For a lot of people, their main goal is to improve their English speaking fluency. It is nice to have a good understanding of grammar but it is better to be able to show it off by speaking really well. So, let’s have a look at what it takes to speak well.
Fluency means having a smooth conversation. We do this by reducing the number of communication breakdowns in the conversation. Communication breakdowns can come from speaking and listening but let’s look at four ways to reduce speaking breakdowns: correct grammar, natural speaking speed, correct vocabulary and clear pronunciation .
To improve your English Speaking Fluency Make Correct Sentences
Often, we feel more comfortable using grammar that we are familiar with. When you are out with friends, this is the grammar that gets the most practice because you can use it quickly and easily. However, it is the grammar that you have learnt but don’t practice much that gives you the most opportunity for improvement. Practice this grammar and expand the circle of grammars that you use often.
Reach Natural Speed in English
This means practice, practice, practice. Practice making sentences in a variety of ways. This means making negatives, questions and passive sentences. Change the tense to make past, present and future sentences.
Then, when you are comfortable making sentences in different ways, make them faster. Speed work helps you to feel more confident in making sentences easily at the speed that English speakers expect to hear them.
Choose the correct English words
Be careful when you use a dictionary because often a word has feeling as well as meaning. The words cool and cold for example have similar meanings but if I say that the weather is cool, I like it. If I say it is cold, I don’t.
Listen and correct the sounds
Your English conversation will go a lot smoother if you can reduce the number of breakdowns that happen when the listener doesn’t understand your speech. You can reduce these by listening to how native English speakers say these words. Listen carefully though. Listen for the sounds that are different to your language, listen to which part of the sentence the speaker says with emphasis and which part they say with no emphasis (or don’t say at all), listen to the rhythm of the sentences.
If you can mimic these things, you will sound more natural and be easier to understand.
