Fluency or accuracy?
Which is more important?
Hello!
There was an interesting question in my Facebook group a while ago:
“If you want to improve your speaking, should you focus on fluency or accuracy?”
(Fluency is the ability to speak smoothly without hesitating.
Accuracy is about speaking without mistakes.)
I wonder what led to this question. Perhaps there are a lot of confusing messages out there on social media.
One teacher says, “Don’t worry about mistakes” and another teacher says, “Here are some common mistakes to avoid.”
One post says, “Don’t worry about grammar - just speak!” and the next one says, “10 grammar mistakes that make you sound unprofessional.”
So what’s my answer to the question about fluency or accuracy?
I say you need to work on both!
Two things can be true, even if they seem to say the opposite.
You should practise speaking without worrying too much about everything being perfect.
AND
You should keep learning grammar and vocabulary so you can improve your accuracy.
BUT
It’s very difficult to work on both spoken fluency and accuracy at the same time.
That’s why, when I teach, some parts of the lesson are more about fluency, while other parts of the lesson are about accuracy.
Sometimes, I let my learners talk and I don’t interrupt them to correct mistakes. (But I make notes.) This helps them with fluency - and confidence.
Other times, we talk about the mistakes, why something was incorrect and how to say it better. This helps them with accuracy.
If you’re learning English on your own, without a teacher, try this:
Practise for fluency by…
talking to yourself about your day without trying too hard to be perfect.
choosing a topic and talking for a minute without stopping.
joining a conversation group or finding a practice partner.
Practise for accuracy by…
recording yourself speaking freely as above but then listening to the recording and try to spot mistakes.
writing. This is slower than speaking so it gives you more time to think about getting the right words and grammar.
choosing a particular grammar point or word you want to work on and making sentences to practise using it.
But if you’d like some help and some people to practise with, you can:
1. Upgrade your Substack membership and take part in the free monthly chat.
OR
2. Join one of my Conversation Clubs. Find out more here.
OR
3. Sign up for one-to-one lessons.
All of these options will give you speaking practice and the opportunity to improve your accuracy and fluency.
If you have any questions about this, just send me an email.
See you next week!
Katie 💙