If I’m just starting out with a language, I focus my energy on input. I read and listen to as much of the language as I can daily. I enjoy immersing myself in the language, and trust that I can develop a grasp for the language through ample exposure. Eventually, as my level becomes more advanced, I want to start emphasizing speaking.

To improve your speaking skills, it’s important to have the proper mindset and approach. Here’s my take. 

I know that I am not going to learn to speak a new language perfectly. Perfection is not my goal. My goal is effective communication.

I am far from perfect in any of the 20 languages that I speak. In some languages, such as Chinese, French, or Spanish, I can communicate quite well. In other languages, such as Polish or Romanian, it’s a bit more of a struggle. I understand that improving my speaking is an ongoing process. Here are some tips to successfully improve your speaking skills. 

1) Listen a lot

Listening leads to improved speaking. Listening creates a body of experience for the brain. You’re exposing yourself to countless examples of natural speech in the target language. Furthermore, if the content is interesting, you’ll form a stronger connection with the language. Through simple exposure, I can pick up phrases, improve my comprehension, and hear the pronunciation more clearly. Ample listening time gives me momentum for developing my speaking.

I recommend listening to your target language at least an hour per day. How do I find the time? Well, I listen to podcasts in my car. I listen to music or audiobooks while doing chores around the house. I listen to the language while exercising or running. I build listening time into preexisting habits and routines to ensure consistency. 

2) Read a lot

Reading is one of the best ways to increase your vocabulary. Stephen Krashen, for example, has done considerable research on the power of reading. Communication requires a large, passive vocabulary. Sure, you need an active vocabulary to express yourself. However, passive vocabulary is also important. A conversation cannot continue without understanding what the other person is saying. 

If your comprehension is strong enough to continue the conversation and engage in a wide variety of conversations, you’ll have more opportunities to develop a larger active vocabulary.  

You build a large passive vocabulary through reading. Most of my reading is initially limited to transcripts or texts of whatever I am listening to. A lot of this is done on my iPad using LingQ. However, as I progress in the language, I develop the ability to read anything I want, albeit with a small percentage of unknown words. 

How To Improve Your Speaking Skills

3) Imitate

While reading or listening, you may want to imitate a word or a phrase that you come across. This type of activity is sometimes referred to as shadowing. I don’t do this systematically, but I do find myself repeating certain phrases aloud, developing a feel for its meaning and attempting to produce it more naturally.

Of course, this isn’t a guarantee that you’ll remember what you’re imitating.  However, by simply noticing these words and phrases, repeating them, attempting to better capture the sound or cadence, you’ll find some success in retention. 

When imitating what we hear, focus on the rhythm and the intonation of the language. When I was studying Mandarin, for example, I developed a better ear for the different tones just repeating phrases and words without stress. All languages have their own intonation, their own music. We can acquire this through imitation. 

4) Write

How To Improve Your Speaking Skills

Writing is a great way to start producing the language and improve your speaking skills. While indirect, it’s another means of producing the language spontaneously, putting your active knowledge to the test. 

I have to confess that I’m often a bit lazy when it comes to writing in the languages that I am learning. I mostly limit my writing practice to dictation tasks on LingQ, one of the many custom review activities provided after each lesson.

Writing is like speaking, but without the spontaneity. When we write, we have the time to look up words, to clarify a grammar rule, or verify a word ending. We have more time to correct ourselves and produce the language more thoughtfully.

Tip: I’d like to emphasize that it is merely the activity of writing, not correcting your writing, that is of greater benefit. Prioritize producing the language, not analyzing mistakes. 

5) Speak

This tip sounds obvious, but it’s worth saying. To speak well, you will need to speak a lot. There’s not going to be a perfect time to start speaking. The words won’t spill out naturally and perfectly. Be prepared to make a lot of mistakes, but also trust that you’re stumbling your way towards fluency.

Find someone to practice speaking with. This can be done on language exchange platforms or with online language tutors. For example, I have worked with tutors from italki and LingQ to ensure quality, consistent speaking practice. 

When I speak, I don’t worry about my mistakes. I even ask my speaking partner to refrain from correcting me while I speak. I just want to communicate. Besides, I immediately forget any corrections made during our conversations anyway. I do, however, enjoy reviewing useful words and phrases that came up during our lessons. I import these words and phrases into LingQ as lessons, and I’m able to review more efficiently.

Final Thoughts:

Effective communication is not necessarily perfect communication. To improve your speaking skills, continue immersing yourself in the language and prepare to make lots of mistakes. The goal is to engage in meaningful conversations with others. Understand that developing your speaking skills takes time and practice. Through ample reading, listening, writing, and speaking (of course), trust that your grasp of the language and ability to communicate naturally will grow stronger and stronger.