English Fluency: 3 Types of Speaking Practice You Actually Need

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1. 0:00How many years have you been working to become more fluent in English?
2. 0:05Two years, seven years, 24 years?
3. 0:09And why is it that you can feel fluent in one conversation and then completely stuck in another? For example, perhaps you can answer simple questions easily,
4. 0:21but when someone asks you to explain an idea for several minutes, you lose your train of thought.
5. 0:28Or perhaps you can tell a clear story one-to-one.
6. 0:32But then when it's a group discussion and the conversation moves more quickly, you can't find the right moment to speak up and all your thoughts
7. 0:42become this kind of chaotic mess, so you just stay silent.
8. 0:46These unexpected changes in the moment don't mean that your English level has suddenly changed.
9. 0:53It means that different speaking situations ask you to use different speaking skills. A quick conversation, for example,
10. 1:03with the neighbor is not the same as speaking for several minutes, giving an update at work.
11. 1:10And neither of those is the same as joining a fast-moving group discussion to develop fluency for real life.
12. 1:19You need to understand the differences and the specific skills you need for each one of these speaking situations.
13. 1:28And once you know what those skills are, you can make sure that your speaking practice prepares you for the quick chats with a neighbor, the moments when you wanna tell a story,
14. 1:40and the discussions that happen at the dinner table with all your English-speaking in-laws. So in this lesson, you're going to learn what English fluency really means,
15. 1:52particularly in those different situations and why you might feel fluent in one situation, but not another.
16. 1:58I'm also going to share the three kinds of speaking situations you need to prepare for if you want to communicate with greater ease and clarity in your English.
17. 2:11So let's start with what fluency actually means.
18. 2:14The word fluency in language learning and research has a specific meaning.
19. 2:21Speaking fluently describes how smoothly and continuously you speak. This includes your speaking speed,
20. 2:30how often and how long you pause, how often you repeat, restart, or correct yourself.
21. 2:37But fluency does not mean speaking as quickly as possible, and it does not mean never pausing or never making a mistake or
22. 2:47always having the exact perfect word. Fluent speakers pause.
23. 2:52They sometimes correct themselves in the moment.
24. 2:56And when they can't remember a word, they find another way to explain the idea.
25. 3:01The important question is whether those pauses and problems repeatedly stop your message or make it difficult for someone to
26. 3:11follow what you're saying. So if your goal is to speak English fluently, then the focus should not be perfect uninterrupted speech.
27. 3:22Instead, the goal should be speech that continues with enough ease and flow for you to express your message and for your listener to follow it. Now,
28. 3:32here's where fluency becomes a little more complex.
29. 3:36You may be fluent in one situation and then struggle in another. Again, because each speaking situation may require different
30. 3:48speaking skills. For real life English, I think it helps to think about three broad kinds of speaking situations.
31. 3:57First, there are what I call everyday exchanges.
32. 4:00These are quick back and forth conversations, the kinds of conversations you have with your neighbor when you're walking your dog, a coworker when having coffee before a meeting,
33. 4:12someone you see at the grocery store or a person you meet while traveling.
34. 4:16And then second, there are moments when you need to speak at length.
35. 4:20You may need to tell a story, explain a problem, give an update, or share your opinion for several minutes. And third, there are group discussions where several people are speaking,
36. 4:32the conversation moves quickly, and you need to find the right moment to join, respond, or return to a point that was shared earlier.
37. 4:41In each one of these, fluency describes how smoothly and continuously you speak,
38. 4:48and getting the right speaking skills will help you know what to do in each of those situations. For example, in those quick everyday exchanges,
39. 4:58it means knowing how much to say in the moment and if you should ask another question to continue the conversation. When you speak at length,
40. 5:08it might mean organizing your ideas or finding another way to explain something when you forget a word in the moment.
41. 5:17And then in a group discussion, it might mean knowing how to join the conversation or how to respond when someone interrupts you. And to do all of this fluently, you need two things.
42. 5:29You need the skills to handle the situation and you need the practice using those skills without long pauses that repeatedly interrupt
43. 5:39your message. In a moment, we're gonna look more closely at what each one of those three speaking situations requires of you.
44. 5:49But if this already sounds like something you need for your English, I want you to know that this is the exact framework of my full fluency school program.
45. 5:58I designed Fluency School around the real speaking situations where you want to communicate with greater ease, clarity, and confidence,
46. 6:07taking part in everyday exchanges, speaking at length, and participating in discussions. Throughout the program, you develop and practice the different speaking skills that
47. 6:19each situation requires so that you are better prepared to use your English fluently across those real life conversations,
48. 6:29not just in one kind of speaking situation or not just when you're alone with one person. Now, if that sounds like something you're looking for,
49. 6:38I'll share a link in the notes below where you can learn more about fluency school.
50. 6:43And now let's look more closely at the first of those speaking situations, the ones I call every day exchanges and the exact skills
51. 6:53you need to be practicing. So first, the everyday exchanges, those super short, quick back and forth conversations that happen almost every day.
52. 7:05These are the conversations we have with our neighbors, our friends on the telephone when we just have a few moments, or when we're getting to know someone before a yoga class.
53. 7:14These are the same quick conversations we might have with a coworker just before our meeting starts.
54. 7:20This also includes those moments when someone you barely know makes a casual comment and you're not really sure how to handle it in the moment.
55. 7:31What makes these conversations so challenging is that you usually have very little time to prepare. You don't know what to expect.
56. 7:39So you need to understand in the moment what the other person means and then decide how much to say,
57. 7:47how to respond and how to notice whether the conversation is supposed to continue or end.
58. 7:54And you need to figure all that out within just a few seconds. In this case, the challenge is not speaking for a long time,
59. 8:03it's having the ability to move through several quick questions and answers without becoming stuck at the very first moment or in the very first answer.
