Hi, I'm Georgiana, and I'm here to help you speak English fluently.
Thanks for joining me for another episode of the Speak English Now podcast.
Today, I talk about how to stop making mistakes when speaking English and how to improve writing.
Next, we'll practice fluency with a question and answer exercise.
If you want the complete courses with hours of audio designed to develop your fluency, don't hesitate.
Visit speakenglishpodcast.com slash courses.
There are several levels.
Okay, let's start.
Many students ask me over the years how to avoid making mistakes when speaking English.
And that's an excellent question.
As you know, the best way to become fluent in English is by listening to plenty of content that's easy for you to understand.
You should comprehend 90% of the content.
Otherwise, it is too difficult for you.
And even if you like novelty, the truth is that repeated listening to the same content helps you to automate your speech.
For example, listening to a story allows you to intuitively understand how sentences are constructed without having to learn grammar rules.
This way, you will be less insecure when speaking, because you will not have to constantly think about whether you're making mistakes.
To speak fluently, you have to do it without worrying whether you speak perfectly.
So, as I was saying, it is very important to listen to understandable content.
That is, depending on your English level.
It is necessary to select the content that is not difficult to understand.
A typical mistake is to listen to content that is too complex with the idea of trying to force progress.
It is always better to lower the level until it's easy to understand most of the words.
This way, the brain is in comprehension mode.
If it's too difficult, your brain eventually switches off and stops paying attention.
Students have also asked me if it's a bad idea to consult the grammar rules.
And how can you improve your English writing?
The typical student using my courses has already studied some English with some formal grammar and is frustrated because he or she cannot speak.
That's why I insist that to improve fluency, it is necessary to listen a lot and not rely on formal rules to produce the language.
Having this clear, there's nothing wrong with consulting a grammar book.
Regarding writing well, it is very important to read a lot.
And above all, to read text similar to what you want to write.
For example, if you want to write a text that describes things that happen nowadays, reading many newspaper articles may be a good idea.
That's the basis.
Read a lot.
Of course, practicing is also essential, but I would spend the time this way 90 reading and 10 writing.
If you're really motivated.
A good exercise is to read an article a couple of times and then try to write a summary without looking at the article.
If possible, using expressions and vocabulary specific to the article.
Then, consult the article and analyze what you could have done better.
On the other hand, we have to keep in mind that the process of learning a language involves making many mistakes, both spoken and written.
This is normal.
As you progress, you make fewer and fewer mistakes.
Over time you start speaking intuitively, just like a native speaker.
Most of them speak fluently without knowing the specific grammar rule.
They just know when a sentence sounds wrong.
This is the ability that we want to develop.
We can observe, for example, how children make quite a few mistakes And, after many hours of listening and reading, those diminish over time.
Many teachers try as much as possible to prevent the learner from making mistakes from the beginning.
But this ends up damaging spontaneous speaking, which is strongly linked to the development of fluency.
It also generates unnecessary anxiety.
If you have questions like this, you can send me a message through my website speakenglishpodcastcom.
I try to answer all messages.
Maybe I will make an episode to answer your question.
Okay, let's practice fluency with a mini story of questions and answers.
These exercises are always excellent for improving fluency.
The goal is for you to answer without mentally translating it into your native language.
That's why I recommend short and quick answers.
You can pause if necessary.
Come on, let's get started.
We need to listen to content that suits our current level of understanding.
Do we have to listen to very difficult content?
No, no, we don't have to listen to very difficult content.
We have to listen to content that suits our current level of understanding.
What has to be adapted to our current level of understanding?
The content.
The content we listen to.
What does the content have to be adapted to?
To our current level of... Our current level of understanding.
To our current level of comprehension.
To write correctly, we need to read many texts on topics similar to what we want to write.
Is it necessary to read Shakespeare's plays to write correctly?
No, not Shakespeare's plays.
It is necessary to read many texts on topics similar to what we want to write about.
Are the topics of the text similar or different from what we want to write?
Similar.
The topics of the text are similar.
Why is it necessary to do that?
To read correctly?
No, no.
Not to read correctly.
To write correctly.
It's necessary to read many texts with similar topics to write correctly.
To practice, we can read an article several times and try to write a summary.
How many times can we read an article to practice?
A couple of times.
We can read an article a couple of times to practice.
Why do we need to read an article?
To practice, we can read an article several times and try to write a summary.
Over time, you start speaking intuitively, just like a native speaker.
Do you start writing intuitively over time?
No no, over time you start speaking intuitively.
How do you start speaking automatically?
Yes, automatically or intuitively?
When do you start speaking intuitively?
Over time.
Over time you start speaking intuitively, just like a native speaker.
Do you start speaking by memorizing boring grammar rules?
No, no.
You don't start speaking intuitively by memorizing boring grammar rules.
Mistakes are part of the learning process and we will make fewer of them over time.
Are mistakes a negative thing?
No, not really.
Mistakes are part of the learning process.
Will we make fewer or more mistakes over time?
We will make fewer mistakes.
We will make fewer mistakes over time, not more.
What is part of the learning process?
Mistakes.
They are part of the learning process.
Okay, that's the end of this short exercise.
If you find it difficult, that's normal.
I recommend you repeat it several times, and if you want, on several different days.
As you can see through questions and answers, you can practice and improve your speech, just like in a real conversation.
It is one of the techniques that I use in my premium courses.
I recommend you to take a look at speakenglishpodcast.com slash courses.
Okay, we have reached the end of this episode.
Repetition will help you improve your English fluency.
So make sure you listen to my podcast episodes several times.
See you soon.
Bye-bye.
