Spoken English
Many learners sound stiff not because their English is poor, but because they are speaking written English aloud.
Spoken English is a different dialect
Real speech is full of things that would be marked wrong in an examination: unfinished sentences, repetitions, contractions, and words like well, actually and you know that carry no meaning at all.
These are not errors. They are how the language is spoken, and using them is what makes speech sound natural rather than recited.
Written English and spoken English
| Written | Spoken | Note |
|---|---|---|
| I do not know. | I don't know. | Contractions are normal in speech. Not using them sounds formal or emphatic. |
| I would like to go. | I'd like to go. | I'd, you'd, he'd, we'd are all ordinary in speech. |
| Yes, I have. | Yeah. / Mm-hm. | Short responses are normal and not rude. |
| That is correct. | That's right. | Speech prefers the shorter, commoner word. |
| I am unable to attend. | I can't make it. | Everyday speech uses phrasal verbs constantly. |
| Could you repeat that? | Sorry, what was that? | Both are polite. The second is more natural in conversation. |
| It is very good. | It's really good. | Really is far commoner than very in speech. |
| I disagree. | Hmm, I'm not sure about that. | English speakers often disagree indirectly. |
Fillers and what they are for
Well…, Actually…, You know…, I mean…, Right…, So… These words carry almost no meaning, and yet fluent speech is full of them.
They exist to give the speaker a moment to think without falling silent, and to soften what comes next. Well… before a disagreement makes it gentler. Actually… signals that you are about to correct something.
Use a few. Do not use them in every sentence. They are the seasoning, not the meal.
Phrasal verbs: the vocabulary of speech
Spoken English prefers a common verb plus a small word to a single formal one. Learning thirty phrasal verbs will make you sound far more natural than learning three hundred long words.
- find out (discover) — I'll find out and let you know.
- put off (postpone) — They've put off the meeting.
- get on with (continue, or have a good relationship) — We get on with each other well.
- turn up (arrive, often unexpectedly) — He turned up an hour late.
- look after (take care of) — Could you look after the shop for an hour?
- give up (stop trying) — Don't give up now.
- work out (calculate, or end well) — It worked out in the end.
- come across (find by chance) — I came across an old photograph.
- sort out (resolve) — We'll sort it out tomorrow.
- take over (assume control) — She's taking over the department.
When to keep it formal
Spoken informality belongs in conversation, not everywhere. In a job interview, a formal presentation or a serious complaint, use fewer contractions, fewer fillers and more complete sentences.
The skill is not choosing one register and staying in it. It is being able to move between them, and knowing which the situation calls for.
Four conversations, played out
These are written the way people actually speak, hesitations included. Press Play conversation and each turn arrives in time, spoken aloud where your device has a voice for it - so you hear the rhythm, not just the words.
Every line is on the page already, so you can simply read them if you prefer.
To practise speaking, press Be and a name: the website speaks the other person's lines and listens for yours. Then try the Conversation Partner, where the other person answers what you actually say.
1. Small talk with a neighbour
Two neighbours meet at the gate. Neither has anything in particular to say, which is the point.
- DilaniOh, morning! I didn't see you there.Oh buys half a second. It is not a mistake.
- Mr PereraMorning, morning. Off early today?
- DilaniYeah, I've got to drop my sister at the station, so... a bit of a rush, actually.Got to not have to. So... trails off instead of finishing - normal in speech.
- Mr PereraAh, right. Which train is she catching?
- DilaniThe seven-forty, I think? If we make it.Rising I think? softens a plain fact into something less final.
- Mr PereraYou'll make it. Traffic's not bad yet.
- DilaniHope so. Right - I'd better get on. See you later!Right signals the end. Get on is a phrasal verb doing the work of leave.
- Mr PereraGo on, off you go. Take care.
What to notice
- Nobody exchanges information. The whole point of small talk is to be friendly, not to communicate facts, so the content is thin on purpose.
- Contractions throughout - I didn't, I've got to, Traffic's, You'll, I'd better. Written English would expand these and the exchange would sound stiff.
