10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

by Jason R. Levine

What does it take to becomefluent?

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

2/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

The Internet is teeming with suggestions, instructions, and procedures for how to speak fluent English. Its overwhelming for learners and
teachers to tryto make sense of it all.
Its especially difficult to know if the source of information is a person you can trust, someone with extensive knowledge and experience in
English language teaching.
To cut through the noise, I asked a number of the worlds leading language learning experts for their opinions. These are people I have been
following, collaborating with, and learning from over the course of my 15-year career.
34 of them were kind enough to help me. I asked them to answer the following question in 140 or fewer characters.
What is the most important thing to achieve English fluency?
My objectives were (1) to provide direct advice from a diverse group of specialists in the field and (2) to create a short list of
recommendations based on the responses I received.

What is English fluency?

Many popular dictionaries begin with this entry: The ability to speak or write a foreign language easily and accurately.
Scott Thornbury, one of our 34 experts, had this to say: Fluency is animpression a speaker creates, and may only accidentally correlate
withaccuracy, speech rate, grammatical complexity, etc.
Interestingly, a number of these same dictionaries offer this as their secondentry: The ability to express oneself easily and articulately.
The notion of articulate expression is key, I believe, to the impression Scott Thornbury is talking about.
When English learners ask me about fluency, I usually say: Fluent users of English can be easily understood by readers and listeners; and they
understand most of what they read and hear.

Now, over to our experts:

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

3/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

What is the most important thing to achieve English fluency?

FluencyTip #1

Andy Boon

Give students a purpose to speak/write. Help them find the language to break the
silence/empty page. Then, build from there.

Andy teaches at a university in Japan, has a PhD, and writes articles, books and graded readers.Follow Andyon Twitter.

FluencyTip #2
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

4/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto

Focus on a bit of language that interests you, practice until you know it, and then use it
until you own it.

Barbara is sometimes a teacher, trainer, or author, but always a learner. Follow Barbaraon Twitter.

FluencyTip #3

Cecilia Lemos

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

5/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Let go of self-consciousness; speak as much as you can. We make manymistakes when

speaking our L1, but that doesnt stop us from speaking.

Cecilia is an English teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer, passionate about what she does.Follow Ceciliaon Twitter.

FluencyTip #4

Chuck Sandy

Practice builds accuracy. Accuracy builds confidence. Confidence buildsfluency.

Chuck is an author, teacher trainer, and community builder. Hes a cofounder of http://iTDi.pro and curator of the new
http://GalleryTeachers.com.Follow Chuckon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

6/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #5

David Deubelbeiss

The language must matter, be important-real and not an exercise. Interact with messages
you genuinely want to hear and understand.

David is a teacher trainer, author, passionate ed.techpreneur, and Director of Education, EnglishCentral. Follow Davidon Twitter.

FluencyTip #6

David Dodgson

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

7/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Engage with English everywhere-music, books, games, signs, t-shirt slogans make notes
& take it back to class, share, & collaborate!

David is a language school coordinator, EAL tutor, and teacher trainer based in Gabon.Follow Davidon Twitter.

FluencyTip #7

Drew Badger

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

8/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Learn like natives and youll speak like one.

Drew is The Worlds #1 English Fluency Guide and the co-founder of EnglishAnyone.com.Follow Drewon Twitter.

FluencyTip #8

Eric Kane

Learning to communicate in a new language is fun when you collaborate with others.
Create a network and celebrate your successes.

Eric is a teacher, teacher trainer and founder of ELF Learning, a childrens content creator based in Japan.Follow Ericon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

9/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #9

Fiona Mauchline

Willingness to take a leap into the unknown, geographically, personally, linguistically

(experiment, make mistakes). Accuracys another story.

Fiona is an ELT writer, itinerant teacher trainer and, of course, teacher. She blogs (https://macappella.wordpress.com/) and writes articles
for the British Council, IATEFL TDSIG and ELT Magazine.Follow Fionaon Twitter.

FluencyTip #10

Jack Askew

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

10/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Know why you want to reach fluency, set a goal, make a plan, and takeconsistent action
every day.

Jack helps English learners get on the road to fluency.Follow Jackon Twitter.

FluencyTip #11

Jason West

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

11/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Dont waste your time, hope and money on a classroom course. Prepareproperly and do
focused speaking practice with friendly non-teachers.

Jason is creator of the worlds first social media English course.Follow Jasonon Twitter.

FluencyTip #12

Jennifer Lebedev

A language learner must commit to a realistic study plan that makes use ofquality
resources and allows for meaningful practice.

Jennifer has been teaching English and creating instructional content for nearly 20 years.Follow Jenniferon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

12/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #13

Juan Alberto Lopez Uribe

The #1 thing to achieve fluency is to live language through meaningful anddynamic

interactions in a caring, challenging, and interesting environment.

Juan is a Teacher Educator in the area of affective language learning.Follow Juanon Twitter.

FluencyTip #14

Ken Beare
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

13/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Be patient, make many mistakes, speaking every day for fifteen minutes isbetter than
once or twice a week, use your ear and your brain.

Kenneth has taught online and off for over 30 years, as well as developing a wide range of interactive English learning materials. Follow
Kenon Twitter.

FluencyTip #15

Kevin Stein

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

14/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Fluency requires automaticity which requires familiarity. Practice languageyou know.

Because fluency = confidence to take the next step.

Kevin is a teacher who believes that learning is something that students and teachers create together through curiosity and respect.Follow
Kevinon Twitter.

FluencyTip #16

Larry Ferlazzo

Students need to feel safe to make mistakes & realize errors are wonderful learning
opportunities and not something to be avoided.

