Learning a language requires four key skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. When it comes to English, particularly, these four fundamentals are what will help you develop the complete ability and understanding to communicate properly in English.

If you are enrolled in an English class in Singapore, you will learn that the four language skills are divided into two: receptive and productive. Listening and reading fall under the receptive category because they involve putting some effort into understanding the language. On the other hand, speaking and writing are considered productive because they manifest the output of the effort you made in learning the language.

If you have been looking for ways to improve your English language skills – you’ve come to the right place! below are 4 simple tips on how to get your fundamentals covered.

Listening

Listening plays a crucial role in learning the English language. This skill helps improve your accuracy in English communication by reinforcing your understanding of the language. By listening and connecting with English native speakers, you are actively analyzing what is being said and how they are delivered.

If you wish to make the process more fun and engaging, you can boost your learning by listening to English music and podcasts or watch English television shows and movies. By doing this consistently, you will notice that your vocabulary and fluency will start to improve over time.

Reading

To attain proficiency in the English language, you need to master the skills of reading English text. Books, particularly, are great tools for helping you improve your English reading skills. With the increasing prominence of the internet, there are already thousands of books you can download online and gain access to. Aside from books, dictionaries are also your best companion when it comes to enhancing your English reading skills.

As you grow into the language, you will often come across new, unfamiliar words. By carrying a dictionary with you all the time, you can find the meaning of foreign words right away. Alternatively, reading the morning newspaper from English-speaking countries, such as The Washington Post and Daily Mail are also excellent tools for improving your grammar and gaining some new vocabulary while on the go.

Speaking

Speaking is putting what you have learned so far into practice. Speaking in English is essential in determining whether you have already gained sufficient fluency in the language. To improve your English-speaking skills, surround yourself with the language. Make friends with natives or people who use English as their medium of communication. You can practice speech shadowing or even record yourself having a conversation and compare it with the way a native speaker sounds.

Aside from hanging out with English-speaking people, engaging in language-related hobbies can also help increase your English language levels. For example, participating in public speaking forums will help you see how people use non-verbal cues when speaking the English language. To help you gain confidence and experience, you can also practice speaking in English in front of a large group of people.

Writing

Just like speaking, writing is a great way to test your understanding of a new language. To fully develop your English writing skills, you need to expand your vocabulary, master English spelling and enhance your grammar. You should also know how to punctuate sentences, structure paragraphs, and use different grammar elements to be able to communicate well through English writing.

To help you get started with your writing skills, here are five sentence structures in the English language that you need to familiarize yourself with:

– Subject-Verb (e.g., James is eating.)

– Subject-Verb-Object (e.g., James is eating a banana.)

– Subject-Verb-Adjective (e.g., James is happy.)

– Subject-Verb-Adverb (e.g., James is playing roughly.)

– Subject-Verb-Noun (e.g., My father is a doctor.)

Conclusion

Mastering the four fundamental skills in communication and language learning is what will help you become fluent in English and speak like a native. Learning and attaining fluency in the English language is not easy, but with constant learning and practice, you can surely master the intricacies of the language in time. To help you boost and speed up your learning process, enrolling in an English course is a great starting point.

Here at English Explorer, you can find a range of effective and enjoyable English classes across different levels, from conversational English to communication business English. If you are planning to take the International English Language Test (IELTS), we have several IELTS classes that will specifically help you ace the exam so you can improve your competence in your academics or future career.