication.

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English as Second language ESL

Kudos for choosing ESL (English as a second language). Improve Spoken English is going to take the topic of ESL today. Most of us are not Britishers or Americans, and we don't have English as our first or primary language. I am an Indian, and my mother tongue is Hindi. Learning English has been a wonderful experience in itself. You know, that good English communication skill can create wonders for you.

   

Take the example of the most basic requirement of a person, and that is a job. If not every, then most of the job requires the employee to be fluent in English. I have seen many advertisements in newspapers about various job profiles, and almost everywhere I have seen the requirement for good communication skills.
 
Take the example of a receptionist at an office, he or she has to interact with many people and clients. A good knowledge of English can get you that job. You may be a much skilled person and can apply for a much better job, but still the requirement of good spoken English is always present.

    

Have you ever thought that why is English required everywhere. The simple reason is that the Britishers have ruled almost the entire world. We all know that the mother tongue of Britishers is English. So wherever they have gone, they have induced English into their culture. The best part is that, now most of the world speaks English. So if you are good in speaking English, then you could be a global person. And in fact you can communicate in almost any part of the world.

   

Recently I was checking the influence of languages of different languages in different parts of the world. I came to know that English is the most spoken language in the world. The second ranking goes to the French Language. So if you are aware of English, then you can make a great difference to your career.

  

As we all know one or two languages, choosing English as an ESL or English as second Language is the right choice to make. Go to a BPO, and all they require is good English Communication skill. Go to a marketing job, and they want good spoken English capability to interact with the clients. Go to a HR job, and you again need English. It is omnipresent an you cannot escape it. Gone are the days when speaking in English was a status symbol. Today it is a necessity. So do speak in English whenever you have the opportunity.

   

The merits of choosing English as a second language are immense. It's your career, and you need to decide to steer in which direction. English is just a means of communication, if you have an additional skill set, then no one can stop you from making a great career. Moreover many jobs nowadays require the person to be just a good English vocal, as it creates a very decent impression on the customers.

   

It's business everywhere and why would a company choose you, when you cannot deliver them good business. For delivering good business, you need to communicate with as many clients as possible, and this again implies good spoken English.

   

I suggest to all of my readers, that ESL is the right choice, work on it, master it and conquer it. Improve your spoken English for a better future. The opportunities are immense, but it goes to the person with the capability to communicate. It might be that you are good in your skill set, but what if you can't communicate to the interviewer about your skill set. Remember that almost all the interviews are in English. A right decision today  of ESL can solve many problems tomorrow.

   

That's it for today, give a thought to what I wrote today. It can change the world around. Do post a comment, if you liked the article or if you have any issues or queries. Improve Spoken English is always there to answer them.

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How to Improve Spoken English

There has been many cases, when it is seen that people say that, if you buy their book, then you will learn to speak fluent English. This thing is of great concern, and so Improve Spoken English has come up with this article to shed all the myths behind this theory. No book can teach you how to speak in English.
  
Believe me, all those people who say that they can improve your English if you buy their book, then don't go for them. Improving spoken English is a matter of practice and right guidance. How can you learn to speak good English by reading something. You need to hear the way the words are pronounced, know where to stop, and where to continue while speaking. All this comes via practice and listening to good English.

 

For improving your communication skills, you should be first of all be comfortable with grammar. Grammar is what we studied in our starting school days, and used to hate it as a very boring subject, but this grammar is the one which is essential for getting a good hold of what you speak. Abstain from getting causal and filthy words, as they can spoil your grammar.

 

If you are comfortable with it, then you are all set to rock and roll with your spoken English skills, and if not then you are eligible for improving it. So for all those who are weak in grammar, I will suggest, that go and grab a school days grammar book. Give it a revision. don't worry to memorize everything. No one can memorize everything in grammar. Just get a good hold of it. That should be enough for the basic preparation.

 

Speak in English with your friends and relatives. Try to communicate as much as possible with your teachers and professors in English. This will help you in gaining self confidence. Break all barriers which hold you from doing so. Make good company, and speak with them in English.

