Despite what many do-it-yourself language learning
programs may promise, fluency in any language takes practice, practice, and,
oh, did I mention-practice? This is not a fast process. But if you keep at it,
you will see results.
Practice speaking and listening to chunks of English. With this method, you are listening for phrases not just single words. When we learned our native languages, we didn’t have to analyze each phrase word-by-word.
For example:
“My name is . .
.” You learn by observing and repeating this phrase as a way to
introduce oneself. You learn this phrase as one chunk, one bite, without
stopping to translate “my,” “name,” and finally “is.”
Study scenarios. Practice a dialogue that might occur in
your everyday life. When you go to the grocery store, you can chat up the
clerk.
You (nervous, perhaps): “How are you?”
[Again, this is a chunk you’ve
learned to use as a part of a greeting or chit chat.]
Clerk: “Fine, thank you. And yourself?”
You: “Fine, thank you.”
There. You’ve become a little more fluent with just a little bit of practice.
The next time, ask the deli clerk:
You: “How much is a pound of potato salad?”
[Never mind that there may be a price tag on
the potato salad. You are practicing the
phrase “how much is,” and that little bit of work will improve your fluency.]
After the deli clerk answers, you might add with a smile:
You: “Thank you. I am practicing my English.”
I can almost guarantee that the clerk will smile back.
