How to Speak English Fluently in 1 Week PDF

Presentation:
Now you may be thinking that learning English in 1 week is impossible.. with some hard work and practice, you can.

This guide is your bible to learning how to speak and understand “basic” phrases so that you can carry out a conversation.

This guide will not make you sufficient in every area of the English language- This takes a lot of practice. But if you follow the exercises contained within this book, you will be on your way to basic fluency!

This is a beginner’s guide, and is not meant to teach you advanced conversational techniques.

English is a beautiful language. In fact, any language you decide to learn is a beautiful one. However, learning a brand new language is not always easy. Lucky for you, English is not considered to be the most difficult language! Now, if you decided to learn Chinese – that would take some time.

With around 430 million people around the world speaking English – and these are only people with English as their first language – your decision to learn it is a good one! It is considered the ‘universal language’.

English was brought to Britain from Germany and Netherlands. It originated from West Germanic Language and the Anglo-Frisian dialect. It has gone through various phases of evolution. There are huge difference between Old English, Middle English and Modern English. Middle English came about after the invasion of the German and the Norman’s.

The language you are about to learn has a lot of German, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Hindi, French and Old Norse, just to name a few. It is a mix of languages. A huge number of words have originated from Greek and Latin.

This eBook is based on the assumption that you are an intermediate learner and can read English. You are here because you have been trying to learn the language but cannot speak it well, or understand English speakers properly. I shall explain the fundamental principles governing the language and point out common mistake that you should avoid. The end of each chapter will have an action you shall perform.

Learning English involves listening, speaking, reading and writing.

There are four components essential to learning English.

1. Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch related to sound. Phonology is a branch related to the systematic organization of sounds in the English language is the smallest unit making up a language. The English language consists of 41 phonemes. Phonemes combine to make up words and syllables. According to Wikipedia a phoneme can be described as "The smallest contrastive linguistic unit that may bring about a change of meaning". Phonics is the method of teaching people to recognize different sounds.

2. Reading fluency

Fluency is the ability to read and speak without stopping. This means not looking at each word and trying to figure out how to read it. It should be accurate and precise.

3. Vocabulary development

Vocabulary is the body of words in any language. It is also the individual knowledge of words and their meanings and pronunciations. It is important to develop your vocabulary skills while learning a language. Of course, you are not expected to go through a dictionary in one day; it is a slow process.

4. Oral skills

Oral skills are is your ability to speak a language fluently. This requires correct pronunciations and the use of Grammar. Without development oral skills, learning a language would be utterly useless.

This does not work! Also, do not feel embarrassed when somebody corrects you. You could also go to a karaoke bar!

Listen:

Reading and speaking is not enough. Listen to how people speak, the pronunciations, and the way words are use. Watch T., listen to songs etc. This way you are listening to other people speak and observe how they pronounce the words.

Read books:

Read novels. Concentrate on the formation of the sentences. Novels have dialogues, a conversation between two people that you can use to your advantage. Notice how people speak. They do not pay attention to the grammar as much as they do to talking. Also, when you are reading, mark every unusual phrase or word and find out what it means. Incorporate new words into your vocabulary.

Do not translate

Avoid translating what you hear, or what you say. Translating a phrase from your mother tongue to English or vice versa will completely ruin the actual meaning of the phrase. It will also most likely be incorrect. Instead, use a dictionary.

Study words and phrases

I’ve been using the term ‘phrases’ a lot. You may know a thousand words in the language, but putting them together and making an intelligible sentence could be difficult. This is because you are not concentrating on using the words you are learning. To speak fluently, you need to learn how to put words together into phrases and sentences.

Idioms:

Idioms are an essential part of the English language. You will find yourself dumbstruck if you do not understand idioms. You might hear somebody saying ‘break a leg’ to you before your English exam, and you would be baffled at why somebody would want you to break a leg. ‘Break a leg’ is actually an idiom meaning ‘best of luck’ or ‘I hope you do well’. Fluency in English requires the knowledge of idioms.

Do not think of yourself as a student

To become fluent, think of yourself as a person who can speak English. You will make mistakes, but these are the building blocks. As a student, you would probably find yourself studying Grammar books. This is not important. To speak English properly, you

do not need to study Grammar books. You would also be wasting a lot of your time by reading these books.

