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Do you ever find it hard to speak English fluently and confidently, even after many months or years of study? If so, this article may assist you to understand your concern more clearly and offer some helpful tricks. Fluency is the phase of learning a language. It takes a lot of time and struggles to reach this level, so many people don’t think it’s realistic.
But, thousands of people get English language fluency every year, and with enough determination, you can too get it. To help you out, we invited you to ENTRI’s expert language speaking course “English Padikkyam with Inverted Coconut” guided by Aparna Mulberry. Here, we are going to discuss the good tricks which will help you to achieve a fluency level in English speaking.
Spoken English Fluency Tricks
Many dictionaries explain the term ‘fluency’ using ideas of fluidity and smoothness in language presentation, namely speaking and writing, it seems to associate ‘fluency’ with an overall competency and proficiency in a language. This contains the ability to understand films, television programs, newspapers, and stand-up comedians, which undeniably also needs a certain level of cultural competence.
Achieving fluency in English can seem like a challenging task. However, like any journey, the hardest part is often taking the first step, right? So, follow these easy tricks to make your English sound more fluent starting today.
Set Exact Goals
Fluency is a very high level to get and will take a long time to accomplish, so “becoming fluent” can be a pretty vague goal. Having such a big, non-specific target won’t help plan out your studies.
That’s why you should think of more solid and apparent goals that can guide you to fluency. By themselves, they may seem like small efforts, but all together they’ll supply a steady path in your English learning journey.
Good goals should be clear and attainable. When setting a goal, you should determine exactly what you want to learn, and how long you want to spend learning it.
Here are some examples of good goals:
- Learn 30 new English words and Phrases in 30 days
- Talk with a native English speaker this week
- Know to conjugate five irregular verbs before your next tutoring lesson
- Perfect your pronunciation of some words over the weekend
Make sure that the goals you set are useful and demanding enough to keep you motivated. You want to reach your goals without over-stressing yourself.
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Get a Personal Trainer
If you are serious about reaching fluency, invest in a personal language trainer or tutor. Speaking to an expert English tutor even just once per week can dramatically extend your progress.
You’ll be able to ask questions about English regularly, examine new words applicable to your own life, and will obtain constructive feedback on your English conversation skills in real-time. It’s a highly efficient path to attain fluency. To ease your difficulties our excellent English Tutor Aparna Mulberry is always available through “English Padikkyam with Inverted Coconut” by ENTRI learning App.
Accept That English Is a Peculiar Language
You can find patterns in English grammar sometimes, but other times English doesn’t make sense at all, right? For example, why are “read” (pronounced reed) and “read” (pronounced red) the exact word, but said differently relying on whether you’re speaking in the past or present tense? Or why is “mice” the plural of “mouse,” but “houses” is the plural of “house”? Unfortunately, there are many oddities to English rules. It’s easy to get stuck on learning how to speak English correctly if you try to find a reason for everything. Sometimes, English is just weird! So the best thing to do is just remember the strange exceptions and move on.
Interact with English Every Single Day
If you want to speak English fluently, it’s essential to get as much exposure to English as possible. You should be doing something in English every single day, even if you’re not energetically studying. There are simple transformations you can make to your environment to help with this:
- Transform your phone / social media/tablet settings to English
- Set your radio to play an English station by default if possible
- Listen to English music
- Read the news in English
- Decide to watch half of your TV shows and movies in English
This method is called “language immersion.” It’s a great way to get used to the sounds of a new language and to support what you have learned.
Use Aids Made for Your Level
If you’re committed to reaching fluency, it can be pleasing to skip over aids made for intermediate-level English learners and jump straight into content made for fluent English speakers. Every enterprising language learner has done this at some point or another! Yet, the reality is that you’ll get a lot more from your study hours if you use aids made for your level.
For example, instead of watching the latest American blockbuster with the subtitles on in your language, try watching an episode of an English-language children’s show without any subtitles. You will comprehend far more and will earn more new vocabulary from context.
Stop Being a Scholar and Begin Thinking in English
Stop thinking of yourself as someone who is learning English, and begin thinking of yourself as someone who speaks English. It’s a small difference, but it’ll make you feel more secure and help you to better use the English you already know.
This also implies you ought to start thinking in English. For example, if you want to say the word “apple” in English, you likely think of the word in your native language first and then attempt to think of the right word in English. Instead, attempt imagining a picture of an apple, and then just think of the English word “apple.”
Real fluency level appears when you stop mentally translating dialogues. This is the most major step from learning English to just being an English speaker.
Give Emphasis on Pronunciation
Emphasizing your pronunciation is helpful for a few reasons. Firstly, if another English speaker finds your accent difficult to understand, they might underestimate your level of English which will be frustrating.
