How to Improve Your English Speaking in Just 7 Days
A one-week plan to improve English speaking fast. Train mouth position, weak sounds, shadowing, dropped syllables, and linking for natural British English.
Understanding how to practise matters more than practising longer. A simple way is to commit to one clear task each day for a week. The routine below trains the sounds and rhythms that make speech feel natural at real speed. If structured support is wanted alongside self-study, the General English course at Speak Up London integrates listening, vocabulary, and real-life conversation, so progress shows up in daily talk. If extra accountability helps, classes can provide weekly goals and targeted feedback that keep momentum steady.
1. Day 1 – Set the mouth, set the sound
Accurate sounds start with mouth shape. Stand in front of a mirror and copy these positions while saying short words.
TH: tongue lightly over upper teeth – think, thought.
R: rounded lips, centre of tongue raised – really, correct.
V: upper teeth on lower lip – voice, move.
L: tongue tip to the ridge behind the teeth – laugh, feel.
W: lips in a small circle – wish, away.
Repeat slowly, then at natural speed. Keep shoulders relaxed. Five minutes, twice today, is enough to lock in the shapes.
2. Day 2 – Master weak sounds (the schwa /ə/)
Native speech reduces unstressed vowels to /ə/, the schwa, the most common vowel in English. Hearing it removes the “they speak too fast” feeling. Try: carrot (/ˈkærət/), open (/ˈəʊpən/), photographer (/fəˈtɒɡrəfə/). Mark where you hear /ə/ and repeat the words as chunks, not letter by letter. Teaching guides describe how vowels weaken in fast, connected speech; noticing that reduction helps both listening and speaking.
Mini-drill: read a short text aloud and underline syllables you don’t want to stress. Say the line again, keeping those vowels weak.
3. Day 3 – Tongue-twister speed training
Tongue twisters build agility. Choose one per sound and do three clean repetitions.
/ʃ/ vs /s/: She sells seashells by the seashore.
TH: Thirty-three thieves thought throughout Thursday.
/eɪ/: I’ve got a date at a quarter to eight; see you at the gate, don’t be late.
Keep the rhythm smooth rather than forcing speed. The goal is quick, small mouth movements that later transfer to normal sentences.
4. Day 4 – Similar-sounding words in fast speech
In connected speech, words blend and can be misheard. Notice typical shifts:
bad cold may sound like bag cold;
sweet potato can sound like sweep potato;
taught Korean can sound like talk Korean.
Build a short list from shows or street interviews. Write the careful version and the “fast” version you hear. This makes your ear alert to likely confusions and prevents breakdowns mid-conversation.
5. Day 5 – Shadowing that actually works
Shadowing means speaking along with a native model a fraction of a second behind it. Use a 10–20-second clip. First, listen once for gist. Second, play and speak with it, matching rhythm and intonation more than perfect consonants. Third, record your attempt and compare. Research and teacher guides list shadowing as a practical way to link perception and production; short, daily bursts beat long weekend marathons.
Checklist for a good session: tiny delay, steady volume, relaxed jaw, full sentences, not isolated words.
6.Day 6 – Dropped syllables are normal
English spelling suggests more syllables than everyday speech uses. Train the common reductions:
chocolate → choc-late,
vegetables → veg-tables,
basically → basic-ly,
different → diff-rent,
business → biz-ness,
interest → in-trist,
desperate → des-prit,
memory → mem-ry,
several → sev-rul.
Say each word slowly, then as part of a sentence. Circle the kept syllables. The aim is clear stress and natural rhythm, not mumbling.
This video provides a visual demonstration of mouth positions, weak sounds, and shadowing exercises described above.
7. Day 7 – Join words the native way
Fluent speech links words. Three helpful patterns to notice and practise:
- Linking /r/: law[r]and order – an /r/ links vowels across word boundaries.
- Intrusive sounds /j, w, r/: extra sounds appear between vowels to keep flow: she[j]asked, go[w]out, idea[r]of.
- Elision: sounds drop in clusters, e.g. /t/ in next day → nex day.
Drill: read True or false?, law and order, she asks him at natural speed, then again with linking added. Record both and compare. The second should sound smoother and closer to what is heard on the street or in films.
8. A weekly loop you can repeat
Keep a tiny log. Each day note: minutes practised, one phrase gained, one improvement heard. Next week, change clips and recycle the routine. Progress shows up as fewer pauses, cleaner stress, and better timing in common phrases like Do you wanna…?, I’ve just…, We’re gonna…. Consistency beats intensity.
9. Materials that make practice easier
Short authentic clips, interview snippets, and pronunciation explainers help target the exact features trained this week. For connected speech and reduction, BBC Learning English has clear micro-lessons; for weak vowels and the schwa, teacher resources explain when vowels reduce and why that helps fluency. Use them as input, then shadow or mimic to turn knowledge into sound.
If guided practice is preferred, consider Speak Up London’s General English course for structured speaking drills, targeted pronunciation work, and realistic conversation tasks that turn these seven tips into daily habits. The combination of classroom feedback and self-practice accelerates change in a way solo study rarely matches.
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