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.
Summary
These are the rules that will help you achieve your goal of speaking
English fluently. All the teachings and lessons on TalkEnglish.com follow this
method so you have the tools you need to achieve your goal right here on
TalkEnglish.com.
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