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| Lady Gaga even used these rules ;D |
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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