The 10 Secrets to Speaking English

1. Self-Esteem

The most important aspect of speaking is having good self-esteem. Self-esteem is how a person feels about himself. This includes “self-talk”, how a person thinks or what a person says to himself. What a person feels determines what he thinks, and what he thinks determines what he says and how he says it. A person who feels good about himself will say good things and speak well. A person who feels bad about himself will think negative thoughts and not have self-confidence. Then fear will cause a person to not speak. When most Chinese people are asked how their English is, or if they are told their English is very good, they immediately respond by saying, “Oh, my English is very poor. I have no chance to practice.” A student of English should not say this to himself or to others. A person who says it often enough will begin to believe it and soon will be paralyzed and unable to speak. Students will begin to forget what they know since the right brain cannot speak or use the knowledge stored in the left brain. A person learning to speak English must put the Chinese custom of modesty (saving face) aside. When complimented, the correct response is “Thank you.” When asked, “How is your English?” or criticized, a good answer is “I love to speak English,” or “My English is improving,” or “I am working very hard to improve my English.” These positive statements will reinforce positive thoughts and good feelings. With increased confidence a person will overcome fear and speak more freely. The mind is the most fantastic computer in the universe. Saying or thinking negative thoughts will short circuit the mind or give it deadly viruses.

2. Teaching Others

It is a known fact that the teacher learns more than the student. One receives more when one gives. When a person only receives, he becomes crippled and soon dies. First of all, a person who teaches someone else to speak English forgets his inhibitions and concentrates on helping. This is a key process in learning. The teacher actually receives more than he gives. The teacher becomes better at speaking when he gives others instructions and encouragement. Secondly, the person who speaks is forced to utilize all the skills of speaking well. The brain is forced to remember what is stored in the left brain, transfer it to the right side, translate it from Chinese into English, and then verbalize it. A teacher must speak to teach. The teacher hears himself speak and recognizes needs and self corrects while teaching, correcting and encouraging the student(s). It’s a great method and a self-motivating process. For thousands of years, this method has been a powerful secret to learning. Remember that teaching others stimulates improvement.

3. Singing Songs

Singing songs has magic that no other exercise can duplicate. A person who sings English songs over and over again will automatically memorize words and phrases. When someone says, “Let’s sing ‘Jingle Bells’ or ‘Happy Birthday’, immediately a person begins to sing the song exactly right without even thinking about it. There is no hesitation, no translation, no confusion. Also, singing allows for the practice of saying words and, at the same time, practices pronunciation because singers verbalize each word more slowly and exactly with the music. That’s what music does for a person who wants to speak English. Good songs with good words are a great aid to speaking fluently. It is amazing how quickly singing helps a person to speak. Finally, the Chinese language has many tones and in a way the language is sung. When songs are sung in English, the brain can quickly connect the thoughts and meaning with sound.

4. Talking to the TV & Radio

There are English speaking television and radio channels. Watching and listening to them is important, but talking to them is even more important. This may seem strange to family and friends, but it is almost as effective as having a native speaker present. Listening is a great way to learn, but speaking back and asking questions benefits the mind and speaking mechanism as if a real person were there. True, the TV and radio will not answer questions nor pause for comments. Nevertheless, a person’s listening skills will improve and his ability to ask good questions and give good answers will also improve. This is a good method. This method will require concentration since people habitually just “listen” to the radio and TV. Listening is good, but speaking is better. It makes all the difference.

5. Reading Aloud and Reading A Lot

Good teachers always emphasize the value of extensive reading. It’s through reading many stories and books that one absorbs the culture, meaning, and beauty of a language. So the student must Read! Read! Read! But in addition to just reading, students should read out loud. Little children learn to speak by listening to their mothers read to them. Mothers learn to read and speak better by reading and speaking to their children. Together, both the reader and listener learn to tell stories, adding drama and emphasis to words and expressions. It’s important to read to others whenever possible. If there is no one to read to, students can read to themselves. It’s important to read aloud a lot!

6. Calling Others on the Telephone

This is one of the most common and most helpful methods of improving spoken English. First, language students must identify others who are willing to speak to them in English on the telephone. These can be friends, classmates, workmates or family members. Students can either make surprise calls or make appointments to speak with a number of people every day. At first, conversations may only last a few minutes, but with practice, time spent speaking will increase. The value comes in developing the ability to hear and understand the other unseen person. Repeating parts of the conversation and asking the other person to repeat parts of the conversation might prove useful. Soon the ear will become accustomed and the speech will also improve allowing both parties to better understand each other. This can be a fun and very useful practice that exercises the brain, ears and tongue.

7. Group Participation

A student in a formal English class at a school, university, or training company must participate. It is vital to ask questions, offer opinions and actively contribute to the class’s speaking activities. It’s only the active participant whose mind and mouth work together to speak and improve speaking. The left brain of a passive spectator will record what is seen and heard while the right brain weakens and speaking difficulty increases. Also, a person cannot participate unless he attends. Active, dedicated members of a class practice many of the skills necessary to increase verbal speech.

8. Interpreting for Others

Interpreting is one of the strongest methods of exercising the whole brain to improve speaking ability. Interpreters must draw on their left brain reserves while exercising their right brain skills. It is similar to teaching others, but even more powerful because the person interpreting must hear in Chinese, mentally understand and translate information in the mind, then almost instantly verbalizes these ideas correctly in English. The more advanced the English speaking ability, the better the interpretation. It is important to begin very early to interpret, not waiting for proficiency in speaking. Interpreting is not translating written documents which are mostly a left-brain skill.

9. Memorizing New Words and Phrases

In order to progress in learning to speak English, new words must be added to the vocabulary. Always having a small list of words and using them in every day conversation is vital to mastery. Speaking new words in sentences will bring ownership. Doing this faithfully over a period of a few years will build a vocabulary as large as most native English speakers. More effective than just adding new words is adding entire sentences. Great progress comes when quotes and phrases are not just memorized but used in daily speech. The key is to Speak! Speak! Speak!

10. Read, Write, and Memorize Poetry

“Words do not convey meaning, they call it forth.” David O McKay. Like music, poetry enlightens the soul while it exercises the mind in rhythm and vivid imagery. By reading, writing and memorizing poetry, a person is exercising one of the highest forms of spoken English. It energizes both the left and right brain while it conditions thinking and trains the tongue.

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.