How to Speak English Fluently and Confidently?

How long have you been studying or writing English? Do you find that sometimes even though you study hard, you can’t speak fluently? 

You may have learned lots of grammar and vocabulary, despite that, you find it hard to make sentences when you speak. In this blog, I am going to help you with

  • How to speak English fluently? 
  • How to speak English confidently?

Also, what can you do to change an embarrassing situation of not knowing to speak English fluently, and how to improve your English fluency to speak with confidence? 

How to Speak English Fluently?

Before getting to know how to speak fluent English, do you know what fluency means?

When people talk about fluency, they mean speaking a language well. For some people, speaking English fluently means having a good general level of English. However, fluency is more than that. Having fluency in a language means you can speak without stopping or hesitating. 

Communicating in fluent, confident, and natural English is a goal you can achieve. All of us learn English differently. So, you don’t need to worry about how you’ll improve your English fluency. There are many ways to improve English within a short period. Here are the steps for speaking English fluently

  • Stop Being a Student
  • Start Speaking English
  • Prepare and Practise
  • Talk to your family and friends in English
  • Think in English
  • Surround Yourself in English
  • Don’t Focus Too Much on Grammar 
  • Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes 
  • Read Out Loud 
  • Use a Dictionary 
  • Always Listen Keenly 
  • Talk to Yourself
  • Avail Spoken English Classes

Stop Being a Student

Stop thinking of yourself as someone who is learning English, instead, think of yourself as someone who speaks English. Even if it’s a minor change, it will make you feel more confident and help you use the English you already know more effectively. The right attitude can make the difference between failure and success. Analyze the areas where you fail and improve your spoken English skills.

Start Speaking English

There are many things you can do to improve your English fluency. However, if you want to become more fluent, there’s only one thing you can do. The best way to speak English fluently is to start speaking. Get out of your comfort zone and speak English. Talk to people and have conversations regularly. Nothing else you can do is as important as this. 

Prepare and Practise

Reading English will improve your reading. Practicing listening will improve your listening. But what about speaking? Nothing will help your English speaking except speaking. Speaking English is a practical skill. It’s not an academic subject; it’s not something you can learn from a book. It’s more like doing a sport or playing a musical instrument: you need to practice regularly to make any progress. Therefore, start preparing and practicing. It is the key to success.  When you practice, do not always stick with simple language. Learn different words step-by-step, from simply learning to hard learning. It will grow your English speaking skills and confidence. For those aiming to enhance their overall English proficiency, including IELTS in your practice regimen will contribute significantly to your success."

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IELTS Training in Dubai | IELTS Training in Al Ain | IELTS Training in Sharjah | IELTS Training in Qatar | IELTS Training in Muscat

Talk to your family and friends in English

Make it a habit that you talk to your family and friends in English. This will help you practice better, even if you make mistakes. If they know better than you, they will help you with the correct word usage and pronunciation.

Think in English

Try to think in English.

Talk silently to yourself in English during the day. This will help you think in English, instead of thinking in your native language and then translating. 
You can describe what you’re doing.

For example

                     “I’m dressing for work now. I hope today is a good day”. 

Comment on things that happen every day.     
                    “My boss can be difficult, but I can learn a lot from him”,  

It’s going to be difficult at first, but after some time you’ll learn how to switch between your first language and English.

Surround Yourself in English

Put yourself in an all-English speaking environment. Give yourself more opportunities to practice. 

You can surround yourself with English. There are many possibilities such as going to Spoken English Classes, talking to experts in your city, joining groups or activities with English-speakers, finding a conversation partner online, or doing a language exchange. 

Other ways you can try out are watching English movies and listening to their English. In this way, you can better understand their accent very well when you have to speak to an English person.  Also, try reading the editorial page of an English newspaper daily (which includes Opinions, Debates, Spiritual Space, Commentaries, Current Affairs).

By the way, what you do doesn’t have to be language-focused. You can go to English classes to practice your speaking, but anything you do which is in English and which will make you speak English is just as well.

Read Also:  Top English Language Learning Trends

Don’t Focus Too Much on Grammar

One of the most important aspects of improving your English language skills is practicing how you speak. Grammar rules are a necessary evil to understand, but not the most important thing. 

Learning how English grammar works will help you be more understandable and eventually learn all those pesky little details on your own. Aim for being comprehensible, and ultimately, most grammatical aspects will start feeling natural again with practice.

Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes 

The goal of any communicator is to deliver their message, not just speak perfect English. If your tone of voice comes across as too formal or monotone, people will not listen closely enough and tune out before hearing anything. So make sure they can connect with who this matters most. 

Read Out Loud 

Reading out loud is a great way to improve your pronunciation and learn unfamiliar words. For example, you could find an English script for a TV show or even read the newspaper. You will only need to practice sounding like a native speaker when reading without worrying about sentence structure or grammar. 

 Use a Dictionary 

One of the essential tools for learning unfamiliar words is a dictionary. You can find them in print or digital form. Online dictionaries often have audio examples, so you can check your pronunciation. Make sure not to become too reliant on these tools, as they are only for your guidance. Have a go at saying the words first and then compare the dictionary pronunciation. This way, you can quickly correct your mistakes and have a strong vocabulary with accurate pronunciations. 

