Want to Improve English Fluency? Have Real Conversations with Native Speakers
As a global English language school, we get a lot of emails from student who want to improve English fluency. Most of these students have studied grammar and vocabulary for years in traditional English courses but can’t speak fluently. They are frustrated and tired and are still afraid of making mistakes when speaking English.
How do we overcome this challenge? How do we help ESL students with a basic knowledge of English really improve English fluency and take their communication skills to the next level? Our recommendation is the stop wasting time on grammar rules, software programs like Rosetta stone and silly role plays and focus on having Real Conversations with Native speakers. Here is why:
Grammar theory is useless without context and practice
Most ESL students have done countless lessons in grammar since childhood but without being able to put grammar rules in the context of a conversation many can still struggle to know when to apply what rule where. Through real conversations students are forced to speak English without thinking overly about the theory, and even with the most basic verbal exchange it provides the student a platform to improve English fluency without processing grammar rules in their heads.
Most fluent English speakers don’t have a clue about irregular verbs, tenses or prepositions. They just think in English and speak.
You can’t improve English fluency on your own
Most English learners often know a lot of grammar and have good reading and writing skills from their lessons at school but have often not had the opportunity to practise speaking as much as they would like. Practicing English speaking is not something you can do on your own. To really improve English fluency, you need a Conversation Partner who is a Native English Speaker.
The same can be said about Vocabulary. Having a wide vocabulary is important but it is something you can improve on your own. However, to improve English fluency, you need to learn things such as idioms, slang and colloquialisms and how to use them in context . Essentially aspects of English that make speakers sound more natural or flow more smoothly when speaking. These refinements come only from practice with Native English speakers.
Pronunciation also improve faster with Real Conversations
Pronunciation improves quickly through conversation. In Real Conversations with Native English Speakers, students will make mental notes of key sounds. This by far is the best method to improve pronunciation, resulting in improved English fluency.
Pronunciation improvements only happen when student realise their mistake and make their own improvements through conversation practice. You learn by doing. That is the only method improve English fluency long term.
Real Conversational Practice will teach you Real English
We have done a lot of blog posts on why textbook English is different from Real English. A good example is the use of common phrases and colloquialisms. There are many Colloquial phrases, Idioms and Slang expressions that, while used frequently in conversations among native speakers, may be confusing and even unheard of for non-native speakers especially those whose primary English teaching consists of text-books and computer software and who have not had much day-to-day contact with native English speakers.
Our Real Conversational English method eliminates this gap. You will learn to speak like a Native Speaker.