Larry teaches English Language Learners at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California and writes a weekly post for The New
York Times on teaching ELLs. He has written eight books on education issues. Follow Larryon Twitter.
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

15/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #17

Luke Meddings

Fluency isnt the same as accuracy. Hesitation, reformulation and non-standard grammar
are part of everyday English, so relax its normal!

Luke is an international speaker, award-winning author and teacher trainer; he co-founded Dogme in ELT with Scott Thornbury, started The
Round with Lindsay Clandfield and blogs at lukemeddings.com.Follow Lukeon Twitter.

FluencyTip #18

Mau Buchler
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

16/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

You have to find out what kind of English speaker you are.

Mau is the creator of www.tripppin.com.Follow Mauon Twitter.

FluencyTip #19

Michael Marzio

Smartest starting point is intensive listening on very regular basis, with pictures or video
providing some semblance of context or meaning.
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

17/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Michael started making educational video in the sixties and hasnt stopped yet.Follow Mikeon Twitter.

FluencyTip #20

Minoo Short

Fluency is about building reflexes, and reflexes are built by listening to and repeating
common collocations and phrases.

Minoo is the founder of Anglo-Link. Her videos for English learning have been viewed over 40 million times.Follow Minooon Twitter.

FluencyTip #21
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

18/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Nik Peachey

You need to have a reason to learn that will impact your life.

Nik is Head of Learning at EnglishUp, an online school for English language learners.Follow Nik on Twitter.

FluencyTip #22

Paul Maglione

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

19/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

You cant learn a language unless you start by maximizing your input. Hearing and seeing
leads to understanding, then skills building, and finally proficiency.

Paul co-founded English Attack in 2009 with the vision of bringing the power of online entertainment to English language learning.Follow
Paul on Twitter.

FluencyTip #23

Philip Shigeo Brown

Know what kind of fluency you wish to achieve then take decisive steps to move towards
your goal, stay motivated, and enjoy getting in flow.

Philip is a Lifelong learner & Coeditor of Exploring EFL Fluency in Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).Follow Philip on Twitter.
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

20/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #24

Rachel Smith

Repetition!

Rachels How-To videos on English Pronunciation have been viewed over 25 million times.Follow Rachel on Twitter.

FluencyTip #25

Rob Howard

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

21/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Just express yourself! Speak up and say what you feel tomake your opinion understood
as precisely and easily as possible.

Rob is the owner of EFLtalks and Online Language Center.Follow Robon Twitter.

FluencyTip #26

Scott Thornbury

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

22/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Learn some useful sentence starters. Act as if you are fluent, even if yourenot. Use your
hands.

Scott teaches on the MA TESOL at The New School, NY.Follow Scotton Twitter.

FluencyTip #27

Sean Banville

Read, listen to, talk or write about things you are really interested in, thingsyou love to
read, listen to, etc. in your own language.

Sean makes the lessons for Breaking News English.com (and 9 other websites).Follow Seanon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

23/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #28

Shelly Sanchez Terrell

We learn language by communicating with others. Connect on the WorldWide Web with
other language learners!

Shelly is an author, international speaker, education thought-provoker, elearning specialist and the founder of 30Goals.com.Follow Shellyon
Twitter.

FluencyTip #29

Stephen Krashen
The only way to develop fluency is to get plenty of compellingcomprehensible input.
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

24/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Comprehensible input is the cause: Fluency is theresult.

Stephen is professor emeritus at the University of Southern California. He is a linguist, educational researcher, and activist.Follow
Stephenon Twitter.

FluencyTip #30

Steven Herder

Data and determination Decide to focus on your fluency. Record yourself,count words
per minute and track your progress youll improve!

Steven is an EFL teacher in Japan exploring leadership with young college minds.Follow Stevenon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

25/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

FluencyTip #31

Sylvia Guinan

Learn though multi-media, multi-sensory, hands-on social fun.

Sylvia is an English teacher, writer and blogger who uses brain-friendly techniques to help students and teachers around the world.Follow
Sylviaon Twitter.

FluencyTip #32

Tyson Seburn

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

26/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Involving yourself with the language at every appropriate opportunity helps build
awareness and confidence needed for fluency.

Tyson is the author of Academic Reading Circles (http://bit.ly/round-arc), #tleap founder, and EAP instructor at the University of
Toronto.Follow Tysonon Twitter.

FluencyTip #33

Vicki Hollett

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

27/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Whats #1 to achieve fluency? M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N-!

Vicki is a teacher, teacher trainer, writer, and video producer at Simple English Videos.Follow Vickion Twitter.

FluencyTip #34

Vicky Loras

In my opinion, fluency comes with repetition and listening to speakers of theL2 all the
time around you!

Vicky is the Co-Founder and owner of the Loras Network, an English school in Switzerland.Follow Vickyon Twitter.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

28/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

What are the essentials?

By focusing on the important ways these 34 tips converge and overlap, I was able to create my short list of recommendations. Im calling it 7
Essentials For English Fluency.

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

29/43

10/19/2015

http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

30/43

10/19/2015

34 experts offer their tips for how to speak English fluently

Now, over to you.

As a learner or teacher of English, do any of these tips resonate with your experience? If you have a favorite (or favorites), please share them!
Do you agree with the 7 Essentials For English Fluency? Would you add to the list? Delete from it? Are any of the suggestions more (or less)
important than others? Do you think its possible to achieve true consensus on this issue?
I highly value your feedback and hope to stimulate a discussion among learners and teachers alike. Please let me know what you think in the
comments below.
Finally, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the 34 specialists for agreeing to contribute to this article. The English language teaching community
is a giving and vibrant one, and their participation was further evidence of this. These individuals are doing extraordinary work as teachers,
researchers, and writers. I look forward to continuing to draw inspiration from them.
http://fluencymc.com/speak-fluent-english/

31/43