Self-help tips for Indians to improve English language command

“Are you enjoying the movie?”
“Simply”
Translated literally from Tamil, simply means absolutely.
There is nothing wrong with the above conversation if both sides know the intended meaning. Now, move that conversation to somewhere in USA or Canada or England, with someone who does not know the ‘Tamil-English’, the actual meaning is lost in the translations.
English language and English grammar is a bit tricky for those who are not used to it, for those with English as a second language. The basic mistakes we make are when we ‘think’ in our mother-tongue, and then translate in our head (Many of us say ‘translate in my mind), and then speak in ‘translated’ English. Here are some self-help tips on improving English :
1. Knowing and Having – the problem of the progressive tense: many Indians often translate and speak with excessive and often inappropriate use of progressive verb form.
For example, consider this:
“I am having a fever.”
“I am having a small family”
“I am knowing that you are having a party without sending me invitation.”
Of course, the correct way of saying is:
“I have a fever”
“I have a small family”
“I know you are having a party without inviting me.”
2. Isn’t it – The tag question: We tend to use ‘isn’t it’ without any discrimination.. It is a habit, but not a good one – everything is not it.
For example:
“Those are lovely flowers, isn’t it?”
“She is so pretty, isn’t it?”
The correct version, of course, is:
“Those are lovely flowers, aren’t they?” Make sure to refer to plural ‘flowers’ as ‘are’ not ‘is’.
“She is so pretty, isn’t she?” Make sure to refer to her as ‘she’ not ‘it’
3.The Royal treatment – the big word syndrome:
The Indian English dialects have originally evolved during and after the colonial rule of Britain in India. We tend to use the royal and big word in day to day speech; such usage is not common in western day-to-day English, especially in the spoken English.
For example:
That is a magnificent idea!
That is a splendid look!
It is not wrong, but more suitable conversation may be:
That is a great idea!
That is beautiful!
4. ‘But’ or ‘only’ to stress a point: That is another thing. We use ‘but’ and ‘only’ to stress. Consider this Indian way of saying, not correct grammatically:
It was he only who broke the glass.
She was just joking but.
She did not go only.
You could say it better such as:
He broke the glass. Or, It was he who broke the glass. ( the stress is on ‘He’)
She was only joking.
In the end, she did not go.
 Don’t eat up the words:
This happens, especially during early stage when you first go abroad or start using English, when you are not used to spitting out English like you do your mother tongue. Or, in many cases, you may think that incomplete ending is obvious and make sense, but it does not.
For example:
I was planning on going to the bazaar, but then ….
Come one, then what? I am waiting here. Say something complete, something like:
I was thinking about going to the market, but I changed my mind

Enunciation and pronunciation:
And, here is the hard part. Make sure you clearly enunciate your words. Speak clear, even if you have to speak slowly. Know your pronunciation.

Reduce or lose your accent:
Indian accent – often called ‘thick accent’ – is a key hurdle in clear communications. Work on reducing and losing your accent, if you think that is an issue.

Numeric terms:

we sometimes say our phone numbers and zip codes in form of doubles or triples. e.g 333-444 (triple three triple four) instead of ( three three three four four four)

Practice, practice and practice:
Yes, cannot say this enough times. Most of the above ways of speaking are our habits, the way we are used to speaking back in India. You cannot change it overnight. Practice as much as you can. It takes time to get used to the new way of speaking. Listen to others – how they speak – and use feedback from others to improve your spoken language.
And finally, don’t worry too much about it, just make it a conscious effort to improve your spoken language.