Improve your speaking skills while you study English in Melbourne

As we always tell those who study English in Melbourne, the most important thing to do in your spare time is to practice… especially your speaking!

If you want to study in an Australian university orwork in an Australian business, confident speaking skills are a must-have.

The problem is, we find that some students who study English in Melbourne simply don’t know how to use different techniques to help them practice and improve their speaking.

You might be one of them! So, to help you out, we’ve created a list of study tips that will help you improve your English speaking skills.

Want to study English in Melbourne? Learn our top 4 tips to improve speaking skills

1) Practice speaking English with a native language speaker

Many students who practice English on their own end up pronouncing words incorrectly.

The problem with studying alone is that you won’t always know whether you’re using the correct pronunciation, or if the word sounds natural or “real” enough.

And once the brain remembers the word incorrectly, it can be challenging to change it.

That’s why we always suggest that you practice speaking English with a native speaker. Not only will they correct mistakes, but they will also introduce you to new words and teach you how to use them properly.

Not to mention, you can also listen to how they speak, and learn more natural pronunciation and real-world word usage (more on that later).

Don’t have a friend who can help you study English? That’s fine – you’re in an English speaking city, so there are plenty of native speakers around!

We recommend asking for recommendations when ordering food, or starting a conversation with the people serving you at the supermarket or shopping centre.

These sorts of people can help you out, without even realising it!

2) Read out loud

Not only will this improve your reading skills and your vocabulary, but it will also improve your speaking skills!

It doesn’t matter if it’s a newspaper, website or book – reading it aloud can be a huge help.

In particular, we suggest telling our students they should incorporate reading, listening, and speaking into their daily routines. That doesn’t mean adding another 3 hours of study per day; it could be as simple as reading:

Traffic signs and billboards while you’re on the bus
Menus and newspapers at restaurants and cafes
Magazines or brochures at the doctor’s office

This will help you get more used to the different sounds you will have to make when speaking English. When you put all of that time together, it certainly adds up!

3) Listen to the way other people speak English!

One of the best ways to not only learn new words and phrases but also make sure your pronunciation is correct is to listen to other people talk.

While you’re standing in line waiting to order a coffee, listening to the way the people ahead of you pronounce their words, and pay attention to the way your friends speak.

Learning a new language doesn’t always have to be a conscious effort, either. One of the best ways to learn and improve is to start listening to English music and watching English movies.

Over time, you will pick up on proper pronunciation and identify mistakes you may have been making without even realising!

4) Record yourself

Okay, okay, nobody likes hearing their own voice. We know, it sounds weird listening to a recording of yourself!

However, it can also be very helpful when it comes to improving your speaking!

While you speak, it can be hard to identify mistakes – your brain is focused on choosing the correct words, after all.

What we suggest is recording yourself, and then finding a friend who’s a native speaker saying the exact same sentence.

Alternatively, you could repeat yourself after audio books, or record lines from a TV show or movie.

By directly comparing your pronunciation to a native speaker, you can compare your speaking with proper, native-level speaking.

This allows you to identify mistakes with your speaking – the first step towards correcting them.

Want to study English in Melbourne?

Learn the world’s language at Academia!

If you want to improve your spoken English skills and study English in Melbourne then you should get in contact with Academia!

Our English courses in Melbourne are designed to improve all parts of your English fluency, including speaking.

More importantly, they are also designed to help you get to your goals, whether you’re learning English for immigration, study, or work.

We offer a broad range of English courses to suit everybody’s needs and skill level, each of which are also NEAS (National Education Assessment System) assured.

Our English courses include:

General English

With classes for every level of fluency, General English is the perfect course for students who simply want to become more fluent overall.

This course focuses on helping you communicate and understand, with an emphasis on day-to-day English skills.

With regards to speaking, that means improving your conversational skills by increasing your vocabulary, improving your pronunciation and helping you better understand what people are saying.

Learn more about our General English courses in Melbourne.

English for Academic Purposes

Studying at an Australian university will push your English skills to the limit. You’ll have to:

Write essays
Read complex studies and documents
Understand lecture slides
Read textbooks and technical language

English for Academic Purposes focuses on preparing your speaking skills (along with reading, listening, and writing) for all types of assignments and presentations, including essays, debates, and more.

Not to mention, you may also find yourself booking one-on-one meetings with your lecturers, professors, and career advisors to discuss your work and course.

English for IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

IELTS is an internationally-recognised English test that is used by many workplaces and immigration tests.

Are you applying for a career that requires a certain level of English fluency? Our IELTS preparation courses can help.

The IELTS exam contains a range of different parts, including reading, writing, listening and of course, speaking. Here’s an example of the speaking component of the IELTS exam.

Our IELTS preparation courses are tailored for specific IELTS bands. If your job applications require band 7, we will prepare you for the level of speaking required for that band.

Learn more about English for IELTS.

More than just English courses

While classes are important, when it comes to spoken English, practice makes perfect.

Luckily, Academia makes this easier by offering a range of clubs and activities outside of the classroom to help you practice and improve your speaking: