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.

TalkEnglish Offline Version is now ready for

download.  In this package, you can utilize over
8000 audio files to completely surround yourself in
English.  There are over 13.5 hours of audio files
that are not available in the web form.  All
conversations and all sentences are included, so even
if you don't have many English speaking friends,
you can constantly surround yourself in English
using your MP3 player.  This package is available at
the English Download page.  Take advantage of this
opportunity and start learning English faster.  Click
on the link or go
to http://www.talkenglish.com/english-
download.aspx.

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.

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?