Don't try to speak with a better pronunciation than you actually can.

This can get you back into the trouble - and you'll end up speaking worse. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get the pronunciation right - oh no! But I assume that after years and years of speaking English you have already come to a point where there's no actual improvement possible.

And don't worry if someone else speaks better than you - be confident enough with the speed and pronunciation you speak with. I'm not saying that after some more years your English won't have changed the pronunciation. It probably will as you will spend much of your time speaking with English speakers. But the main point here is - don't try to force yourself.

Don't learn super difficult and sophisticated words.

When you come across a new word either reading a book or hearing it somewhere, don't try to memorize it by all means - your mind will actually tell you that it doesn't need that particular word. I have memorized many words which are not used in the colloquial speech at all and even my English speaking friends don't know them!

For example, when reading a historical book I learnt words such as "inextricable" meaning "difficult" and "execrable" meaning "disgusting". Well, I have to ask you now - have you even heard these words being used? I guess such chances are very slim!

Apart from the fact that you simply won't be using these words, there's a thing that these words can hamper your speech and thoughts by appearing in your mind at moments when you don't want to use them at all - the word "execrable" haunts me quite often appearing in my mind even though I don't need to say it at that moment.

And again - this is not against building the vocabulary, don't get me wrong! There'll be plenty of words which will settle in your mind by themselves as a part or live English language either because it will be related to some specific occasion, or have something special to do with your interests.

Don't build your vocabulary as a direct translation from your language.

Therefore it is crucial to learn all new words in relation to other words they usually would come with. Let's say you heard a new word "exhilarating". Rather than simply writing it down the very word and its translation in your language, write it in a sentence - say, "I think parachute jumping is the most exhilarating thing I've ever done". And the best thing to do is - don't write the translation in your language. Explain the word in English.

That way you'll keep the English language more separated from your native tongue and it's going to facilitate the fluency. In a similar way, use thesaurus as much as possible and look up words in dictionaries as rarely as possible.

Of course, if you're trying to become a translator or interpreter...you should memorize the exact meaning in your native language. But for usual learning it's not needed.

Robby Kukurs is author of The English Harmony System http://englishharmony.com/ which is an English language confidence improving system to help deal with sudden drops in ability to speak English properly. The system is dedicated for non-native English speakers whose English is already fluent.