Tips For Improving Your English: "Pay Attention to What You Say!"

Obviously we study language in order to be able to express ourselves freely and without difficulty. We primarily learn what our instructors present to us in class. However useful that is, it is also important to understand your own speaking habits tendencies in your own native language. Understanding this will allow us to learn vocabulary and expressions innate to ourselves and as a result will help us further develop our communications skills.

For example, if you notice that you reminisce a lot about the past, you might find useful expressions like:

I used to be able run non-stop for 45 minutes.

Or if you tend to use a lot of interjections then.

Yeah, whatever!

or

That was a close one!

And if you tend to make a lot of excuses you might try:

I was going to study but I got a headache.

I meant to call you but I was just so busy.

So what are some ways that we can observe and record our speaking habits?

1. Keep a notepad handy: Keep it close and write down any and all expressions or vocabulary that you want to learn to say in English. If you are paying attention to how you speak, then they will come up randomly throughout they day so be ready to write them down or they will be gone and forgotten just as fast as they came.

2. Record and review conversations: Ask a friend if it's okay to record a meeting or phone conversation with them and then review it to find our more about how you speak and find expressions that you want to learn in English.

Both of these require that you be mindful of how you speak. If you find that it is a hassle, set a goal to do it for just three days. At the end of the three days you might find that you want to do more or that it doesn’t work for you. Either way the exercise of being mindful will help you improve.