Learn Spoken English: Top 10 Spoken English Books for Indian Students

Studying abroad requires more than just being able to understand your favourite English songs and a few novels. Studying abroad requires you to be able to speak, listen, read and write in English language without any limitations. For these reasons, Indians are required to pass IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/Duolingo tests to prove their fluency in English. 

The scope of abroad education is continuously increasing year by year as the same often pays off with a high ROI (return on investment). However universities abroad only accept you if you have cleared any of - TOEFL, IELTS, PTE and Duolingo English tests. Without passing these exams, even visa authorities won’t grant you a permission to stay in a foreign country while studying (study visa) until and unless you provide alternative measure to prove your fluency in the language. 

These English tests can only be waived off if you have a history of studying abroad for the last 1 year in a country where English is the primary language. Or, you can also be spared from taking a standard English language test if your chosen course is taught in a language other than English, such as French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese and more. This article gives a list of top spoken English books designed to help Indian students excel in English exams for studying, working and living abroad.

10 Best Spoken English Books for Indians 

This section presents the top 10 best spoken English books for Indian students. These popular spoken English books will not just help Indian students to prepare for exams such as the IELTS, TOEFL, PTE and Duolingo English Test (DET) but also help them to settle down easily in a foreign country and effectively understand their classes. 

1. English Up Close (Raymond Murphy) 
2. Speak English! (Orient BlackSwan) 
3. Word Power Made Easy (Norman Lewis) 
4. IELTS Official Online Practice Tests (British Council, IDP IELTS)- 
5. The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test (Educational Testing Service)- 
6. PTE Academic Official Guide (Pearson) 
7. English Pronunciation in Use (Raymond Murphy) 
8. American Accent Training (Ann Cook) 
9. The Art of Conversation (Debra Fine) 
10. English for Academic Purposes (Raymond Murphy)

3 Best English Books for Building a Strong Foundation 

Below given 3 best books for learning core grammatical concepts and advanced vocabulary is important. 

1. English Up Close by Raymond Murphy- This book provides clear explanation of grammatical concepts, dialogues for practising pronunciation and vocabulary development exercises. This book is a good starting point for beginners and intermediate English learners. 
2. Speak English! By Orient BlackSwan- This is not just a book, but a whole series that comes with different levels of proficiency. It has multiple levels that suit the learning stage of all types of learners. The book poses a thematic approach presenting real-life scenarios relevant to the Indian context. The book comes with graded listening and speaking exercises with audio CDs (in some editions) which allow you to practice at your own pace. Also read- Building Communication Skills to Study Abroad
3. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis- This book helps one to improve their vocabulary in English as it contains many new words that could be taken into use in your daily life. This book pose new word learning technique through root words and contextual understanding. This method is particularly beneficial for Indian students as they’re familiar with Sanskrit roots words of many English words.

3 Best Spoken English Books

As much as building strong foundation in English is important, exam-specific English preparation is also important. The 3 best books to prepare for English exams are- 

1. IELTS Official Online Practice Tests by British Council, IDP IELTS- This book comes with sample practice questions for IELTS exam and can be accessed by purchasing a subscription from IDP IELTS. With these computer-delivered practice tests, you can get a good understanding of the latest IELTS exam format. Test takers can hone their skills under timed conditions, identify areas requiring improvement and receive instant feedback by using these practice tests. 
2. The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test by Educational Testing Service (ETS)- The book is an official source for TOEFL preparation. The book comes with authentic practice tests along with valuable tips and strategies tailored to computer-based test format of the TOEFL exam.
3. PTE Academic Official Guide by Pearson- Developed by the makers of the PTE exam, this book comes with in-depth explanation of the PTE exam format, scoring criteria and practice tasks aligned with each PTE question types.

How to Ace Your English Test Preparation for Free?

Budget constraint is really a thing for many Indian students. But luckily several free resources can help them brush up on their English for free. These resources include- 

1. Learning Apps- Apps and platforms like Duolingo, Memrise and Busuu offer interactive and gamified learning. This format of learning new language proved to be effective for many Indians.
2. YouTube Channels- Many YT channels cater to Indian students' needs of learning the English language. ‘BBC Learning English India’ and ‘Learn English with Jennifer’ channels offer free video lessons on a wide range of spoken English topics.
3. Podcasts- Listen to podcasts like "Voice of America- Learning English" and "The English We Speak" as these podcasts cover a wide range of topics relevant to Indian students. Since there is a wide array of topics and pronunciation styles to choose from, aspirants can get exposure to different accents and speaking styles.
4. English Newspapers and Magazines- Reading English newspapers and magazines like ‘The Hindu’ or ‘India Today’ improves your reading skill and you also tend to gain summarising skills by means of reading large news pieces.
5. English Movies and TV Shows- Watching English movies and TV shows with subtitles is an engaging way to improve your listening comprehension and understanding of spoken English in informal settings. You may also get introduced to some new and distinctive words that may help you articulate impressive answers on your exam.
6. Think in English- Try to think in English as much as possible throughout your day. This will help you internalise language structure and improve your fluency.