Learning Languages at Savoir Faire

Hot Tips For Learning Languages

How to speak more fluently

Translation
Translation is a very difficult exercise – which is why professional interpreters make a lot of money. During a conversation, we don't really have time to translate what we understand. When you use translation to understand a foreign language, you don't develop the necessary reflexes needed to speak and understand fluently. In other words, you don't always need to translate everything to understand what is being said. Building up reflexes right from the beginning will help you later when your skills are good enough to participate in a conversation.

How do you communicate successfully when you only have basic language? It can be done! Don't rely on vocabulary and sentence structure alone. After all, what you probably want most is to be understood, not to dazzle anybody with your command of grammar. Here are a few tips to get you communicating right off.

Relax! No one is judging you except you! Look at each communication experience as an adventure. If you are relaxed, you will pick up on small details, body language etc., that you might miss if you are wringing your hands and sweating.
Context is your friend. What is the subject, setting and situation? Use these to make intelligent guesses about what is being said. A lot of language can be eliminated when you consider context. You will feel much more comfortable and be receptive if you remember that you don't have the entire Spanish language to consider at once.
Memorize clarifying questions. After you have proudly stumbled through a request for tickets at the train station, the clerk rattles off a long sentence about Vichy and Tuesday. You may be a little unclear or have only understood a portion of what was said. Rather than staring blankly, have a list of memorized clarification questions such as, "Did you say________?" and "Would you repeat that more slowly?" that you deftly use to move the communication forward. By employing these questions, you build on what you can say and understand instead of starting over with each utterance. Besides improving your communication in your second language, you improve fluency and feel confident and in charge. (Look for a list of clarifying questions in Spanish and French in future newsletters.)
Employ body language. Use gestures and facial expressions to accompany your words. Don't be afraid to be a little exaggerated. The person you are speaking to wants to understand, and will be carefully observing and listening. As you become more proficient in your second language, you will rely more on oral exchange and less on body language (or theatrics!), but there is no shame in supporting the language you can use when you are a beginner. The alternative is to wait until you are an intermediate speaker to have meaningful interactions, and this is far too long to wait!