Recruit a friend as a mentor

An English-speaking friend is the perfect person to be with when learning the language. Surrounding yourself with people who can speak English fluently is important. You can ask a friend to help you along the way. Make it a point to talk in English, no matter how scattered it sounds. Ask friends and colleagues to correct you if you are wrong.

Movies and songs

Build a library of English songs and movies. This works better than just reading or listening to others speak. Songs and movies stick to your mind. ‘My Fair Lady’ is a good movie to watch since you are learning English.

Think in English

Make it a point to think in English and not your mother tongue. Whenever you are talking to yourself or thinking, do it in English. This way you will become more comfortable with the idea of speaking and learning the language.

Record yourself

Every night before going to bed, record your day’s events in an audio journal in English. You will find that you speak much better when you do not have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of others. When you realize that you can speak reasonably well without stumbling around, your confidence will grow and you will find yourself initiating conversations.

Incorporate these points in your day-to-day life.

“Do It Right Now”: Steps to Start Improving instantly

• Step 1: Watch an English movie twice and concentrate on how a person speaks
• Step 2: On a piece of paper, note down all idioms and colloquialisms you come across
• Step 3: Look up their meanings
• Step 4: Make your own sentences and try incorporating them in your everyday life

verbal form of speech and take time to assimilate what you listen. It is the most comfortable way of taking massive input. Here are some important aspects you can instill to maximise learning from passive listening:

Focus on understanding each word in individual sense and in correlation with the constructed sentences. Do not deviate your concentration in putting emphasis on preconception of the context while listening.

● Rehearse and summarise in your mind what you comprehended from the speech as an aftermath.
● Take note on how vocabulary is used interchangeably to get a hand on varied ways of expressive ability.
● If possible, pen down the main frame of sentences in short hand for further reference.
● Keep observation on the pauses used while conveying the emotion of the context. There are clause, sentence and paragraph pauses in conversational speech in a rhythmic pattern which you must focus on while listening English.
● As a foreign listener, at times the speech might sound out of your pace to absorb the meaning of it. Do not get intimidated with the volume of words and sentences while listening as it might keep you from taking whatever input you can anyway.
● In case of listening live to a speaker, note the lip movement made while pronouncing the syllables, vowels and consonants differently.

Type 2: Extensive Listening

Furthermore and beyond specific information, Extensive listening includes listening to long textual narratives which in return builds the listener’s stamina to take in more and more bulk of conversational language and understand the contextual reference in larger lengths. After listening to a particular audio book on repetitive mode, you will observe that you are consciously picking up the pronunciation and can fairly summarise the meaning in portions. Extensive listening is a great self tutoring method for learning second languages. While making extensive listening a habit, keep the following points in mind for exceptional learning.

● Use different mediums like English audio books, recordings, videos, entertainment pieces, musicals, debates and dialogues for extracting a variety of accents, speech alterations and genres of vocal English. ● To avoid hurtling up while listening extensively, pick a topic of interest and

listen through till the end. ● Since mostly you can repeat and take a pause while listening to pre- recorded mediums, list down new words and phrases you come across and look up for the meaning of complex vocabulary to keep up with the flow of speech. ● One of the best way to keep a log of different pronunciations while listening to voluminous text is to pen down the words as they sound. This will give you an edge on the phonic tone to understand what you listen better.

Type 3: Responsive Listening

In interpersonal communication, responsive listening is the half kernel of the two way process. Now as a non native learner, getting into habit of responsive listening is a place where you are active as a listener as well as a speaker. Engaging yourself with this type of listening will build your grasping speed and make you spontaneous with the language. Once you start practising it as a habit, you can further optimise listening through these elements:

Responsive listening is a behavioural act. Keep the focal point on listening calmly rather than getting anxious about how you would frame your response.

Ask the speaker to reiterate if you do not get the context clearly. It is always better and elucidating to seek clarification rather than responding in irrelevance.

Take time to apprehend what you listen before jumping to a response

It is observed that very often people practice prejudiced listening and neglect the minutes. As a settler to the foreign language you must keep a flexible and open mind while listening so as to ingest the actual meaning of what is being spoken.

