How to Talk any Language Fluently(other than Your Native Language)

How did you learn to speak spontaneously (without having to translate from your native language)?

How to talk spontaneously(other than your native language)

Are you trouble fluency while talking the other languages which is not your native language. Here are some suggestions that will help you to talk spontaneously.

For those who are fluent in two or more languages, how did you proceed to the point where you no longer had to think in your own language in order to reach your second language? Did it just happen? What habits/practices did you do to encourage that development?

For example take Spanish(in the place of Spanish keep your own language) that you’re trouble to talk.  If you can read Spanish, at an almost advanced level(I only have to look up a few words per passage/article), but your speaking and listening are not doing so well...

here is one the technique that will help you...

Listening & Speaking without Back-Translating:

Listening:

This technique is for listening to movies (also applies to books on tape and the radio).

· Turn off Subtitles. Do not back translate in your head -- just hear the Spanish words. Also listen when you go to bed with your eyes closed -- you should already know the plot.

· I repeat:

Turn off Subtitles. Do not back translate in your head -- just hear the Spanish words.

Why no subtitles? ----- It Distracts From Your Listening and Makes You Think About the English Translation. That Is a No No.

Speaking: (this is the big bug-a-boo)

· The Problem:

You haven't read out loud, or talked to yourself out loud enough. This is how you train your mouth and tongue muscles, which takes time. You stumble on pronunciation of words, phrases, and sentences. Until you train your mouth and tongue you cannot make smooth, continuous conversation.

· Read Out Loud:

For a hour a day. Repeat over, and over, and over, and over, sentences and words you have trouble with. It is hard work but the only way I know of, and the going will be slow.

· Talk to Yourself Out Loud: (So important).

You need to do this all the time. This allows you to put your thoughts and ideas into Spanish, and after time -- the back translation to English will begin to fade-away.

· Grammar & Verb Conjugations:

Forget about these when you are speaking out loud -- no time to consider grammar and verb conjugations. Use your ear: what ever sounds good or correct, let it flow and come out. Yea you will make a lot of mistakes, but so-what (you will get better and better with time and practice). I really don't like to open my grammar book (I just love to talk in Spanish and do not like to study grammar), but as I progress I need to study grammar some more.

Practice find a buddy who is learning and begin to have conversations with them on a regular basis trying to show them "What you learned" in context with the conversation. if either of you are confused teach the other one what they don't know. and if they make a mistake let them know after they finished the sentence do not interrupt them. it can be fun when you are in class and you can talk to your buddies across the room and no one understands you 

another way is to take songs that are sung in both english and in spanish and listen to the songs meaning in english (not the words, the meaning) then find the meaning in spanish.

The most important thing I guess is that you have to be confident about what you already know - and the easiest way to achieve that is to use it and surround yourself with the language as much as you can. (eg. listening to a spanish radio, even when you don't pay attention consciously; movies as the others had mentioned...) The point is that you should catch the rhythm of the language that you can practice by talking AND thinking in Spanish (basically it's like having a conversation with yourself.)

The only way to get better at something is to do it and practice, so for speaking and hearing others speak and understanding, that's what it would take. But I envy you though - to be able to read so well, you do know a lot. I would bet if you could arrange a few weeks in a Spanish speaking country where no one speaks English to you, (maybe even with very interactive (no book) lessons,) your learning curve would be very steep!

One Last Point:

If I hear or say -El tiempo empieza ahora mismo para hablar español.- I hear and understand: -El tiempo empieza ahora mismo para hablar español-, my mind does not go to English and hear or understand "The time starts right now to speak Spanish." This is how your mind will begin to function after time.

Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/492418