You don’t need to master the rules of grammar to speak correct English in the same way as you haven’t mastered the rules of grammar of your mother tongue.
I’ve seen a host of folks perfect in grammar but poor in speaking and a host of folks bad in grammar but excellent in speaking. Ask complex grammar questions from native Brits or Americans and you’ll find the majority fumbling.
Take your example: do you know all the grammar rules of your native language?
Even if you know, you would have never cared about them while communicating because you got a huge exposure to your native language. This would have adequately proved to you that to learn any language correctly, exposure is extremely crucial – while grammar is secondary.
Right?
So tip number one:
Expose yourself to correct, fluent English communicators as much as you can.
Where will you find excellent communicators?
- Discovery Channel (English version)
- National Geographic (English version)
- Animal Planet (English version)
- CNN-IBN
- NDTV24X7
If you minutely watch these channels (particularly first 3 in the list) you’ll unconsciously soak up some precious elements of originality from them.
And what’ll tell you what originality is?
If you acquire originality, you’ll communicate as if English is your native language, your mother tongue. The more originality you’ll soak up, the stronger grip you’ll get on English language. Take this originality statement lightly and you’ll miss the most charming feature of English language even if tomorrow you learn to be perfect in grammar and build up a huge vocabulary.
Unfortunately, this is the point most English speaking trainers are clueless about. They blindly follow the same wrong method and teach the students likewise. What’s worse is that sometimes they even teach the students to imitate the style of native speakers.
The result?
A dirty flood of fashionable English speakers.
Truth be told: rare are people who speak English so purely as if it’s their mother tongue. It’s easy for you to be of them by avoiding the crooked path and learning English straight from its fountainhead like native speakers.
Observantly watching TV channels, however, is only one small piece of the puzzle. You’ve to routinely jot down some attractive words, look them up in the dictionaries and bring them in use. Learn the accurate usage of only a few hundred words (around 300) and you’ll move damn smartly over the most rugged of paths.
Do you know one of the biggest blocks in fluency is having a poor word bank? Yes, you may not use every word from your stock – but their presence will accelerate your fluency.
So this brings us to the exercise section.
- Regularly watch any of the aforementioned channels or any other English channels
- Regularly note down new words and speak them out in any recording device
- Speak on different topics, keep recording them and give your best
