The Most Important Rule Of Speaking English Like a Native: Immersion
Immersion is the quickest and easiest way to gain fluency in English.
It’s a technique that approximately 65 percent of linguists and language teachers recommend as well as one of the most popular methods of teaching in an academic setting.
Its effectiveness lies in its simplicity. Immersion in English is exactly what it implies. You spend your time speaking and listening only in this language.
It’s true. For years, immersion remained a method that was best taught in the classroom. If you lived in a country in which few, if any, individuals spoke English you found it impractical to practice the language outside of class. You discover quickly that if you don’t use a language often enough, your ability to understand it fades. Sometimes more quickly than you could ever imagine.
But you don’t have to be in a classroom to enjoy the benefits of immersion. When you’re trying to perfect your fluency, reduce your accent or become more at ease speaking English, you can initiate your own personal immersion program – whether you’re living in a predominately English speaking language or not.
That’s one reason so many individuals spent a summer or longer living in an English-speaking country. However, with the host of various technological choices open to the average student, you don’t have to leave your home country in order to immerse yourself.
Immerse yourself in English on Demand
Imagine immersing yourself in English just about on command. How? Turning to the internet and listening to podcasts, watching English-speaking television networks or watching Netflix in English.
There’s only one caveat with this. You must be an active listener. You must take note of the cadence, the grammar, the sentence structure as well as which syllables of words are accented.
In the meantime, you certainly can seek out others who speak English or are learning to speak the language like you are.
Many students balk at the concept of talking to other English-speaking people, especially when they are native speakers. Sure, it could sound scary, especially if you’re self-conscious about your accent, sentences, and English grammar. But that is also the beauty of this technique. It “forces” you to speak. As you immerse yourself in the language several changes take place.
As you listen to native speakers, you’ll naturally acquire the habits and cadence of native speakers. If you’re worried about people making fun of you, forget about it. You’ll discover that very few, if any, persons will. The chances are overwhelming that they’ll be more impressed with your current level of learning and admire your desire to perfect your speech.
In fact, when you do immerse yourself, through talking with native speakers or listening to English you’ll discover that you’ll automatically be conquering some of the most difficult aspects of speaking the language.
If you believe that your grammar isn’t up to par to speak with natives, think again. Native speakers don’t necessarily adhere strictly to all the grammar rules you’ve learned – especially in the spoken language.
As you listen to others, you’ll discover how natives use the language for one thing: to make their point. Those people who speak English as their first language seldom even think about grammar. They are more focused on communicating and being totally understood by others.
Whether you use the immersion technique – speaking only in English and listening to only English – it will be the most important decision you will choose in developing your fluency in English. Thankfully, with all the technology available to you, it’s easier than ever to execute this method.