A 5-week guide to improve your communication skills Last updated on: December 02, 2009 20:24 IST

In this continuing employability skills series, we bring to you useful and implementable insights about skills which make you more employable. We begin with the most fundamental skill employers look for in candidates -- communication skills. Communication can broadly be seen as a combination of two components -- language and expressions. We look at the language aspect today. In today's times, English is undoubtedly the language of business and being proficient in professional communication requires one to be proficient in English. However, there are many among us who don't feel confident and comfortable speaking in English. Here is a five-week schedule one can follow to improve one's spoken English. Week 1 and Week 2: Going back to school Get hold of the grammar books that might be lying in that forgotten corner of your room, or use the books your younger siblings are using in school. Revise the basic grammar concepts and you will realise the common mistakes which we make in our day-to-day conversations. Some examples of the mistakes which are often encountered are:

Week 3 onwards: Develop a reading habit After you have revised the basic grammar rules, start reading anything that is professionally written and grammatically correct. This may be a work of fiction, newspaper, company annual reports, online news, magazines, etc. While reading, note the usage and application of grammar, and also the sentence structure. This will help you internalise the application and usage which will reflect in the way you speak and write; things will start coming naturally to you when you try to speak or write. Week 4 onwards: Think in English Now this might remind you of a popular Hindi movie dialogue ('you see, I can walk in English, I can talk in English...'), but it is actually a stepping stone to being able to speak fluently in English. Most of us think first in Hindi and then take time to convert our thoughts into English, which leads to a gap between our thinking and speaking, and makes communication confusing and often incorrect. When you start practicing thinking in English, you get the chance to ponder over your thoughts for some time and improvise your sentence formation if you feel it is incorrect.

So whenever you have time, do some intelligent thinking. Try to construct sentences about the things you see around you. Translate your opinions about the latest events in English and repeat them in your mind. Repeat the conversations you had during the day with your colleagues and friends, this time in English. By practicing this for a few weeks, it will become easier for you to construct sentences as and when you speak. Or, your thinking and speaking will start aligning themselves and your words will start coming out right. Week 5 onwards: Speak Now that you've developed the habit of reading on a regular basis and also thinking in English, you need to get over the fear of speaking the language. Contrary to common belief, you should not start by speaking in English with near-and-dear ones. That is always the most difficult part. Instead, speak in English to people you are meeting for the first time, or formal or occasional acquaintances. In fact, some people have also begun speaking to customer care executives of their mobile companies, because there is no fear of getting it wrong there, and most customer care executives speak in a professional and formal manner so it can be a learning experience too. By following these simple steps, you can improve your English speaking skills, and with continued practice, become a fluent communicator without attending any 'learn English in 30days' classes or 'full money back guarantee' schemes. How to be a better speaker

"Speaking is a skill like learning to swim. The more you practise, the better you will become, until finally you can do it without needing to think much about it." What speakers do In some ways speaking is the most difficult language skill. Every time you speak you have to do many different things but you have very little time to do them. Imagine, for example, that the teacher has asked you a question in class. Here is a list of the things you have to do when giving an answer. You have to:

understand the question think what answer you want to give find the words that you need make sure the grammar you use is correct try to get your pronunciation and intonation right.

To make things more difficult, you have to do all this with everyone else in the class looking at you and listening to you! Its no surprise that some ESL students dont talk at all for a while when they first come to school. Practising speaking Speaking is a skill like learning to swim. The more you practise, the better you will become, until finally you can do it without needing to think much about it. Here are some ways that you can get as much speaking practice as possible:

ask and answer questions in class try to answer all the teachers questions silently in your head if you work in a group with native speakers, dont let them do all the talking ask to sit next to a student who is not from your country try to make some friends who dont have the same language join a lunchtime club or do an after-school activity talk English with your German neighbours talk to your parents in English; e.g. to summarise a story or science experiment talk to your teachers after class and at lunchtime or after school

Practising pronunciation and intonation If you have problems with your English pronunciation or intonation, you could practise these too. For example, you could listen to stories or watch videos with people talking to each other, and try to repeat the phrases and sentences they say. You could try out these pronunciation practice sites. More information to help you become a better speaker Here is a list of more things to think about or strategies to try in order to improve your speaking skills:

Do not worry about making mistakes! Everyone who speaks makes mistakes. Even native speakers make mistakes when they talk, because speaking is such a complicated skill (see above). It doesnt matter if your spoken English is not perfect. What is important is that you can communicate what you want to say. Keep talking! If you dont know a word, use gestures or mime. Or try and explain what you want to say using other words. Or draw a picture. Ask the person you are speaking to to help you. If you are not sure whether your grammar is right, it doesn't matter. Keep talking! Learn some useful phrases that you know you will often need to use; and use them! If you do this, you will have more time to think about the rest of what you want to say.

