Trying to get fluent in a foreign language while not being very talkative in your native language Can you relate to my case? My dream is to become really fluent in English, and I provide myself with

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Matthieu Boucard

Trying to get fluent in a foreign language while not being very talkative in your native language Can you relate to my case? My dream is to become really fluent in English, and I provide myself with the means to get there. I somehow practice every day. At least, I listen to a few podcast episodes, or to an audiobook, and I read a few articles. I try to speak to myself, and sometimes I record those speeches for future reference. I also try to think in English, on a regular basis. Every now and then, I write a piece like this one. And obviously, I have Italki online lessons. However, I have to confess I’m not really a gregarious or talkative kind of person, and even in my native language, I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts clearly. This might make this goal of fluency in English even more difficult to reach. I read that in order to speak in a foreign language, you have to act like you’re someone else, so I guess my English speaking self will have to be more talkative than my French self. :)

Corrections · 6

How to Become Fluent in a Foreign Language (while Not Being Talkative in Your Native One)?

Can you relate to my case?

My dream is to become really fluent in English someday, and I hope to provide myself with the means to get there. I somehow manage to practice in some manner, every single day. At the very least, I try to listen to a few podcast episodes, or to an audio-book, and I typically read a few articles.

I try to speak aloud to myself, and sometimes, I even record those speeches for future reference. I also try to think in English first, on a regular basis, rather than initially in my native language, which is then translated. And, every now and then, I even write a short piece like this one.

Obviously, I also take online lessons here at Italki. However, I have to confess that I’m not really a naturally gregarious or talkative kind of person, and even in my own native tongue, I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts clearly. Thus, I’m afraid that this trait and this situation might combine to make my goal of fluency in English even more difficult to reach.

I read somewhere that, in order to speak in a foreign language, you have to pretend as if you’re someone else; so, if that is the case, I guess that my English-speaking persona will simply have to be more talkative than the French-speaking one! :)*

Hi, Matthieu. Good job! Whatever changes that I’ve made were merely done to allow your sentences to sound a touch more natural to my native ears. I hope that this helps you! J.

*Judging from what you've written, I feel that you are doing fine, so please continue with the steps that you are currently doing. And, unless you allow it to, being introverted should not truly inhibit your progress. Finally, much like painters who can create better portraits due to a wider choice of colors on their palettes, so, too, should you increase your vocabulary in English to allow you to create better, more descriptive, sentences that can then speak for you.

Trying to get fluent in a foreign language while not being very talkative in your native language

Can you relate to the following?

My dream is to become really fluent in English, and I provide myself with the means to get there. I manage to somehow practice every day. At least, I listen to a few podcast episodes, or to an audiobook, and I read a few articles. I try to speak to myself, and sometimes I record those speeches for future reference. I also try to think in English on a regular basis. Every now and then, I write a piece like this one. And obviously, I have Italki online lessons.

However, I have to confess that I’m not really a gregarious or talkative kind of person, and even in my native language, I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts clearly. This might make this the goal of fluency in English even more difficult to reach.

I read that in order to speak in a foreign language, you have to act like you’re someone else, so I guess my English-speaking self will have to be more talkative than my French self. :)

Ha ha! I believe that some people are more fluent in a foreign language than their own! it is great fun developing a different persona@

I am introverted when it comes to talk to people in my neighbourhood, but when it comes to talk in foreign language, I am very open, outgoing and want to talk to as many people as possible, even if I know only the basics of that language. I don't know what does this come from, but it's like this.

I can tell you do really have good habits. However, I don't think your English has to be more talkative than your native language itself because how about if you were a poliglot:)? As long as you practice your speaking a little bit every day like even in front of the mirror or with a fluent speaker you'll be fine. The more you’re speaking, the better you understand how to speak a particular word in the sentence to make an impact. They always say practice makes perfect.

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