Effortless English: Learn To Speak English Like a native

 
"BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND WRITTEN ENGLISH PERFECTLY."
I hear this a lot from students who don’t understand why they have great
comprehension of written English, but can’t speak it well. One reason is because
English conversation is quite different from English reading. Conversation uses a
different type of English, including different vocabulary.
English conversational vocabulary is much more casual. In English, this means
we use more words of Saxon or Old English origin during conversation. We also
use more phrasal verbs (two- or three-word phrases with either a verb and an
adverb or a verb and a proposition, such as 
get away, calm down
or 
cheer someone
up).
The difference between conversation and more formal English is one reason
that even “advanced” students have difficulty with everyday conversations. The
problem is that students learn more formal English in school. Formal English
tends to use more words of French and Latin origin. This kind of English is, in
fact, much easier for students who speak Romance languages such as Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese, or French. These students often do quite well when reading
English, but have a lot of trouble understanding normal speech.
So, if you want to communicate with native speakers, it’s very important to
learn from English conversation and audios – not just textbooks and reading.

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Learn English Conversation
This is why listening is so important. Listening provides the foundation for
speaking. As your listening ability improves, it will pull your speaking ability up,
too. Too many learners are focused solely on speaking and they neglect listening.
However, what use is speaking if you can’t understand the other person?
Another reason listening is important is because the dynamics of spoken English
are completely different from those of the written language. For starters, the
grammar is different since we rarely speak in complete sentences. The vocabulary
is also different with a lot more idioms and slang being used in speech. (See box.)
And most importantly, the speed is different. Speech is fast. Super fast. So fast that
you have no time to think about translations, or grammar rules, or textbook lessons
or pronunciation. There is no time. Your conscious brain simply cannot analyze,
translate, and organize real speech. This is the reason your speech is so slow. This is
the reason you can’t understand two native speakers talking to each other.
In fact, in order to perform at real speaking speeds, you must turn off your
conscious brain and let your subconscious do its job. To do that, you must use
methods which awaken your subconscious. You must learn holistically, intuitively,
and naturally.
Primarily, this means listening to lots of understandable English speech… and
doing it repeatedly. As you listen, you quiet your conscious mind and just allow
your brain to understand the whole meaning of the words. You don’t try to pick out
individual words. You don’t worry about the few words you don’t understand. You
relax and you let the meaning wash over you. Your mind is open and quiet. And
then, when you speak, you just let the words come out. You don’t struggle. You
don’t analyze. You don’t think about rules. You don’t worry about mistakes. You
don’t think about translations. You just let the words pour out of your mouth
effortlessly. This is what my students have learned to do. It takes time, but as you
focus on listening and learning English effortlessly, your fluency, confidence and
correctness will grow.