Accuracy vs Fluency when Speaking English - Which One Is More Important?

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- Hello, this is Jack from tofluency.com.

Welcome to this English lesson,

where we're going to look at the difference

between accuracy and fluency

when it comes to using English,

when it comes to writing and speaking.

Now, the difference between these two is this:

accuracy is concerned with

how you form the sentences,

if you use the correct grammar,

the correct vocabulary,

and if you use the sentence in the right situation.

Whereas fluency is more concerned

with the speed at which you speak,

or the efficiency in which you speak,

and you can think about times

when you have been concerned about one of these areas.

So, think about a time when you were speaking with somebody,

and you were concerned about using the right word.

You weren't sure if that word was correct

for that situation,

and obviously, when you are concerned

with the accuracy of what you are saying,

that is going to slow down your fluency, too,

because you're going to stop

and think about using the correct word.

Whereas, fluency is all concerned

about the speed at which you get things across,

and you're not as worried

about getting things completely correct.

You're going to make mistakes here

if you try to increase your fluency,

and it's all about getting your ideas across in a quick way,

in an efficient way,

and you're not concerned about making mistakes,

and another way to think about this

is to think about a typical lesson

where you are at a language school,

and your teacher introduces a new grammar term,

or a new word for you to use, or a new phrase,

and they ask you to produce this,

and at first you're concerned about getting this correct,

but after practicing it and saying it a few times,

then your fluency increases, too.

So, after practice you are both accurate

and you are fluent at the same time.

So, although these two things are separate,

they are both important,

and it's important to say

that you're never going to be 100% accurate.

You are always going to make mistakes

just like everybody does,

and also, you're never going to be 100% fluent

because everybody hesitates,

or people get tongue-tied, or people are tired

and they can't get the words out fluently,

but there are certain things that we can do

in order to improve our accuracy and our fluency.

Now, let's start with accuracy

because I think the best way

to become more accurate

is to focus on writing

because when you are writing,

especially if you are a self-taught student,

if you are self-studying at home

on your own or with friends,

then you have the time to get things right,

to form the correct sentences.

There's no rush.

There's nobody waiting for you to complete a sentence

so you can continue the conversation,

and there are certain tools that we can use

in order to improve our accuracy when we are writing.

For example, you can use Google

to check to see if sentences are correct.

You can look up new words and phrases.

You can use Google Translate

to translate from your language to English,

and we can also use tools like Grammarly,

which I highly recommend,

I leave a link in the description,

to correct our writing,

to correct our grammar while we are writing,

and although we tend to write about different things,

like we tend to write emails,

we tend to write comments on YouTube channels,

for example, leave a comment below,

we can also just write out things

that we would say in certain situations.

So, you can think about a time

when you're going to use your English this week.

It might be in a presentation you're giving,

it might be in a meeting that you have,

or it might just be questions you want to ask your friend

who you haven't seen for a long time.

Well, you can open your computer,

or if your handwriting is a lot better than mine

you can use a note pad,

and then you can just think about the sentences

and the questions,

or anything that you want to say, and write this down.

Take your time.

Use the tools that I've mentioned

in order to get this as accurate as possible,

to make the fewest amount of mistakes

so that you can improve this area of English,

and when it comes to fluency,

know that what we're talking about here is speaking

because when you think about writing and fluency,

there are certain situations where,

yes, you want to be able to write quickly,

where you're not constantly thinking about things,

and this just comes with practice.

For example, if you have an exam,

then you'll want to be accurate with your writing,

but you'll also want to do this quickly

so that you don't run out of time,

but generally speaking, when it comes to fluency,

we're focusing on how we can improve this

while we are speaking.

So, I'm going to talk about a couple of methods now

which will help you improve.

The first method is something called shadowing,

and I'll leave a link

to the person who came up with this method

in the description

so you can check this out,

but basically what you do is

you listen to any kind of audio,

and you repeat the audio with about a one-second delay.

It's quite a difficult skill

to constantly repeat what someone is saying

where you have to listen to what they're saying

but speak at the same time.

Try it now.

Just copy what I'm saying with a one-second delay.

So, just repeat the words I'm saying without stopping,

without pausing this video,

and see if it's something that you can do.

Now, it might take some practice in order to do this,

and the audio that you choose

is going to be really important

because if it's too difficult,

then you won't be able to follow along.

