Speak Slowly! When you are learning a foreign language, the objective is to be able to communicate well or to be fluent in that language. Because everyone is different, there are nearly an infinite number of levels of fluency. Most students of a foreign language do not feel confident in their ability to communicate in that language and it doesn't seem to matter what their level is. Every teacher or tutor should strive to build a student's confidence. The best way I know to do this is to advise every student to speak slowly when speaking in a foreign language. Since many students first think of what they want to say in their native language and then translate in their mind to the foreign language, the process takes longer. Speaking slowly gives you that extra time you need to do the translating. Speaking more slowly also improves pronunciation so that the listener understands better. We humans tend to copy each other without even thinking about it. Usually, when your listener hears you speaking slowly, he or she will answer more slowly. This means that you will understand that person better. All of this process gives you more confidence which is absolutely necessary for communicating in a foreign language. When you are not confident, you are nervous and being nervous makes it hard to think clearly. The tendency when you are nervous is to speak quickly, so the more nervous you are, the more important it is to concentrate on speaking slowly. People will not criticize you for speaking too slowly, but they will criticize you if you speak too quickly. Speaking too quickly causes you to leave out sounds and sometimes entire words. So, the most important thing you can do to become more fluent in a foreign language is to SPEAK SLOWLY, regardless of your level!