How to Sound Fluent in English When Speaking

Secret: Learn to stop speaking….

What does it take to speak fluently and like a native?

Does it take a huge vocabulary? No

Does it take perfect grammar? No, not really.

So how can you sound more like a native speaker with the vocabulary and grammar skills you currently have? Learn how to break a sentence.

Let’s take a common sentence we all have used before:

I want a cheeseburger and a coke.

This is a common sentence haha.

Most people would say: I..want..a..cheeseburger..and..a..Coke. They would try to speak each word clearly but this turns into a fluency nightmare. They sound like a robot.

So, how do we break this sentence into its parts? We use question words.
Who, What, Where, When, Why, How and Which

Let’s do this together.

I (who)

Want (what)

a cheeseburger (what)

and

a Coke (what)

Now, we can see 5 parts!
Tip: And, Or, But, So, Because always have a natural pause when you speak them so just remember this easy tip and you’re great!
Tip 2: Pause after every punctuation mark. (. , ! ? : ; )

5 pauses in a short sentence is kind of a lot. Is there a way to make a few less? Yes! The first thing is to do this:

Put together the verb that follows the Pronoun.
Instead of I.. Want..
Say I want..

Now we have 4 pauses. Let’s look at this sentence now.

I want.. a cheeseburger.. and.. a Coke.

Now that sounds much better. Let’s try some more so you get the hang of this process of breaking sentences with question words.

Try these:
1. Hi, my name is Mia.
2. It is sunny at the beach today.
3. The book is on the table.
4. I like to run in the park on Saturday.

How many pauses should be in each sentence?
1. 3
2. 3
3. 3
4. 4

They should look like this
1. Hi,(Punctuation).. my name(What).. is Mia(What).
2. It is sunny(What).. at the beach(Where).. today(When).
3. The book(What).. is on(Where).. the table(What).
4. I like(What).. to run(What).. in the park(Where).. on Saturday(When).

There we go. These are the natural pauses in a sentence that fluent native English speakers will naturally pause at when they say these sentences. I think you understand this idea now so let’s give you a hard practice sentence to try. Leave your answer in the comments section

Bonus:
I am studying English with Chris at Listen and Learn English.