Knowing some common expressions will also help you to take more part in conversations. Most students will not wait patiently in the middle of an interesting discussion while you plan exactly what you want to say. But, if you are ready with an expressions like: Well, in my opinion .. or Do you know what I think?, they will at least stop and wait for you to continue. (Just don't keep them waiting too long, and remember again: It's ok to make mistakes!)

Prepare answers at home. Often teachers ask students to talk about their homework. For example, you may have to say how you solved a math problem; or you may be asked to give your opinion about a story you read. If you think about the likely questions at home - you could even say the answers to your parents -, you will be ready to raise your hand in class. If you know you will have to talk to someone about something, then plan what you are going to say. For example, maybe you know you will have to tell your teacher why you were absent from school, or you want to explain to the nurse why you cant do PE. Look up the words you know you will need, and maybe even write out the exact sentences you want to say. Practise saying it at home, or with another student or your ESL teacher. If you talk to people, they will talk back to you. Usually, they will simplify their speech so that you can understand better. This gives you good listening practice, too. Try to think in English! Dont think in your own language and then translate it.

How to give a good speech Every speech or presentation has two main aspects:

WHAT you say (content) HOW you say it (delivery)

You obviously have a lot of control over the content, because you can plan out exactly what you want to say. But you can also do a lot to make sure your delivery is effective too. The advice that follows will help you deliver a powerful speech:

Remember that a listener usually only has one chance to understand what you are saying. So you must do everything you can to make it easy for him or her to follow your ideas.

The best way to do this is to signpost your speech. At the beginning, say how your speech will be divided up. During the speech, make it clear when one part has finished and the next part has started. (For example, Now that I have explained some of the causes of air pollution, I want to tell you what we can do to reduce the problem.) At the end of your speech, make it clear that you are finished (e.g. by simply saying Thank you!).

The most important parts of a speech are the beginning and the end. Think about a strong first sentence that will capture the attention of the listener. Be calm and confident; give the impression that you are well-prepared and have something interesting to say. End with a strong sentence: make people laugh or give them something provocative to think about.

Practise your speech before the big day. In particular it is useful to think about how and where you will stand/sit, and where you will put your materials before and after you have used them. Practise using your speech cards.

Speak loudly and clearly. Remember that your voice (your intonation) must do the job that punctuation does in your writing. Try not to speak too fast. Never just read full sentence notes - it is boring and makes your speech very difficult to follow.

Make sure you can be seen as well as heard. Dont hide behind your sheets or the overhead projector. It is important that every listener feels you are talking to him or her personally. Therefore look round the room and try to make eye contact with everyone in the audience at least once during your speech.

Be careful not to distract your listeners by swinging on a chair, tapping your feet etc. It is useful to include visual material with your speech. For example, if you are talking about places, show a map. If you are using numbers, write them for all to see. (Its very difficult for listeners to keep large or many numbers in their head.)

If you are going to have audience participation be very clear exactly what you want from them. If you ask a question, be ready for strange answers, and expect to have to answer it yourself.

How to be a better reader The importance of reading Reading is an extremely important skill. It is by reading that you learn much of what you need to know for your different school subjects.Reading is also an excellent way to improve your general English. You can only learn from reading, however, if what you read is not too difficult. For this reason, it is important to know what makes texts difficult and how you can improve your chances of understanding them. What makes texts difficult to understand Most of your reading difficulties will be caused by a problem on the list below. Of course, when two or more of these problems happen together, your chances of understanding will be even smaller.

the text has many unknown words the text has long, complicated sentences the text is about a topic you know nothing about the text is about a topic you find boring the text has small print, long paragraphs, no pictures the text has been badly written you are feeling tired you are distracted you don't know the important cohesion markers you don't know why you have been asked to read the text

How to understand more of what you read You can do nothing about some of the reading difficulties: for example, you cant change the print in a book or make poor writing better. But there are many things you can do that will give you a better chance of understanding what you read. Here are some suggestions:

1. 1. Know your reading purpose - The way you read a book or a text depends very

much on your reasons for reading it. This is why it is so important to know your reading purpose. You should read a question in your math exam differently from an entry in an encyclopaedia which you are looking at quickly to find out the date of an event. The kind of reading you do in class or for your homework is different from how you read a novel for pleasure in the summer vacation. If you know your reading purpose - perhaps by looking first at the questions you must answer after reading - you can choose the best reading method. If your teacher gives you something to read and doesn't tell you what you need to find out from the text or what you will do after the reading, ask her (or him)!
2. 2. Choose the appropriate reading speed - ESL students often take a long time to

do their work because they read everything slowly and carefully. Often, however, one of the following speedreading methods will be the best choice:
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Skimming - this is reading a text quickly to find out what information it contains. You should skim when, for example, you want to check if a text has the information you need to answer some questions or write a project. It is often enough to look at the first (and last) sentences in each paragraph.

