5 Ways to Make the Most of your English Speaking Courses

Learning a new language is tough, especially if you find yourself in an environment (such as a new country, or a new job), where you are essentially forced to learn as quickly as possible in order to merely survive.

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In addition to complete immersion in the language (i.e. living in a native English speaking country like the U.S., the U.K., or Australia), it's important to take additional courses in order advance the learning process.

That being said, there are ways that you can make your English speaking courses more effective than just sitting in your classroom and taking notes.

As someone who taught English as a Second Language before, I know that there are specific things students can do to make the most of their courses and accelerate their learning. Here are a few ideas:


1. Use the vocabulary words you learn in class in the real world; don't just memorize them.

In your English speaking courses, it's likely that your teacher will give you weekly vocabulary words that you will have to memorize later for a quiz.

Naturally, you'll learn to speak more quickly and fluently if you use the words you learn in the real world.

After you have memorized your vocabulary words, establish a goal in which you use these words at least three times a day each. By the end of the week, you should see the defference.


2. Seek out speaking partners in your classes or elsewhere.

One thing that cannot be emphasized enough is that English speaking courses by themselves are simply not sufficient in order to learn the language well. Taking what you learn and applying outside of class is very important.

Make friends with your classmates, and establish a speaking club in the evening, join a Meetup group in your area, or ask any other native speaker if they will agree to meet with you regularly to converse in English.


3. Request additional learning materials from your teacher.

Most teachers are very eager for their students to learn as much and as quickly as possible.

English speaking courses often don't exceed a few hours in duration, so doing more work on your own is the best way to accelerate your learning.

Approach your teacher and ask her if they may have additional books, exercises, or videos that can help you learn in your free time.

Teachers often have many supplemental materials on hand to help you.


4. Use online tools to supplement your English speaking courses.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can find your own supplemental materials online, for free.

Some of the best language learning tools out there are Live Mocha, Busuu, and the Conversation English App for the iPhone and iPad.

There's millions more, but these are good tools to get you started on learning conversational English outside your course.


5. Watch as much English language television as possible.

I once met a gentleman from Finland whose English speaking skills were flawless. I asked him how he learned so well, and assumed that he took several years of English classes.

It turns out he took no English in school. Rather, he watched hours of English language TV, like MTV, Disney, and Nickelodeon.

Personally, in my quest to learn Russian, I, too, spent hours watching Russian soap operas.

Once you completely immerse yourself in television, you'll learn ways of speaking that often don't come up in English speaking courses.


Of course, no matter what you do to learn English, it will take time and effort. But through this effort and lots and lots of practice, you'll get it sooner than you think. Good luck!

This tips are contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

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