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gRules.aspx
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 tohttp://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.




English Speaking Basics - Section I
English Speaking Basics is for English speaking beginners who need help to understand the
basics of speaking English. We will use very simple phrases and expressions to help you with
your English speaking.

This first section contains the first 30 lessons. Go through them 1 by 1 until you are familiar
with each sentence.

1. Basic usage of 'I'm'
2. Variations of 'I'm in/at/on'
3. I'm good at
4. I'm + (verb)
5. I'm getting
6. I'm trying + (verb)
7. I'm gonna + (verb)
8. I have + (noun)
9. I have + (past participle)
10. I used to + (verb)
11. I have to + (verb)
12. I wanna + (verb)
13. I gotta + (verb)
14. I would like to + (verb)
15. I plan to + (verb)
16. I've decided to + (verb)
17. I was about to + (verb)
18. I didn't mean to + (verb)
19. I don't have time to + (verb)
20. I promise not to + (verb)
21. I'd rather + (verb)
22. I feel like + (verb-ing)
23. I can't help + (verb-ing)
24. I was busy + (verb-ing)
25. I'm not used to + (verb-ing)
26. I want you to + (verb)
27. I'm here to + (verb)
28. I have something + (verb)
29. I'm looking foward to
English Speaking Basics - Section II
English Speaking Basics II is for English speaking beginners who need help to understand the
basics of speaking English. We will use very simple phrases and expressions to help you with
your English speaking.

This second section contains the next 30 lessons. If any lessons are too easy, please move
forward to other lessons.

1. I'm calling to + (verb)
2. I'm working on + (noun)
3. I'm sorry to + (verb)
4. I'm thinking of + (verb-ing)
5. I'll help you + (verb)
6. I'm dying to + (verb)
7. It's my turn to + (verb)
8. It's hard for me to + (verb)
9. I'm having a hard time + (verb-ing)
10. I think I should + (verb)
11. I've heard that + (subject + verb)
12. It occurred to me that (subject + verb)
13. Let me + (verb)
14. Thank you for
15. Can I + (verb)
16. Can I get + (noun)
17. I'm not sure if (subject + verb)
18. Do you mind if I + (verb)
19. I don't know what to + (verb)
20. I should have + (past participle)
21. I wish I could + (verb)
22. You should + (verb)
23. You're supposed to + (verb)
24. You seem + (adjective)
25. You'd better + (verb)
26. Are you into + (noun)
27. Are you trying to + (verb)
28. Please + (verb)
29. Don't + (verb)
30. Do you like








English Speaking Basics - Section III
English Speaking Basics III is for English speaking beginners who need help to understand the
basics of speaking English. We will use very simple phrases and expressions to help you with
your English speaking.

This third section contains the next 30 lessons. Feel continue studying until you master each
lesson.

1. How often do you
2. Do you want me to + (verb)
3. What do you think about (verb-ing)
4. Why don't we + (verb)
5. It's too bad that
6. You could have + (past participle)
7. If I were you, I would + (verb)
8. It's gonna be + (adjective)
9. It looks like + (noun)
10. That's why + (subject + verb)
11. It's time to + (verb)
12. The point is that + (subject + verb)
13. How was + (noun)
14. How about + (verb-ing)
15. What if + (subject + verb)
16. How much does it cost to + (verb)
17. How come + (subject + verb)
18. What are the chances of + (verb-ing)
19. There is something wrong with + (noun)
20. Let's not + (verb)
21. Let's say that + (subject + verb)
22. There's no need to + (verb)
23. It takes + (time) + to + (verb)
24. Please make sure that + (subject + verb)
25. Here's to + (noun)
26. It's no use + (verb-ing)
27. There's no way + (subject + verb)
28. It's very kind of you to + (verb)
29. There's nothing + (subject) + can + (verb)
30. Rumor has it that + (subject + verb)