Everyone who studies English dreams of holding a conversation naturally and effortlessly. However, fluency in English is achieved with practice and consistency. It is not impossible to achieve your goals; on the contrary, the following tips can help you.
Practise every day
When learning another language, be it English, Portuguese or German, you have to imagine that you are a child learning to speak for the first time. When you were a child, you tried to speak every day and whenever the opportunity arose, and you succeeded.
So, in order to speak English fluently, you need to establish a timetable for daily study and practice. The best thing to do is to do different activities, but all of them should allow you to better develop your skills.
Think in English, do not translate
One of the most common mistakes most students make is to translate conversations in their head. But if you want to be fluent in English, you must learn to process the conversation and respond in English.
Remember that there are phrases that only make sense in one specific language or whose figurative meaning belongs to English. Therefore, when you try to translate it, the context of the conversation is missing.
On the other hand, if you constantly translate what is said to you, it is difficult to achieve fluent dialogue. It is not a matter of memorising a series of answers in English lessons, but of reasoning and understanding the situation in order to communicate.
A good way to achieve natural conversation is to learn vocabulary. This will give you the tools you need to express yourself and you will not need to look up the meaning of a sentence in your mother tongue.
Develop active listening skills
Becoming fluent in English also involves developing active listening skills. Otherwise, you will not understand what the speaker is saying. Imagine you have a large vocabulary and know how to structure your answers, but you do not understand the words you hear from others. Communication could not take place.
Songs, films, TV programmes and even your own lessons can be used to develop active listening. Pay close attention to how the language is handled and how words are pronounced.
This will help you familiarise yourself with the new language and distinguish the words you hear. When you do not understand a sentence, write it down and practise it regularly, trying to identify it in other contexts.
Reading aloud
Reading regularly helps you discover new words, that is to say, expand your vocabulary. This advice does not only apply to English: reading aloud improves vocabulary and pronunciation in all languages.
Furthermore, reading aloud increases reading comprehension and grasps the meaning of words more quickly. Therefore, dedicate a few minutes of your day to reading aloud.
Reviewing new words
In every language, there are always words that are more difficult to pronounce or understand. The strategy to use with these words is to repeat them several times.
With practice, you will improve your pronunciation and use of words that you find difficult. You will also discover new contexts in which you can use them.
You do not need to memorise an entire dictionary to become fluent in English. Learn to use simple words at the beginning and your vocabulary will grow.
Record yourself in audio or video
Many students hate recording themselves speaking in English because they are ashamed of what they hear. However, this practice can be very useful for language beginners.
If you record yourself in audio or video, you may detect some pronunciation problems. You may also notice if you speak too fast or think too much about your answers.
Learn fast pronunciation to become more fluent in English.
In English, some words have two types of pronunciation, one in which the sound of each word is heard and one in which it is omitted. One should learn both ways of pronouncing words, but in conversation, the quick pronunciation is better.
At first it may be difficult to pronounce the contractions of some words. But with practice you will achieve a more natural, fast and fluent conversation.
With these tips you can become fluent in English and any other language. Practice and perseverance will help you improve your skills and comprehension.
