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English Speaking Practise That Actually Does Something

November 14, 2017 , by Dr Julian Northbrook
You've probably met plenty of people like this:
  • Has 800+ in TOIEC or over 8 in IELTS.
  • Knows vocabulary that even native speakers don’t know (and is very proud of the fact).
  • Knows all the weird grammar patterns (also better than most native speakers).
  • Can’t say “good morning” in a native-like way.
Sounds really silly, I know... … but there are LOADS of people like this. Broad knowledge, but no depth. In anything, there are people who get good. And people who get extraordinarily good. There has been a lot of research into why people get remarkably good at something. Watch this video: http://vimeo.com/261058099 So as you can see, just because you "practise" it doesn't mean you are improving. There are good ways to practise, and not very good ways. In my book Master English FAST, I give you several "high intensity" exercises for building fluency and naturalness in English, FAST. To check out the first chapter for free, click here. Best, Julian

P.S. Chatting with native speakers may not be that effective for practising English... I talk about why in the first chapter of MEF, which you can read here for free.

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