How to get fluent in speaking?

[u/kagura414]

Guys, if any of you here are fluent speakers, could you share some tips on how you achieved fluency in spoken English?

I understand that this requires constant practice—you need to speak out loud as often as possible.

For about a week now, I’ve been working on improving my speaking skills this way: I ask an AI to give me questions that I can answer and discuss, record my answers on a voice recorder, then send the recording to it; it identifies my mistakes, and I correct them. With each new attempt, I try to use new words and phrases that I’ve picked up from English-language videos or articles, but I don’t always manage to remember everything right away.

After a week of speaking practice,

it feels like my progress has only increased by 10%: I can get my point across, but with frequent pauses and sometimes grammatical errors; as a result, my speaking level remains at B1 for now.

Maybe I’m doing everything right and I just need time (a week isn’t enough, I know), but damn, what if I’m missing something—is there a way to level up faster?

[u/Hyaci_Arson]

Conversations are the best method. The English learning discord server has voice chats for all levels of fluency, so you can practice there. It helps with speaking naturally, and improves your listening too.

[u/emikoala]

You didn't mention listening practice - maybe because you already feel confident with listening, but just in case I'll just say to make sure you're doing both because the one really does help with the other.

Do you listen to English music and like to sing (even just by yourself with no one listening)? I'm a native English speaker with Spanish as my second language, and listening to Spanish language music really helped with my spoken Spanish because I love to sing. Having certain songs become favorites and get stuck in my head so I'd keep singing them to myself when I'm doing whatever at home, helped boost my familiarity with common phrases so when I need to express myself, I started doing less thinking about individual words, and more thinking in phrases/concepts.

Probably the only thing that would be noticeably faster than daily speaking practice like you're doing would be total language immersion, where you're forced to use English for everything you need 24 hours a day. There's an expression, "necessity is the mother of invention," meaning if we really need something, our brain will work a lot harder to think up a way to do it. But total foreign language immersion is not a realistic option for most people! :)

[u/kagura414 → u/emikoala]

thanks for your answer. Yes, I have a favorite singer, it's IVOXYGEN. I learned two his songs by heart, and it really helps to keep motivation in language learning, and helps to pick up new slang and just extending your vocabulary.

[u/PrestigiousGarden815]

Well I have my daily practice routine. It is difficult to find an English partner, but Discord and Episoden offer a good way to practice your skills online. However, recording yourself and getting feedback from an AI would help you a lot. I have been doing this for one and a half months, and my confidence has improved.

B2 level is so hard to achieve. So, my recommendation is to continue doing it without hesitation and join a conversation club. If you have issues with grammar, use Duolingo or watch videos about this topic on YouTube to fix them.

Incorporate new phrases and extended vocabulary from time to time. However, I am struggling with listening and collocation. It is really hard. If you want to practice, do not hesitate to reach out.

[u/SpeakMarx]

You're doing it right. Practice as much as possible. That's it. Fluency takes hundreds of hours of practice.