Student Union
- By Hau Hoang
How to Speak English Fluently?
The most popular question I get from my friends in Vietnam is how to speak English fluently and correctly. I realize that it is a aching question that not just my friends, but also learners of this global language are trying to answer. In my case, even though I was taught English since the beginning of middle school in Vietnam, the things I learned then were barely adequate to carry out a conversation or even write up a letter in correct grammar.
In 9th grade, I decided to focus on studying English intensively on my own, which helped me land a scholarship to study in America through an exchange program – a thrilling turn for my education.
Obviously, being in the native speaking environment was a golden advantage, but at the same time, I still had to study and practice the language. By the end of high school, I was very confident with my English skills. All of my hard work paid off even more in college, because the classes at St. John’s College are discussion-based, so there’s a lot of talking.
Here are some of the things that worked for me when I was learning English. Since everyone has a different learning style, what worked for me won’t necessarily be best for you, but hopefully this will at least help you along.
Listen as much as possible
As I recall, the pronunciation I was taught in middle school in Vietnam are mostly incorrect. This is a common case because English pronunciation is not at all straightforward. There is nothing like the difficulty in trying to pronounce some of English's most difficult words. For me, the toughest words to master were words like "weird," "judge," and "noodle."
What helped was listening to native English speakers as much as possible, either through tapes, CDs, movies, or most prominently, the internet. I’m not exaggerating in saying that American movies and music were my principal English teachers in 9th grade. I would buy CDs of Westlife and Britney Spears, download the lyrics and sing along to the songs. And once in a while, my sister would bring me from Hanoi DVDs of American movies which I would watch over and over, and practice reading the subtitles along with the actors. I can still recite word-by-word the whole script of Mean Girls.
In this way, my English study was basically an immersion, though indirect, in the English language as well as the American culture. My pronunciation and speaking skill therefore improved very quickly. I got to learn the real English – what real Americans say to each other in everyday life; for example, saying "How are you doing?" instead of the ordinary "How are you?"
Judge yourself
When you practice speaking by repeating along with a recording, be somewhat hard on yourself, try to imitate as close as possible to the speaker's pronunciation, and most importantly, the intonation of the sentence - this will help you carry out a more natural and smooth conversation in English.
It is also very helpful to have a dictionary with International Phonetics Alphabet (IPA) pronunciation (I recommend Oxford, Macmillan, or Dictionary.com for those who have home internet access). Of course, the first step would be to learn how to read the IPA symbols (some YouTube videos can help teach you that). I always use this guide to learn the pronunciations of new words, and also to make sense of the pronunciation in the recording.
Specifically, by looking at the "anatomy" of the pronunciation, you will be able to greatly improve your pronunciation. For example, since Vietnamese words all have one syllable, a lot of Vietnamese pronounce the word “hôm” for “home” since their sounds are seemingly equivalent. When you look up the IPA pronunciation of this word, however, you will see that it actually consists of two syllables /ho-ʊm/. As a result, you should practice perfecting your pronunciation by saying the two syllables separately and quickly. Eventually it will become an instinctive thing to pronounce “home" in that correct manner.
Variety is key
For me, the key to speaking English fluently is sentence structures. The more structures you know, the more comfortable you will be when trying to express your thoughts.
My advice would be try to master the fundamental structures - “for example,” “I think that,” “it is interesting that,” “I find it,” “it is better to,” “not only … but also” - by practicing them over and over. A good familiarity with the structures will help with the coherence of the conversation.
As you expand your knowledge in sentence structures, it is also important to augment your vocabulary. It is always wise to constantly try new words in conversation due to the mutual relationship between speaking and learning new words: you need more words to express your thoughts precisely, and at the same time, it is easiest to learn new words when they are uttered and put in context.
Learning to speak English fluently is a difficult task. On top all of the tips I listed above, my final advice would be to practice as much as possible because really, practice makes perfect. Good luck everyone!
See all News Updates of the Day
- By VOA News
International students have options to pay for grad school
U.S. News & World Report tackles the challenges of paying for grad school as an international student with this story giving tips on paying for school. Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By Tracy Liu
Economics, tensions blamed for Chinese students shifting from US to Australia, Britain
U.S. universities are welcoming international students as the academic year begins. But while the total number of foreign students is steadily growing, the top sending country, China, is showing signs of leveling out or shrinking.
