5 Speaking Rules you need to know!

1. Don't study grammar too much

This rule might sound strange to many ESL students, but it is one of the
most important rules. If you want to pass examinations, then study
grammar. However, if you want to become fluent in English, then you
should try to learn English without studying the grammar.

Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think
about the rules when creating sentences instead of naturally saying a
sentence like a native. Remember that only a small fraction of English
speakers know more than 20% of all the grammar rules. Many ESL
students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say
this with experience. I am a native English speaker, majored in English
Literature, and have been teaching English for more than 10 years.
However, many of my students know more details about English grammar
than I do. I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I don't know
it off the top of my head.

I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a
few of them know the correct answer. However, they are fluent in English
and can read, speak, listen, and communicate effectively.

Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do

you want to be able to speak English fluently?

2. Learn and study phrases

Many students learn vocabulary and try to put many words together to
create a proper sentence. It amazes me how many words some of my
students know, but they cannot create a proper sentence. The reason is
because they didn't study phrases. When children learn a language, they
learn both words and phrases together. Likewise, you need to study and
learn phrases.

If you know 1000 words, you might not be able to say one correct
sentence. But if you know 1 phrase, you can make hundreds of correct
sentences. If you know 100 phrases, you will be surprised at how many
correct sentences you will be able to say. Finally, when you know only a
1000 phrases, you will be almost a fluent English speaker.
The English Speaking Basics section is a great example of making
numerous sentences with a single phrase. So don't spend hours and hours
learning many different words. Use that time to study phrases instead and
you will be closer to English fluency.

Don't translate

When you want to create an English sentence, do not translate the words
from your Mother tongue. The order of words is probably completely
different and you will be both slow and incorrect by doing this. Instead,
learn phrases and sentences so you don't have to think about the words
you are saying. It should be automatic.

Another problem with translating is that you will be trying to incorporate

grammar rules that you have learned. Translating and thinking about the
grammar to create English sentences is incorrect and should be avoided.

3. Reading and Listening is NOT enough. Practice Speaking what

you hear!

Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any
language. The same is true for English. However, speaking is the only
requirement to be fluent. It is normal for babies and children to learn
speaking first, become fluent, then start reading, then writing. So the
natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing.

First Problem

Isn't it strange that schools across the world teach reading first, then
writing, then listening, and finally speaking? Although it is different, the
main reason is because when you learn a second language, you need to
read material to understand and learn it. So even though the natural order
is listening, speaking, reading, then writing, the order for ESL students is
reading, listening, speaking, then writing.

Second Problem

The reason many people can read and listen is because that's all they
practice. But in order to speak English fluently, you need to practice
speaking. Don't stop at the listening portion, and when you study, don't
just listen. Speak out loud the material you are listening to and practice
what you hear. Practice speaking out loud until your mouth and brain can
do it without any effort. By doing so, you will be able to speak English
fluently.

4. Submerge yourself

Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are.
Anyone can learn how to speak any language. This is a proven fact by
everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least one language. Whether
you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power, you are able to speak one
language.

This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your
country, you hear and speak your language constantly. You will notice
that many people who are good English speakers are the ones who
studied in an English speaking school. They can speak English not
because they went to an English speaking school, but because they had
an environment where they can be around English speaking people
constantly.

There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is
because they went to an English speaking school, but found friends from
their own country and didn't practice English.

You don't have to go anywhere to become a fluent English speaker. You

only need to surround yourself with English. You can do this by making
rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. You can
also carry around an iPod and constantly listen to English sentences. As
you can see, you can achieve results by changing what your surroundings
are. Submerge yourself in English and you will learn several times faster.

5. Study correct material

A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far
from the truth. Practice only makes what you are practicing permanent. If
you practice the incorrect sentence, you will have perfected saying the
sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it is important that you study material
that is commonly used by most people.
Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the
language they speak is more formal and the content they use is more
political and not used in regular life. It is important to understand what
they are saying, but this is more of an advanced lesson that should be
studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.

Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both
good and bad. You should be aware of the pros and cons of speaking with
a non native speaking friend. Practicing with a non native person will give
you practice. You can also motivate each other and point out basic
mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not
sure about what are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these
practice times as a time period to practice the correct material you
studied. Not to learn how to say a sentence.

In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used,
and that is correct.

Information on Grammar pertaining to English Speaking

In order to obtain English fluency for ESL students, studying grammar can
slow your progress down significantly. Basic grammar is a necessity, but
focusing on grammar will prevent you from being able to speak English
fluently in a reasonable time frame. Grammar is most effective to improve
communication and writing skills, but this only pertains to those who have
a solid foundation in English fluency.

If you are studying for an exam or want to learn the details of grammar
rules, you can study our grammar section at English Grammar Basics.

One commonality among everyone in the whole world is that they learned
to speak before they learned grammar. Speaking is the first step for any
English learner. So if you are a novice at English, please focus on your
speaking and listening skills prior to studying grammar. After being able to
speak English fluently, you will realize how much easier grammar is. But it
does not work the other way around. Being fluent in English speaking will
help you with your grammar studies, but studying grammar will NOT help
you with your speaking.

In this article, the four most basic grammar topics are explained, which
consists of 1) subject, 2) predicate, 3) verb, and 4) article. This is the
absolute minimum you should know. After you become comfortable with
speaking, then you can study more advanced grammar topics. For now,
please review and study the four items described below.

What is a subject?

The subject in a sentence is "who" or "what" you are talking about. Every
sentence needs a subject. If you don't have a subject, then the sentence
is incorrect and nobody will understand what you are talking about.

In other languages, the subject is not always required. Verbally, the

person listening to you will understand what you are talking about, so a
subject is not required. In English, a subject is always required.

Here are examples of small sentences with the subject underlined.

"I am hungry"

"My brother is very smart"

"That computer is very expensive"

"We are going to the store now"

"My sister and I will be waiting here"

"The building is very big"

"When are you going to eat lunch?"

"Why are they waiting in line?"

"Who is going to take you to the store?"

What is a predicate?

The predicate in a sentence is the section that informs the person what
the subject is or what it is doing. It is a phrase that contains a verb. The
verb is always in the predicate.

Let's look at the sentences we used in the subject lesson to identify the
predicates. They will be underlined.

"I am hungry"

"My brother is very smart"

"That computer is very expensive"

"We are going to the store now"

"The building is very big"

In the above short sentences, we have identified the subject and

predicate. In the most basic sentences, you need a subject and an action
associated with the subject. Let's go on to verbs to understand this in
more detail.

What is a verb?

A verb is an action, existence, or occurrence. In the simple sentences we

used so far, the verb is mostly in the existence form. They are "am", "is",
and "are".

Other types of verbs are action verbs such as:

Wash

Run

Walk

Throw

Jump

Dance

Laugh

Learn

Teach

There are many action verbs, but I only listed a few to let you know what I
am referring to. Here are some sentences to help you understand.

"I need to wash my face"

"Jane taught Jill"

"Mike is laughing"
A verb can also start at the beginning of the sentence.

"Throw the ball at the catcher"

"Run towards the finish line"

It is important to understand the verb, but having just a subject and a verb
is not sufficient. For example, "Jill run" is not a complete sentence.
Although Jill can be the subject, and "run" is the verb, this is not a
complete sentence. That is why the previous lesson on predicate is
important. With the predicate, we can turn the sentence into a proper
sentence. "Jill is running"

What is an Article?

Articles seem so easy, but it is extremely difficult to teach.

"A", "An", and "The" are all articles. It is easy to explain the difference
between them, but it is difficult to explain when they are used.

"A" and "An" have the same meaning. They are both indefinite articles.
They are only different depending on what word or sound is following.
Here is a brief explanation.

You should use "A" when the following word starts with a consonant.

