YOUR ENGLISH SUCCESS TODAY
  • Home
  • About us
    • Our mission
    • School policies
  • Courses and Fees
    • General English
    • Travel English
    • English Speaking Course
    • English Speaking and Writing Course
    • IELTS >
      • IELTS Writing Task 2 Correction Service
      • IELTS Speaking Course
      • IELTS Speaking Exam Preparation Course
      • Mini IELTS Speaking Part 2 Course - 2019 Topics
      • IELTS Speaking Part 2 Course – 2019–2020 Topics
    • Business English Speaking Course
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • English Language Blog
    • Blog Posts by Category
  • IELTS

English Language Blog

ALL FREE LESSONS

English Study Habits: Why your English is not fluent

7/1/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
According to our survey, the majority of English learners say they need to improve their speaking and listening skills. Even though most of them have been learning English for over 5 years, they still find speaking difficult. 

When they say that their English is not good, they usually mean that they cannot speak the language very well. 

In response to the question 'Where have you studied English?', 80% answered 'at school'.
The other options were: in a language academy, at work, by myself, or abroad. 

In response to the question 'What do you find most effective when learning English?', 90% answered 'developing speaking fluency'. 
'Working on new vocabulary' got only 50%. 

English learners tend to feel shy and embarrassed when it comes to speaking. 

Here is what learners of English usually say: 

  • I'm not satisfied with my speaking skills. 
  • I want to improve my spoken English and pronunciation. 
  • I have a terrible accent. 
  • I understand the question but I can't answer immediately. 
  • I always use the same sentences and I can't find the words to express myself better. 

​
Why do you use the same sentences and cannot think of other ways to express yourself? 

You may be one of those learners who read grammar rules and do exercises regularly, but this does not mean that you will easily access this knowledge while speaking. It is one thing to read a rule and do exercises to practise, and another thing to use the grammar structure automatically.

The reason why you struggle with using a large vocabulary and more complex sentences is because you have gained that knowledge, but you have not made it part of the existing one. In other words, you seldom access what you have learned. You may practise by doing different exercises, but when it comes to using that knowledge in spoken or written language, you never do that. 

Let's say you have recently studied irregular verbs. 

Simple example: go - went - gone/been 

Students often forget to use 'went' instead of 'go' when they talk about something that happened in the past. 

To the question, 'What did you do at the weekend?', they would reply whatever they did using 'go'. 

You may have spent a few hours trying to remember every single irregular verb. Yes, you have that knowledge in your head and it really is there, but you still do not use it automatically.

You need to practise using the verb form in order to be able to access this information naturally. 

The same explanation is valid for your range of vocabulary. You cannot think of synonyms of words and phrases to express what you are trying to say because you have not made them part of your active vocabulary. 

Note: In order for a word to be part of your active vocabulary, you need to have used it at least 20 times. Just writing it on paper won't help. You need to use it actively in speaking or writing. 


Is your communication in English effective? 

Foreign people will probably understand what you are saying in English even if you haven't learned grammar very well. You can rely on different strategies to express yourself. 


Examples of communication strategies: 
  • inventing words or phrases: 'investition' instead of 'investment' 
  • using gestures and mime to convey the meaning 
  • language switch: saying a word in your native language when you don't know the English one 
  • being vague (not precise or exact) by using words like: stuff (like that), thing(s), kind of, sort of, a bit, a bit of, etc. 
  • using more words than necessary, instead of speaking or writing in a clear, direct way: 'They have small work time' to mean They work part-time. 
  • asking for help when you can't express something in words: 
    Speaker 1: Young people need to learn how to save money, because if they buy expensive products, the money will end or finish soon. How can I say that? 
    Speaker 2: You can say that the money won't last, so it means you've spent it all. 
    Speaker 1: Ah, OK. 


It is important to know that these strategies usually maintain the illusion that your English is fluent and they can buy you valuable time to process the information when having conversations. 

On the other hand, you may end up relying too much on strategies instead of improving your English competence. There is something called 'interlanguage', which is the current version of the language you are learning. Interlanguage is often influenced by your native language and it usually changes over time, but it can also fossilise when you do not have the chance to improve. 