- Turns are short. Nobody speaks for more than a sentence or two. Learners who prepare long answers in advance sound like they are reading.
2. Returning something to a shop
A customer wants a refund. The transaction is ordinary; the language is careful.
- CustomerSorry to bother you - I was hoping to return this.The apology comes first. Requests in English are almost always softened.
- Shop assistantOf course. Is there a problem with it?
- CustomerIt just doesn't really fit, that's all. It's not faulty or anything.Just, really, that's all all reduce the force of a complaint.
- Shop assistantNo problem at all. Have you got the receipt with you?
- CustomerI do, yes - hang on, let me just find it.Hang on and let me just fill the pause while she searches.
- Shop assistantTake your time.
- CustomerHere we go. Sorry, it was right at the bottom of my bag.
- Shop assistantThat's fine. Right, I'll put that through for you now. Would you like it back on the card?Put through - a phrasal verb where written English would say process.
- CustomerOn the card's fine, thanks. That's really kind of you.
What to notice
- The customer apologises twice for something entirely reasonable. In English this is politeness, not weakness, and its absence sounds abrupt.
- Phrasal verbs do the work: hang on, put through, find it. The formal alternatives - wait, process, locate - would sound like a written notice read aloud.
- Nothing is a full sentence. On the card's fine, thanks. Answering in fragments is correct here; a complete sentence would sound oddly formal.
3. Disagreeing with a friend
Two students disagree about a film. Watch how far the disagreement is softened before it is stated.
- AmalSo what did you think? I thought it was brilliant.
- ShanikaHmm. Yeah, I mean, it was good...Yeah... but is coming. The agreement is a run-up to the disagreement.
- AmalBut?
- ShanikaI don't know, I just felt it went on a bit? Like, the last half hour especially.I don't know and the rising a bit? make the criticism provisional rather than final.
- AmalReally? I didn't notice that at all.
- ShanikaNo, fair enough - maybe it's just me. I was pretty tired by then, to be honest.She offers a way out of the disagreement by blaming herself.
- AmalNo, no, I can see what you mean about the ending. It did drag a bit.He concedes partly. Both move towards each other rather than settling it.
- ShanikaRight? Anyway - it was worth seeing. I'm glad we went.
What to notice
- Nobody says "I disagree". Direct contradiction is rare between friends; the disagreement arrives wrapped in I don't know, maybe, a bit, just.
- Both sides give ground. Shanika blames her tiredness, Amal admits the ending dragged. The conversation ends closer than it started.
- "Anyway" closes the subject. It signals that the topic is finished and no one needs to win.
4. The same speaker in a job interview
Shanika again, three weeks later. Compare her English here with conversation 3.
- InterviewerThank you for coming in. Could you tell us a little about your current role?
- ShanikaCertainly. I have been working as a teaching assistant for the past two years, mainly with Grade 9 and 10 classes.Certainly, and I have been rather than I've been. Fewer contractions is the clearest marker of a formal register.
- InterviewerAnd what would you say has been your main achievement there?
- ShanikaI would say the reading programme I set up last year. Attendance was poor when I started, and by the end of the term most of the class were attending regularly.A complete, structured answer - situation, then result. Nothing trails off.
- InterviewerThat's interesting. What was the difficulty at the start?
- ShanikaThe main difficulty was persuading students that it was worth their time. I found that asking them to choose the books themselves made a considerable difference.Considerable rather than big. Formal speech reaches for the more precise word.
- InterviewerThank you. Do you have any questions for us?
- ShanikaYes, I do. Could you tell me how the department supports teachers who are new to the school?
What to notice
- This is the same person as conversation 3. Nothing about her English has improved; she has changed register, which is the actual skill.
- Almost no contractions, no fillers, no trailing off. Every answer is complete and finishes where it means to.
- Fuller vocabulary: considerable for big, persuading for getting them to, supports for helps out. The phrasal verbs largely disappear.
- But it is still speech. She says I would say and I found that, which are spoken, not written, formulas. Formal is not the same as writing an essay aloud.
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