Stop Speaking, Start Writing to Reach English Fluency

Most people learn a language and dream of speaking it fluently, but they don't pay attention to writing. While studying, they focus mainly on developing their listening and speaking skills. But to be fully fluent in a language, you should be able to listen and speak the new language, as well as develop your reading and writing skills. In this post, we dive deeper into why writing deserves your attention, too, while studying. 

Why You Should Focus on Your Writing & Speaking Skills

You might not realize it, but you write a lot during the day. You may not use a pen and paper, but you text on your phone and type on a computer, right? Doing these things involves being able to write words down using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. So why not focus on improving your writing skills as soon as you start learning a new language? Here are reasons why you should: 

Wide Audience

Your written texts can reach a much wider audience than your spoken words. It could be through a book that you publish, a post on the Internet, or an article in a newspaper. Your writing can circulate to places you would have never even imagined. The Internet has opened up the world to us and done away with borders that once seemed impossible to cross. In an instant, your written message can literally reach someone on the other side of the world.

Timeless

Writing is timeless. You can write an article now that will still be useful in 10 years. When posted online, anyone has access to it even long after you’re gone. Also, text carries some historical value with it since our writings can give people in the future an idea of how we lived in this time period. Don’t believe me? Think about how much we’ve learned about ancient Egyptians because of hieroglyphs. To date, we are still fascinated by their writings, yet we have no idea what language they were speaking at that time or how it sounded. Of course, we now have the ability to record ourselves so that future generations will know exactly how we sounded. Our writings will give great insight into spelling and how words change over time. This is definitely something we may not give much attention to while speaking.

Words to Sentences to Paragraphs

Writing is a great way to put your newly learned vocabulary and grammar knowledge into practice. It allows you to construct sentences at your own pace. Speaking, on the contrary, often puts a lot of pressure on students to reply quickly in a conversation. This pressure is nearly nonexistent when writing because the author can work at a self-imposed speed. Once you’re comfortable with constructing sentences, go further into the writing process by creating paragraphs. Share your thoughts and opinions, then back them up with supporting evidence. Voila! You just created a draft of your first essay! 

Learning While You Write

Did you know that writing can help you remember things better? Instead of just reading a list of vocabulary terms, write them down after you’ve said them aloud. With the time spent doing this, you are able to memorize the words better. This is similar to taking notes during a class. Writing helps you to leave an imprint in your brain about what the teacher said. 

Gateway to Opportunities

Are you thinking about pursuing a degree? Part of the college admissions process usually involves submitting an essay. Want to find a job? To get a competitive advantage, you’ll have to write a resume and cover letter. Even before you are able to put your speaking skills into practice during the job interview, you’ll have to make a strong first impression with your writing skills. Why? Because you’ll get an opportunity to interview based solely on your resume and cover letter. So writing is not only a good way for yourself to put the new language into practice, but it also opens up the doors to new possibilities. 

Tips on How to Improve Your Writing Skills

Are you convinced yet that writing is important when learning a new language? Read along to find out how you can improve your skills. 

Read

Writing goes hand in hand with reading. In order for you to improve your writing, you have to read a lot. Make sure you read different types of texts from novels to newspapers to academic articles. Being exposed to these different writing styles will help you form your own style. You will notice that various texts implement different types of languages based on what the author is trying to convey. Newspapers often use an official or static way of writing, but novels have a lot of feeling and emotion. Academic English is almost a whole language on its own. If you never read academic articles, you won’t be able to produce them yourself. But this is necessary when studying beyond the undergraduate level. In order for you to prepare, start reading different texts early enough so that you have time to familiarize yourself with these styles.

Different Writing Styles

Once you’ve gotten used to different writing styles through reading, it’s time for you to write. Short, informal text messages often use abbreviations and slang. In order for you to communicate effectively with native speakers, you’ll have to learn how to interpret their texts. Another completely different style of writing is used in official emails. You can give yourself different writing assignments to try out various styles. Don’t be afraid to let someone else read your assignments because their feedback can help you improve your writing. 

Think in English

The English language contains a great deal of idioms and phrasal verbs. These expressions are hard to translate into other languages because they are not literal expressions. Therefore, it is crucial that you think in English while writing instead of translating each sentence in your head from your native language. This will make the English language used in your texts more natural. Texts written by native speakers are often full of figurative language. If you want to sound like a native speaker in your writing, start by incorporating idioms, phrasal verbs, and other slang in your pieces. You’ll benefit from doing this in your conversations as well. 

Read Aloud

After writing your text, read it aloud to yourself to find mistakes. By doing so, you pay more attention to what you’ve actually written and practice your pronunciation at the same time. Is the English text you wrote something that could’ve been written by a native speaker? If not, what are some points you need to work on? Maybe you still use short, basic sentences. Don’t worry, the fact that you are practicing your writing is a great step toward fluency. And the more you read and write, the more complex your texts will become. But it is important to point out what still needs to be revised and improved in order for you to grow. 

Takeaway

Practicing your writing skills comes with a lot of benefits. Written texts are timeless and can reach a wide audience. Besides this, you will need to write essays when applying for college admission or job opportunities. What you write makes a strong first impression. You can improve your writing by reading a lot. Try to read a variety of texts so that you get an idea of the different writing styles that exist. Once you have an idea of some different styles, try them out yourself. Remember, just like any other skill, the more you practice, the better you will become at writing in English and on your way to fluency.