Scanning - this is reading quickly to find a specific piece of information. You should scan when, for example, you are looking for the answer to a question which you know is in the text.

In general, students should be trying to increase their reading speed. (Click to do some speed reading practice.)
3. 3. Get background information - Find something out about the topic you have to

read. The more background information you have, the easier it will be to understand the text. You can get this background information background in your own language.

For example, if you are studying the Italian Renaissance, you could read an encyclopaedia or textbook in your own language to find out the most important details about this historical period. Your parents may also be able to give you useful background information. Talk to them in your language. You can sometimes get background information from the text itself. Many writers include a conclusion or summary; if you read this first, it may give you a good start.
4. 4. Use all the information in the book - Good textbooks are well-organised, with

titles, sub-titles, introductions, summaries or conclusions. Many books also have pictures with captions. Look at all these first before starting to read. Another aspect of good writing is that each paragraph has a topic sentence. A topic sentence is a sentence, usually the first one in a paragraph, that contains the main idea of the paragraph. If you concentrate on understanding the topic sentence, this may help you to understand what comes next.
5. 5. Increase your vocabulary - Of course, reading itself is an excellent way to

improve your vocabulary, but there are many other things you can do. (More advice on learning vocabulary.) The better your vocabulary, the easier you will find your reading.
6. 6. Use your dictionary sensibly - A common mistake of ESL students is to look up

each unknown word in the texts they are given to read. Occasionally this is necessary - for example, when reading examination questions. But it takes a long time and can be very boring. It can even make understanding more difficult because by the time you reach the end of the paragraph you have forgotten what you read at the beginning! (Advice on how and when to use your dictionary.)
7. 7. Learn the important words that organise text - When you read texts in your

science or history books, you will find that most good writers organise their writing

with cohesion markers (also calledtransition words). These are words that connect different parts of the writing and help writers structure their thoughts. If you learn the important cohesion markers, you will find it easier to understand the text. Here are some important cohesion markers: also, therefore, except,unless, however, instead, (al)though, furthermore, mo reover,nevertheless, on the other hand, as a result, despite, in conclusion.
8. 8. Choose the right place to read - You cant really expect to understand a difficult

book if you are trying to read in the same room with the television on and your little brother distracting you. The same goes for reading in the bus on the way to school. You also cant expect to read a textbook and listen to music at the same time. Try to find a quiet and comfortable place with good light, and your dictionaries and other materials nearby.
9. 9. Choose the right time to read - If you have a difficult text to read for homework,

its probably best to do this first. If you leave it until last when you are tired, you will find it even more difficult. Important: If you have tried the advice above and you still cannot understand a text, then it is simply too hard for you. Stop reading and ask someone to help you (your ESL teacher, for example!). Nobody likes to give up, but you will just be wasting your time if you continue to work at a text that is beyond you. What to read Most of the time you have to read what your teachers tell you to read. But as you know, reading is an excellent way to improve your English, and so you should try to do some extra reading each week. Here is some advice on how to choose what to read:

Try not to read something too difficult - There should be no more than about 6-10 new words per page; reading for pleasure should not be hard work!

Reading easy books is good for you -You will improve your reading skills even if you read simple books, as long as you read lots of them. (But you may find you don't really enjoy stories written in English that has been oversimplified.)

Try to read some non-fiction - Reading non-fiction books or magazines will help you learn some of the words you need to do well in your subject classes. There are millions of pages of non-fiction on the world wide web!

Choose something that is interesting to you - This is clear. In fact, if you are really interested in a topic, you will probably be able to understand texts that would normally be too difficult for you.

Surf the internet - You can learn a lot of English just by surfing around on the websites that interest you. This is particularly true if the webpages contain pictures that help you understand the writing.

How to make good notes Here are 5 pieces of advice on how to take good notes: Be sure you know exactly what information you have to find The more exactly you know what you are looking for, the easier it will be to write good notes. Imagine you are doing a project on explorers and you have chosen to write about Christopher Columbus. Find out from your teacher precisely what information you need to include in your work. Mark the passages containing useful information. Mark the passages containing useful information. If you have found something on the internet, you can print out the page and mark the useful passages with a highlighter.

