As the use of English grows day by day in the workplace and in social circles, a very common concern for many young people today is their inability to speak English fluently. A number of people experience an innate fear of making a mistake, and pronouncing a word incorrectly when it comes to speaking English.
Majority of the people suffer from various forms of this phobia, and some of them are genuinely terrified. As a matter of fact, this fear is mainly caused due to the belief that the other person is judging us. It is one of the major factors inhibiting our spoken English fluency. Various studies show that there are a number of cases in which people avoid communication fearing the embarrassment and humiliation. This is when things get quite serious as no matter how badly you fear making mistakes, you’re not going to improve your speaking skills if you don’t start practicing the same.
In an attempt to improve their spoken English skills, people try many things– reading English newspapers and books, watching English films, practicing alone in front of a mirror – but nothing seems to really help. Many give up hope. They believe that the fault somehow lies with them and that they will never be able to speak English fluently. Yet, the answer to the question of how to speak English fluently is very simple.
Speaking in English is a skill, just like many other skills, such as playing cricket, driving a car, singing, dancing or cooking, and it can be learnt just as easily. Perfection only comes with practice.
Let’s ask ourselves how we learn any other skill, say, driving a car? Is it enough to read a manual or book of instructions? Of course, not! Is it even enough to watch a video on how to drive? No, definitely not. And, can you just get behind the steering wheel of the car on your own and start driving? Probably a bad idea! So, what exactly do you do to learn how to drive a car? You take driving lessons where you practice driving a car alongside an experienced instructor for a few weeks. Normally, that is enough to learn well enough to get a license and start driving. Of course, the more you practice, the better you get. Pretty much the same logic applies to all the other skills. Now, let us see if you can apply this logic to the process of learning to speak English fluently.
Reading books or watching films do not give you any practice of speaking the language; no wonder they do not work, even if you try them for months and years! Practicing alone is also no good, because you won’t know where you are making mistakes and how you should correct yourself. However, practicing your English under the guidance of a trained instructor can work magic in just a few weeks.
A trained instructor will listen to your mistakes, help you identify them and give you the opportunity to correct them yourself. You can even learn in groups, provided all the students are at the same level of skill in English. A trained instructor will use many activities, such as role plays, weaves, pair-work and games, to make you speak in English all the time.
Remember, the more you speak, the more you will learn. Before you know it, you will start speaking fluently, as you won’t make mistakes or hesitate anymore. Once you have learnt how to speak English fluently, you must keep up the practice of speaking in English by trying to chat with friends and family in English as much as possible. You can always come back to your institute to meet with others in your group and to do activities and participate in games that give even more practice. Beginners Guide on how to speak English fluently and confidently:
In order to improve your English Speaking Skills, you are required to:
- Mastering English Vocabulary to speak good English
- Learning New Words Quickly to speak good English
- Taking yourself from Written to Spoken English
- Being Motivated to Speak English
Along with this, it is important to focus on eliminating all your fears of rejection. Once you start practicing and putting your best effort, you eventually learn how to conquer the urge to flee perceived failures.
Vikram Bajaj, 13 July, 2016 (11:51 AM)
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