“Do It Right Now”: Steps to Start Improving instantly

Step 1: Watch an English movie

Step 2: Make an honest list of all the words that you thought were pronounced in a different way.

Step 3: By the end of the movie, if your list is small, your pronunciation is not so bad. However, if your list is long, you need to work on pronouncing those words.

Step 4: If you are not sure about the pronunciation, use the help of Internet tools or

Chapter 3:

Easy Methods for Improving English Reading Skills

Learning how to read is an important part of learning English. It expands your vocabulary and gives you fluency. If you are in a country where English is the main language, you will not get by without learning how to read. Also, reading is substantially easier than speaking and writing, or even listening.

● Remember to always read a book that is of your level. Do not get ambitious and read a book above your level because that would involve words that you will not understand.

Reading English can get downright weird! Why? ‘Read’ and ‘read’ have the same spelling but different meanings as well as pronunciations. ‘Read’ is pronounced as ‘reed’, which is in present tense while ‘read’ is pronounced as ‘red’, which is in the past tense.

A few steps for you to start improving your reading skills are explained below.

Decide what you want to read

 

Preferably, you should stick to reading a book that is your level. Do not decide to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. You can do that when you have successfully mastered the language. That novel will not disappoint! You can read children’s books, newspapers, comics, or anything else. Once you have decided, go pick up the books from the library or bookshop.

Take it slow

Reading takes patience. Do not try rushing through the book or newspaper. Concentrate on every word that you read. If you do not understand a particular word or phrase, look it up in a dictionary or on Google. Do not proceed without understanding it completely.

Reread:

Rereading is a good exercise. You know how when you watch a movie for the second time, you pick out all that bits of information that you missed out on the first time you watched it? Rereading does the exact same thing. At times, while reading, a person fazes out. That means he or she is reading but not really concentrating or understanding. A second read makes everything clearer.

A list of unfamiliar words

Make a list of all the new words you come across with their meaning. After you finish

reading the text, go through this list and try using the words in your daily life.

Read aloud

Read every few sentences or paragraphs out loud. Concentrate on your pronunciation. This will help in developing fluency while reading. Fluency in speech is not the only thing that is important!

Summarize

Once you are done reading, summarize everything you read by either writing it down, or by speaking out in front of friends and family. You could also do this by yourself in front of the mirror. Remember to do this in English.

“Do it Right Now”: Steps to start improving instantly

Step 1: Pick an English book or topic over the internet of your interest

Step 2: Keep a dictionary, pen and a paper alongside

Step 3: Scan, skim and start reading the text out loud in a subtle speech

Step 4: Break the words that are difficult to pronounce at one go into sounds and speak in a connecting flow. In you don't know how that particular word sounds, refer to an audio dictionary and follow. Eg: Anticipation = An - tee — see — pay — shun.

Step 5: Note down new phrases, words and expressions you come across while reading and simultaneously take meaning from the dictionary.

Step 6: On completion, review the topic in your head.

Step 7: Note the estimated time you took to read the text, number of words read and as a trend, try and speed up with every third time you read.

Sentence it is used in i. the context. In this sentence, you can figure out that the word ‘decipher’ means to understand or convert into normal language. If you come across a word that you cannot completely understand, before turning to the dictionary, trying figuring out what the word could mean. Then, you can cross check with the dictionary to see if you were right. This will build your context skills and it is important in English because a lot of words are similar and pronounced in the same way. Some words even have the same spelling but mean something completely different

● Practice

Of course, practice makes perfect. Use the new vocabulary you have, or you might forget it before you even get a chance to use it. After learning a word and understanding the context it is used in, make it a point to put that word in your sentences.

● Use the dictionary

I know I said do not learn the dictionary in a day, but skimming through it and picking out words that fascinate you is a good exercise. Learn these words and use them so you get used to the context they are used in.

● Play with words

Play games like scrabble or words with friends or ruzzle. These games can increase your vocabulary in a fun way. Ask friends to help you along the way. Since these games have a competitive twist, you intend to learn new words faster. Even Pictionary is a good game to learn new words. Since you are drawing the words out, the meaning of the word stays with you.

