Here at Natural English Central, you will find tutorials on learning English. Improve your speaking, grammar, and vocabulary with English idioms and English sentence practice! The aim of this site is to help people from all around the world learn, practice, and enjoy natural English.
How to speak naturally
Let’s briefly look at how to speak English naturally. There are various things we can do:
- Practice Speaking Regularly: Your fluency will really benefit if you practice speaking each day. Don’t worry if you don’t have a speaking partner – you can still do it by yourself.
- Listen Actively: Watch and listen to how native speakers talk. Use TV shows, podcasts, vlogs, etc to help you absorb natural intonation, pronunciation, and common phrases.
- Use Colloquial Language: Learn idioms and English sentences to sound more natural and relatable. Some easy to get into examples can be found in the bug idioms article I wrote, and also the idioms about birds ones I did!
- Be Confident and Relax: Don’t be afraid of making mistakes! Having confidence and a relaxed attitude can really help you sound more fluent.
- Immerse Yourself in English: Surround yourself with the language. Switch your devices, social media, and entertainment to English! This constant exposure accelerates learning and gives you frequent examples of natural English.
Next, we’ll look at two very specific ways that can help us speak naturally:
English sentences: the key to natural English
Practicing English sentences is really useful if you would like to have more natural English, for several reasons:
- Exposure to Natural Language: We can experience authentic, real-life language usage. From a relatively straightforward exercise like practicing 5 sentences about owl, to more formal activities like practicing constructed in a sentence, we have it all here at Natural English Central!
- Expanding Vocabulary: Regular reading allows us to view a vast array of words, including both common and more advanced vocabulary.
- Cultural Insights: Reading materials from various genres and authors gives you insights into the culture, traditions, and way people communicate in English-speaking regions.
How to learn English sentences
So, how exactly do we learn English sentences? Well, there are a few ways:
- Reading Aloud: Read English sentences aloud to practice pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. This helps you to remember the natural flow of spoken language.
- Mimicking Intonation: Pay attention to how native speakers emphasize certain words or use rising and falling tones in sentences. Try to copy their intonation to sound more natural.
- Sentence Practice: Practice writing and speaking sentences that you encounter while reading or listening to English material. Repeating sentences helps reinforce vocabulary and grammar. There are plenty of English sentences right here to practice with!
English idioms: Another major key to natural English
Learning English idioms can really help us to sound more natural in our English. If we use idioms correctly, then we can communicate more effectively. Idioms are phrases that are known by most native speakers of a language – but people learning English as a foreign language will probably struggle with understanding the full meanings of them – that’s why we study idioms right here!
Study idioms
As mentioned just now, learning idioms can sometimes be quite challenging. But, to get you started, here are some general ways to learn them:
- Understand the context in which idioms are used. For example, where are they, what’s the mood, what is the overall topic being talked about, etc.
- Learn idioms in phrases, not just individual words. Context is key!
- Keep a journal or flashcards to reinforce your learning. Review it as often as you can!
- Use idioms in real conversations with native speakers. If you can find native speakers where you live, this can really help your English ability!
- Read and listen to English materials to encounter more idioms. Reading books & comics, also reading the many idioms articles we have here at Natural English Central will help!
How to speak English fluently
If you can practice English sentences + idioms, and truly remember their meanings, when it comes time to use them in conversation, speaking fluently should not be a problem. That is, as long as we have a basic and strong foundation in English grammar. Here are a few extra pointers about speaking with natural English, in a fluent way:
- Don’t worry too much about mistakes, it will slow you down.
- Try to be as accurate as possible, but don’t let that make your speaking robotic or slow.
- Always be learning new phrases and vocabulary, so when it comes time to speak, you can use them.
- Listen to the other person, and try to really engage with what they are saying, too. After all, communication is a two-way process.