Virgil, just read that which you have been absorbing, very good if one is going to be a teacher .lecturer or such..
To speak with ordinary people your must lower your aim, ok thats an unusual idea I suppose but that would be more
in keeping with most of us on this Forum..
Actually I congratulate you on your learning capacity but
it is not everyday conversational .We are on the whole a down
to earth collection of Brummies, ok we all have a slightly different accent from various districts we grew up in but
on the whole are plain speaking ,no frills .. You will very
soon get hang of us with practice,cos you try hard..