Secondly, some of the work in becoming fluent is considered physical. If your native language sounds very distant from English, then you will require to pay attention to moving your mouth and tongue in a new way.
Native Spanish speakers, for example, sometimes say that speaking English for long periods makes their jaw ache at first. For more practical exercises you can access our page ENTRI.
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Earn More out of Listening
When most students listen to a native English speaker, they concentrate on understanding what all the words mean. This is very important, but there’s a lot more you can learn from listening.
Try listening not just to what the words imply, but to how the person says them. Notice which words the person connects to each other in a sentence, or when they say “ya” instead of “you.” Try to remember these details the next time you talk and your English will start to sound more natural.
It sounds easy, but it can be hard to do actually! When you listen to native English speakers, it can be difficult to understand every single word that’s spoken. They might use many words you don’t even know, talk too fast or hold a strong accent.
Learn the Phrases, Not the Words
Fluency is being able to speak without delay. If you learn English words one at a time, it will be very difficult not to hesitate when making sentences. That’s because you’ll have to translate every English sentence in your mind from your native language, word by word. There is another way: learning new words as part of a common phrase can reduce mental strain when speaking.
To bring a very basic example, if you are learning the word “tonight,” it would help to try and learn the whole phrase “tonight, I am going to.” This way, when you require to discuss your plans for the evening, your brain has half of the reply pre-prepared — there’s less pausing and thinking applied.
Learning lists of phrases in a new language is also known as “sentence mining” and fans argue that it makes them able to use new vocabulary faster, and memorize its grammar more naturally.
Master pronunciation and fluency with our Spoken English classes.
Don’t Study the Grammar Too Much
The key to learning a language is discovering a balance between studying and practicing. Speaking English fluently isn’t the same as knowing perfect English grammar—even native English speakers create grammar mistakes!
Fluency is about being able to communicate without hesitation. That’s why sometimes it’s necessary to put the grammar textbook away, so you can go out and practice those writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills in the real world. As you keep practicing, you can learn many grammar rules along the way.
Learn Intonation, Body Language, and Gestures
True English fluency is around more than just vocabulary and grammar. If you can discover the intonation, body language, and gestures, you’ll look and sound like a native speaker.
Intonation is the “rise and fall” or tone shifts in how a person speaks. Body language is how a person uses their own body to help (or go against) what they mean. Gestures are hand and body motions that work together with what someone is saying.
It’s not easy to learn these three things because they appear very natural. One way to learn is to just watch how native English speakers speak with each other.
One way to study these aspects of the language is by hiring an English tutor like Aparna Mulberry if that’s in your budget. Another is watching YouTube videos if you can avoid getting diverted from other videos.
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
Sometimes, it can be hard to put all those directions and words together into a simple sentence. Don’t let the fear of saying something wrong stop you from speaking at all.
Even if you think you’re creating a mistake, keep speaking anyway. Most of the time, people will understand what you’re trying to say, even if you create a mistake.
Plus, the more you speak, the easier it obtains, and the faster the right words will come to mind.
Learn from Everyone
You don’t have to only learn English from textbooks and teachers—anyone who speaks English can assist you in practice.
Imagine how you’d feel if somebody asked you, in your native language, how to pronounce something. Would you be angry or think it was weird? No! You’d likely be happy to help, just like most English speakers are happy to assist you.
If you know any English speakers, whether it’s a friend or co-worker, take advantage of the chance to practice and learn from them. Make sure to also ask any exact questions you have and be open to feedback.
Accept that You Will Feel Awkward Speaking English
For almost everyone, speaking any new language points fighting through a fear barrier. This is thoroughly normal! Your native language is a very special tool for describing concepts. You are completely aware of the subtle essences your words carry, how to use irony and humor, and how word stress can slightly change the meaning of what you’re saying.
By comparison, speaking in any new language feels like operating a blunt ax. You can’t say precisely what you mean. You certainly won’t seem as clever as you are. It’s rough! Few language learners talk about how much it stinks.
Language expert and polyglot, Olly Richards says that language learners have to have a “tolerance for ambiguity”. His mode to learn languages fast includes accepting confusion and ambiguity. You’re not going to comprehend everything or speak perfect English as you try and reach fluency, and that’s ok.
Fluency is not a one-time destination to be defeated, but a continuous method of learning. Once you have gained fluency, it will still take a degree of practice to keep your English language skills at the front of your mind. The fact is that everyone who speaks any language at all is still learning. The study has revealed that most people continue to learn an extra word in their native language every day until middle age! Try to discover this fact motivating rather than offputting, and remember to celebrate your victories along the learning journey. If you’re reading this article, you’ve mastered an amazing amount of English already!
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