Alternatively, you can copy the passage into a Notes document (e.g. that you have made in Microsoft Word). If the information source is a book or magazine, you can copy the page and highlight as above, or you can mark the passage very lightly with a pencil (to be erased later). Remember: Highlighting is not note-taking. It is what you do before you take notes! More on internet research Make your notes short Do not write complete sentences - use abbreviations and symbols. Do not use words like "a" and "the". Sometimes its better to draw a quick diagram than to write words or phrases; e.g. if you want to show Columbus route to America. Occasionally a mind-map is the best way to record the important information you have found. Make sure your notes are legible Its no use scribbling quick notes that you cant read later. It helps to space out your notes down the page, so that you can easily add new information if necessary. If you number your notes, this will help to keep them organized. Use your own words Do not just copy chunks from the highlighted/marked text. If you do this, you run the risk of plagiarism, resulting in an 0 for the work - and other problems! It is worth repeating: If you take notes in your language before composing in English, you can be sure that you have used your own words, and understand what you have written. How to learn grammar Introduction Grammar is an aspect of language about which learners have different opinions. Some learners are very interested in finding out or learning grammar rules and doing lots of

grammar exercises. Others hate grammar and think it is the most boring part of learning a new language. Whatever opinion you have, however, you cannot escape from grammar; it is in every sentence you read or write, speak or hear. Grammar is simply the word for the rules that people follow when they use a language. We need those rules in the same way as we need the rules in a game. If there are no rules, or if everybody follows their own rules, the game would soon break down. It's the same with language; without rules we would not be able to communicate with other people. So you cannot escape from grammar, but the key question here is: what is the best way to learn grammar? You can learn the rules of a game by simply playing the game. You will certainly make mistakes; you may even get hurt. Eventually, however, you will know how to play. Of course, the rules of a language are very much more complicated than the rules of any game, but in fact this is exactly how you learned your own language. Nobody taught you the rules of your mother tongue as you were growing up but now you never make a grammar mistake. It is possible to learn a second language in the same natural way, if you have enough time and you live in the right place. For example, if you are a Korean boy and you move to Russia at age 6, attend a Russian school, play every day with Russian friends, you will probably learn all you need to know about Russian grammar by the age of 15 without ever having a grammar lesson or reading a grammar book. Most people learning a new language do not have so much time and such an ideal situation; So what IS the best way to learn English grammar? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to the question. There are just as many different opinions about teaching grammar as there are about learning grammar. Many teachers believe in the importance of grammar lessons devoted to a study of language rules and lots of practice exercises. Other teachers feel that grammar is best learned by doing different language activities without focussing so directly

on the rules. Whatever your opinion about grammar, and whichever is the way you are taught, here is some advice that may help you to learn grammar more effectively. What you can do

Be aware of grammar. Think about grammar. Notice the aspects of English grammar that are the same as or very similar to those in your language. (The use of the articles in German, for example, is similar to their use in English.) Notice also the way that English expresses an idea differently to how it is done in your language. For example, English uses the present perfect to express a period of time that started in the past and continues in the present (e.g. I have had this watch for 10 years). Many other languages use the present tense to express the same idea; (e.g. German: Ich habe diese Uhr seit 10 Jahren.) If you notice grammar similarities and differences, you will probably learn the rules more quickly.

Read a lot of English books - this may sound strange but in fact all the time you are reading English (and also listening to English), you are taking in models of correct grammar that will help you in your own writing and speaking. It will help you when you express your ideas and when you come to check your work. Of course, it is even better if you can read with the grammatical awareness discussed in the last paragraph. By this I mean that you say to yourself from time to time: Ah, so that's how you do this in English!

Concentrate on the aspects of grammar you personally find most difficult. (If you don't have any idea what aspects of English grammar cause you most problems, ask your teacher!) Particularly in your writing you can focus on these aspects for special care and attention when editing your work. It is more difficult in speaking, of course, but even here you can sometimes take a fraction more time to try and get that particular element right. For example, if you are retelling a story in the present tense, you could keep reminding yourself that you need an -s in the 3rd person singular.

If you don't like to do grammar exercises or to be taught grammar, then it's more important that you follow the advice in the paragraphs above. You should try to work out the patterns and rules of the language for yourself.

If you do like to do grammar exercises, then go ahead. But being good at grammar exercises does not mean you will not make mistakes in your own work. You could be like someone who has learned how to play tennis by reading a book, but once he is on the tennis court, he can't hit the ball properly. If you decide to do grammar exercises, try to go beyond just filling in gaps or doing multi-choice answers. Write out some sentences of your own that follow the same rule that you are practising. There are thousands of grammar pages on the web, including the pages on this site. Click here to go to a short index of these sites.

Learn the common irregular verbs If you can use these verbs automatically, it will give you more time to concentrate on other aspects of what you want to say. They are easy to learn if you say them to yourself many times.

Only read this last section if you are very, very interested in grammar! There is a computer program called a concordancer which can help you learn about how words are used and how grammar works. When you type words into the concordancer, it shows you hundreds examples of those words in short sentence extracts. For example, if you want to learn more about how the present perfect continuous is used, you can type in the words I have been and the computer will give you a list of extracts from books or newspapers containing those words. For example:
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I have been waiting for two months for a letter from my pen-friend. I have been living in Germany for 3 years.

I have been learning English since 1999.

If you study these examples you can more easily work out for yourself the grammar rule about using the present perfect continuous tense.