Discover the top 5 fluency practice strategies to become fluent, including speaking with feedback, daily speaking on varied topics, imitation, listening and transcribing, and challenging yourself. The importance of confronting fears and engaging in uncomfortable situations to boost fluency is also discussed.
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Quick takeaways
Speaking with feedback is an effective technique to improve fluency by receiving guidance on specific areas that hinder clarity and coherence.
Answering different questions every day helps boost vocabulary and confidence in speaking about various topics.
Deep dives
Practice Strategy 1: Speaking with Feedback
Speaking with feedback is an effective technique to build confidence and improve fluency. Students are encouraged to speak freely about their daily lives and receive feedback from their teacher or coach on specific areas that hinder clarity and coherence. This practice focuses on identifying key elements that need improvement, such as pronunciation or noticeable grammar mistakes. For self-study, students can use voice-to-text technology or writing assistants like Word Tune to analyze their spoken language.
Practice Strategy 2: Answering Different Questions Daily
Answering different questions every day helps expand vocabulary and boost confidence in speaking about various topics. By going beyond familiar conversations, students challenge and improve their ability to discuss unfamiliar subjects. Students can Google conversation topics or controversial questions for a list of prompts, record themselves responding, and listen back to evaluate their fluency and vocabulary use. Recording can simulate speaking in front of others, and video recording adds an extra layer of practice.
Practice Strategy 3: Imitation and Shadowing
Imitation and shadowing exercises help students absorb English holistically, improving grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and pronunciation. Students choose a speaker, video, or TV show they like and play a segment, pausing to repeat or shadow the spoken lines. If available, having the script aids note-taking and a more active learning experience. Consistent use of this strategy has shown positive results in language development.
What is the best way to become fluent? Practice! But not every practice is equally effective. In this episode, I’m sharing with you my top 5 fluency practice strategies that my coaches and I have been using with our students for years, and that have gotten great results!
Here’s a short recap of my 5 fluency practice strategies: 1. Speaking with feedback (even when you don’t have anyone to give you feedback) 2. Daily speaking practice on varied topics 3. Imitation 4. Listening & Transcribing 5. Challenging yourself