Do you still feel stuck when it comes to speaking, even though you've been studying English for years or even decades?

You are not alone.

This is a common issue.

Today, I'm going to give you seven practical strategies to help you speak English naturally, effortlessly, and automatically, all from the comfort of your own home.

Now, we all know that there is no magic wand that can guarantee you miracle results.

Learning a language requires time, effort, and dedication, and it's true.

To speak English effortlessly, you have to put in the effort first.

But I promise you that by the end of today's video, you will have some really useful practical strategies that will take you closer to your goal of fluent English.

To help you even further, I have created a digital fluency guide that you can download for free.

It accompanies this lesson.

In this fluency guide, you will find all of the strategies we cover in today's lesson, plus lots of extra ideas to help inspire your home study practice.

To download this awesome PDF fluency guide packed full of top tips, all you have to do is click on the link in the description box or scan the QR code there, enter your name and your email address.

You sign up to my mailing list.

The PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.

And after that, you will automatically receive my free weekly PDFs alongside all of my news, course updates, and offers.

It's a free service.

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Okay, let's start with a personal favourite of mine.

It is shadowing.

If you are not already utilising shadowing, this is a fantastic opportunity for you.

What does it involve?

Well, first, choose a speaker you like.

It could be their accent, or the vocabulary they use, or their tone of voice that you find appealing.

Two, find a clip of them speaking, maybe in a series, film, or interview.

And three, play the clip and try to repeat their words as soon after they've said them as you can.

Now, this feels a little strange at first, and it is really quite challenging.

So at first, you might need to pause and repeat, but you'll soon build up speed and fluency.

I promise.

Not only will you improve your pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm, but you'll also unconsciously build up your grammar knowledge.

I made a video specifically on this technique with lots of extra information and lots of shadowing practice opportunities.

I'll link that down below.

Number two, find content you enjoy.

The more English you consume, the more you'll learn, right?

Well, not necessarily.

Although I agree that it's important to read and listen to as much English as possible, you need to think about quality, not just quantity.

Let's face it, if you have to force yourself to watch TED Talks, films, or series that bore you to tears, your brain is going to switch off faster than I can say pneumonoultramicroscopic silicovolcanoconiosis.

And yes, that is a real word.

By engaging with content that you find entertaining, you're more likely to learn vocabulary that is useful and relevant to you, stick with it for longer, and connect with other people who share the same passions and interests as you.

So take some time, do some research, and find some content you truly enjoy.

My next point is on the magic of plus one learning.

Let's say you've found some interesting things to read or watch, but are they at the right level for you?

You want to challenge yourself, but we don't want steam coming out of your ears.

If the content is too easy, you won't learn anything new, but if it's too hard, you'll get frustrated and give up.

If it is just a little bit above your level, that is where the magic happens.

The idea that you learn best when you understand most of what you read or hear, but are also exposed to some new words and structures, was developed by linguist Stephen Krashen.

He called the learner's current level comprehensible input and the new material plus one.

So try and consume content you understand around 80% of, and you should be in the perfect learning zone.

If you find it hard to choose written content that is at your level, you could try graded readers.

These are texts that have been modified to a particular level, beginner, intermediate, and so on.

If you don't have these materials, why not ask an AI bot like ChatGPT for help?

Simply copy and paste the authentic text you want to read and add the prompt, modify this text so that it's suitable for an A2, B1, B2 learner of English.

You can also use ChatGPT to help scaffold a written or spoken text.

Scaffold is basically a fancy word for support.

Usually a teacher would scaffold an activity for you by offering you extra support when you needed it.

Without a teacher, we can turn to AI for support.

For example, you can ask AI to look at a text, a reading or a transcript from a podcast or YouTube video and select 10 words or expressions that would probably be new or challenging for an A2 or B1 learner of English.

The best AI driven app that I have found for this far, especially when it comes to YouTube videos and podcasts is Langua.

I will mark this as an ad because I've invested in the company because I love it so much.

Langua has so many features.

One of the coolest features is my AI clone.

Let me show you quickly.

You won't believe this.

So I've opened the Langua app.

I've chosen English as my language.

I've chosen to chat with Lucy, who is a UK female.

Chat about anything.

Let's do general conversation.

Hi there.

How are you doing today?

What would you like to chat about?

That's me.

Hello.

Today I would like to talk about cooking.

I'm up for a chat about cooking.

What sort of dishes do you enjoy making at home?

