I bet many of you want to be super fluent. You’ve tried many things and have been learning English for what feels like forever, but you’ve still not reached your goal of fluency in English.
You’re not alone.
In fact, many of you probably think similar to a former student of mine named *Risa. She studied abroad in Oklahoma City, OK, U.S.A. and had been studying English for many years in her home country. However, she still couldn’t speak English like she thought she should have.
Does that sound like you?
I want you to read a small part of our conversation on Zoom from last year.
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How much of what she said can you relate to? More importantly, how can you get fluent in English!
“Ashley, I want to be fluent in English. I want to speak just like you–a native speaker. But native speakers speak too fast and I can’t understand every word. I also feel like my listening isn’t good and I need to increase my vocabulary.”
–Risa
I Had the Same Problem
I’ve been there before.
When I was studying French, I felt like I had reached an intermediate level (B1 or B2), but I still couldn’t understand native French speakers when they spoke with each other. I knew I had to learn more vocabulary to fix this.
Or did I?
Many people learning English feel just like Risa and I did. However, sometimes the problem we’re facing isn’t because we don’t know enough, it’s because our perspective is wrong.
Here are 5 simple reasons you’re not (yet) fluent in English.
1. What does it mean to be fluent?
Honestly, you have to decide what you mean by fluent. Many students think that being fluent in English means speaking like they speak their first language–like a native-speaker.
But that’s the wrong measure.
Here’s the problem. There are some people that can speak fast, but their pronunciation is terrible. People can’t understand them when they speak. Or, maybe they can speak and write well, but they can only use one or two tenses, which ware full of mistakes. Some can put words together to create sentences, but no native speaker would be able to understand them. Does that make them proficient?
Other people can only recognize grammar, but not use it. Some can read, but not speak or understand English. So, you can be fluent in one of the skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar), but not fluent in others.
These are just a few problems when we talk about fluency.
Fluency in English isn’t only about speaking or listening. You should be fluent in all skills. It shouldn’t just be about speaking like a native speaker. It’s about being able to talk with flow and for a long time. In other words, fluidly and for several minutes if not hours.
2. Not fluent? Maybe your goal is wrong
It’s not a bad goal to want to speak like a native, but should that be the goal?
It depends.
Not everyone will need to or want to speak like a native speaker. If you use English for business or during school, then this may be a good objective since people might call you unprofessional or incompetent if you aren’t fluent.
But, if you’re learning English to read a book, play a game, for fun, or for travel, this is not a good goal.
Know why you’re learning English and for what you want to use it. This will help you focus on correct goals.
3. Fluent in listening?
This is related to point #2, #4, and #5. Students think that they should understand every word that is spoken. This is a great goal, but unrealistic if you’re not at that level of proficiency.
If you’re still a beginner or even an intermediate, it’s okay if you don’t understand everything. Sometimes people use body language to speak.
Have you learned American body language? Check out my upcoming course to learn about this and more!
But be careful! It is important to understand what’s being said and not just the general meaning–the gist.
4. “They speak too fast!”
“Native speakers speak fast, Ashley!”
I hear this a lot, but is it true?
Some people do speak fast, but the problem might be what you’re listening to.
“Have you learned American body language? Check out my upcoming course to learn about this and more!”
Have you trained your brain to listen to the sounds and rhythms of English and not your first language.
Most courses, classes, and schools do not teach this. I have an upcoming course that will teach you these sounds to help you reach your goals.
It’s important to understand that you may not understand people because you simply haven’t trained yourself to hear English as it is really spoken. Also, you haven’t practiced listening at faster speeds.
5. Fluency & Vocabulary
Like Risa, you probably think you don’t know enough words.
Well, you might be right.
Many students use the wrong words, but often times the listener can still understand.
“Basically, if you know the basic words people use everyday, you’ll be able to understand almost everything in English.”
But here’s something to think about: maybe it’s not the amount of words, but you don’t know the topic well.
Let me explain.
If you know the basic words people use everyday, you’ll be able to understand almost everything in English.
I made a podcast listing these for you. You can read about it here.
So, it’s not that you don’t know enough words–you probably know the most important ones.
Want to learn more vocabulary? Type “yes” in the comments section below.
Many students think they don’t know enough words when they really just don’t know much about the topic.
Conclusion
Many students are like Risa. This is okay! Becoming fluent takes practice. Fluency in English can be achieved, but keep these 5 things in mind as you learn. Here’s a recap of the 5 reasons you’re not super fluent in English:
1) Have a good, clear definition of fluent.
2) Have the right goal.
3) What is your focus on when listening
4) Train your ear
5) Learn topics
Which of the 5 points are you working on?
Listen to our podcast.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
https://livinginenglish365.podbean.com