 

If possible join an English course, this is often helpful, as the teacher and professor drives you for good communication skills. Moreover you get to have good company in form of your classmates, with whom you can converse freely. Normally the skill level of the batch-mates is the same, so no feeling of shame is there, and the learning process is very fast. These institutes often have test of spoken English, and are very effective in knowing your progress and drawbacks.

  

Oral communication is the best way to improve your spoken English, but their are other ways also. The second best effective way is to practice English pronunciation. This can be done in solitude, and is therefore very effective. You have no one to be ashamed of, and you can speak to yourself. This way is good and effective. You gain self confidence and self esteem, and also you are comfortable with the pronunciation of typical English words.

 

Reading English also often helps, as you get accustomed with various different English words, and your grammar gets improved. Get a decent English book to start reading. A novel in English is also helpful, but many times novels have many slang words, which might have a bad impact on your grammar. But any how I will suggest to go for it. In this world there is nothing free, and if you are learning something, then you have to accept the drawbacks of it also.

 

The more you practice, the more you will feel that your communication of spoken English is improving. Remember that nothing is perfect, so keep practicing to keep you updated and always prepared. Go for English songs, English movies, etc. Don't limit yourself, try everything that comes in your hand. Keep a positive frame of mind, and just break all barriers.

 

That's it for now guys. Keep checking Improve Spoken English for more ways to improve the power of your communication.

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Speak in English

Yes, you read the topic correct. For improving your spoken English and communication skills, you need to speak in English. This is the first and most basic rule for English improvement. That is why Improve Spoken English has decided to come up with this article.

   

The more you speak in English, the more you make errors. And the more you make errors, the more you learn. There is a famous saying in English that "he who has never made a mistake, can never learn" . So don't be shy to make mistakes. At most the listener will laugh at you. But think that, he is indirectly hinting about your error in spoken English. You also laugh with him, but realize that you made a mistake, and you should correct it the next time.

   

No one is belittled, if someone laughs on him. Don;t ever take it as an ego issue. Learn to make mistakes, and learn to learn from those mistakes.

    

Try to communicate with different users who are good and fluent in English, this will help you in getting the right pronunciation of most of the words. It's like a child learning process. The child learns a language from his or her parents and relatives. It starts by saying pa pa or ma ma. But slowly and gradually it picks up more words in its vocabulary. If a 1 year old child can do it, then why can't you.

    

We all know that this is one of the basic requirements to improve our spoken English, but still we shy off from it. Bet me, this will always haunt you, until you face it. We must learn to face our fears and not to run away from them. If you run away from the issue, then also the issue of improving your spoken English is still persistent, but if you face it, then slowly you learn it and gradually conquer it.

    

Be a conquer and never be afraid to speak in English in open. that's the best way to shed off your fears, and to gain new self confidence, that now the other person has to fear about his or her English, and not you.

    

I hope that this article will definitely boost your self confidence and willingness to speak in English. If you still have issues, then do post a comment,  I will try my best to resolve them. Do post a comment if you liked the article, because that id the only way, we can be in touch. Keep checking Improve spoken English for more updates.

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Welcome to Improve Spoken English

Hello and welcome to Improve Spoken English. This is my first article on this topic, so I will start by introducing myself. I am a programmer by profession. My hobbies include dancing, music, cultural arts and activities.

When I was in my college years, I had to struggle a lot with my spoken English. I used to write very good English, but when it comes to speaking English, I used to get dumb. After college, when I started to appear for interviews, I realized that though I was technically very strong, but still was unable to communicate my thoughts to the Interviewer.

This feeling overpowered me, and I decided to improve my spoken English. today I am working in an MNC, with a cool package. My English is superb, and I am proud of the way I improved it.

In this blog, I will discuss various ways of improving spoken English. I hope that this blog will help many aspirants, who are lost and have lost hope. It would be my best effort to come out with all the methods that I tried to improve my spoken English, and even come up with new ideas for improving the communication power.

Keep checking this blog, for more updates on how to improve spoken English.