Speaking Fluently by Speaking Up

Do you feel stuck at speaking in English? Are you wondering why you are struggling to move up to an advanced level? 

The practice necessary to move up from beginner to intermediate level is different from the practice needed to move from intermediate to advanced level. At the beginner level you have to build your foundational skills. This means you need to memorize vocabulary, understand the basics of grammar, and train your ear by listening. At the beginner level, it can be exciting to make progress quickly by focusing on these foundational building exercises. 

But at the intermediate level, you do not progress quickly by continuing to study this way. Knowing more grammar, memorizing vocabulary, or doing many listening exercises alone will not help you to progress to the advanced level. To get to the advanced level, you need to be a skilled communicator.

My advice is simple. You need to speak up in English as often as possible and get honest feedback to make self-improvement. The more you speak, the better you will become and the excitement of making progress will return to you.  

Having taught hundreds of students and studied languages myself, I understand why some English learners are hesitant to speak up. When I first studied Spanish, I worried about making mistakes with pronunciation and grammar. It’s hard to have the confidence to jump into the conversation if you do not understand everything that is being said. It is understandable for learners to think that it might be best to wait, and avoid embarrassment, until your foundational skills improve before joining in a conversion. 

But this is a mistake. Waiting only delays your progress. The best thing to do is to jump right into the conversation, even if you make mistakes. All of the learners that I taught and observed progress quickly by doing this. 

This is why we have designed the New Voice Learning app to allow learners to jump right into practicing speaking with every lesson. You can record your voice to see how well your pronunciation sounds, compared to the example by a native speaker. The app generated feedback will give you a score on your pronunciation, cadence (speed), and vocabulary usage in context. You can also choose to share your responses with the community, to get honest feedback from others on the platform.

If you are stuck at the intermediate level, even if your English skills are not perfect yet, consider changing your approach to focus on speaking up often. Learning and building confidence to speak up comes from frequent practice. Come practice with New Voice Learning. You are welcome here.