流暢に話す練習を、日常生活の一部にする方法に着目します。
What can you do to practice becoming fluent?
Lesson 1 covered what it means to be fluent. This lesson discusses how to get there. To become fluent, students need to practice both verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and this requires some “muscle memory.” Practice makes perfect!!
In the past few lessons, we discussed how fluency means being able to speak smoothly and confidently; show emotions and enthusiasm by using intonation, stress and rhythm; use pauses effectively instead of non-word sounds; and pay attention to non-verbal communication. How can you make practicing fluency a part of your everyday life?
Discuss with your student and write out what they come up with.
- Watch native speakers as they speak—how are they using their voices, their hands, their eyes? Copy them!
- Watch movies and TV shows in English. How do they say things? What tone or gestures are they using?
- Listen for pauses and non-word sounds when someone is presenting in English, then reflect. What was good? Was anything bad?
- Notice your colleagues as they speak. How often do they use their hands?
- When you’re on a video call in English, and you need to present or contribute, watch yourself as you talk. Reflect—were you sitting still? How did you sound?
Can you think of any other ways to practice?
Noticing how others speak and copying them is a great way to practice. For example, a student merely watching the teacher use their hands as they explain something, and then trying to copy it, is just as important as repeating the tone or voice of the teacher. I also watched hours of Full House and Friends, picking up words and phrases, and how they said things. Another way to practice is by watching yourself during a video call (for example, during a lesson). How are you communicating?
- A Drama
Practice the script below a few times with your teacher, then act it out.
Manager: Hi, Bob! How’s it going?
You: Great! How are you?
Manager: I’m fine, thanks. You?
You: I’m doing alright.
Manager: So I called this meeting today to discuss your end-of-year performance review. How do you think you’ve done this year? What went well? What didn’t?
You: The year went by quickly, but I managed to get two large projects done, and overall, my clients were happy with my performance. I’d like to work on getting on more finance-related projects, just to get some more experience. I’m not very confident in that. But I’ve been reading books on finance and doing a course at the university...
- A Story
Tell your teacher about the BEST experience you’ve ever had. Listen to their feedback, and tell them the same story, again. Listen to their feedback, and tell them the story for a third time. Did the story and how you expressed it change at all?
At-home study: Read "How to Speak English Fluently: 33 Easy Tips to Reach Your Language Goals" from FluentU for a review of everything you've learned in the Mastering Fluency course!