How Do You Get Faster At Speaking A New Language?

When you start speaking a new language it will be painfully slow. It will feel like there is 5 minutes between each word you say and your brain will be going into overdrive trying to think about what to say while all that comes out of your mouth is “ummmm”

This isn’t a pleasant experience and you will want to know if you can or will ever get faster and just speak at a more normal speed.

Luckily this is entirely possible and the secret ingredient is just plenty of practice, but I will go through some different ways you can practice below to help you get faster at speaking.

Why Do You Speak Slowly?

If we want to get faster we first need to look at what is making us speak slowly in our new language.

When you are speaking your brain has to do a few things and if it is a new language it is basically not very comfortable with this task and it takes some processing time.

You firstly need to decide what you want to say and for a beginner this usually occurs in their native language, you then need to translate this into your new language and you need to find a way to say what you want using the knowledge you have.

This may take a few second as you may not be sure about a word, or how the sentence should be structured.

You may also need to be able to process what someone else is saying to you. You will need to make sure you understand their message before you can work out what you want to say and this extra step can also slow you down.

If we look at our native language this whole process is nearly automatic. We often just start speaking before we have even started thinking. We are so used to forming sentences that they just flow out of us. 

If we can get to this level of comfort in the language we are learning we will also be able to speak very quickly in this language. The only way to get like this is through a lot of practice.

Practice Speaking More

If you want to get faster at speaking in your new language, the only way to get there is to practice more. However, there are a number of different ways you can practice which I will explain now.

Speak Out Loud When You Are Alone

Speaking out loud when you are alone means that you are just talking to yourself, which is of course pretty strange, but it works. You do need to be careful that you are saying things correctly, but if you keep an eye on that you will be fine.

Basically you can speak to yourself all day long, both out loud and in your head. Just constantly be talking to yourself as you go about your day.

You can narrate your life to yourself or you can just walk around saying random things, so long as you are practicing it will all help to make your new language become very comfortable.

When you go to actually speak to someone your processing speed is going to much quicker as have been talking and thinking in the new language so much that it doesn’t feel awkward anymore.

(You can read more about – How To Practice Speaking A Language On Your Own (Without Mistakes))

Read Out Loud

Reading out loud is another strange technique, but it is also helpful for making you speak faster.

The only problem with this technique is that you are only reading, you do not really need to think about what to say, which isn’t ideal, but that’s okay as it can still help get your mouth used to making the right sounds.

The language you will be reading is correct, so there is no risk of making mistakes and you can just focus on making the sounds and doing it progressively faster and smoother.

New languages can sometimes be a bit of a tongue twister for us and they can be awkward to pronounce, reading out loud just helps us overcome this and then when we do want to talk, what we say comes out more smoothly as we are used to making the  correct sounds.

Speak To Natives

The most obvious way to practice your speaking is to of course just speak with native speakers. This is going to be real world practice and while it can be scary, it is one of the best ways to practice. You will start to get really comfortable after doing this for a while and you will slowly speed up as you get more confidence.

You can find plenty of natives on language exchange sites or you can even hire a tutor if you would like some structure and boundaries to your conversations.

You may also be able to talk to natives face to face, but really this will depend on where you live and what language you are learning.

(You can read more about – Why Does My Brain Freeze When Speaking To A Native Speaker?)

Use Speech Shadowing

Speech shadowing is when copy a native speaker. You get a video or some audio and you just copy what you hear. You can either speak directly after the audio, or over the top of it, either way the goal is to just replicate what you hear.

This makes you faster as it gets you used to speaking at the same speed as a native. If you can copy exactly what is being said with the same speed and intonation you are going to sound very native.

Of course the problem here is that you are just copying, you are not using the language by yourself, but that doesn’t matter. The goal is to just get your mouth moving in the proper way and at the proper speed.

When you actually go to speak yourself, you may still be a little slow, but you will now have a feeling of where you need to be and you can work your way up to that level.

You can read more about – Is Shadowing Useful For Language Learning?)

Overcome Your Shyness and Fears

One of the biggest hindrances to your speaking abilities will be yourself. We all suffer from self doubt and fear when we are learning a language and it can make us shy and want to avoid speaking.

It makes sense, no one wants to make mistakes and look silly, but unfortunately it’s going to happen and we just need to accept that.

If you let these fears hold you back, you will not make progress and you will not get any quicker. You need to fight through the discomfort and keep trying.

The more you practice the more comfortable you will become and you will find that you just speak much faster as you are not worried about anything.

(You can read more about – Overcoming The Fear Of Speaking A Foreign Language)

Learn More Words

Learning more words initially doesn’t sound like it would help you get faster, but it can.

If you learn more words, you are just going to be able to say more things, more easily. Of course it doesn’t speed up the words coming out of your mouth, but it does speed up your processing speed, which is half the battle. 

If you think of all the time you waste thinking of what words to say, it can really add up. This is made even worse when you don’t know a word, and have to think of a different way to say something.  Learning more words just reduces the chances of this happening.

(You can read more about – What Are The Benefits Of Practising Your Speaking Skills In A Second Language?)

Listen More

Listening doesn’t speed up your speaking directly, but it can speed up your processing time. The more listening you do, the more comfortable you will become with the language.

When someone speaks to you, you will just be faster at working out what they are saying and you will also be able to form a reply that little bit faster. You will be used to the language and it will be easier to think about what you want to say.

Listening can really help your speaking and it will make you faster.

(You can read more about – Is Listening The Best Way To Learn A Language?)

Read More

Reading has the exact same benefits as listening. You are going to be getting more comfortable with the language and coming across more new words all the time.

Being comfortable with the language is going to speed up your processing speed which in turn will allow you to speak faster.

Reading is helpful for you speaking, even if you can’t see it directly.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Speaking In Your New Language)

Conclusion

As you can see there are a number of different ways to get faster at speaking, but basically all you need to do is practice.

Practice is just going to make you better at the skill of speaking and the better you are at something, the faster you can do it. Practice will make you comfortable with what you are doing and when this happens, you will see real progress.

Just keep pushing, you will get faster!

(You can read more about – Resources To Help With Your Speaking In A New Language)