Practice your English Conversations

Looking for new ways to practice your English? Using English every day is the best way to speed up your English language learning. We’ve got lots of tips and resources to help you squeeze some English conversation practice into your day every day – so you’ll be able to listen to, speak, and understand English in no time.

Friends and family

Do you have any friends or family members that speak English? Then you have teachers at your fingertips! The more you involve yourself in English language conversations the better. Enlist their help and ask if they’d be willing to talk to you in English in person, over the phone, or online on a regular basis. Having a supportive study partner is a great way to learn fast – they’ll be able to point out any mistakes or weaknesses in your English straight away, and offer advice too.

When travelling

Never be afraid to test out your English skills – the more you converse in English the quicker you’ll learn. Travelling gives you a fantastic opportunity to hear English spoken naturally all around you. Listening to ‘real’ English in the streets, workplace, on public transport, in restaurants and bars, will:

• Help your comprehension skills

• Introduce you to a range of fascinating English accents and dialects

• Broaden your vocabulary

• Help with your pronunciation skills

Using English yourself will also help you to make friends as you travel. English is used widely in countries throughout the world – not just in native English-speaking countries. You might not be able to speak Swedish, for example, but when you’re in Sweden you’ll be able to converse in English with a lot of Swedish people. English is a great communication tool, wherever you are in the world.

Conversation classes

Studying English online used to entail a lot of solo study. But nowadays you can access group classes on the internet that allow you to talk with a gang of other students as you learn. Conversation classes are a great accompaniment to traditional textbooks and grammar books – they give you the chance to speak in English every day no matter where you live.

English quizzes

Want a fun and fast way to learn about real conversational English? Try a free EF English Live English quiz. We have a whole range of them, covering everything from English for jobs to English for sports. They’re a great way to chart your progress as you learn – and they’ll boost your confidence as you see your quiz results getting better and better over time.

Study buddies

Wherever you live, you aren’t alone in your English studies. It means you can always find people who speak English or who are learning English that are happy to help you practice your English conversations. Reach out via the EF English Live community or social media and team up with some study buddies. It may be a real test but try to only ever chat in English – you can help each other out a lot in terms of:

• Pronunciation

• Sentence structure

• Vocabulary

• Confidence building

• Sharing particular areas of English that you’re struggling with

Listen

When you’re practicing your conversations in English listening is really important. A useful tip? Try to listen out for and concentrate on words that you do understand rather than all the words you don’t. This will help you to comprehend what’s being said much more quickly, and you’ll find that you understand more than you think!