Practical Ways to Improve Your Fluency in English - Kaplan ...

Kaplan University Writing CenterPRACTICAL WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FLUENCY IN ENGLISHHow fluent in English are you?Communicating fluently in English allows you to connect with people,participate, and solve problems in American society. Fluentcommunication requires understanding what is being spoken or read andbeing able to produce fluid, well-pronounced, and accurate messages inreturn by speaking and writing. How fluent are you? Do you understandeverything you read or hear? Do the people you communicate withunderstand you?Figure 1: Your fluency reflectsyour listening, speaking,reading, and writing skills.©2013 JupiterimagesThis resource offers English Language Learners strategies for acquiringgreater fluency in English. Most of the strategies involve thesimultaneous use of two or more literacy skills: listening, speaking,reading, and writing. You may already use some of the suggested toolssuch as dictionaries, television, or social media--excellent! By now seeingthese mediums as ways to advance your language learning, you will havemore opportunities to practice and improve your fluency in English.Developing Listening Skills: Could you repeat that, please?Whenever you engage in a conversation, watch TV, participate in class,or attend a meeting at work, you are listening. But are you alsounderstanding? In order to make sense of the spoken word, you mustdevelop strong listening skills, and this takes practice and patience. Hereare some tips for improving your listening skills in English:Figure 2: How much youunderstand of what you heardepends on your listening skills.©2012 JupiterimagesGet to know the English Sound System: Consonants, Vowels, andBlends. When you first heard English, it probably sounded like a longstrand of sounds with some pauses and pitch changes. Learning torecognize the different sounds of the language will help you identifysyllables, words, and sentences, and finally general content and ideas.Listen for Key Words that Carry Meaning: Englishspeakers emphasize “content words” that carry meaningmore than “function words” that help modify words andconnect sentence parts together, so instead of striving tocatch every word and becoming overwhelmed withexcess information, listen for the emphasized words.Comprehension will come much easier. Table 1 listssome categories of function and content words.Table 1: Function and Content Word CategoriesFunctionContentArticlesAdjectivesAuxiliary verbs AdverbsConjunctions InterjectionsModal verbs NounsParticiplesNumbersPrepositions Verbs (main)PronounsQuestions wordsKaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 1 of 6

Kaplan University Writing CenterDo Americans speak too fast?Many English Language Learners wouldanswer “Yes” to that question. Whatsurprises many is that the speed of nativespeech is not the problem; the spacingbetween the words is. In spoken English,words are commonly linked together,made into contractions, or reduced byturning two or more words into onesound. For example, when a word thatbegins with a vowel follows a word thatends in a consonant, the words linktogether with no pause between them.Table 2 provides examples of linking,contractions, and reductions in spokenEnglish.Table 2: Examples of Linking, Contractions, and ReductionsLinkingContractionsReductionsTurn off sounds like Tur noffI’m online sounds like I monlineThat’s enough sounds like That senoughCan not becomes can’tDo not becomes don’tI am becomes I’mWas not becomes wasn’tYou are becomes you’reWhat did you do? sounds like Wadjado?Beans and rice sounds like beans-n-riceIt’s for you sounds like It’s fer youSome of sounds like some uhFor Web sites that offer free listening activities, refer to Table 3. (Note: The external Web sites linked tothis resource are not owned by or affiliated with Kaplan University, so please adhere to each one’sprivacy policy and support service when using them.) We share these sites to encourage you to engagein as much literacy skill practice as possible and to take advantage of the many free resources availableonline.Table 3: Online Listening ResourcesFigure 3: Headphones foronline listening resources.©2013 JupiterimagesRandall's ESL Cyber ListeningLabArlyn Freed's ESL/EFL ListeningResourcesAmerican EnglishPronunciation Practicewww.esl-lab.comhttp://www.eslhome.com/esl/listen/http://www.manythings.org/pp/“Enuf” is enough?English is not a phonetic language; words are not always spelled the way they sound, so listening whilesimultaneously reading will improve your fluency by helping you identify the way written words soundand the way spoken words are written. Listening to news programs, e-books, recorded speeches, andlectures while reading the transcripts will also help you acquire the way ideas are organized in English,which is important for being able to follow along and take notes. Table 4 lists Web sites where you canread along as you listen to English spoken by native speakers:Kaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 2 of 6

Kaplan University Writing CenterTable 4: Online Radio and News SourcesFigure 4: Reading as youlisten helps you acquire thespelling, pronunciation, andorganization of written andspoken English. ©2013JupiterimagesVoice of AmericaRepeat After UsNational PublicRadioAmerican RhetoricLecture FoxSpeech Archivehttp://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/http://www.repeatafterus.com/http://www.npr.org/http://www.americanrhetoric.com/http://lecturefox.comhttp://www.abacon.com/pubspeak/histsit.htmlSay, “Yes!” to subtitlesTelevision services offer subtitle options as well as programming invarious languages. Watching programs in English and referring tosubtitles in your first language to maintain the show’s context orclarify a new word can improve your listening skills and show you howEnglish speakers use gestures to construct meaning.Figure 5: Watch TV in English whileusing subtitles. Photo: (C) 2013JupiterimagesDeveloping Conversation Skills: Let’s talk!Watching a program in your native language and then watching it inEnglish will also promote greater fluency. Since you will already haveknowledge about the subject, you can compare the different waysspeakers of English and speakers of your first language present thesame content. Awareness of the differences can reduce the tendencyto translate what you hear into your native language to understand.Instead, you will begin thinking in English to understand, and that is atrue sign of fluency development.The best way to acquire a language is by engaging in conversation with an English-speaking peer,colleague, or friend who is patient and willing to help you along. Conversations complete the circle ofcommunication: you listen, speak, give back feedback, and listen again. Gestures can also help youconvey your meaning and ask for clarification. In fact, being able to stop the conversation and startagain to get clarification or feedback is the reason that conversation is the most useful technique foracquiring a new language. If your circle of native English speakers is limited and you enjoy going tochurch or the movies or if you practice sports, do so in an English-only environment. For onlineconversation practice, refer to the Web sites given in Table 5:Kaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 3 of 6

