Many English language learners are straggling today to become fluent speaker. Despite the effort they make trying to sound like native speakers they fail to achieve fluency.
They make a lot of slip of tongue and feel uncomfortable as they speak.
Here is the reason why this happens:
- First – As non-native speaker, your articulation system (speech organs- tongue, lips, palate, larynx etc.) isn’t yet familiar with the new English sound patterns.
- Second – You miss skills or knowledge of what techniques help achieve fluency.
As a result, they can’t say words naturally which is why they don’t speak English fluently.
Thankfully, there is a way out:
In this post you’ll learn:
- Tips to achieve fluency faster you’d never regret learning;
- Techniques that help train articulation system so that you be able to produce English sound patterns;
- Ways in which mistakes can help learn English and achieve fluency.
Ready?
How to Become Fluent in English: Tips to achieve Fluency fast, you’d never regret using.
#1: Exposure yourself to English:
Make small changes in your everyday life, to help yourself level up your English-speaking skills. Do this for example, by changing, your mobile phone settings to English.
Will this be helpful at the beginning? No. But later you get used to the new idiom and learn more new vocabulary.
#2: Learn from others:
Whenever you can, spend time chatting to native or fluent speakers of English.
The reason of doing this, is that these people can pinpoint words you pronounce differently and then help you identify mistakes that you are not aware of. This can change the way you say things in English.
#3: Imitation as a crucial language learning tool:
one way to learn intonation and other important sound patterns in English, is by imitating fluent language speakers you are passionate to.
It can be through TV shows, Podcasts, Radio, Movies, You Tube channels or others.
#4: Practice speaking skills by random topics or situations:
Whenever it’s possible, make use of whatever situations be that thoughts or an activity you are doing or planning to do, to practice speaking skills. How to so?
- Describe aloud things you’ve done; things you are doing and things you are thinking of doing.
Here is an example:
- “Yesterday Kelly told me that Maria was in hospital. Last week she’d an accident and broke her…”.So soon after I finish doing… I’m going to visit her. I’ll be going with a friend of mine…his…”.
This simple oral exercise not only highlights parts of your speech you need to make improvement (in terms of pronunciation), it also points out what word or words you still miss to make part of your passive vocabulary (words stored in the long-term memory).
Remember; the larger your passive English vocabulary, the better you communicate and likely become fluent in English.
#5: We remember better bad things than good:
Most people feel embarrassed to know that they make mistakes as they speak English. However, there is no need to feel like that.
Let me explain this: language items you learn as the result of the correction to the mistake you make in public, stick for ever into you memory. This is because we remember better bad things than good.
Why this happens?
Hold on. This’s a topic to be discussed later. As for now, just remember that you are likely to learn faster English making mistakes, rather than anyone else avoiding at any cost making errors.
My advice?
Encourage your conversational partner to point out mistakes you make then resolve them.
What Techniques help Train your Articulation System to be able to Produce English Sound Patterns?
When we speak English to a native speaker, or someone else who masters the language, he expects to hear English sound patterns which are the sounds that mark the language.
Why is it Unquestionable to Practice English Sound Patterns, as Second Language Learner?
If you are asking me whether it matters to pay attention to these patterns as you learn the language, then the answer is YES.
It’s a MUST. And here is why:
Knowing English sound patterns is about understanding and being understood as you speak.
This is the thing.
Now, how do we learn the English sound patterns?
A good way to practice the English sound patterns is by exercising your articulation system -I guess you have no ideas on how to do so, but hold on.
Before going through what actions actually you should take, in order to exercise your organs produce English sounds let’s understand first what organs these are.
#1: What Articulation System is? How enhancing it can help you become Fluent in English?
Studies show that our articulatory system is composed of a set of organs which include lips, teeth, tongue, alveolar ridge, hard Palate, teeth, and others organs.
Source: Google.com
It happens that as a second language learner, these speech organs are not familiar with the production of English sound patterns. To help your mouth muscles to be able make the sounds effectively you need to train them.
What actions should you take in order to enhance the system make the sounds?
Is this your question?
Don’t Panic. I’ll help you right away to do this the easiest way.
To start with, let me ask you…
Imagine that someone knows the meaning of the word “knowledge”.
He or she pronounces the word correctly, but they can’t say it fluently. What actions should they take to be able to say the word naturally of fluently?
Follow these steps:
How to Become Fluent in English: Step 1- Split the word into syllables.
Yes, that is it.
Split.
Instead of trying to say the whole word, divide it into syllables then practice the sounds one at a time.
The term knowledge has got 2 syllables (units of pronunciation having one vowel sound) namely: Knowl + edge.
Each syllable or unit, represents each of the 2 sounds the word knowledge has: /knowl/ and /edge.
How to Become Fluent in English: Step 2 – Practice the sounds.
To practice the sounds you can start with the first /knowl/ or the last /edge/; your aim with this exercise is to be able to learn how to say the word with no hesitation.
The strategy is to drill each sound as much as possible, until you are able to produce the sound naturally.
