About fluency

[Anonymous]

Hi
I really know english as a language,can write it and speak it well but i can't speak fluently for long periods because i get stuck and keep reverting to my mother tongue. this lands me into embarassing situations,esp while discussing stuff with collegues.
I was wondering if u had any helpful hints or ideas.
thanks
Namrata

[RonBee]

I'm sure Tdol will come by with some suggestions.

:)

[Tdol]

This sounds far more a question of confidence than a language problem. I have a student from Iran who spent about ten minutes explaining that she couldn't speak English, unaware that her fluency trashed her argument.

I'm not ssure how to advuise- if you have time and know when you're going to have to talk, you can reherase imaginary dialogeus, etc, in your head, but if you don't then it's much harder. It's more a question of building your confidence and not allowing the lapses to get on top of you. When it happens make a joke of it- don't forget that the person who is speaking the foreign language is the one making the effort, not the native speaker.


What is your mother tongue?