Mastering English: A Practical Roadmap to Start Speaking Confidently

In my previous post, I tried to explain why we struggle to speak English. I discussed the positive effects of developing speaking skills through natural processes and how incorporating a hobby you enjoy into your daily routine in English can make a difference. However, if you’re determined to improve your English speaking skills in a more systematic way and achieve faster results, let’s dive deeper into today’s topic.

Today, I’d like to share a roadmap I’ve personally followed and tested with others. Keep in mind, no matter your English level, you can start speaking at your current ability. With consistent speaking practice and, most importantly, overcoming your fears, you can start speaking English in a relatively short time. Children are a great example of this. They don’t worry about making mistakes or how they sound — they simply start speaking with the words they know.

For the following methods, I’ll assume you have a teacher or tutor to work with. If you don’t, many of these practices can still be done on your own. That said, having someone to guide you is particularly helpful for B1 and lower levels. If you’re B2 or above, you can easily follow this roadmap independently.

1. Learning Useful Phrases

The best way to start speaking is by learning simple, practical phrases to express yourself. With a tutor, focus on phrases that match your level. Once you’ve mastered the structure of one phrase, you can create countless sentences using the same pattern. You can have two or three lessons per week, focusing on 5–6 phrases per session. Aim to learn new vocabulary as well. Dedicating two weeks to this phase will allow you to learn around 25–30 phrases and plenty of new words. This is an excellent starting point for expressing yourself in daily life and will provide the motivation you need to keep going.

If you’re working without a tutor, you can extract useful phrases from videos or books that suit your level.

Benefits of learning phrases:

• Quickly gain the ability to express yourself using common sentence structures.

• Learn to create unlimited new sentences from a single phrase.

• Expand your vocabulary naturally.

• Build confidence and motivation to continue.

  
  

2. Reading Short Stories

Once you’ve built some confidence with phrases, start reading short stories. It’s crucial to find stories at your exact level. Although reading slightly above your level can help with language improvement, for our goal of quickly starting to speak, sticking to your current level is more effective. If you have a tutor, they can assign suitable stories for you to practice.

How to approach reading:

1. Read the story slowly and try to understand it without stopping or using a dictionary. Reflect on what you understood.

2. On your second read, pause to analyse the sentences and try to understand their meaning.

3. On your third read, note any unfamiliar words.

4. Look up the meanings of those words and read the story again, focusing on sentences with those words.

5. Continue re-reading as many times as you like. Spacing out your reading across different days will reinforce what you’ve learned and improve retention.

   
   

When you meet with your tutor, try summarising the story in your own words. Discuss unclear sentence structures during the session. Repeat this reading practice for at least two weeks, covering 4–5 stories.

Benefits of reading:

• Learn correct language usage and new patterns.

• Identify and address grammar gaps within your level.

• Expand your vocabulary.

• Practice speaking by summarising stories to your tutor.

  
  

3. Practicing Listening

Listening is one of the most challenging skills to improve, especially without focused practice. You may have heard the common phrase, “I can understand, but I can’t speak,” but in reality, comprehension is often a significant barrier to speaking. Without understanding the other person, meaningful conversation is unlikely. Let’s break down how to tackle this skill:

If you’re working with a tutor, they can find short videos suited to your level. If you’re studying on your own, search YouTube for videos matching your level (e.g., “B1 level videos”). Aim for videos no longer than 5–6 minutes.

How to approach listening:

1. Listen once without pausing and focus on understanding the main idea.

2. Listen a second time and identify parts you didn’t understand the first time.

3. On your third listen, pause after each sentence and analyse its meaning.

4. Check subtitles on your fourth listen to identify unfamiliar words or phrases.

5. Look up the meanings of these words and listen again, focusing on pronunciation.

Revisit the video on different days for better retention. During your lesson, summarise the video to your tutor using new words and discuss any grammar points or mistakes.

Benefits of listening:

• Improve your ability to understand others.

• Learn correct pronunciation.

• Identify key language patterns to use in your own speech.

• Expand your vocabulary.

• Practice speaking by discussing the video with your tutor.

  
  

4. Practicing Writing

Writing is an active skill that develops multiple abilities simultaneously. It allows you to consolidate what you already know. Your tutor should assign topics, and you should aim to write 500–1,000 words on each. If you’re new to writing in English, you may struggle initially, but it gets easier with practice.

How to approach writing:

1. Before you begin, jot down some notes or ideas about the topic.

2. Use a dictionary or online resources to help you while writing.

3. Review your draft and identify mistakes.

4. Rewrite a second version, improving on the first.

5. After a break, review it again and create a third version.

6. Research phrases or words you want to include and incorporate them.

7. Share your final version with your tutor.

8. Discuss your writing during the lesson, focusing on errors and new ideas.

   
   

Benefits of writing:

• Consolidate and apply your existing English knowledge.

• Improve grammar and expand your vocabulary.

• Practice expressing yourself clearly on a specific topic, which supports your speaking skills.

  
  

By following this roadmap, I guarantee that within two months, you’ll start speaking English at your current level. With consistent effort, you may even improve your general English level by one step. The most important factor is to convince yourself of your strong reasons for learning English. Once you do, you’ll overcome the biggest obstacle to success.

Good luck, and keep going!