How To Speak In English

I have studied at a Hindi medium school. So I've strived hard to improve my English. Here I will elucidate how I improved my word power and how I worked on my fluency.

In the beginning, I used to translate in my mind, but I kept reading, listening and learning. I grasped every opportunity to speak with people in English. In this process, I don't exactly remember when I started thinking in English.

Thinking in English is a cardinal goal that brings you one giant step closer to becoming eloquent.

It is not necessarily easy to think in a new language, but it is still simple. Talk to yourself in English. This is how I approached and it did work….eventually.

Reading

I have always been a passionate reader. My father was a regular reader of ‘Reader’s Digest' and ‘India Today. So I've been reading these books since I was little. My passion for reading helped me to enrich my English. I remember reading the book 'The Discovery of India' by Jawaharlal Nehru. I read the entire book but failed to grasp a lot of events mentioned in the book, as I was too young at that time. In this way, I cultivated my habit of reading very early on.

Writing

I also used to write a diary and letters to all my relatives. I always emulated my father's writing style. Reading and writing helped me to look closely at words. I read newspapers like "The Hindu and Times of India". Hindu is quite verbose. Whenever I encountered any new word which I was not familiar with, I immediately jotted it down. I always kept my notebook and dictionary handy. I kept my vocabulary active because knowing how to use a word is just as important as knowing its meaning.

I have a huge collection of words, phrasal verbs, idioms and phrases. I always kept myself charged with the best of words.

It is just my sheer passion for the language which kept me going. I've never stopped learning. It all depends on how determined you are. You need to have a burning desire to accomplish any target.

Whenever I look back at this journey, I just marvel at how I did it! In a small town, it is pretty difficult to accomplish that.

Also, one indispensable doctrine related to learning English*:

Never judge anyone based on their proficiency in a language. Don't laugh, if someone uses the wrong grammar.

Because everyone is not endowed with good facilities and excellent schools.