When you’re learning English, speaking to people can be intimidating. You might make mistakes, pause between sentences, or use the wrong word sometimes. While learning to speak English fluently can make you more confident, it takes time and practice.
So how do you speak English fluently, especially if you’re still learning English? Follow our tips on how to speak English like someone who’s spoken it all their life, and discover which tools can help you get there faster.
Table of Contents
1. Have conversations in English as often as possible
The best way to learn a new language is to use it often. While studying and reading about English can be helpful, having many conversations is a more effective way to become fluent.
Helpful English conversation partners can be:
- friends, family members, or colleagues who are already fluent in English
- other students in your English class
- a tutor or English teacher
- community members in an English-speaking community
When you have these conversations, you’re not only practicing speaking in English — you’re practicing listening. You can hear how others pronounce tricky English words, form sentences, and ask questions in different ways.
If you don’t know many English speakers, visit places like the library, a tutoring center at a community college, or a bookstore to see if they can help you find resources.
2. Learn sentences instead of memorizing word lists
Another way to speak English fluently is to learn sentences instead of memorizing vocabulary lists. Instead of studying English words and trying to memorize them all, try to put them into sentences as soon as you learn them to practice the rhythm of an English sentence.
For example, if you have a list like this:
- school
- pharmacy
- church
- bank
And you’re studying verbs like these:
- go
- be
- live
- work
Try using the words in simple sentences like these:
- I go to school.
- The pharmacy is closed.
- We live near a church.
- Mom works at a bank.
Once those sentences get easier to say and understand, start building bigger sentences with the same words.
- Thomas went to school so he could work in a pharmacy.
- We go to the church down the street from the bank.
3. Spend time in English-speaking places
Immersive learning is one of the best ways to learn a new language, and it’s how to learn English fluently, too. Visit shopping centers and parts of town where most people speak English. You can simply listen to others talk or challenge yourself to talk to people in English.
Beginning English learners can start by:
- asking store clerks and employees how much things cost
- ordering food or drinks in English
- sitting in a coffee shop and listening to English conversations
- going to sports games and listening to the crowd around you
Once you become a more advanced English learner, try increasing the challenge by:
- using new vocabulary and sentence patterns while shopping
- talking to a librarian in English about a book you’ve read
- asking multiple store employees different questions
- visiting a garage sale and negotiating the price of an item
- changing the primary language on your phone to English
Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method is another great way to learn a new language by seeing and hearing it in context. With lessons and instruction in the language you’re learning, fluency can come even faster.
4. Try out different forms of media in English
From podcasts and audiobooks to movies and video games, there are many ways to immerse yourself in English while having fun. Try out different forms of media to see what fits your interests and your schedule.
Watch TV shows and movies in English
Learning how to speak English fluently can be as fun as watching television! Watching shows and movies in English is a great way to master the language. Characters usually speak in natural, conversational ways, letting you figure out how to form English sentences naturally.
When watching shows and movies in English, try:
- turning on your favorite shows and movies with English subtitles
- watching an English show or movie with subtitles in your native language
- choosing a nonfiction show with new vocabulary, such as a documentary or nature show
- finding shows where people speak quickly, like game shows or reality shows
Comedies are a great place to find conversational English. You can also watch children’s movies or television shows where characters speak more slowly and understandably.
You can find free English movies and TV shows on:
Listen to English podcasts on the go
If you don’t have the time to sit and watch something, listening to podcasts is a great option. You can find podcasts about any topic that interests you and listen while you’re in the car, on a walk, or waiting for an appointment. Listening to different speakers regularly can help you better understand different accents.
You can find free English podcasts almost on:
Play English video games
If you’re a gamer, playing video games in English immerses you in the language and lets you talk with native speakers. When characters or narrators speak, the words are often shown on the screen, so you can get in some reading practice, too. Playing video games in English is a fun and casual way to learn the language.
5. Record yourself speaking English
You’ve probably listened to recordings of other people speaking English. But how do you sound when you speak? When you’re learning how to improve your English speaking skills, a recording helps you identify where you’re doing well and where you can improve.
Some ways to use this technique are:
- recording yourself reading a paragraph about yourself as a beginner and then re-recording it in six months to see how you’ve improved
- recording yourself reading several questions with pauses in between, then answering back to the recording
- turning on a recorder while you’re speaking to another person, and analyzing any places where you hesitated or made mistakes
6. Learn and practice English idioms
Some people think English can be hard to learn because it has so many phrases that don’t always make sense to English learners. These phrases, also known as English idioms, are types of figurative language, or old sayings, and they don’t mean what they actually say. But studies show that knowing idioms is a way to measure language proficiency — and everyday English has a lot of idioms.
Practice using idioms in sentences when you’re speaking English. You’ll sound a lot more like a native English speaker if you say That was a piece of cake instead of That was very simple!
Learning how to speak English should include learning common idioms like:
- a piece of cake: it’s very easy
- once in a blue moon: rarely; not often
- cutting corners: doing something too quickly or poorly
- bent out of shape: unhappy about something
Sports idioms and phrases are a big part of English, so watching sports is a great way to learn English idioms, too. You can also find many English idioms in children’s books, television shows, and popular English songs.
7. Talk to yourself in English
The number one way to speak English fluently is to practice, even if you don’t have someone to practice with. Describe everything you do in a day in English, from waking up to eating lunch, all the way to brushing your teeth at night. When you are shopping at the supermarket, you can talk to yourself about the things you need to buy and where to find them.
Start with simple sentences like:
- I am taking a shower.
- Now I am driving to work.
- I will eat pasta for dinner.
Then you can move on to more complex sentences that narrate your day, such as:
- This morning I had pancakes for breakfast. Now I am driving in my car to work, where I will stay until 5:00 p.m.
- My sister is coming to visit today. We will go to a coffee shop, and then we will see a movie at the theater.
The best part of talking to yourself throughout the day is that no one can hear if you make mistakes. You can practice in every spare second, and become more fluent every day!
Sound like a native English speaker with Rosetta Stone
Learning English doesn’t need to be a challenge. With tools like the TruAccent speech recognition engine, Rosetta Stone makes your English learning journey smooth and enjoyable by providing real-time feedback. Learn more about how Rosetta Stone works to discover how to speak English fluently today!
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