How can I speak English like a native speaker?

and information about group lessons

Photo by Ricardo Arce on Unsplash

Hello everyone!

Last week, a couple of people asked me “How can I speak English like a native speaker?” so I’ve been thinking about how to answer that question.

I have some good news and some bad news for you! Let me give you the bad news first! Are you ready?! The hard truth is that most learners will never speak English like a native speaker! I’m not saying that it’s impossible. I know people who have done it so it can be done. It’s not easy though.

Reaching that level of English can take years of studying and practising. It’s easier to achieve if you can live and work in an English-speaking country, but even that is not a guarantee. (I lived in Poland for two and a half years but I spoke English most of the time so I never reached a high level of Polish!) Perhaps there are some lucky people who have a special gift for languages but most of us have to work really hard at it.

Most people have busy lives and can only spend a few minutes a day learning another language. And most people don’t have the time, the money or the opportunity to go and live in another country. For these reasons, speaking like a native speaker is not a realistic goal for many people.

Now here’s the good news. It’s not actually necessary to speak English like a native speaker! I know people who speak amazing English with a non-native accent and just the occasional grammar error or a non-standard way of expressing themselves. In fact, their English is so good that it’s better than some native speakers and possibly easier to understand too! And don’t forget that native speakers make mistakes and have lots of different accents.

As far as your accent is concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having an accent which comes from your first language. In fact, your accent is part of who you are so why feel you have to change it? I think accents are beautiful! You should aim to make sure that other people can understand your pronunciation but that doesn’t mean you have to lose your accent completely.

I also know lots of intermediate-level (B1) students who can have great conversations with me and with each other in English! At this level, learners make a few grammar mistakes but the listener can still understand what they mean. Learners might not always know the words that they want but they can usually find another way to explain it. I know a few languages to a very basic level. I would be so happy if I could reach B1 in one of them!

My advice to you is to choose a smaller and more realistic goal. It’s OK to dream that you’ll be totally fluent in English one day but for now, choose a goal that’s easier to achieve. Maybe this could be to learn 10 new words a day, to understand the present perfect, to pass an exam or to increase your level from A2 to B1.

You might have heard of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. You can read more about this here.

If you still want to try to speak English like a native speaker, or if you just want to know how to improve your English, the answer is the same. This is what you should do:

• Surround yourself with English as much as possible. Go and live in an English-speaking country or get a job in an international company if you can. Find English-speaking friends. This is totally possible thanks to social media.

• Read something in English - books, newspapers, websites, social media. You will learn vocabulary as well as practising your reading skills.

• Watch videos on YouTube, like BBC Learning English. This will help you with listening and pronunciation. (You can also listen to songs and podcasts or watch movies but short videos are better for beginners.)

• Learn the grammar. You can do this from a book, from websites, from YouTube or with a teacher.

• Practise speaking every day. Try to find somebody to talk to but if you can’t, you can still talk to yourself. Click here to learn how to find somebody to talk to.

• Consider finding a teacher or joining a class.

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Group classes

I had my first group lesson last week and I loved it! I had students from China, Russia and Germany. We talked about food, meals, eating out and cooking.

I’ve scheduled two more B1+ classes for this week, one on Thursday and one on Friday. I’m experimenting with different days and times to see what works best. If you want me to consider a different level or different time, you can reply to this email to tell me!

Group lessons are $10 for one hour.

To join, first, you need to create an italki account. Click this link - italki.com/en/affshare?ref=af3471934 - and you will get $10 back after you buy your first italki credits.

To find my classes, please go to italki.com/en/teacher/3471934. You can find my group lessons at the bottom of the page. You might want to look at this link first to see what I offer and then use the first link to sign up, create your account and get $10!

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Thank you for reading and see you next week!

Katie

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Thanks for reading! I’m Katie Salter and I teach British English online. I help adult learners to speak better English through conversation practice and grammar lessons.

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