How I learnt to Speak in English Read online

  My Story

  An Incident That Inspired Me to Write This Book

  Chapter 1: How Will I Learn?

  Chapter 2: Nouns and Consonant Sounds

  Pronunciation Time

  Chapter 3: Pronouns and Vowel Sounds

  Pronunciation Time

  Chapter 4: Verbs and Syllables

  Pronunciation Time

  Chapter 5: Subject Verb Agreement, Question Formation, Sentence Stress and Intonation

  Pronunciation Time

  Chapter 6: Adjectives, Adverbs and Tone

  Pronunciation Time

  Chapter 7: Prepositions, Articles and Fluency

  Fluency Time

  Chapter 8: Conjunctions, Interjections, Conditionals and Comprehension

  Comprehension Time

  Chapter 9: Sum It Up

  My Story

  I was rejected in my first job interview because of not being able to communicate fluently in English. After a few months, the same company hired me and later on promoted me as a communication trainer to train their employees on spoken English. This started my career as a communication trainer. Without any exaggeration, I became one of the best communication trainers in the industry. My trainees were very thankful for my methods of training because they made them learn how to communicate in English correctly throughout their lives. In addition, they knew what to do if they needed to improve further without my help.

  Considering that I faced a challenge with communicating in English earlier, I had an advantage while training people on Communication as I understood the mind set and challenges of people who struggled with speaking fluently. I had faced it. So I knew the learners’ challenges. This is what made me an excellent trainer of the language. I was able to break things down to the learners’ level of understanding and grasping.

  Not just this, I created as well as improved existing communication training for a number of organizations. My colleagues, bosses, and clients showed full trust in my techniques of training on communication. Native speakers of English (for whom English is their first language) used to ask me how I could speak so well even though English was not my first language.

  This book contains my journey of learning how to communicate in English fluently. I have shared my methods of learning English, especially spoken English. With these methods, I was able to master the language in a few months. This book also has my notes and examples that helped me remember the concepts and guidelines easily.

  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning English in an easy and independent manner or refreshing their English basics quickly. Remember, you can only understand complex rules and increase your vocabulary when you know the basics. It is hard and stressful to jump to Level 2 without completing Level 1. I have explained concepts in the easiest possible manner and have consciously avoided too much information on each topic. What makes this book fun and effective are the techniques through which you will be learning each concept. If you take responsibility for improving your communication, you will automatically enjoy completing the activities. Through the activities, you will notice a change in the way you communicate in English as each day passes. The time that you will take to start showing improvement depends on your level of English as of today and the dedication you show. If you complete the recommended activities on a daily basis, you could learn in one month to three months. It could be lesser if you already know the language and are struggling only with speaking fluently or only with a few grammar rules.

  This book is also very helpful for those who train on spoken English and want to understand their learners in a better way.

  My journey began with being rejected. Rejection is not a good feeling. I was very demotivated and felt inferior as if I was not good enough to do anything in life. After a few days of thinking, I went into action mode and figured out what I was lacking. Even after getting a fairly decent percentage in school in my English exams, what made me get rejected?

  The answer was that I never made an effort to speak in English. I could write without making too many errors but I could never express myself clearly if I were to speak only in English for more than a few seconds. I did not even have many English speakers at home .So I never felt the need to speak in English.

  I am not embarrassed to share that not many people in my family know this language well; however it does not make them any less talented. My family was the biggest support system I had which encouraged me to refresh my spoken English skills rather than getting demotivated after I was rejected.

  If you want to communicate in English fluently, the first thing to do is to stop feeling inferior just because you don’t know the language. Then, figure out the areas in which you are lacking. For example, in my case, it was lack of effort and practice of speaking in English. Different people face a variety of challenges such as not being exposed to the language at all, not having many people around to understand the language, or not being good at Grammar, Pronunciation, or Fluency. Some people also get bored because there are so many rules in the English language and then, there are so many exceptions to the rules. I faced this challenge too.

  I did not know where to begin from. There were many thick books that looked scary and made me think that it would probably take a lifetime to complete those lengthy exercises. And there were way too many concepts explained in a lengthy fashion. I felt that those books were great for people who wanted to master the language or write thesis on it but I was looking for something that I could understand easily and remember for the rest of my life. I even thought of going to a language institute for practising English but the length of their training did not get me interested. I did not want to learn English to clear written exams. I wanted to learn how to speak in English fluently.

