One of the main goals of learning a language is fluency. We all want to express ourselves easily and smoothly. It would be great to sound like a native speaker of the language we’re learning!
But, how do we achieve that? Is it possible? The good news is that it’s definitely possible. The bad news is that, for most people, it will take some hard work, and time. An important key to becoming fluent is consistency.
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What Is Fluency and What Does It Mean to Be Fluent?
Well, according to Cambridge Dictionary, fluency means “the ability to speak or write a language easily, well, and quickly.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary says it means “to be capable of using a language easily and accurately.”
Many people have their own idea of what it means to be fluent in a foreign language.
I’ve lived in four different countries, have friends from all around the world, and have tried learning languages myself. For me, fluency means being able to speak or write without needing to pause (for too long) to think. It means that you can smoothly share your message or information and don’t need time to process language.
“Smoothly share your message” is a key part of my definition of ‘fluent’. It means that someone can be fluent in one situation, but maybe not another. It means that you might be able to speak fluently about a certain topic, but not all topics.
Fluency, in my opinion, is situational. It’s possible to be fluent when meeting a new person and getting to know them, but not when giving someone directions. It’s possible to be fluent when talking about your job, but maybe you can’t describe the last movie you saw in detail.
Let’s take a look at some methods you can use to develop fluency for all situations.
Activities for Improving Fluency
Learn phrases
Of course learning vocabulary is important. But with vocabulary, we have to figure out the best way to use it in a sentence and it can take time. If you learn a phrase, you’ve got a whole sentence you can feel confident about using.
Just search on YouTube or Google for “most common phrases in English” or the language you want to become fluent in. There are many websites to choose from. For English learners, here’s an easy one, a basic one, and a more difficult one.
Listen to the phrases, read them out loud, write them down, type them, record yourself saying them, and try using them in conversation!
Reading out loud
Reading out loud might be uncomfortable and boring, but it’s effective. Find something you want to read: a book, easy English news articles, or your English textbook.
Reading dialogue is even more helpful, in my opinion. Why don’t you try reading movie scripts out loud to improve fluency in normal conversations? Maybe you can find your favorite movie on this site or this site.
Reading out loud helps build confidence. You will become more comfortable saying longer sentences and make connections in your brain for verbal output. Try recording yourself and listening to it to check your pronunciation.
When you start to feel comfortable with what you read, try reading faster!
Shadowing
Shadowing means that you listen to someone speak or sing, and then you repeat it. You try to sound like the person that you’re listening to. Shadowing practice is similar to reading out loud, but you’re also practicing listening.
So, find some YouTubers you enjoy or a funny show on Netflix and try shadowing 30 to 60 seconds of video. You’ll probably have to repeat the same 30 to 60 seconds a few times to feel comfortable with the language. You can even practice shadowing with the audio in my easy news stories.
FluentU is another great resource for practicing shadowing. Give it a try!
As I’ve already mentioned, recording yourself is a great way to check your pronunciation and the way you sound.
Music
Listening and singing along to music is basically shadowing and reading aloud. Find the lyrics to some songs you like and start singing!
Speak
Practicing speaking is one of the best ways to improve fluency in a language.
Just like in sports, if you want to kick a soccer ball better, you have to practice kicking the soccer ball. Other types of practice will help you kick the ball well, but actually kicking the ball is best.
If you live in a medium size or large city, check out meetup.com for language exchanges or English conversation practice.
If there is no opportunity for you to speak English where you live, try iTalki. I practice Japanese and Italian with tutors on this site!
Think in English
Thinking in English will definitely help with fluency. However, if the language isn’t already “fluent” in our head, it’s very difficult and slow to think in a foreign language.
The best thing to do is try to think in the language you’re learning whenever you can. One thing I’ve tried and had fun with is using post-it notes (sticky notes) around my house. I labeled a lot of things in my house with post-it notes and every time I saw one, I would try to “switch” my brain into the foreign language I was learning.
For example, I put a post-it note on a door. The post-it note on the door had the words “door”, “open”, and “close” in the language I was learning.
“Door” is easy to remember in a lot of languages, but it wasn’t really a vocabulary exercise. The notes are there to remind me to try thinking in a foreign language.
So, I see the word “door” and “open” and maybe I think in my head “I’m opening the door”.
Another thing you might try is changing your smartphone settings into English or the language you want to learn. Seeing the foreign language will hopefully give you the hint to think in the foreign language.
No matter your level of English, stick some post-its around your house and try thinking in English!
You Won’t Be Perfect and That’s OK
This point is really important. As adults, a lot of us are worried about sounding “stupid” or making mistakes. We don’t want to embarrass ourselves, especially in front of people we know. You have to try to move past that and not care.
A person who isn’t afraid to make a mistake or “embarrass” themself, will start speaking fluently much faster than a person who’s too afraid to talk.
Speaking a foreign language is like a superpower and a lot of people can’t do it. Don’t be shy about using that power! Show off a little bit. Be proud of what you’ve learned.
The more you use it, the sooner you’ll gain fluency.
