Being fluent in speaking, especially speaking in English is absolutely beneficial for us. We can communicate with other people around the world, and we can also get a higher position in our job. That's why many of us are looking for the fastest ways to improve our speaking fluency. However, we often forget that improving speaking fluency does not only mean we should practice speaking all the time.
We should also keep in mind that language skills are interrelated with each other. It's a piece of happy news because we can also do other things to improve our English speaking fluency. To make it clearer, here are how other language skills influence your English speaking fluency.
How Reading Influences Speaking Fluency
First of all, we should remember that speaking is an active language skill while reading is a passive language skill. It means that by speaking, we are delivering information. On the other hand, with reading, we are absorbing information. This is where the relationship between speaking and reading lays.
By reading, we provide ourselves with information and knowledge to be delivered in our speaking. One of the most useful knowledge we can get from reading is vocabulary knowledge.
Have you ever noticed that your vocabulary knowledge grows along with your reading?
You might find it difficult to read a certain topic, but after a while, you might find yourself familiar with new terms and vocabularies found in the same topic. It's because your brain can automatically comprehend the information you are reading to a certain extent. The more familiar you are with the vocabulary, the more likely you will possess the capability to produce it in your speaking.
A similar thing happens with other information. Reading can surely broaden our view about the world. This broad knowledge can therefore be used in our speaking. The more knowledge we possess, the easier it will be to deliver it in our speaking. As a result, our fluency will certainly be increased. Besides, it will also increase the credibility of the information we speak which will make us seem more professional.
Then, if we take it to a further level, reading can also help us comprehend the structure of the target language we want to learn. Reading makes it easier for us to figure out how some idea is delivered in other languages and cultures.
We can pay attention to how an article is structured, how some characters in a novel interact with each other, and even how English sentence structures differ from those of our mother language. This way, we will be familiar with the concept of good information delivery, and then we can apply it in our speaking.
In sum, reading can act as the information provider to be used in speaking, whether it is about the vocabulary, knowledge about certain topics, or even language structure. That's why increasing our reading skills can also enhance our speaking fluency. The most important thing which should be noted is that you should know how to learn them effectively. This way, you can increase your fluency faster and easier.
How Listening Influences Speaking Fluency
Like reading, listening is also a passive language skill which also means that we absorb information through listening. Because of that, listening can also act as the provider of information to be used in our speaking.
The difference, however, is that listening does not only provide us with useful knowledge about the topic, vocabulary, and language structure. Listening can also provide us with the knowledge of how to pronounce words. Well, we cannot possibly learn how to pronounce words just by reading phonetic symbols, can we?
Besides, we can also mimic the intonation and stress of the native speakers we listen to. This cannot possibly be done only by reading. Thus, it is also necessary to pay attention to the intonation and stress and apply it in our speaking later on. This way, we can practice our speaking to be more comprehensible and engaging.
Thus, it is really beneficial for us to also improve our listening skills, isn't it?
Well, if you find it boring just to listen to something in English, you can also do it by watching some movies or videos. While watching, it is really recommended to also pay attention to non-verbal communications such as body language and expressions. This way, we can easily figure out the context in which certain expressions, tones, and intonations are used in the real-life context. Well, we don't want to speak like a robot, do we?
Then, after knowing how listening influences speaking fluency, what are you waiting for? Go watch your favorite English movies while doing your best in absorbing the useful knowledge for speaking!
How Writing Influences Speaking Fluency
Like speaking, writing is an active language skill. It means that we deliver our idea through writing. Writing does not act as an information provider. Still, writing does have benefits for our speaking fluency.
Have you ever noticed that in a formal situation, people often talk 'like a book'? It indicates that writing can be associated with the formal way of speaking. Writing can be said as speaking through pen and paper.
Good writings include those which ideas are delivered clearly to the readers. We should know how to structure our idea and then deliver it in a way suitable for the chosen audiences, and of course, it takes a lot of practice to be able to do that.
Like writing, we also need to deliver our idea clearly in speaking. If writing is practiced regularly, we will also figure out how to deliver ideas clearly in our speaking. Our idea will become structured, and of course, the audience will surely be comfortable listening to us.
Besides, if we are used to conveying our thoughts through writing, we will also get used to delivering our idea with various vocabularies and a more varied sentence structure. If we can use them in our writing, we will have a higher capacity to produce it in our speaking.
If we are used to delivering our ideas and use many vocabularies and a more varied sentence structure, our flow in speaking will become smoother, and of course, we will eventually become fluent.
These are how other language skills influence our English speaking fluency. You can enhance your English speaking fluency by improving your other language skills simultaneously. Beside of them, there are still many tips for improving your speaking fluency, and you can check it out here.
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