How can you improve your English language skills?

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Use it! And one good start is to read and participate in forums such as this on the internet. Find a group of people that are interested in something you are interested in, say martial arts or the works of Tolkien or Bollywood. Find forums on the internet on that topic and join in! You will learn a great deal, get more comfortable with the language and make new friends. And most of them will be very understanding if they know that English is not your native language. Comment This reminds me of an old joke:
A fellow with a ticket to a concert at Carnegie Hall was visiting New York City for the first time. He was unsure of his directions, but soon saw an elderly gentleman who was carrying a violin case.
"That elderly gentleman must be a musician," he said to himself. "Surely he must know the way to Carnegie Hall."
So the fellow approached the elderly gentleman and asked, "Sir, how can I get to Carnegie Hall?"
The elderly gentleman stopped, smiled, and answered, "Practise, practise, practise."
The moral (if I may use that word) is that there are no shortcuts, no quick and easy ways, to improve one's skills in anything, from athletics to nuclear medicine. You just have to work at it -- all the time.

I am 64 years of age. I often write two or three business letters and make a handful of business telephone calls in the course of a day. I try to read at least one newspaper every day. There is always at least one book that I am reading, often two or three. I still use a dictionary several times a week.

Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without some effort. I do notice, however, that you already have the ability to spell properly and compose a coherent and meaningful sentence. That, in itself, is a very good start.

Let me offer you a few tips.
  • Once you have written something, put it aside and leave it alone for a while. Return to it later and try to improve it. Ask yourself the following questions: What was the purpose of my writing and did I achieve that purpose? Can I improve the wording of what I have just written? Does my writing flow smoothly from one issue to the next? How can I express myself more clearly? Finally, read any book written on the subject of writing. Doing so will improve your writing significantly. They're all fairly thin and most are available in paperback. You might even find one in your local library.
  • Any language skills can be improved by several means. First, speak as much as you can: find someone to practice with, and speak only English with them. Also, read as much as you can: find English books and newspapers, and use a dictionary when you find a word you do not understand. Television and radio are also useful: find an English channel and start paying attention. The internet can help you practice your language skills as well, and you can find "penpals" in chat rooms and message boards.
  • Read good quality literature, books and newspapers etc
  • Get someone who you consider has good English language to review your written work and hold sensible conversations with people.
  • You could join a debating society or similar group.
  • If English isn't your native language then look to join a group of other like minded people e.g. an English as a foreign language (EFL) class or social group.
  • Read it, listen to it and have conversations with other students about it. At all other times, think in it
  • One of the better ways is to spend a lot of time with people who speak excellent English, and let them know that you would like feed-back from them about your speaking skills. These people may also be willing to guide you toward reading materials suitable to your level.
  • Many wise men have said the best way to learn something is to teach it. If you search carefully, you will be able to find English as a Second Language (ESL) classes near you. Volunteer to help with practicing, and I personally will bet you a cookie your own English will improve as you help another.
  • The best way is to first practice SPEAKING English, and read a lot of story books. If there are some words you don't understand, a dictionary, big or small, is a great friend! Sometimes, the internet is useful for that, too!
  • In my experience there are a lot of web tools to help you learn English. EnglishCentral, LiveMocha are just some of the best. Classes...too expensive, if you want to get free (or very cheap education), the internet is a wonderful place for learning this language.
  • The best way to hone your skill in any language is to use it.
  • The French have a proverb that says the best way to learn French is to have a French girlfriend (or boyfriend).
  • Other good ways are to read newspapers in the target language, to follow cartoons (either on paper or on the tv), to visit the country and chat with people, and to try out some of the famous poems or jokes in the language you are learning.
  • Poems and jokes are a good way to learn a language because they are short and full of meaning.
  • Go to evening classes with a sympathetic teacher.
  • The best way to learn English by yourself is to use Rosetta Stone.
  • The most important way to improve your spoken English is by listening to correct pronunciation and then practicing out loud. Watching American TV shows can be helpful, but only if you try to imitate what you hear them say. Your spoken English simply will not improve just by listening.
  • You want to be able to hear the difference between the way you pronounce words and the way native speakers do. If you cannot hear the difference, you may want to work with an accent reduction specialist who can help train your ear to hear the differences, and then teach you the new ways to hold your mouth and tongue to change your pronunciation.
  • With some time and effort invested, you can improve your spoken English. Practice is the best way. Also to improve your spoken English listen to correct pronunciation ( a skilled speaker) and then practice out loud. Watching TV shows can be helpful, but listening only, is not as good as then following up by practice. Also, it may seem strange, but listening to popular music and then singing the songs helps.

 More from our WikiReaders: 1. You mustn't be afraid of making mistakes but once you make them you have to rectify them with the help of a grammar book or a dictionary
2. The best way to improve your fluency is to not just speak in English, but think in English, because if you are thinking in your mother-tongue and you try to translate your message to English before actually saying it, you will not only speak in a slow way, but you will spoil that day's English advantage and learning. Just try to speak inside of your mind (think) in English, and it will come out in a more natural way
3. Also, when you're out and about, or even at home, think, and also SPEAK OUT LOUD, the things you are doing, the things you see. And speak to other people! Always remember it's good to make mistakes, because you can learn from them and improve by remembering what you did wrong and improve that.
4.Its a good idea to speak loudly.
5.Listen to English songs as much as possible and try to sing along.
6.Read English articles, books and reviews as much as possible.
7.Whenever you come across a new word write it down somewhere and find out the meaning.
8.BE CONFIDENT. Give your self auto suggestions that you have a good English trust me it really works.

Read books with a larger vocabulary than you are used to with a dictionary by your side to help you understand new words.
Reading a lot is a good way of improving one`s grammar and learning new vocabulary and language structures.
Read english newspaper regularly and also by watching English movie.

Aside from that you should check out some online learning sites (there's a link to a good one below). Another good idea is to find someone who talks English as a first language. Talk with them on MSN or Skype or something and just talk a lot.
To improve your English speaking ability is to constantly speak it and ask native English Speaking People if you are using the correct words, grammar and pronunciation. People are happy to correct you and help you. Go to ESL classes and learn, learn, learn.

To improve reading and writing get a mentor, (personal tutor), to help you out. There are ESL classes that have volunteers to help you. English as a Second Language classes are available free in most cities but they are not as readily available in the rural areas. See a nearby church for help.

There are tapes, CDs, digital recordings available at libraries for free too. Use them with the help of an English Speaking person or a librarian. Thanks for learning English. We who had to learn Spanish, French, German and other languages really appreciate it.

the best and easiest way to improve your English is speak what ever you can and be confident while speak, listen and learn from others or from your teachers, do not give up a confuse impression towards the audience, be practice to speak English, try to make some new sentences then you will be the best speaker of English.

The only way to seriously improve your english is to talk to as many english speaking people as you can, preferably with english as a first language. Perhaps you could also try spending some time in England or watch some English tv/film.
Basically my point is you have to immerse yourself in the language.
By taking English lessons, and learning that improve is written with only one 'o'


If english is not a second language, then my best tip is to never read anything that you do not understand. eg If there is a word or phrase that you have never heard of or seen before, then look it up and learn something new, we have a wonderful expansive language and most words are incredibly hardly ever used. One of the most over used words is NICE, So many words can replace this word, just look at a Thesaurus and see
The answer to, "How can you improve your English-?" is you can say the ABC's every day. I remember when I wasn't very good with talking and I said them every single night before I went to bed. I also read out loud to my mom for 30 minutes and I said the words over and over again that I had trouble with.
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