Industry analysts say the negative trend is mainly due to higher costs amid China’s struggling economy, with a growing number of students going to less expensive countries like Australia and Britain, and tense ties between Washington and Beijing.
The number of foreign students studying in the U.S. in 2022-23 passed 1 million for the first time since the COVID pandemic, said Open Doors, an information resource on international students and scholars.
While the U.S. saw a nearly 12% total increase year-on-year for that period, the number of international students from China, its top source, fell by 0.2% to 289,526.
That’s 600 fewer students than the 2021-22 academic year, when their numbers dropped by nearly 9%. The COVID pandemic saw Chinese student numbers drop in 2020-21 by nearly 15%, in line with the world total drop.
While it’s not yet clear if the drop is a leveling out or a fluctuating decline, analysts say China’s struggling economy and the high cost of studying in the U.S. are the main reasons for the fall in student numbers.
Vincent Chen, a Chinese study abroad consultant based in Shanghai, said although most of his clients are still interested in studying in the U.S., there is a clear downward trend, while applicants for Anglophone universities in Australia and Britain have been increasing.
"If you just want to go abroad, a one-year master's degree in the U.K. is much cheaper,” Chen said. “Many people can't afford to study in the U.S., so they have to settle for the next best thing."
Data from the nonprofit U.S. group College Board Research shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, the average tuition and fees for a U.S. private college four-year education increased 4% to $41,540 compared with the previous academic year.
The British Council said three to four years of undergraduate tuition in Britain starts as low as $15,000.
The number of Chinese students in Britain was 154,260 in 2022-23, according to the U.K. Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA, up from 121,145 in the 2018/19 academic year.
Australia’s Home Affairs office said in the 2023-24 program year, China was the top source foreign country for new student visa grants at 43,389, up slightly (1.5%) from the previous year.
Chen said Chinese state media's negative portrayal of the United States and concerns about discrimination have also contributed to the shift.
Bruce Zhang, a Chinese citizen who received his master's degree in Europe after studying in China, told VOA Mandarin he had such an incident occur to him after he was admitted to a U.S. university’s Ph.D. program.
When he entered Boston's Logan International Airport last year, Zhang said customs officers questioned him for more than an hour about his research, and if it had any links to the military, and took his computer and mobile phone for examination.
"Fortunately, I had heard that U.S. customs might be stringent in inspecting Chinese students, so I had relatively few study-related data and documents on my personal computer," he said.
Zhang was allowed to enter the U.S. for his studies in materials science, but the questioning left him so rattled that he has encouraged other Chinese to study elsewhere.
Cui Kai, a study abroad consultant in Massachusetts told VOA Mandarin that experiences like Zhang’s or worse happen for a reason.
"Students who were questioned or their visas were revoked at the customs are usually those who completed their undergraduate studies in China and come to the U.S. for a master's or doctoral degree in a sensitive major," said Cui.
Former President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10043 in June 2020, prohibiting visas for any Chinese student who “has been employed by, studied at, or conducted research at or on behalf of, an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC's “military-civil fusion strategy.”
The U.S. says China has been using students and scholars to gain access to key technology and, under Proclamation 10043, revoked more than 1,000 visas issued to Chinese nationals and has denied thousands more.
Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S. and is encouraging Chinese students to look to European and other universities.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
- By VOA News
Duolingo report details the reality of Gen Z international students
A report by Duolingo takes a look at the experiences of Gen Z international students studying in the U.S., Australia and the U.K, The Pie reports.
The report, the site says, debunks "characterizations of them as 'tech-obsessed, attention-deficit and self-centered'" and highlights "their emerging role in shaping global politics and economics."
Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
School with the lowest costs for international students
U.S. News & World Report crunched the numbers and came up with a list of 20 U.S. colleges and universities with annual total costs at or below $20,184. Check out these best bargains for international students here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
How to make the most of schools' international student services
U.S. colleges and universities offer a variety of services for international students.
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at them and details how to best use them. Read the article here. (June 2024)