● Crosswords

Make it a point to do the crossword every day. They can be a little overwhelming but with a little help, one can usually manage to complete the whole thing. They not only give you new words as you go through the thesaurus, but you general knowledge also expands. I think this is a brilliant exercise for learning a language.

● Write a journal

Start a written journal where you pen down your thoughts in English. This way you can practice writing as well. Remember to use the words you learned that day.

● Listen When others speak, listen! Observe how native English speaker use their words. Do not hesitate in asking what they mean if you don’t understand something. When you learn listen, you will also learn the usage of idioms, phrases, slang and colloquialisms. This will make you more fluent as well as understandable

● Associations When you learn a new word, associate it with something so that you have an easier time recalling it later. It could be a colour, a feeling, another word, or anything else. For example, ‘quintessential’ – one of my favorite words – means ‘the perfect example of something’. You can associate it with your favorite dish, your favorite actress or actor, your parents. Use these associations to remember the word.

● Make a list of words In a diary you keep with you, make a list of all the words you come across in a day. When you get home or in your free time, open a dictionary and find the meanings of each word you collected.

● Learn the roots Make it a point to learn the roots of the words. This is an interesting way to remember the words. Mostly every word in English has roots in either Latin or Greek. It is fun to learn how the word came about. Languages keep evolving, so a word that meant something in the 17th century would not mean the same today.

● Use the word Again, this point is so important that I am repeating is over and over again. If you do not use the words you learn, you will forget them. Learn to use the words. Make is a habit.

● Prefixes and suffixes English has a lot of words that use prefixes and suffixes. A prefix is a word that is added before another word. A suffix on the other hand is a morpheme that is added to the end of a word.

“Do It Right Now”: Steps to Start Improving instantly

Chapter 5:

Some Quick Steps to Learn English Grammar

Grammar can be pesky and annoying. It is not easy to learn because there are so many rules that simply do not make sense. For example, the pronunciations of ‘cat’ as ‘kat’ and ‘price’ as ‘prise’, does not make sense.

Grammar can be defined as a set of notions about the correct use of a language. English Grammar is extensive. The words can be distinguished into nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions.

A little introduction into the basics of Grammar is important so that you understand how things work.

Nouns:

In the simplest form, a noun is used to identify a name, place, animal or thing. It is also the largest English word class. Noun phrases are sentences that function as nouns. For example: The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.

Pronouns:

Pronouns function in place of nouns and noun phrases. These include personal pronouns, interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and relative pronouns. For example, I, you, we, she, he, they are all pronouns. For example: They stabbed him in the back.

Verbs:

Verbs describe actions. For example: She is singing. It is used for a word that describe any action being performed.

Adjective:

An adjective describes an attribute of a word or phrase. For example: She is singing beautifully.

Adverb:

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. For example: Sea biscuit was the fastest runner at the Derby.

Conjunctions:

A conjunction is a word that is used to connect two sentences. It creates a logical relation between two phrases. For example, and, or, but, nor, as well as, neither, for, so etc. are called conjunctions.

Preposition:

A preposition is a word that shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to other words in the sentence. For example: The book is in the shelf.

Speaking English is different from speaking correct English. For someone who has been speaking in English his or her entire life, Grammar comes naturally. I know a lot of people who can speak English and get their point across, but their Grammar is not that great. There are a few steps you can take to practice your Grammar skills.

Understand the parts of speech

Learn all the parts of speech. Essentially, every word in a sentence can be categorized into a word class. When you are reading a book or the newspaper, try figuring out which words are the nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions.

Look for structures

Observe how people use their words and how books are written. There are certain structures that stay the same.

Identify mistakes:

There are a lot of mistakes in the way English is spoken and written, even by native English speakers. However, when learning a new language, some words may be difficult for your native speakers. This differs from language to language. For example, Russians have trouble understanding the difference between the use of ‘a’ and ‘the’.

Exercises:

Perform grammatical exercises. You could do this on the Internet or you could buy a children’s English schoolbook. Complete at least one exercise in a day. This is how children learn Grammar. There is no other way to do it.

Hire a tutor:

It would be advisable for you go hire a tutor to guide you. Only a tutor can tell you that you are wrong and correct your mistakes. Colleagues and friend might not correct you for fear of embarrassing you or hurting your feelings.

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