If you want to improve your level of English and speak more clearly and fluently, there are several realistic and easy steps that you can take to make it happen. Learning English can be an both an experience and a tool that can change your life completely, especially if you are living in an English-speaking country.
Do not worry that your English fluency may not be at near-native level right now – language learning is not easy and it takes time to develop based on the way that we each learn. How can you improve your General English fluency? The following 5 steps are things that everyone can do in their daily life to become more fluent:
Step 1: Speak whenever & wherever.
It does not matter what people will think of you. One of the biggest steps that holds a lot of English learners back is the fear of being judged or laughed at. The best thing to do, is just speak – as much as you can!
In reality, Native speakers and locals do not make fun of English learners, but more importantly, it does not matter what people think – just keep speaking. If they do not understand, say it again. If they still do not understand, you say it again, and again, and again. Of course, it is important to learn the correct way of saying things and many learners need to spend extra time on pronunciation, but a lot of the issues like being shy, embarrassed, and fear of looking silly, or being misunderstood will ultimately hold you back.
Speaking to native speakers is one of the best ways to practice, whether it means having small talk with a stranger or asking a shop assistant a question, it all counts towards your goal of English fluency.
Step 2: Read out loud, word-for-word.
Another great way to improve your English fluency, especially with speaking and reading, is to take a simple book, flyer, or magazine, and read it aloud, between 1 paragraph and a chapter each day depending on your level. There will be certain parts that you as a learner will find difficult, but each time you stop in your tracks, start at the beginning of the paragraph / sentence and keep doing that until you get it right. You only need to do this for between 10-20 minutes each day.
If you find any words that you do not know, do not understand, or don’t know how to pronounce, then look them up online or in a dictionary, and then start at the beginning. Once you finish something easy, then pick something that you are interested in and read that out loud. This will increase your vocabulary and will greatly help your confidence.
Step 3: Learn a new word every day.
Take one word that you do not understand, you have never used it before, and you do not know what it means – and look it up on the internet. If you do this every single day, that will be 365 new words added to your vocabulary each year and each word you learn and remember is another step towards fluency in English.
Adding to your vocabulary in this way helps you to become regimented in your language learning abilities, and your learner mindset. These could even be words from the 2nd step, or words that are crucial to your job, but do not be afraid to ask native speakers for help with learning these words. They do not all bite, and it can count towards your 1st step!
Step 4: You must immerse yourself.
While learning English, it is a great idea to allow yourself to be surrounded with the language, especially from TV shows, movies, and music. By surrounding yourself with the language you want to learn, you will begin to hear the words you’ve been learning in your English classes in an everyday scenario, but you can start to apply them.
With TV shows and movies, make sure that you watch them without subtitles the first time. Watching a movie with your native language subtitles is okay for entertainment, but for language learning, your brain will focus more on the writing you can understand, compared to the speaking that you cannot understand. Watch the movie or TV show without subtitles, and see how much of the spoken English you understand – for the first time, it’s normal to only be able to understand around 5% of what is happening, but as your level improves, you will notice that you can understand more and more each time. Once you understand more, watch the TV show or movie with English subtitles and see if you can match what they are saying. For music, try singing along.
This can also apply to your environment – go to a British supermarket for some items, and interact with the staff.
Step 5: Spend time with people that speak English.
It sounds obvious, but the best way to pick up English is to spend time with people that speak English. By making friends who speak English natively, there is no option to go back to your own language. It is extremely common with International students at University to spend time with people from their own country – almost exclusively.
Whether it is at work, online, at University, or wherever you spend your time, try to spend more time with people that speak English. Even if they are not native, try and talk to them as much as possible, ask them questions, listen to their answers, and try to get used to that – you will be surprised how quickly you pick up the language, as well as a few tips on what worked for them.
Of course, these steps can surely help you improve, but they work best alongside taught English classes. If you want to take that step to either learn or improve your English, take a look at our General English courses!
If you want to see how good your English skills are, then take our free English test. You might be surprised!
