A good place to start, would be with the title of this article, and change it to "Speaking English well." But what can I say? It is human nature to try and write in the same manner as we speak.
I believe the ability to speak well begins, and is determined at a young age by your education and participation in phonics-related classes and assignments. But as I have sadly discovered, this is, for many, not the case. Ones capacity for well-spoken english is influenced by many factors; some by our environment and some by our cranial capacity.
I was born and raised on an English speaking continent, so I will not even begin to assess the speaking abilities and challenges faced by those with foreign language backgrounds. I have never had to learn or acquire a second language, so I will not speak for someone who has. I am not the proper source for this matter.
Most of us with a high school education can carry on a well spoken and intellectual conversation, but in casual situations, we all tend to use short-terms, abbreviations and slang terminology. It is only natural and adds a level of comfortable informality to the conversation. But I have also met, and do know many people with degrees and post-secondary educational training who lack the ability to write or speak proper english. And most of these people are not even aware of this.
When conversing in spoken language, we unintentionally assume certain aspects of ones level of intellect and capacity for knowledge. I cannot defend this way of thinking; but I will admit, that I assume these perceptions of others when they are speaking.
Education and study are major contributing factors of the ability to speak well, but this is certainly not a guarantee. Just as I know many well-educated people who lack proper english skills, I also know many uneducated people who, when speaking, could well be mistaken for a proffessor of English.
If you want my complete, down-to-earth and honest opinion; our language skills and speaking abilities all come down to one main focus point; how often we read. I cannot even begin to express the importance of reading the written word. Reading, in itself, is your best English teacher. Visually observing words and language, combined with pronunciating and understanding the meanings of these words, is the best method of language study you will ever find, hand's down!
So if you have a child or children, get them involved in reading now! If you are an adult who does not read much, start now! The world naturally judges us by our speaking abilities and command of spoken language. So pick up a book as soon as you can. It is the best teacher you could ask for!
