How to speak fluently

I’ll never forget this story. I came across it when doing research for my master’s degree. Anthropologist J. Miguel Sautchuk was interested in understanding how hard it was to become a repentista – an impromptu singer – who would invent verses as he went along. These impromptu singers would even participate in duels by challenging each other to see who would last longer with their inventions.

So Sautchuk tried and tried. He would rehearse with written verses until he had them memorized. He would participate in meetings with other singers. But whenever he’d try to sing impromptu, he would freeze and get stuck.

However, over time, something strange happened. As he memorized verses from other singers, he would notice that a singer would always repeat certain patterns – singers followed certain formulas for inventing their verses on the fly. And so he began doing the same. He would have his favourite verses ready in his memory.

Then, after about two years into his impromptu singing career, Sautchuk was in the midst of a duel with another singer when everything “clicked” into place. He realized that he was able to complete verses in his mind while he was listening to the other singer, waiting for his turn to sing. And for the first time he did not struggle or freeze or stutter – he just sang his impromptu verses naturally.

Why did I tell you this story? Because that’s how we learn language. We learn language with formulas too. We may call them “vocabulary”, “grammar” or “syntax”, but they are all, in essence, formulas that we can articulate to speak fluently. As fluently as Sautchuk was able to sing impromptu.

So here’s the path to fluency: learn the formulas, then play with them until your brain clicks and you start to make sense. Be patient, persevere, and get good guidance, and you’ll get there!

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