How to improve English conversational skill?－ ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

People have been asking me how to improve conversational skill. The reason I see for not able to continue a conversation or engage in a conversation is the lack of vocabulary and knowledge of the subject in discussion.

If you have limited vocabulary, you might struggle with words for expressions. If you know very little of the subject in discussion, you might have trouble jumping right into the subject and providing your point of view. To conquer both issues and improve your conversational skill, you need to read more.

Watching TVs and movies is another way to improve your conversational skill. I would recommend watching sitcoms, such as Friends, Frasier, etc. I don’t watch TVs much, so I don’t know what is on the air now. In addition, I don’t know what is broadcasted in Taiwan either. Anyway, you get the idea of the type of sitcoms I recommended. I do not recommend CSI as the situations are too remote for everyday conversations, unless you are into discussing crimes.

By the way, I found a good website (6 minute English) for learning everyday conversation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/

"Talk About English" seems another good one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/tae

Since they are BBC programs, it will be 英式英文, not 美式英文. I don't really see a huge difference between 美式英文 and 英式英文.

However, if you having problems understanding the British accent, you can try listening to: National Public radio - http://www.npr.org

You might ask what you should read. My answer would be whatever your heart desires. No matter what you read, you will definitely increase your vocabulary unless the book is too easy for you. You should find books neither too easy nor too hard to start with.

Since everyone's English skill varies, I cannot recommend books that fit everyone's need. However, if you are interested, here are some books I recommended reading and some of my book reviews. You can then decide whether it is to your liking.

http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/category/37907

http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/category/37892