"A dog..."

"A boy..."

"A building..."

"A hamburger..."

You should use "An" when the following starts with a vowel sound.

"An eagle..."

"An umbrella..."

"An elephant..."

"An awesome book..."

"The" is a definite article. The difference is if the noun or subject you are
talking about is specific or not. Examples are the best way to understand
the difference, so let's take a look.

If you say, "I am going to a library to study", then the person you are
speaking with does not know which library. If you say, "I am going to the
library to study", then the person you are speaking with knows the
specific library you are going to.

"I am going to a coffee shop" (No specific coffee shop)

"I am going to the coffee shop" (A specific coffee shop both the speaker
and listener know)

Here is a slightly different example, but still using the same concept of
specific or general.

"I am going to sit in front of one of the computers in the lab"

"I am going to buy a computer"

Although the computer in the lab can be one of many computers, the
correct article is "the" because it is still a specific computer that exists in
the lab. However, if you say you are going to buy a computer, you cannot
use "the" unless you already have the computer specified. Buying a
computer can be any brand, type, or size so it is very general. Therefore,
you must use "A" in this type of sentence.

Here is another type of example:

"The heat wave is unbearable"

"I heard a heat wave is coming"

The difference between these two sentences is that the "heat wave" is
specified in the first sentence, and not specified in the second sentence.
In the first sentence, the heat wave is already present and both the
speaker and listener knows that the heat wave they are talking about is
the one they are currently experiencing. The second sentence is referring
to a future heat wave that is not specific.

When and When NOT to use an article

One common rule to keep in mind is that articles are not used when
referring to a name.

"Turn right at the burger store"

"Turn right at McDonalds"

"The boy was running very fast"

"Mike was running very fast"

Another example of when not to use an article is when referring to general

things in conversation.

"Too much alcohol is bad for you"

"Cigarettes can cause lung cancer"

When you are referring to sports, you do not need an article.

"I love playing badminton"

"Football is a dangerous sport"

In most cases, you don't need an article when referring to a country

except when the name is referring to multiple countries or regions. For
example, if you say "England" or "Scotland", you don't need an article, but
if you are referring to "The United Kingdom" or "The United States", then
you do need an article.
Intonation and Speed of Speaking

Intonation

Many people from different countries have improper intonation because

their teacher had improper intonation. In many situations, being monotone
is better than having bad intonation. The worst is when someone goes up
and down too much on every word. Another thing you should avoid is to
end high at the end of a sentence.

To correct improper intonation, you need to remember to start high and

end low. You cannot do it any other way. I recommend going to the
interview section and listening to one of the audio files provided by a
native speaker. You will hear proper intonation. After listening to the
audio, record yourself and listen to it. Does it sound the same? If not, then
find the areas that are dissimilar and make the necessary corrections.

This advice is very trivial, but intonation is relatively easy to correct. You
can fix your intonation with only a little effort. If you have a friend who is a
native English speaker, you can usually fix intonation in a couple of
lessons. Recording yourself and listening to yourself might be tedious, but
having correct intonation can go a long way.

I have had many students who fixed their intonation after 2 small
sessions. The advice I gave them was the same as the one above. This
will work, and if you want to speak with proper intonation, please follow
this advice.

Speed of speaking

A common mistake of people who obtain English fluency with improper

pronunciation and intonation is the speed in which they speak. Because
they do not have perfect pronunciation and intonation, it is difficult to
understand people who speak too fast. This is the biggest problem I have
seen from people who gain confidence in speaking.

In order to improve your communication, and to hear "excuse me" less

often, it is important to have the correct speed of speaking. For people
with confidence, my advice is to slow down and to speak clearly. Don't
blend words together too much and make sure to separate words with a
small pause for words that are difficult to pronounce.

Using Collocations to Learn English

What are collocations in English?