I'm quite a Sunday roast myself, though I can never get my Yorkshire puddings to rise properly.

Don't just have to chat with Lucy.

She can provide you feedback.

She can correct you.

It's really amazing.

You can explore it for free.

The free plan is limited to how much you can chat per day, or you can sign up for one of their pro plans and use the code Lucy20 for 20% off.

I've left a link in the description box and a QR code here.

Create an account first, then download the app.

The students who have tried it out so far have said that it has revolutionised the way they learn English now.

If AI is not really your thing, I have some other ways you can scaffold challenging texts.

I'll give you a few now, and I've left lots more in the fluency guide.

The link for that is in the description.

Number one, slow down the playback speed and read the tape script at the same time.

Two, use nonverbal clues as much as possible.

Focus on body language, facial expressions, or any other visual clues such as photographs or images.

Three, activate your background knowledge of the subject.

Let's say you're about to listen to a podcast about the importance of sleep.

Before you listen, jot down what you already know about the topic.

So we found content we enjoy at around the right level.

We're beginning to understand a lot more vocabulary and grammatical structures, but the next challenge is to take that passive knowledge and turn it into active skills.

Even in our native language, we understand many more words and phrases than we actually use.

But here are some ideas that can help you get those words out of your head and onto a page or into your mouth.

You could make a note of new vocabulary you hear and read.

Don't just translate a word or memorise a definition.

Write your own example and make it personal.

Many studies have shown that making vocabulary personal means you're much more likely to remember it.

Also, try and become an active listener.

Don't just sit back and relax.

Pause the podcast.

Rephrase what the speaker said.

Ask them a question.

Tell them you disagree.

You can practise similar techniques when reading too.

You could also do what I did a lot when I was learning Spanish.

Speak to yourself in the language you're learning, English for you, as often as you can throughout the day.

It doesn't have to be out loud, but from making breakfast to washing your hair, try explaining what you're doing.

It is best to speak out loud and train your English muscles, but sometimes it's not appropriate.

Number five, immerse yourself in English.

Have you ever heard someone say something like this?

To learn a language really well, you have to live in a country where the language is spoken.

I don't think this is true.

It certainly helps.

Being completely immersed in a language is going to give you much more exposure to it, and that can't be a bad thing, but you can make small changes to try and recreate this immersive experience, even if you don't live in an English-speaking country.

When you go shopping, write your shopping list in English.

If you're cooking your dinner, present an English cookery show.

I used to do that all the time.

Three, take all your boring everyday tasks and play out what you would say in English.

Let's say you need to call your internet provider.

Predict the questions you would be asked.

How would you answer them?

I remember when I moved to Spain, there were certain words I just couldn't get my tongue around, and I avoided saying them out loud because I was nervous they might not come out clearly.

To fix this, I sat down with an online dictionary and repeated the tricky words dozens, if not hundreds of times until it flowed out effortlessly, and this also works really well for complete phrases or what we sometimes call chunks.

So for example, instead of learning the dictionary phrase, put your finger on something or not put your finger on something, say the phrase how you'd actually use it in real life.

For example, I can't quite put my finger on it.

If you need help with slang, my AI clone on Langua has a slang mode as well, which is really quite funny.

Make sure you check it out.

If you repeat a word phrase or situation over and over again, you will eventually reach a point at which you do it without having to think about it.

Okay, it's time for my final strategy.

If you want to see real improvements in your English fluency, you need to get organised and you need to be committed and consistent.

These three things are not easy.

Perhaps the first one is the easiest, planning how and when you'll study.

Staying consistent is hard, but it's through consistency that you're going to see real results.

If you struggle to stay committed, here are some tips.

One, make yourself accountable.

Try to form a group with fellow language learners and tell each other what you're going to study each week or month.

You might be motivated to stick to your schedule if you have to admit to peers when you don't.

Two, be realistic when setting your goals.

If listening to 30 minutes of a podcast every day does not fit into your busy schedule, you are setting yourself up for failure before you've even started.

Start off small, get into the flow and watch your motivation grow.

Being an independent learner is hard and it not for everybody.

Okay, I have a challenge for you.

I want you to choose one idea from today's video that you are going to try.

What are you going to do and how long are you going to commit for?

Let me know in the comments.

Let me know if you try out my AI clone on Langua as well.

I think she's really going to surprise you.

There's a link in the description box and I've also got the link for the fluency guide.

You can download that by clicking in the description box or on that QR code there.

I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson.

I hope it's motivated you.

I will see you in the next one.