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How to Speak and Write English Fluently

English is currently the language to know if you want to conduct international business, trade, or other global exchanges. According to the British Council, "English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million and as a second language by around 375 million speakers in the world." To become fluent in the language, you will need to spend as much time as you can around it. Listening to and reading English will help you understand it, and speaking and writing will help you develop fluent English production skills. Practice using the language as much as you can to become fluent.

Things You'll Need

English dictionary
English thesaurus
English grammar book

Instructions

- 1
  Vary the types of English media you listen to and read. For example, if you listen to an online news broadcast from National Public Radio's website, you could listen to a fast-talking morning disc jockey on your local radio the next day. If you read ten pages out of a novel one day, read a trade journal of your line of work the next. Watch films in English that interest you, working your way to not using subtitles. Watch short videos on You Tube. You can watch videos geared toward English learners by searching for "learn English," or you can watch short clips of your favorite movie or television program in English.
- 2
  Practice speaking the language as much as you can. You do not necessarily need to have an English speaker to speak to all the time. Just the physical act of speaking the language out loud will help you discover the common mistakes you make in sentence structure, grammar, word choice and pronunciation. Write a letter to a friend or a short paragraph about your job to get you started writing every day.
- 3
  Learn as many figures of speech and idioms as you can. There are many idioms explained on the UsingEnglish.com website. These are used so much in English that it is difficult to completely understand something you are reading or listening to if you do not understand the background behind the figures of speech you hear.
- 4
  Join an online language exchange such as Lingo Pass or My Language Exchange. You will meet online via text and voice chat with an English-speaking person who wants to learn your native language from you. Choose a native English speaker as your conversation partner so you can be sure you are learning from someone with a good understanding of how to use the language. Exchange emails with your conversation partner, and ask your partner to correct your grammar and pronunciation when you meet. Meet regularly so that you can continue to progress in learning fluent English.
- 5
  Attend English as a second language classes in your community. They are usually offered by local religious organizations or by the school district's adult education center. You can also learn English online by searching for "learn English online." You can attend small online classes with other students or hire a private tutor to help you improve specific areas of English. ESLTeachersBoard.com has a link to a list of private tutors, as well as BuddySchool.com.
- 6
  Identify the areas of your grammar and word usage that need improvement. Ask an English-speaking friend or your conversation partner to point out the mistakes that you make. If you attend English language classes, note the things your teacher writes on your written assignments that need improvement and things he mentions to you to correct when you speak. Doing this will help make you more aware of areas of English you need to improve.
- 7
  Create a list of synonyms for new words you learn. When you read and listen to English, write down the new words you learn, and then use a thesaurus to help you learn new words that mean roughly the same thing as the new vocabulary words.

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