How to Become Fluent in English Step 3: Put together the word and drill it as a whole.
Once you have practiced the sounds separately, put them together and drill the whole sound.
Drill, and drill until you feel comfortable saying it.
This simple exercise enables your articulation system to produce the sounds and at the same time helps your brain retain the word.
If you manage to say the word without hesitation, you’ve learnt the sound.
That’s it.
Need a proof of this?
Take few seconds doing the following exercise.
Are you ready?
Let’s start.
First, pick a word or a phrase that you know how to pronounce, but you find difficult to say it naturally.
Have you got it?
That’s good.
Next, read slowly to identify the sound (s) of whatever you picked.
Are you through?
Go ahead.
Divide the word or the phrase (if applicable), into separate sounds.
How many sounds the word or the phrase has? (again, if it’s applicable).
Then say the sound (s) slowly one by one, several times.
Keep doing the exercise until you are able to say the words naturally.
Done it?
Now put together the sounds and practice as a whole.
Keep doing the exercise until you feel happy with the sound (s).
Now tell me.
Was the exercise effective?
Enjoy saying it freely with no more hesitation.
#2: How to Become Fluent in English: What to do Next, now You are able to Say the Word Fluently?
Go for other words that you feel uncomfortable saying.
Do the same exercise.
Do the exercise also to practice sounds of phrases or sentences.
For this, just split the phrase or the sentence into stream of words, and go over again the steps listed above.
After you’ve learnt the sounds, move ahead, create situations in which you can practice the sounds, alone or with a conversational partner.
By practicing the sounds, you will be able to say the words naturally.
Remember, fluency is about feeling comfortable when you speak.
How to Become Fluent in English without Living in an English Speaking Country?
One way to be fluent in English is by living in an English speaking country.
However, this can be difficult due to shortage of financial resource to afford the expenses of going abroad.
What to do then in order to be fluent in English language without having to leave your own country?
Is this your question?
Don’t worry. I’ll help you do this.
How to Become Fluent in English: Get a conversational partner to practice the language with.
Your partner could be someone already fluent in English, or one willing to improve the language, like you.
What to do exactly with the experienced partner?
- Talk to them in English as much as you can.
- Use the English vocabulary you know.
- Ask the partner questions on how to pronounce words. Your aim is to gain experience.
What about the less experienced partner, how can you make use of them?
-Show off. Talk about things you know. Show them your expertise. Use topics you like: You love sport? – Talk about sport. You like arts? – Talk about arts.
The point is to combine the useful with the pleasant.
How to Become Fluent in English: Learn the Language from Mistakes you Make
Has it ever happened to you, despite never having needed, recall a mistake or an embarrassing experience?
Yes. It happens to everyone.
The issue here is why this does happen?
Studies show that “We often remember better bad things than good”.
Check this:
Source: Google.com
This is true. And the good news is that this can be a great opportunity for you to learn the language.
This is where mistake making comes in handy, and it explains the reason why learning by mistake matters.
How to Become Fluent in English: Learn by Mistakes You Make?
As a second language learner you are likely to make a tone of mistakes and thankfully they can help you learn the language depending on the actions you take after making the mistake.
What actions actually you should take to benefit from the mistakes and then become fluent in English?
My advice is that soon after you make a pronunciation mistake, discover the right language and then practice it to allow your brain keep the right version of the language; that way you can take advantage of the mistake.
Remember: “we often remember the bad better than the good” so the language you learn on the basis of a mistake you make is likely going to be active in your brain rather than that you learn with no situation connected to.
How to Become Fluent In English: Practice What you Learn Every Day
One of the most common mistake people make while attempting to learn English languages is the belief that they will learn the language the same way they do to learn other subjects. That is a big mistake you need to avoid at all cost.
Learning a language involves practicing skills which include speaking, listening, writing and reading.
For more details of this check https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/blog/benefits-of-testing-the-four-skills/
How learning these skills influence mastering the language?
Let’s go through this briefly one by one.
Speaking skills:
As second language learner, you’ll surely face problems with how to make audible English sound.
To overcome this limitation, you need to train your articulation system by practicing the language to allow your mouth muscle be able to make the sounds.
Listening skills;
The Human brains evolved to acquire oral comprehension first.
Source: www.natural.education
This is a fact. Scientists believe that listening evolved first before other skills. And it explains the reason why you need to take into account as second language learner.
Without developing this skill, you may know to write or read English, but you won’t be able to understand other speakers of the same language.
This is true that some people can write and read English correctly, but they fail to understand or to speak.
Others can understand and speak, but fail to write and to read.
Why this does happen?
The learning of the four skills overlaps;
Let me put it this way:
After you learn the spelling of a word (writing), you need to hear the sound (listening).
Once you know the sound, you need to say it (speaking) or to read it. In the end you ended up using all the skills.
How to Become Fluent in English?
It’s a hard work.
It involves training your articulation system and do a lot of practice.
But with the tips you’ve gone through along the lesson, all you need to do is follow the steps I’ve liste