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
"A
"A
"A

dog..."
boy..."
building..."
hamburger..."

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

eagle..."
umbrella..."
elephant..."
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.