<p>Dear all:
I am a college student who major in Foreign Language and Literature in Taiwan.
However my English conversation ability is poor. I feel depressed. I really want to improve it. Can you tell me some effective ways to build up my skill? I'll appreciate your consideration. :)</p>
<p>watch a bunch of movies, hang out with a lot of people and see how they talk with each other.</p>
<p>There are a couple things you can do. At my school there are events like “international coffee hour” where Americans and international students mingle and practice their conversation skills. We have language circles where students go to practice a language, maybe your school has something similar as well…ask the international student services division at your school. Or post on your college’s classifieds board that you are looking for a language partner (you can help a student in Mandarin Chinese in exchange for their help in English). If you are really desperate and can’t find anyone, you can always offer money (or food) to people willing to be english tutors (broke college students are always willing to help you out for either). More informally, just make friends with Americans in your classes and be as social as you can be (or join student organizations and make an effort to reach out to others).</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestions. Watching movies is such a good method. However, People in Taiwan seldom talk in English outside. If I lived in the country where people all talk in English, I would improve my conversation ability quickly. Right? Ha ha. In sum, thank you very much. :D</p>
<p>You’re right that my school also has a language center which will hold “Tutorial Hour”. However I am too shy to talk English with foreigners. I am afraid that I will make some grammar mistakes. Can you tell how to overcome the shyness? I really appreciate that you give me these great advices. I’ll try my best to conquer my fears. :")</p>
<p>You may be able to do a language exchange via Skype. But there’s no way around it,
in order to improve you will have to make mistakes and listen carefully to your tutor’s corrections.</p>
<p>^^don’t worry about it! these hours are made to help you improve, so nobody will judge you for making grammar mistakes-you’re there to learn, it’s all ok! i don’t know what you should specifically do to conquer your nerves about going (which are completely understandable even though there’s really nothing to be nervous about), but you should know that making mistakes is part of the process and not a big deal. good luck! :)</p>
<p>There’s two elements to spoken English proficiency: fluidity and accent. I have met non-native speakers who spoke fluidly and with either no accent or an extremely mild accent. At the same time, I have met speakers who you could tell had to “think” about what they were saying but spoke with mild accents, as well as speakers who almost never get hung up but have strong accents.</p>
<p>“watch a bunch of movies”</p>
<p>Don’t dismiss this as a method of improving spoken English. At Georgia Tech, I met many students from the Middle East who were of Indian descent. I eventually posited the existence of a “Saudi English” accent as I found that several of these students sounded alike. It wasn’t British, it wasn’t American, and it wasn’t Indian, but they all had the same accent. They told me, however, that their accent was the result of watching tons of American TV and “internalizing” American English. They stated that their classmates who did not do that had strong Indian English accents instead.</p>
<p>If you want to work on accent, watch a lot of American TV and film. If you want to work on fluidity, read aloud and converse with as many native speakers as you can.</p>
<p>Webcam with English speakers, since you can’t immerse yourself in an English-speaking area. Watching English-language movies and tv shows (recent ones, so you don’t pick up a conversation style that is old-fashioned and sound strange) is a good one too.</p>
<p>Have you ever heard most Americans speak english? Don’t worry, you can’t butcher it anymore than the average american already has. I’ve met very few sticklers for perfection. For a crash course on keeping up, find the TV show “Gilmore Girls.” Its a bit girly (as the name implies), but its very up-to-date on the realistic speed of speach. Though, some of the references are a little outdated. Its been cancelled so it may be kind of hard to find it.</p>
<p>^hahaha good point! most americans mess up basic english every day- also, i’ve worked with a number of students who are working on their english, and most of the time their grammer is better than most native english speakers’ because they’re trying. and i second the gilmore girls suggestion- it’s a really fun show, and it will definitely give you practice with keeping up.</p>
<p>say the word “like” every 4 to 5 words</p>
<p>sprinkle some 'uhs" and “umms” too</p>
<p>Community or Billy Wilder movies for a real lesson. Rapid fire, artful use of the language, and hilarious to boot.</p>
<p>Doing a language exchange via Skype is a nice and fresh method to me because I seldom use Skype even though I have an account number : ) I will try. Thanks~</p>
<p>Thank you for encouraging me. You are right that making mistakes is part of the process. I will adjust my concept for that. : )</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestions and can you recommend some movies or films worth watching?</p>
<p>Thank you very much! Do you think “gossip girl” worth watching? 
.</p>
<p>I will search the TV show “Gilmore Girls” if I find it I will watch it. Thank you~ :D</p>
<p>Ha ha! “The gilmore girls” must be a funny film. That really triggers my interest XD I can’t wait to see it! Thank you very much!</p>
<p>I think the first method is a good one. However, I do not clear understand the second method’s mean. Can you interpret it? Thanks alot :")</p>