Collocation is words that are used regularly with a specific word. For
example, three collocation words for the word 'friend' are 'best, 'good,'
and 'loyal.' Here are some example sentences:

"She talks to her best friend every day."

(best)

"He lives with some good friends."

(good, close)

* The word 'close' is another collocation that can be used in the place of
'good' such as "He lives with some close friends."

"She has been a loyal friend for many years."

(loyal, real, trusted, true, faithful)

* All the words in the parenthesis can be used in the place of 'loyal.'
These are other examples of collocations for the word 'friend.'

Why is it important to study English collocation?

When we learn vocabulary, we might understand the meaning of the word

using a dictionary, but many times, we do not know how to use the word
in a sentence.
How do I use that word? What are example sentences with that word?
These are all common questions when we study vocabulary.

The best way to learn vocabulary is to learn what words are commonly
used with the word in an example sentence. TalkEnglish.com developed
collocation lessons using the 2000 most frequently used words to help
English learners improve their basic vocabulary and to help them learn
how to use words in the correct way.

How do I study English collocations?

It doesn't make much sense to pick up a dictionary and study all the
words there. Similarly, it doesn't make sense to pick up a collocation
dictionary to study all the words. The best way is to find the most
frequently used words in the English language and study the most
frequently used collocations with those words. That is exactly what
TalkEnglish has done.

TalkEnglish has identified the 2000 most frequently used vocabulary

words in the English language and created a collocation lesson for each
word. There are over 2000 FREE collocation lessons in ESL Vocabulary
Lessons. You can find any word by searching, or you can study them by
order of frequency.

Keep in mind that you should study them in depth. Do not simply read the
sentence. Learn each sentence and read it out loud until you can say it
without thinking about it. For additional study tips, please visit the Study
Method page.

Study Method

Learn English to Use it!

You will become an expert English speaker!

Many people study English for many years. Even after years of studying,
they go to an English speaking country and realize that they cannot say
one sentence correctly. This is going to change for people who finish this
course. You will be able to speak English in many different situations. This
site will give you the foundation you need to communicate effectively in
English.

Speak English fluently without thinking about the rules and logic.

You need to mimic correct sentences over and over again.

Do you have to memorize English or do you have to understand the English

to speak it? Let's first think about how people learn their first language.
When you were little, you listened to your parents speak and you copied
them. Over the years, people have tried to learn English like they learn a
concept or a theory. They try to understand the meaning behind each
sentence and try to put them together through logic. If you are studying to
pass the GMAT or TOEFL or any other test, then you will have to try to
understand every word of every sentence and know why each word is in a
particular place. But when you speak English, you don't need to know any
rules. The more rules and logic you think about, the harder time you will
have. The best way to learn to speak English is to memorize. First, have a
sentence that is correct. Listen to the sentence, repeat the sentence over
and over again until it becomes a part of you.

Did you learn to speak through all the classes you took?

Don't worry any longer. TalkEnglish.com will be your guide to speaking

English.

Being able to speak English is more difficult than people realize. If you
have bought many books and attended many classes in English only to get
disappointed and discouraged, you can be confident that TalkEnglish.com
will be different. Anybody who completes this program will have the ability
to speak to anyone in any situation.

Are you talking after thinking about all the words?

You have to speak without thinking instantly.

When I ask you for your background information in your language, you
don't have to think about each word that you are going to say. You are
basically thinking about the content. When you know what you want to
say, you can say it automatically. This is because you have everything
already memorized. When you want to speak effectively in English, you
have to recall information immediately. In order to do so, you must have
the sentences already memorized. If you have something memorized, you
will be able to say it immediately. For example, you probably learned how
to say, 'How are you doing?' You don't have to think about this sentence
because you practiced it so many times. Imagine if you can say other
things as quickly as you can say 'How are you doing?" That is what you
will be learning.

Practice with sentences that are most commonly used.

TalkEnglish.com does not contain any awkward sentences.

