Learning Spoken English

Conversational English is not only about movies and TV shows in the original language, it is also about career opportunities at home or abroad. It is for these reasons that people are increasingly thinking about the importance and necessity of fluent English.

What is this level of language proficiency?

Conversational English is not a specific level of language proficiency, but an indicator of speaking proficiency at a certain level (from A1 to C2).

• For example, if your level is A1, then you can already communicate in the style of "native": ask for water, food, on the fingers and with mistakes figure out the route or the location of the hotel.
• At A2 a person can generate up to 20 phrases on the right topic, which brings him closer to the possibility of surviving among English speakers. However, there can be problems with jobs. For skilled occupations in IT, marketing and advertising, tech support, tutoring, economics and finance, business and law, Pre-Intermediate may not be enough.
• B1 is considered the entry barrier that you would not be ashamed to declare at an interview. For software developers, testers, web designers, managers and sales managers this level is enough. At this stage, a person operates with 2000 words and already quite tolerable to hold a dialogue and express their views. Learn to an intermediate level means to speak if not fluent, then quite easily.
• Really fluent and easy talkers are those who can confirm B2: at this level a person understands 95% of speech addressed to him, uses about 4000 words and instantly translates any material without losing the essence and meaning. 

So, you should focus on B1 or B2 - from these levels students usually take off in the English-speaking society and feel themselves confident there.

How many words do you need to know to speak?

From 2000 to 4000 different parts of speech: verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs you need to accurately express your point of view in English.

The more vocabulary in your arsenal - the smoother and brighter your speech. Accordingly, with 5000-6000 words learned, you'll be virtually fluent in English. There is no limit to perfection, but not to be confused and vigorously "fend off" all the questions and easily ask them yourself - aim for 4000 firmly-trained words.

How to learn spoken English?

In order to speak English, you'll need a few important components:

1. Access to authentic materials (i.e., written by English speakers for English speakers) to replenish your vocabulary with only fresh and contemporary vocabulary.
2. A strong grammar base to put the verb in the right tense and apply the necessary marker words correctly.
3. Enough time to practice, preferably with a native speaker or a countryman who knows English better than you do.
4. The strongest motivation and understanding of why you need to speak and such an incredible effort.

With these components, unlimited access to the Internet and systematically allocated time resources - you can achieve your goal.

How long does it take to learn?

It all depends on your initial level. If you still have some English left after school, university or lessons with a tutor in the form of knowledge of simple tenses, 500+ familiar words and at least a rough understanding of the structure of the language - the process will go faster. On average, you can go from one level to the next in 1.5-2 years.

In some cases - faster. If a person diligently put effort every day, meticulously performs all the exercises found on the Internet, diligently read the literature in English, watching movies, practicing speaking with native speakers, or online at special sites, then he can get from zero to speaking in a year. Vocabulary can be simple and repetitive, but with the delivery of meaning should not have any problems.
If you set out to free advanced spoken language, you'll have to be patient and work hard for about 3 years.

But 95% of success depends on the following factors:

• regularity of study
• keeping track of your progress
• responsibility for the chosen method and changing to a more effective one if necessary
• finding quality materials in all formats
• ability to self-monitor
• where the problems are identified and dealt with 

Additionally, the process can be accelerated if:

1. Train your memory in any way you like: memorize poems, songs, prose.
2. Google in English: by the way, the results are much more accurate and better in English.
3. Fall in love with the culture of the country: find what interests you most and collect as much information about it as possible.
4. Collect your favorite quotes, aphorisms, phrases in a separate file and use them at every opportunity.
5. Read complex articles from different spheres without purpose and understand them verbatim: read aloud, highlight beautiful words with a marker, guess the main ideas.
6. Use only the tenses you are 100% sure of during oral training: it's better to grasp 4 tenses from start to finish than to float in all of them without understanding what Present perfect continuous is.
7. Avoid long pompous phrases: this way there will be fewer mistakes.
8. Don't learn unnecessary words: you won't need lists of birds, animals, office supplies, furniture. Learn the words that people use to communicate.
9. Pay attention to little things like introductory and linking words, conversational patterns and clichés such as "cheers," "thank you very much," "by the way, shouldn't we get going," "in addition," "that is," "I mean".
10. Repeat after everyone else: the host from the video, the announcer from the live broadcast, the main character in the film. The more spoken aloud, the more you will remember.