10 Tips On How To Be Confident To Speak In English

I bet everyone loves to watch English films or movies but I believe not everyone can speak as fluent as those actors and actresses.

As for the first step, why don’t you try to imitate Eggsy’s dialogue above? Well, of course you may pronounce it correctly but in your very own accent which is slightly different from him. But who cares? He is a native speaker. He speaks English almost every day in his life; either at home or at works, during day or night, it is the only language he used – unless he went to Japan or Korea when he had no choices other than to speak like one of those Japanese or Koreans.

By the way, do not get discourage. You only tried it once and you have no concrete reasons to start waving your white flag. Come on, lift up chin and be confident! I believe that everyone has right to learn English regardless their backgrounds and skin colours.

Well, remember! Rome is not built in a day and you are not supposed to master the lesson on the first day of class. You need to practise. I need to practise. Everyone needs to practise – even Justin Bieber needs to practise when he first tried to say thank you.

But, as you know learning process takes time and it is quite challenging so you have to be physically and mentally prepared. I have encountered a lot of challenges which sometimes lead me to give up but then I remembered this quote saying :

“Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand back up taller than you ever were” – anonymous

So, basically here are some tips which we can practise on how to be confident to speak in English ;

1) Listen to English songs.

Music is a great way for learning English vocabulary, grammar, phonetics and such. This is proven when people may be having a hard time reading an article from New York times in Literary supplement, but they often memorize and understand every word from Britney Spears and Taylor Swift (depending on your musical inclinations)

2) Read novels which are written in English.

This may helps to improve our grammar and sentences structures. However, I am sure that there is only a few of us who really loves to read English’s novels while the others keep on giving out never ending excuses;  “God! I don’t even read long posts on blogs so are you expecting me to read those hundred-pages novels?” –  Why not? It is part of learning!

By the way, be careful when choosing English’s novels to read as some of them may be INAPPROPRIATE.

Here are my must-read suggestions:

3) Watch English movies or films without the subtitles.

Okay. This is the hardest. No doubt. I still remember my first time watching movie ‘2012’ without the subtitle and it was kinda frustrating as I had to give my best to focus on their dialogues. However, at the end of the day I realized how useful it was as I got to listen to their accent properly.

4) Practise to speak in English at home.

Sometimes you are encouraged to converse with your parents or siblings in English. Of course, you may find it hard at the first place but eventually it will be alright. Let’s give a try!

5) Practise to write our diaries in English.

I have learnt this tip from a guy whom I have met during ‘Open Your Eyes’ programme. He was my group’s facilitator and he confessed to us that writing a diary in English was his way of learning as it helped to sharpen his writing skills and broadened his vocabulary.

6) Use English when you are interacting with your friends.

It is undeniable that sometimes learning English from friends is better as they are closer to us. They seem to know us inside and out. Therefore, do not hesitate to communicate with them in English as it may helps to improve our self-confidence. Plus, good friends won’t simply judge you for your broken English as they know your limits.

7) When writing an essay, use words which are simple and understandable.

Everyone is encouraged to use bombastic words when writing an essay if only they know how to use them correctly. But if you are confused you better let alone the phrases. Don’t bother to use it as you might get the definition wrong. Therefore, it is adviseable to use simple words which are easy to understand.

8) Know the basic of grammar.

This is the most important tip. Do not dream to write a good piece of essay or speak confidently in English if you have zero knowledge on grammar. You must at least know the basic of it so that you can blend well with English writing styles.

9) When updating your status on Facebook, write it in English instead of Bahasa Malaysia.

I am sure everyone is good at this. Well, most of them simply rewrite the quotes which they found at google and update it as a status on Facebook or make it as a photo description on Instagram. By the way, it is not a crime so do not worry. Plus, have you ever realized that it is actually a baby step in learning English so it is okay!

10) Do not give up.

This is one of the common tips which everyone is tired of listening to. For whatever you do people will keep saying “Hey! Don’t give up. You are halfway to your success”, but do you ever understand what did they mean? It is actually “Hey! It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes when learning, as mistakes are proofs that you are actually trying! Keep your spirit high, young lady. Don’t look back.”

Remember! Everyone has right to learn English. So, don't waste more time and start to learn English language immediately as it may benefits us in the future. Plus;