Counter-intuitive reason that speech gets choppy and awkward
It has little to do with speaking at all
I am doing a 30-day speaking challenge for Ukrainian. It entails speaking aloud in an unscripted manner for 5 minutes a day. I track how many words I say during each practice session. If I say more words, it means that I paused less often and kept things flowing. For bonus points, I divide my total word count by 5 minutes to get an average words-per-minutes score.
Here are my results so far.
My speech rate is low-beginner.
At the Calgary Language Nerds, we’ve created a fluency rubric. It outlines in measurable terms what it means to have different proficiency levels (i.e., beginner, intermediate, advanced).
Today, we’ll focus on two sections of the rubric:
Vocabulary size
Speech rate
Vocabulary limits speech rate.
If your vocabulary is at an intermediate level, your speech rate will also likely be intermediate (possibly even slightly below). As a real-life example, I have a high-beginner Ukrainian vocabulary level and my speech rate tends to be either low-beginner or just under high-beginner.
More practice is not always the answer.
People think that they struggle to speak because of a lack of practice. While this is true for some people and to some extent, the bigger problem is in fact vocabulary. You don’t know enough words to speak more fluently. Your brain has to pause and search for the right words/phrases too often.
Follow this 2-step process.
You will see a rapid improvement in your speaking skill:
Speak daily. My (free) 30-day speaking challenge is one way to do this, but conversation sessions with a 1-1 tutor or language partner also would be an effective approach.
Email me for details.
Read and listen. You will eventually stop improving if you just speak. Your speaking proficiency will forever be capped until you decide to read and listen to boost your vocabulary.
What about grammar?
For some, gaps in grammar knowledge are obstacles to fluent speech. But grammar issues tend to get resolved by speaking, reading, and listening. If you really struggle with grammar, supplementing speaking + reading/listening with traditional grammar study will help. The easiest way to do “traditional” grammar study is through classes and/or workbooks.
Any questions?
I’m always happy to hop on a Zoom call or speak over email to point you in the right direction. I have an expertise in language acquisition and thoroughly enjoy being of service. There is an option to enrol in lessons with one of my tutors too, but I won’t push you into that. I used to be too pushy for my own liking and like to think I have learned from my mistakes.
Email me if you’d like to connect.