All the content on this site is the most commonly used sentences that
everyone will understand. In many text books, there are many sentences
that are awkward. Because you do not know which ones are proper or not,
you might be wasting time and energy on sentences that are not used.
With TalkEnglish.com, you will only be studying sentences that are used
frequently and by everyone. You don't have to worry about memorizing
thousands of sentences that you are not sure about.

Learning listening skills will not improve your speaking skills.

TalkEnglish.com focuses solely on teaching you how to speak in English.

Many people study television news programs to improve spoken English.

Your listening skills will improve, but your speaking abilities will stay the
same. Ask if studying news will help you speak English in a normal
setting. If you practice saying, "In Iraq today, 200 US troops have
evacuated the perimeter near Baghdad due to constant surprise attacks
by the remaining rebels", will it really help you speak to a regular English
speaking person. Wouldn't you rather learn how to say something that will
be used in daily conversation?

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is very difficult to correct if you have been speaking English

for a long time. As you know, practice does not make perfect, it makes
permanent. That means if you practice incorrectly, it will become
permanent. You need to correct this problem before moving forward
because having bad pronunciation is one of the most difficult aspects of
speaking to someone who does not speak English well.

The pronunciation lessons provided here are American English

pronunciation and will provide you with an explanation, instruction, and
audio files to help you pronounce sounds correctly. If you don't have
access to a native speaker to give you feedback, I encourage you to
record and listen to yourself. Although it might be tedious, you'll be
surprised at how helpful this actually is.

Basics of English Grammar

If you just started learning English, you first need to know some basic
rules of the language. Developing a solid foundation in English grammar
will not only help you create your own sentences correctly but will also
make it easier to improve your communication skills in both spoken and
written English.

Study all the lessons below and incorporate your learning into your
speaking and writing.

English Vocabulary

How many words do you need to know in English? This is a very common
question and it varies depending on your goal. Because TalkEnglish.com
focuses on speaking, the vocabulary presented in this section will be the
most commonly used words in speaking.

There are roughly 100,000 word-families in the English language.

A native English speaking person knows between 10,000 (uneducated) to

20,000 (educated) word families.

Professor Paul Nation found that a person needs to know 8,000-9,000 word
families to enjoy reading a book.

Studying heritage language learners reveal that a person with a

vocabulary size of 2,500 passive word-families and 2,000 active word-
families can speak a language fluently.
Many people do not know what a heritage language learner is. Let's say a
person from Mexico moves to the US at the age of 5. The person knows
basic Spanish and is fluent for a 5 year old but eventually English will
become dominant. This person whose first language is Spanish actually
does not know many Spanish words and must study Spanish to retain it.
Because they grew up for 5 years speaking Spanish, they are a different
type of language learners. This type of person is considered a heritage
language learner.

GOOD NEWS - If your goal is to speak English fluently, you are not required
to study 10,000 words. 2,000 is enough to get you started.

Here is another list of things to consider before studying vocabulary

Before studying vocabulary, understand the difference between each word

in a word-family. By doing so, you will be able to understand how to use
words more easily. A word-family is a grouping of words derived from the
same base. For example, active, actively, activities, and activity are all in
the same word-family.

There is a difference between passive vocabulary and active vocabulary.

Passive vocabulary is used in reading and listening, where you are
receiving information. Active vocabulary is used in writing and speaking,
where you are giving information. In reading, you have time to think. If you
want to be fluent, you don't have time to think because the definition of
fluent is to speak smoothly and easily.

Your goal should be to increase the depth of your vocabulary knowledge

instead of the breadth of your vocabulary knowledge. There are many
English learners who know 8,000 words, but they cannot speak a single
sentence. On the other hand, there are people who know only 2,000 words
and they can speak fluently. The difference is how deeply you know a
word. Knowing 10,000 words passively will not help you with speaking.
Instead focus on learning the first 2,000 words deeply.

Learning vocabulary by memorizing the definition in your native language

is an inefficient way to learn words. Rather, reading is the best way to