Having a Bad English Day? So Does Everyone From Time to Time!

By Robby

If you are new here please read this first.


In this video episode I want to focus on the very essence of the English fluency issue – namely – its wavelike occurrence.

If you have this annoying English fluency problem when you can speak quite fluent English on some occasions, but on others you suddenly perform very badly, then you have definitely noticed that this phenomenon fluctuates. Basically it means that moments of very bad English fluency are followed by very good performance and then it goes back down again.

These fluctuations tend to be quite random, and that is probably the most annoying thing about the English fluency issue. You could be speaking very well the night before some important event, but the next day your performance is so bad that you feel like your English is utter rubbish 😡

So, while the upper end of the English fluency issue scale is definitely too severe to live with, there’s much we can understand by looking at the different levels of English speech you have at different times and it’s worth analyzing a bit.

The end-goal of today’s video episode is to help you realize that ups and downs in speaking English are quite normal as far as your English speaking performance isn’t severely limited by those low moments. If it is – you definitely have to work on this English fluency issue and there’s no better help with this than my English Harmony System.

But if the symptoms are limited to slightly impeded speech, hesitation and occasional inability to find just the right words when you want to say something in English, you have to remember than it’s absolutely natural to experience performance drops in all aspects of life!

Whether we look at physical or mental performance we can find a whole lot of examples to help us with the realization of the concept of an ever changing human performance in all aspects of life.

I can definitely remember days in a gym when I was unable to bench-press a certain weight more than three or four times although I would normally do about ten repetitions with the same weight.

I have days when I feel more energetic than usually and I also have days when I feel drained and sleepy and my overall performance is slightly inhibited.

And I’m pretty sure that every human being has had the similar experiences on a constant basis ❗

I mean – how can one realistically expect to be ALWAYS in a top shape, always happy, full of energy, always at the best of ones ability? I won’t deny – it’s definitely something what we all want, but it’s simply impossible to achieve!

And the very same goes with English speaking performance. Before you even judge your English fluency, just think if you can remember days when you were making plenty of mistakes when speaking your native language. I can definitely remember moments when I couldn’t put the thought that was in my head into proper words when speaking with other Latvians.

There are many different circumstances influencing your performance at any given moment – your current energy levels, your mental state, time of the day, how stressed out you are and many more. All those aspects come together whenever you have to speak English and they definitely affect your ability to perform well.

I’ve dealt with the English fluency issues a long time ago, but I still experience slight ups and downs. However, I don’t take it too seriously now simply because I know that it’s natural!

I have days when I’m really energized and I’m literally flying at work. All tasks seemingly take care of themselves, and English communication with my superiors and co-workers is totally effortless.

I also have days when nothing seems to happen right, and I even struggle a bit when chatting with my work colleague William. When I speak, it’s a bit more difficult to formulate my thoughts, and the resulting English speech is a bit hesitant and slower than usually.

But as I said previously – as far as you don’t experience this issue with really heavy symptoms when you constantly grind to a halt when speaking and your head seems to be full of messy thoughts and you can’t think straight – you’re fine! If these symptoms are mild and your English fluency isn’t seriously impeded, you have to accept it all as a normal part of life with ever changing performance levels.

The most important thing to remember on such occasions is to stay calm and comfort yourself with a thought that after every down-phase comes the next up, and there’s nothing you can really do to improve your English fluency at that given moment ❗

I’m not telling you to be complacent and just to go with the flow, don’t take me wrong. You have to constantly work on your English and maintain an overall upwards trend in your English fluency. All I’m saying is that if you take away the stress element from those occasions when you feel down and your English seems to be worse than normally, you can manage the problem more efficiently and save yourself an awful lot of unnecessary worrying! 😉

I, for example, used to worry a lot if I’d still experience moments of confusion and misunderstandings during communication in English even after I had dealt with the most severe English fluency issues. I used to try proving the opposite – that my English is good – by constantly repeating things and by trying to construct perfect sentences in my head.

Let’s say, if I just made a slight mistake when speaking English, I’d go back to it in my mind and figure out what would have been the perfect way of putting it. Instead of just enjoying the conversation I’d be constantly thinking something else at the back of my mind thus taking away much from the conversation itself and constantly fretting over things that just should be left alone.

So if you do the same – just stop doing it and start enjoying English conversations. Simply tell yourself that your English is good because you KNOW that, right? What’s the point worrying over a slight drop in English fluency once you know that it’s going to come back again soon? 😉

But if your English fluency levels experience severe fluctuations – just check out my English Harmony System and see what it can do for you!

Robby

 

English Harmony System

P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!

English Harmony System
  • Hi Yeliz,nnI agree with you 100% – I also find it easier to speak with natives than with other foreign English speakers for the simple reason that they will always understand me. If you have to start choosing simpler words etc when speaking to another foreigner whose English is worse than yours, you can start struggling with getting the message across big time, just as you said.nnOn the other hand – sometimes one can struggle when speaking with native English speakers in particular because they generally have bigger expectations. When you speak to another foreigner, on most occasions you won’t be as conscious of your performance, mistakes etc. as when speaking to a native English speaker, so it really goes both ways I think.nnThe best place to be is finding the confidence to speak with native English speakers at a speed that you’re comfortable with and without trying to sound too smart. Desire to please natives by trying to copy their vocabulary/pronunciation/pace is a sure-fire way to hesitation and messed-up speech!

  • Yeliz Bau015far

    Hi,Robbyn I live in Turkey.As I said before,I had a chance to have conversation with many tourists from different countries.what surprised me is that when I spoke to tourists whose native language is English,there was no problem.My communicative fluency was great .I felt myself relaxed,no anxiety,no rush …etc.But with the non-native speakers,everything went wrong.I got stuck ,couldnt concentrate on what to say etc…n In my opininon, why everyting was OK with the native speakers is because they let me feel confident.Before speaking to them,I am sure that they will help me when I hesitate.It was so:they easily understood what I was trying to say and they immediately filled in the gaps in our communication;they helped me when I had difficulty in speaking.n As far as I am concerned the only thing is confidence….but not only beliving in others (as I did) but also ourselves….nnnn

  • Thanks Amanda for your comment!nnI think if you can have a normal conversation in a foreign language, you can consider yourself being fluent. Or we can also say – conversationally fluent, which is the same thing for me as I think any language’s primary purpose is to serve as means of verbal communication.nnSpeaking of the variance in fluency – although there is a correlation between being more fluent and having less bad fluency moments, I can tell you from my own experience that you can be really fluent in the foreign language yet still experience terrible fluency issues.nnFor example, it was typical for me to have a brilliant, relaxed chat with my mentor at work and then struggle really badly the next day when speaking with the very same person.nnI think it all comes down to the methods used when learning the language. Despite achieving a good level of fluency, you might still keep translating from your native language at the back of your mind, and also keep sticking separate words together when speaking.

  • Very interesting. I’ve noticed that too with my French. Some times I could rattle off and have a fine conversation but then others I was struggling to find words or getting caught up with grammar. nI wonder if the more fluent you are the less variance in fluency. Maybe you have some better insight than I have since I would not say I am yet fluent in French so I cannot compare between ups and downs when I am just conversational and when I am fluent…thoughts?