If it's too quickly, then you won't be able to do it either,

and also know that I'm not a huge fan of this method

because I think it takes away

a lot of the accuracy part of this,

and when you think about it,

it's not just about saying the right words and phrases,

it's also saying the correct sounds,

using the correct intonation and stress,

and the whole rhythm of English when you are speaking,

'cause you want to be accurate with this, too.

Otherwise, people won't know what you're saying

if you use the correct sounds,

or if you use the wrong sound at the wrong time,

and when you are shadowing,

what you're doing a lot of the time is you are mumbling.

(mumbles)

You're not saying things.

You're not enunciating clearly.

It's all mumbled together,

and it's difficult to focus on the correct sounds

because you are focusing too much on fluency.

Having said that,

it might work for you if you get the correct audio.

If you already know what this audio means

and you can say these sounds correctly.

So, once you reach that level,

then it might be useful for you,

but just like anything else, try it and see what it's like.

Another way to improve your fluency

is to get speaking practice, which is obvious, right?

The more you speak, the more you practice,

the better you'll get,

but I think it's important to find somebody

who will also correct you at the same time,

and somebody who is going to be patient with you

because if you try to force fluency too much,

then everything breaks down.

What you want to be able to do

is just to get the speaking practice,

but to be able to build up your fluency over time,

not to try and force it too much to begin with.

So, find a language exchange partner, somebody who's good,

somebody who listens to you, and somebody who is patient,

or find a teacher,

and this teacher can also correct you

when you make mistakes.

So, you're working on both things here,

but it kind of goes without saying

that getting speaking practice

is going to improve your fluency.

The next method is something that I have come up with

over years of teaching English

and learning languages myself,

and it's called the To Fluency method or the LRRC method.

I haven't got a really good name for it yet.

Basically, what you do is

instead of shadowing and continuing the audio,

you pause audio,

or you get lots of sentences

instead of one long dialogue.

So, you listen to a phrase: I've been to London two times.

Then you repeat it, 'kay?

So, you listen, and then you repeat,

but then you also record your version.

So, you record it on your phone or on your computer.

Then you compare you version

to the original audio,

and you listen.

You listen carefully.

You listen for mistakes you make,

for the sounds that you make,

and you think, okay, what do I need to do

in order to make my version,

or what do I need to do

so that I can say this phrase

just like the original?

So, maybe you need to change your intonation.

Maybe you need to learn a sound of English

that you're saying incorrectly.

Maybe you just need more practice,

but the idea is that

you are working on your fluency of saying a phrase,

but also improving your accuracy at the same time,

and then, if you use something like Anki,

which is spaced repetition software,

and you import this audio,

or you create your own flashcards,

and you repeat them in a smart way over the long term,

then you'll find your accuracy and fluency improving

at a very fast rate

because you're getting the practice you need.

You are making sure

that you're saying these phrases correctly,

and then you're repeating them over the long term

so that they can just come out more naturally

when you're having conversations,

and the key to this is finding phrases

that are suitable for you.

Now, I have a program where I take phrases from lessons,

from conversations my wife and I have had,

from some of my grammar lessons,

and I give you the downloadable flashcards

so that you don't have to spend the time making them,

but you might want to make them yourself instead,

or in addition to the program,

where you find audio online,

you put it into a flashcard,

and you repeat it,

and you might not want to even do the repetitions

with the flashcards.

You might just want to repeat the phrase a couple of times

to improve your accuracy and fluency.

It just depends on you.

It depends on you in your situation,

how you learn and how much time you have.

In summary, both of these areas, accuracy and fluency,

are important, and you want to constantly improve both.

So, that method I've just given you will help you do that,

but also do things like writing,

where you can focus on making sure

that you are completely accurate with what you're saying

so you can take your time to build that up.

Have conversations with people.

Work on your speaking at home,

where you're practicing on your own,

and also try shadowing and let me know what you think.

Have you used shadowing before?

Has it worked for you?

And if it has, share tips.

So, share what worked for you below

so that other people can learn from your experience,

and like always, if you have enjoyed this video,

then please like and share it.

Check out the description

for all the resources I mentioned in this video,

and also, for my book,

if you're new here get my book,

The 5-step Plan for English Fluency,

and welcome if you're new.

It's just great to have new people here.

If you're an old subscriber,

thank you for watching another one of my videos,

and speaking of videos,

check out these two here

if you want to continue learning with me today.

Okay, bye for now.

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