You want to be fluent in English, right?
English fluency is what you want, of course. But, how do you know if you’re fluent, or need a little more work?
This blog post will answer what is fluency in English and what fluency in English isn’t. It goes with Episode 63 of The Living in English: 365 Podcast. You can listen to that episode below.
Introduction
People learn a language to speak it. I have never met a person who only wants to learn grammar or writing…
They have different goals for doing this, but since speaking is the ultimate goal for them, they want to begin as quickly as possible.
I’m sure you can relate to that.
Are you fluent in English? Take this super quick survey to let me know. It takes less than 1 minute!
It’s important to understand some key things first. Let’s go over what fluency is and what it isn’t. We’ll begin with what it isn’t.
What Fluency in English Isn’t
To talk about what fluency is, we first have to know what it isn’t. I can’t tell you have often I’ve heard students say these. Have you ever said them? Let me know in the comments section below.
Fluency is not these things
- speaking fast
- only about speaking English
- a special “gift” that only certain people have and are able to use
- sounding like a “native speaker” of English
- being able to speak and sound like certain English speaking groups (i.e. North American, British, South African, etc.)
- not having an accent
- being able to speak but not communicating your meaning or message to the listener well
- only about pronunciation
- only about using and knowing enough vocabulary and phrasal verbs, idioms, expressions, slang, etc.
What’s Fluency in English
Phew! That was tough, right. Let’s go over what fluency is.
Fluency is these things
- the speed and smoothness of oral delivery, which is often measured in speech rate (speaking speed)
- more than just speaking/conversational fluency
- you can be fluent in reading, writing, listening, etc. AND to varying degrees of fluency (i.e. proficiency)
- speaking well and effectively, but that doesn’t mean you have to not have an accent or sound like a native speaker (which is a terrible goal)
- being able to speak at length about topics even if you don’t know them very well
- to clearly get your message across
Conclusion
Based on my definition, are you fluent in English? Maybe you thought you were fluent but now you’re not. Either way, let me know below. Also, don’t forget to take the survey. You can click here to give your unique voice to the survey.
Interested in learning your level of fluency, you can take my free English test.
Fluency is about more than just speaking. Many skills are used when we speak about oral fluency. The path you take to your goal of Fluency in English is unique, but you don’t have to do it alone. Join the Fluency Academy by clicking below.
What are you thoughts on fluency. Have you achieved fluency in English?
What was the hardest part in doing that for you and what advice could you give someone who is trying to reach fluency now?