Kaplan University Writing CenterTable 5: Online Conversation Practice in EnglishLearn English on Skypehttp://www.learnenglish.de/learnenglishonskype.htmlLearn English on Second LifePlay Interactive Vocabulary GamesCreate and Comment on Voicethreadhttp://www.learnenglish.de/learnenglishonsecondlife.htmlhttp://www.vocabulary.co.il/http://voicethread.com/?#q+Practice+EnglishUnderstanding Idioms: “Easy as pie”? What “pie”?Dictionaries are essential for progress in reading and writing. In addition to defining words, manydictionaries define idioms such as “easy as pie,” which are cultural expressions without literaltranslations. Academic dictionaries and word lists are especially important for college-level EnglishLanguage Learners. Table 6 provides links to popular dictionaries, printed and online:Table 6: Dictionaries and Academic Word ListsPrinted Dictionaries(and CDs)Online DictionariesOnline Idiom andVisual DictionariesAcademic Dictionariesand Word ListsLongman Dictionary ofthe American Languagewith ThesaurusCambridge “Double-Click Dictionary”downloadVisual Merriam-Webster DictionaryOnlineThe Academic WordList from the OxfordAdvanced Learner'sDictionaryAmerican HeritageDictionary of IdiomsWorld Web download The Visual Dictionary Wiktionary: AcademicWord ListHeinle’s NewburyHouse Dictionary ofAmerican LanguageMacmillan DictionaryCambridge DictionariesOnline (Including anIdiom Dictionary)Academic ContentDictionary(iPhone/iPod APP)American HeritageDictionary for Learnersof EnglishMerriam-Webster’sLearner’s DictionaryThe Penguin Dictionaryof English IdiomsFocus on Vocabulary 2:Mastering theAcademic Word List,2 nd EditionNote: Dictionaries for purchase link to their respective publishing house Web sites. Visit booksellingsites such as Amazon.com for the same books at discounted prices, e-reader versions,and purchaser reviews.Kaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 4 of 6

Kaplan University Writing CenterDeveloping Writing Skills: *P.S. Don’t forget to write!Figure 6: *For American EnglishSpeakers, the tradition ofwriting letters home oftenincluded the postscript (P.S.)remark: “Don’t forget towrite!” © 2013 Jupiterimages.KUWC Support for English Language LearnersBecoming a strong writer in English involves the same guiding principlesas developing listening skills in English: formal learning along withpractice in your everyday life.Courses in grammar and English composition provide instruction andactivities for learning college-level and academic writing, but unless thecourses are designed for second language speakers, they will not likelyinclude instruction on word order, verb tenses, or the peculiar uses ofarticles, gerunds, and infinitives. Nor will they address the culturalaspects and expectations or writing in English that influence sentencestructure, paragraph development, and essay organization.The Kaplan University Writing Center therefore provides instructionalresources and tutoring services for English Language Learners who aredeveloping their writing skills in English. *You can access theseresources and more using the links below:(Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages)*To access the ELL Support links (above), log in to KU Campus, select Academic Support Center on theMy Studies dropdown menu, then click English Language Learners as shown in Figure 7 (below).KU Campus Log In My Studies > Academic Support Center Writing Center MenuKaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 5 of 6

Kaplan University Writing CenterDeveloping Reading Skills: Immerse Yourself in English, VirtuallyReading in English is fundamental to language acquisition, and in an online-academic environment,being a strong reader is important for academic success. More resources on developing reading skillsare available in the ELL Resource Library. However, for one last practical way to develop greaterproficiency in English, we recommend immersing yourself in an all-English online environment whereevery word you read is in English. Logging into KU is a start! Here are some tips for an even fullerEnglish-immersion experience online:Change the settings of your Internet browser and email to English:Learning email terms and commands in English and retrieving yourInternet search results in English will make you more adept at usingemail for academic purposes. Collaborating with classmates andconducting research will be easier if you already use the same termsas your classmates and instructors for downloading attachments andconducting searches on the Web.Figure 8: Set your browser’s language option to English/United States.Shown here is the options window of the Firefox browserPost your social media updates in English:Posting, commenting, and “liking” social media pages in English will immerse you in the nuances ofwritten, conversational English and provide you more chances to practice conversing in English as well.Table 8 provides some sites to get you started:Table 8: KU and KUWC Social Media SitesKaplan University Facebook PageKaplan University Writing Center Facebook PageKaplan University Twitter PageKaplan University Writing Center Twitter PageKaplan University Video LibraryKaplan University (Official) Linked in PageKaplan University Google+ PageKaplan University Community CenterMost importantly, to improve your fluency in English, believe you can do it,practice, and persist! The Writing Center is here to help!Kaplan University Writing Center ELL Resource Library • Improve Your Fluency by Chrissine Rios • March 2013© 2013 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved. Photos: © 2013 Jupiterimages • Page 6 of 6