Always Listen Keenly 

 The more you hear them, the easier it will become for yourself when speaking with others in conversations later on down the line. To improve your pronunciation of unfamiliar words, listen to English news bulletins and songs. You will start speaking more fluently with confidence when conversing about topics covered by media outlets. 

Talk to Yourself 

Learning how to speak English well takes time and effort, but it’s worth all the hard work. If you want to learn English, it is important that not only do your pronunciation and grammar stay on track. Practice your English by talking back to yourself in front of a mirror.  With this technique, you will learn to pronounce every letter in the English alphabet and when it is appropriate for certain words. You will also discover where your mistakes are made so that they can be fixed.

 Avail Spoken English Classes

You may find it challenging or procrastinative to gain the skill of speaking English fluently. With the top spoken English training, you can make the best out of your time and effort, and achieve your desired skill.

Read Also: How Important Is English Grammar for Your OET and IELTS Scores?

How To Speak English Confidently?

Being a non-native English speaker, sometimes in life, you may have come across circumstances where you're required to speak in English. It can be during your work or when dealing with some foreign travelers asking for guidance on their way. At those times, what kind of feelings have you gone through when you speak English? 

  • Control the Way You Speak 
  • Record Your Talking in English
  • Fake it till you make it
  • Listen, Repeat and Learn 
  • Make Mistakes Proudly

Often people don’t talk about their language skills but talk about their feelings when they're asked "why do you want to learn English"?

You'll hear people saying things like: 

“I don’t feel confident when I’m speaking English.”
“I’m afraid my English sounds bad.”
“I want to feel better about my English.”

If any of the above sounds like you, here I have come up with some tips to speak English confidently. In this session, you will learn some simple, effective tips to sound more confident in speaking English. 

Control the Way You Speak 

The first thing you need to do to sound more confident in your speaking is, learn how to control your speaking. Controlling your speech means not limiting your words but instead, controlling your voice, tone and speed.   

Building confidence relies on how you speak. When you’re not confident in your spoken English, you’ll most probably be doing these three things:

"You’ll speak in a low voice."
"You’ll try to speak too fast." 
" You’ll speak in incomplete sentences, using single words and phrases instead of full sentences." 

For example:

If someone asks you "Hey, how was the weekend?" and your answer could be " Not bad, stay at home". 

Rather than not sounding confident, you could say" It was really boring. I didn’t go anywhere or do anything. What about you?". Here you can see the difference. 

Record Your Talking in English

Try out this method of recording yourself speaking in English for a minute. Start with an introduction of yourself and talk a little about your life. Go on, pause the video and do it again, and then come back!

Listen to the recording. How does it sound?

Do you sound confident? If it doesn't, how to sound more confident?  Now, let’s get into what you can do to sound more confident in English.

  • i) Control the volume of your voice

If you're confident about what you speak, what you normally do is speak at a high, clear volume. To sound confident, you don’t have to shout, but the voice should be loud enough that anyone in the same room could understand you clearly.

  • ii) Control the speed of your voice

People have the tendency that if they are nervous they'll speak faster.

And, if you try to speak too fast, you’ll sound less confident and make more mistakes. What you can do is to speak at a slow pace which will make you sound more confident and easier to understand. Also, there are fewer chances that you’ll make any mistakes.

  • iii) Speak in full sentences

People speak less if they’re not confident in their spoken English.

To improve your Advanced English and to sound confident, show that you’re not scared of speaking English. So, use full sentences. Now it’s time to make another recording. Make three recordings each for one minute and each focusing on the volume of your voice, speed of your voice, and speaking in full sentences. Listen to your recordings and compare them to the first recording you made.

Do they sound better? If yes, try to use these points when you talk English in real life. When you see how people respond to you after you use these points into practice, you’ll feel more confident in your English. 

Fake it till you make it

Have you heard of this English saying, "Fake it till you make it.”? 

If not, can you guess what it means? It means you need to act confident and sound confident, even if you don’t feel confident. The confidence starts on the outside. If you lack confidence when you speak English, just ‘fake it. The act of confidence is something you've to learn by yourself. The journey to confidence is something that will take time and hard work. Keep these things in mind if you want to speak English fluently and confidently

Read also What are the Current Issues in English Language Learning and How to solve them?

Listen, Repeat and Learn 

Watching and listening carefully to your favorite TV shows, movies or series is a simple method of learning the English language. You can watch each character closely and listen to what they are saying. Repeat the dialogues that pique your interest. 

Pause what you are watching and rewind it to listen to it carefully several times if you will. English subtitles can also help you identify the words and give you a clear picture of the pronunciations. It is an excellent method to work on both your listening and speaking skills using entertaining and educational materials.

Make Mistakes Proudly

You are not alone in your struggle to learn a new language, but you have come far. Remember that it is okay to make mistakes, and if something seems too difficult, don't give up. When you realize you are communicating in a language not natively yours is enough to feel proud of the journey, you have come so far. 

Read Also: Why is the English Language Important?

Finally, believe in yourself!

Let’s Sum Up

These are only some tips I can give you to improve your English Speaking Skills. Keep them in your mind and start practicing. If you find difficulty in practicing yourself, take some expert help or join spoken English Classes. If You need help in improving your English Language, enroll now for the Advanced English Course

Read Also: Will technology replace English language teachers?