How can I speak English fluently?

Question

Could you please listen to my recording on Audioboo and tell me what kind level I am in? Am I an advanced english learner or upper-intermedia or intermedia or even lower?

audioboo.fm/boos/1549070-my-english-level

I have been learning English for 9 years and I just get frustrated because I am not fluent in English after 9 years of learning. How can I speak English fluently? What should I do?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

You are doing very well. Your speech is very clear and easy to understand. It is slow, true, but speed comes with practice.
There are many degrees of fluency.

Reading is perhaps the easiest to master, because you can go slowly, re-read, and use a dictionary.
Writing is next, followed by listening.
Speaking is the most difficult because you have to know vocabulary and grammar from reading and writing and pronunciation from listening.

So you need something that combines listening (for the pronunciation) and reading. (for vocabulary)
The site I have in mind is 100 greatest American Speeches. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html

Pick a speech. Read the words so that you understand the speech.
Next, say the words out loud. Record your voice.
Listen to the speaker. See if you can understand without reading the words.
Compare your voice with the speaker's. Practice the sentences that are most difficult for you. .
Practice until you can fluently recite and understand the speech at the same time.

Then pick another speech. Notice that the speakers have different accents. That is normal, because in the US, there are many regional accents. But I think this will be a good exercise for you.
There may also be a British English site for recorded speeches, if you would like to speak with a British accent.

CharmYou · Answer

Thanks a million.

Notice that the speakers have different accents. That is normal, because in the US, there are many regional accents.

What's the accent that is officially stantard in US? What's the news broadcasters' accent?

There may also be a British English site for recorded speeches, if you would like to speak with a British accent.

What accent do you think I speak English with? A Chinese accent? Is British accent or American accent easier to learn for me? By the way, since there are many regional accents in US, what regional accent should learners probably learn?

Enoon · Answer

Your accent is good. I guess it's more like American. Who is your favorite American actor? If you want a regional accent to learn, Nebraska and California are pretty neutral.

CharmYou · Answer

Really? A friend from Mid-western told me that "You sounded a little like a Californian. It just comes out nasally and annoying. " Is California accent really neutral? I asked many people if California accent is nasal and they said yes.
and then the friend of mine advised me to learn Mid-western accent because she thought Mid-western accent is Standard American English.
By the way, how can I get a specific regional audio material?

CalifJim · Answer

CharmYouIs California accent really neutral?

The problem with this is that people from all over the U.S., indeed, all over the world, seem to end up in California, so "the California accent", if there is one, is rather varied. It's possible that the people who were born here have a slightly more nasal sound when they pronounce certain vowels, but this is not characteristic of the rest of us who have moved here from other places.

Of the ten people I talk to most, only two were born here in California, but they don't sound nasal to me at all, so from my limited amount of data, I'd have to say that the California accent seems neutral to me. Maybe the nasal accent is more characteristic of the younger generation.

CJ

CharmYou · Answer

mhmm..I see...Cali is the most expensive part in US, isn't it? I have been listening to an English teacher in San Fransisco for TWO years. And my accent is kind of from him because he is my role model..my idol...Do you know A.J. Hoge, the most powerful English teacher in the world ...His teaching method is amazing...However, am I so stupid that after two years of listening to his lessons I still can't speak English well?

CalifJim · Answer

CharmYouHowever, am I so stupid that after two years of listening to his lessons I still can't speak English well

Is it really you, or is this guy not really as good as you claim?

CJ

CharmYou · Answer

I don't know..His lessons did influence me. However, he promised that people following him can speak English fluently in 6 months or less but after two years I still can't speak well....Maybe he is not really that good...His theory is to learn English subconsciously..I thought it is true..But if it really works why am I still not fluent ? Am I really stupid??...or maybe I should just stop following him and find some new materials...Maybe

AlpheccaStars · Answer

CharmYouWhat's the accent that is officially stantard in US? What's the news broadcasters' accent?

No, there is no official language dialect. The most neutral accent is midwestern.
There are British dialects as well, with even more distinctions than in the US. I traveled to Scotland, and many times I could not understand what they were saying. Their accent was very different from mine.

If you pick a speech, then you can ask us about the speaker's accent.

I was able to tell from your recording that you were Chinese. Your language will affect your English accent. Unless you are a young child, it is very hard to eliminate the sounds of your mother tongue from your speech.

CharmYou · Answer

Thanks for your reply...But what is the accent that spoken by newscasters?

I was able to tell from your recording that you were Chinese.

Of course you can tell I was Chinese because that one is when I speak spontaneously .
But can you still tell my Chinese accent when I am reading? check this out..

audioboo.fm/boos/1549983-when-i-am-reading

I guess I can fake an almost-native american accent when I recite (after memorizing it)..But I can't make sentences easily without recourse to analyzing..

If you can still tell my Chinese accent, tell me how do you do that..Do americans born with some kind of ability to identify accent? Are americans psychics who have the ability to hear the voice and picture the nationality ...

Just joking...But I am just wondering how do you do that...Because to my ears, there is no difference...

How can I speak English fluently?

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