Most English learners achieve early fluency by using the little language they have. This can prevent them from improving because they overuse memorised words and chunks of information, incorrect word order, throwing in vocabulary to express themselves. 

​
Will studying grammar guarantee you speaking English naturally? 

Even if you study grammar, it doesn't mean you will be able to speak English automatically in face-to-face interactions. What can really help you improve this skill is interactive real-time talk. 

​Regardless of how much vocabulary and grammar you know, you will still feel unprepared in the real world. You need to have opportunities to practise speaking spontaneously. 

​
SUMMARY 

The main difficulties English learners-speakers face: 
  • they don't have enough knowledge 
  • their knowledge is not automated and this affects their fluency 


​English Study Habits: 
How to learn new vocabulary 
How to remember vocabulary 
How to use a dictionary effectively 

Learn the difference between some English words: 
Confusing verbs: Say vs. Tell 
Confusing verbs: Speak vs. Talk 
Confusing words: Come vs. Go 
Confusing words: Bring vs. Take 


​Please LIKE and SHARE with friends!

DO YOU WANT TO PRACTISE SPEAKING ENGLISH IN A GROUP?

Practise speaking English with other learners of English for 7 days.
Record a voice message of up to 10 minutes and share it with others for feedback.
Interaction is encouraged, so you can learn from others.
COME AND JOIN US!
7-Day Group English Speaking Course

IMPROVE THE WAY YOU STUDY ENGLISH

English Study Planners 2019
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Your English Success Today is happy to share some free lessons with you. We want to help you improve your English language skills through this blog. Please feel free to leave a comment and share this blog with your friends and colleagues who are also learning English. We hope you enjoy our lessons. 

    No copying 

    You must not modify, adapt, copy, store, transfer or circulate the contents of this website under any other branding or as part of any other product. You may not print out material for any commercial purpose or resale. 

    Copyright © Your English Success Today 

    Picture


    ​NEW!

    IELTS
    SPEAKING
    PART 2


    2019 & 2020
    Exam Topics

    practice
    ​&
    feedback


    More Info


    ​IELTS Speaking Exam Preparation Course
    More Info

    Thanks for visiting the blog! :) 


    Lots of images on Facebook! 

    Fast reply to emails: 1 - 8 hrs

    ALL LESSONS

    Archives

    October 2020
    June 2020
    February 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Business English
    Collocations
    Confusing Words
    Discourse Markers
    English Conversation
    English Study Habits
    Festivals And Celebrations
    Grammar
    Idioms
    IELTS
    IELTS Speaking Part 1
    IELTS Speaking Part 2
    IELTS Speaking Part 3
    IELTS Vocabulary
    Phrasal Verbs
    Phrases
    Prepositions
    Story Time
    Theme Lessons
    Travel English
    Vocabulary Bank

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    ​Receive our Newsletter

    Do you want to receive English lessons via email? Subscribe and we will take care of that.

Subscribe
Picture
We won't share your email address and you can unsubscribe any time. 

Online Courses

General English 
​​Travel English 
​English Speaking Course
English Speaking and Writing Course

IELTS Speaking Course 
IELTS Speaking Exam Preparation 

Business English Speaking Course 

Company

About Us
Our Mission
School Policies 

Support

Contact Us
​FAQ 

​Our Contact Info: 

​​Skype: yourenglishsuccesstoday

Email: 
yourenglishsuccesstoday@gmail.com
You can contact us on Facebook, Instagram, Skype or via email.
© COPYRIGHT 2016 - 2022, Your English Success Today  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About us
    • Our mission
    • School policies
  • Courses and Fees
    • General English
    • Travel English
    • English Speaking Course
    • English Speaking and Writing Course
    • IELTS >
      • IELTS Writing Task 2 Correction Service
      • IELTS Speaking Course
      • IELTS Speaking Exam Preparation Course
      • Mini IELTS Speaking Part 2 Course - 2019 Topics
      • IELTS Speaking Part 2 Course – 2019–2020 Topics
    • Business English Speaking Course
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • English Language Blog
    • Blog Posts by Category
  • IELTS