5 Ways to Improve Spoken English Naturally
At Spoken English Practice, we asked our students what their biggest challenge was to improving English. The biggest challenge for most English language learners is that they can’t speak English naturally. Let me explain further:
Most non native English learners get stuck in the middle of sentences. Most English learners also think in their native language and translate resulting in slow English speaking. Most English learners can read and write English fairly well but struggle when it comes to speaking English.
All these are universal challenges for most English language learners. Speaking English fluently, naturally and confidently requires immersion based learning. Let’s dive deeper in to some key strategies to improve Spoken English naturally.
1.) Improving Spoken English Naturally is 90% practice
Improving Spoken English is an endeavor that requires a lot of muscle memory and it is impossible to be really fluent in English without practicing with native speakers. You can spend hours and hours doing roles plays or be an expert of phonetics but if you don’t practice speaking with native speakers you will never speak English naturally.
2.) Always practice with a Native English Teacher
To practice, always pick a native English teacher rather than a non native. A Native English teacher will be more expensive and harder to work with at the start but you will learn the correct accent and pronunciation from the start.
There are a lot of places to meet native English speakers and teachers, specially on mediums such as Skype. Make maximum use of technology and you will improve Spoken English naturally in no time.
3.) Put Grammar Rules in the BackSeat
Lot of English learners begin by studying grammar rules. This is a HUGE mistake.
If you goal is to learn Spoken English naturally, don’t start with grammar. The reason is over learning grammar will make your brain process grammar rules when you have conversations. This will slow down your speech and you will not be a confident speaker because you are scared of making mistakes in grammar. Overall, you will speak English in an unnatural and funny way.
The new way of learning any language is to forget about grammar rules and start speaking first. Still not convinced? Try a trial lesson with a Native English Teacher.
4.) You can’t learn to Spoken English the same way you learn History or Biology
Learning to speak English (or any language for that matter) is about understanding the flow of the language. There are a lot of elements in the English language that makes it function but also make it difficult to learn. English speakers need to get an intuitive feel how these components sync with each other.
There are numerous elements in the English language such as prepositions, figures of speech, and slang that are hard to memorize. Learning Spoken English naturally is very different from learning Biology or History. When you are learning Biology or History you can learn concepts and pass exams. With English, you can learn concepts and pass exams but still not be able to speak fluently.
The solution is to immerse in different elements of English everyday. Watch a video today, tomorrow learn lyrics to an English song, the following day listen to an audiobook read in English…Find various activities that will allow you to absorb English naturally.
5.) Balance between Pronunciation, Vocabulary and Grammar
Spoken English has 3 main pillars. Pronunciation, Vocabulary and Grammar. You need to develop your skills in all 3. Most students focus heavily in Vocabulary and Grammar but ignore pronunciation. Remember, both pronunciation and enunciation are very important aspects of Spoken English. If you want to improve Spoken English naturally, you have to learn to pronounce word clearly and precisely.
Want to take your pronunciation skills to the next level? Read this guide to improving English pronunciation
