Kim Jeong Uk
When it comes to learning a language, Fluency vs. Accuracy ? When you learn a language, between fluency and accuracy, what comes first? I think I'm at the intermediate level in English at the moment, and I don't know which one I should focus on more. Most of what I've been doing is for accuracy. But I don't feel like my English is improving. I wonder if I should focus more on fluency, and if so, how to do that.
Jul 7, 2015 2:33 PM
Answers · 6
1
In my humble opinion, I think you should focus on communication. Talk to people in English. The stuff that you know with perfect accuracy will sound great. But hopefully you will be stretched to say things that are not perfectly accurate. That's okay. The best language learners make mistakes and are not afraid of doing so. When you strive to communicate, forget about accuracy for the moment. Make your best guess in how to say something. If a native speaker corrects you, you can write down the correction and review it for next time. But I wouldn't do this for every error you make. In my language-learning experience, both fluency and accuracy come by communicating, speaking imperfectly, accepting corrections gracefully, and also by as much exposure to the target language as possible, through movies, songs, podcasts, etc.
July 7, 2015
Well, it looks like your work on accuracy is paying off. You wrote that really well. When it comes to fluency, I would suggest reading out loud every day. This will help your speech to flow and also help you with the syntax of the language. Since you will be speaking the words, listening and reading all at the same time, you will be able to notice patterns on how English is used correctly. Also, conversation classes will help you with your fluency as well. I hope this helps. You are doing a great job!
July 7, 2015
Thank you Brian. I'll message you on Skype:)
July 8, 2015
At this point I think you should work on fluency. You are already very accurate, with only minor issues here and there, most of which still make your original meaning fairly clear.
July 7, 2015
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!