60. 8:13And this is why you might feel comfortable answering a question in English like, "How was your weekend?" But then still feel unsure of what to say or ask next.
61. 8:24It's also why practicing longer answers about familiar topics does not always prepare you for these brief exchanges.
62. 8:34I want you to think for a moment about your own speaking practice.
63. 8:38Do you regularly practice short, unplanned conversations where you need to listen and respond immediately?
64. 8:46Do you practice continuing after your first answer?
65. 8:51And do you practice noticing when to ask more or.
66. 8:55When the exchange should naturally finish?
67. 8:58If most of your speaking practice gives you time to prepare or someone guides you from one question to the next,
68. 9:06you may not be practicing the specific skills you need for these everyday exchanges.
69. 9:13So what does that mean for your English fluency practice?
70. 9:17It means that you need to include brief, unplanned conversations.
71. 9:22You need chances to respond in the moment, to continue after the first answer, and to notice what is happening in the conversation,
72. 9:31what is expected of you at each moment. But of course, these are not the only conversations we have in English.
73. 9:38Sometimes you do need to speak for a longer period of time, like when you want to tell a story about your last vacation, explain a problem that you're having among your team, give an update,
74. 9:49or share an opinion. And that brings us to the second speaking situation, speaking at length. In these situations, you need to decide what information to include,
75. 10:02what order to share it in, and how to connect one idea to the next. And at every step, you need to make sure that your speech is smooth,
76. 10:12that your statements are clear.
77. 10:15And if in the moment you forget a word or lose your train of thought, you need to know how to smoothly recover. So once again,
78. 10:24I want you to think about your current English speaking practice.
79. 10:28Do you regularly practice talking about one topic for two or three minutes, adding on important details?
80. 10:37Do you practice without reading or preparing the entire answer in advance?
81. 10:43And do you practice continuing even if you forget a word or lose your train of thought? For English fluency when speaking at length,
82. 10:53your practice needs to include time to organize your ideas and speak about just one of them for several minutes without reading a prepared answer.
83. 11:04And then of course, there is one more challenge, speaking up when several people are involved in the conversation.
84. 11:12In a group discussion, you don't always get to control who speaks next, how quickly the conversation moves or when the topic changes,
85. 11:21and you need to listen to several other people.
86. 11:24You need to follow their ideas and decide when to speak up. Of course, sometimes you have an idea, but then someone else speaks first.
87. 11:34Sometimes the conversation moves to a new topic before you're ready.
88. 11:38And sometimes you begin speaking, but someone else interrupts you.
89. 11:44And this is why you might speak clearly in a one-on-one conversation, but then really struggle to take part in a group discussion.
90. 11:53In these moments, there are more distractions and the challenge is not only finding the words, but you also need to follow everything that's happening.
91. 12:02Find those right moments to speak up and stay involved as the conversation changes.
92. 12:09So if all your English speaking practice happens with just one teacher or one partner, group discussions may still feel unfamiliar and difficult,
93. 12:19even if your English is strong.
94. 12:22To be more fluent in those group conversations, you need opportunities to practice with several people.
95. 12:30You need to practice joining conversations, responding to different speakers, and continuing when the discussion doesn't go exactly as you
96. 12:39expected. So I want to go back to the question I started with.
97. 12:44How long have you been working on your English fluency?
98. 12:47And does it feel like you've been working for years without making real progress? If so, the question is not simply,
99. 12:56am I practicing enough? A better question is, am I practicing the kind of speaking I need for my real life?
100. 13:05Maybe right now, you get a lot of practice answering questions just one-on-one, but you get very little practice with those quick,
101. 13:14everyday conversations where you have to make quick decisions, respond in the moment, and know what is expected of you.
102. 13:24Should the conversation continue, should you add more, or should you allow the conversation to end? Or perhaps right now, you can speak about a familiar topic, like an area of expertise,
103. 13:36but you rarely practice explaining a new idea for several minutes or having more casual conversations where we talk about favorite movies,
104. 13:46podcasts, and vacations. If any of this is true for you, I want you to know that you don't need to go back and start over again.
105. 13:53This isn't about relearning grammar. You've already spent years learning, and it doesn't mean memorizing a whole new list of vocabulary.
106. 14:02What I want you to do is think about, to notice where you still get stuck in those English conversations,
107. 14:09and then make sure that you practice speaking for those specific situations.
108. 14:16Practice the kind of skills you need to succeed and be fluent.
109. 14:21So think about this for a moment.
110. 14:23Which of these speaking situations is most difficult for you right now?
111. 14:29Is it those everyday exchanges that are super unexpected?
112. 14:34Is it speaking at length, adding on details and explaining fully?
113. 14:39Or is it being a part of those group discussions?
114. 14:42Your answer gives you a much clearer idea of what you need to practice and focus on next. Even better, once you know the.
115. 14:51Answers to those questions, your fluency becomes a much clearer goal.
116. 14:56Now, you're no longer simply trying to speak more. Instead, you can now focus on the conversations you actually need to have and the
117. 15:05skills that are gonna help you be a part of them fluently. Again, this is exactly what we do in fluency school.
118. 15:13You learn the speaking skills you need for everyday exchanges, speaking at length, and participating in those group discussions,
119. 15:22and then you practice those real skills in real conversations so you are better prepared to use them when you need to in your daily life.
120. 15:32If you're ready to build that kind of fluency, the kind of fluency you need for real conversations, I would love to have you join me inside Fluency School,
121. 15:42and I'll share a link with details for more in the notes below. As always, if you found this lesson helpful, don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you're watching or listening from
122. 15:54today. Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to next time.