Writing can be a great way to improve your fluency and confidence in English. Writing is, unfortunately, a skill that a person tends to neglect.
When you practice speaking (by yourself or with a tutor), you recycle the same phrases, grammar, and words in various combinations. Your goal as an English learner is to take all these different English devices (phrases, grammar, vocabulary) you know and become very familiar with each one. You want to be able to use these devices independently and without overthinking. Once you achieve this, you will be fluent or near-fluent.
Here is one writing method you as a student can use to achieve this.
Writing a speech/text about your life (hobbies, work, friends, etc.)
The topic you choose for this method can be anything relevant to you. You aim to try and use a conversational tone – as if you were speaking about the chosen topic.
Simple examples could include writing about your professional background and the skills you need to learn to become successful at your job or why you decided to learn English.
The main point to remember here is you want to write about something that you would speak about in your native language to friends, family, or colleagues. Take your time when doing this activity. Look up words you are unfamiliar with in an English-to-English dictionary. Then, if possible, correct the writing with a tutor to make it sound as natural as possible. Have your tutor read the text aloud so that you can be sure about pronunciation. Once you are certain about pronouncing difficult words, learn and practice this “speech.” You want to rehearse this “speech” until you get to a point where you feel confident talking about the topic freely.
Following this type of method results in multiple benefits:
- You gain confidence because you will be able to express yourself, and you have the certainty that what you are saying is correct English because you and your tutor have worked through your writing to ensure there are no mistakes.
- Because what you are practicing is correct, you won’t need to think a lot while speaking. You won’t be asking yourself questions such as “is this a grammatically correct sentence?” or “is this the right word I should be using here?.” You focus on what you are saying and thus speak more fluently.
- You are also learning relevant vocabulary, which is SPECIFIC FOR YOU.
- You will also have better pronunciation because you have heard your tutor’s pronunciation of your “speech.”