When I ask my students, “Why have you enrolled for my English fluency classes online? ” a vast majority of them say, “I want to sound like a native speaker.”
When students learn English as a subject in school, they often tend to stick to colonial English. That’s the old, stiff version of the language that feels out of place in today’s digital world. The good news is that irrespective of whether you learned English in a standard classroom or from textbooks, you can speak confidently and stylishly like a native speaker.
In this post, I share a few things you can do to sound more like a native speaker without sounding boring.
If you plan to an English-speaking country like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, you need to start listening to locals conversing in their mother tongue. By locals, I refer to people who grew up speaking the language.
Usually, when we listen to others, our concentration is on WHAT they’re saying. In this exercise, you will focus on HOW they’re saying it. Watch natives speak the language – look at how they move their mouths. How is this different from your mother tongue? Indians have a habit of placing unnecessary stress when speaking English.
For example, take the word “Fixed.” It’s common for ESL learners to pronounce it as fix-ed when natives pronounce it as “fix’d,” ignoring the “e” in the middle.
Syllables and stress are the two areas that help you speak confidently. Observing natives can help you feel the rhythm and learn how to use it in daily conversations.
An online blog is an easy way to develop your English writing skills. If you don’t like the idea of sharing your thoughts online, you can practise offline journaling. Get a journal and begin writing about your day. Start small. Include a couple of photos or pictures along with captions and increase the volume as you gain confidence.
The biggest advantage of having a blog is that it helps to inculcate the habit of thinking in English. To build your vocabulary, you can describe your day-to-day adventures and daily routines. Once you get comfortable with small tasks like sharing a picture with a caption on your blog, you can move on to bigger sentences and, hopefully, full-length blog posts.
Another huge advantage of writing online is that you’ve got many tools to help you. Use grammar and spellchecker tools to identify the common mistakes you’re making and rectify them. Alternatively, you can ask a friend or trusted mentor to proofread and edit your writing, helping you learn from your mistakes.
Thanks to the rise in smartphone technology, you can use your phone in your native language. The most common apps like Amazon, Flipkart, WhatsApp, Facebook and Insta are available in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and more.
That said, an easy way to improve English fluency is to change the default language on your phone to English. This forces you to get out of your comfort zone and think in English all the time. It’s an excellent trick to help you speak English better as you come across new terms used in different apps, allowing you to strengthen your vocabulary.
One common mistake most students make when they take English-speaking lessons online is that they tend to concentrate only on the spoken part, forgetting about reading and writing in English. Reading is a fundamental skill that helps you improve your English fluency.
The more you read, the stronger your vocabulary and the more enjoyable are your daily conversations.
To develop a consistent reading habit, ensure that you read something that aligns with your interests. For example, if you’re interested in football, you can read football-related blogs or magazines. Another great technique to get more out of your reading is to convert reading from a passive activity to an active one.
Use highlighters or a notebook to jot down new words you come across. Use an online or regular paper dictionary to look up the meanings of new words and memorize them. Form sentences on your own using these new words, and try to use them in your daily conversations.
You might have come across advice suggesting you watch English movies and TV series as some of the best ways to be fluent in English. While these are excellent strategies, if you’re looking to improve your fluency further, you’ve got to practise the art of summarising.
Summarising helps to condense information within a few sentences. When you watch a movie, read a book or listen to a podcast, make it a habit to write down the summary of what you have watched or heard.
Summarising is a crucial skill that not only improves your English fluency but also helps to make your thoughts coherent and logical.
An easy way to improve speaking fluency is to use expressions used by native speakers. This is a great way to express your confidence in the language. There are tons of phrases that native speakers use in different contexts. Here are a few commonly used terms that you can use in your daily conversations:
| Expression | Meaning |
| No worries | There’s nothing to worry about |
| Piece of cake | An easy task |
| I’m knackered | I’m tired |
| I’m going to hit the sack | I’m going to sleep |
| Mate | A common expression to denote a friend |
| Back to square one | Back to where you started |
| My hands are tied | I can’t do anything about that |
| Beating around the bush | Let’s get to the point |
| Back to the drawing board | It’s time to start making a new plan |
| Up in the air | It’s not yet decided |
| To cut corners | Taking a shortcut |
| Steep learning curve | There’s a lot to learn quickly |
| She’s as bright as a button | She’s smart |
| I fancy you | I have a crush on you |
| I’m chuffed | I’m ecstatic about something |
These are some of the best strategies to stop speaking boring English and to start sounding like a native speaker. If you’re looking for a quick and efficient way to improve your English fluency, consider enrolling in my online accent training course to improve your pronunciation and sound stylish.
Connect with my team to learn more about my courses and how I can help you.
Cheers and Good luck on your English learning journey!
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