  What caught my eye was a child’s English Grammar book. I started making my own notes and writing simple and limited things that I could remember. But there is a lot that I did differently than how I learnt in school. Grammar is vast and there is Pronunciation too. Therefore, I balanced it by learning minimal definitions and focussing on the correct usage. I also completed exercises verbally rather than writing everything down. Then, I started applying what I learnt by talking to people in English as much as I could.

  This book is a compilation of the basic concepts of the language and effective tips on improving your English throughout life. It has the flow and methods I followed and the limited, yet effective content I used for learning. This book also has activities that focus on helping you grasp concepts in a better way. Most important, it has common errors that people make on a daily basis. When you review them, it will be easier for you to correct them.

  My objective is to help you learn quickly and make you more independent in learning the language. If you follow this book the way it is written, I am sure you will have your story of learning how to speak in English very soon.

  An Incident That Inspired Me to Write This Book

  After training and writing for about six years, I took a break from my profession to learn makeup. Once I completed my makeup training, I started to work on fashion photoshoots as a makeup artist. There was a young boy who used to observe the shoots. He was in the learning phase of photography. He never used to talk to me much. But he was very comfortable talking to everyone else. It took me some time to figure out that he was shy to say anything to me in the fear that I would say something in English and he wouldn’t know how to respond.

  Therefore, one day I decided to communicate with him in his first language, Hindi. I was amazed to see how much conversation he made with me. He spoke about his family, how much he enjoyed photography and his girlfriend. Then, he shared something in a very shy manner.
r />   He said, “I fear talking to people who speak in English. I fear that they would make fun of me.”

  He wanted to learn but could not dedicate much time to learning English. This incident made me get back to training on communication and I decided to write this book. I could see a part of the younger me in that boy. Then I thought of the many people who have so much potential but are not progressing because they are not able to communicate in English effectively.

  Don’t just learn English from this book. Create your own story of learning this language!

  Chapter 1: How Will I Learn?

  I say don’t worry about how you will you learn, enjoy the learning process.

  Remember this statement, “Don’t just speak in English; communicate in English. And, you can only do it by thinking in English.”

  The definition of Communication says, “it’s a two way process.”

  This means that if you are talking to someone in English, the other person should be able to understand you and respond. If they don’t, you are only talking; you are not communicating.

  One of the main reasons why we speak in English incorrectly is because we don’t think in English. When we think in our mother tongue and try to translate it into English, we are only replacing words without really understanding how their order should be. So from now, start thinking in English.

  I understand that it’s not easy to start thinking in a different language all of a sudden. However, even the word impossible says, “I am possible.” Therefore, begin to think in English as much as you can. If you don’t know the language at all and find this challenging, you could start as soon as you begin to learn and understand the language a little.

  Now the question arises, “Where do I begin from or how will I learn?”

  To answer this, I have listed four major areas of the language that are important to speak fluently. Circle the ones you face issues with. It could be one, two, three, or all of them. Don’t worry because we will cover all.

  Grammar

  Pronunciation

  Fluency

  Comprehension

  Without complicating it too much, let me show you the topics that you will be learning under each of them. Put a tick mark on the topics in the table below each time you complete a chapter.

  When I started learning English, there were so many topics and areas to be learnt that I was confused about where to begin from and how to progress. This table will make the learning more organised.

  Some people ask if English can be learnt without learning Grammar. My personal experience says “no.” One needs to know Grammar rules to speak grammatically correct English.

  Grammar

  Nouns

  Pronouns

  Verbs

  Subject Verb Agreement

  Question Formation

  Adjectives

  Adverbs

  Prepositions

  Articles

  Conjunctions

  Interjections

  Conditionals

  Pronunciation

  Consonant Sounds

  Vowel Sounds

  Syllables

  Sentence Stress & Intonation

  Tone

  Self-Practice

  Fluency

  Tips

  Self-Practice

  Comprehension

  Tips

  Self-Practice

  Treat this table like a video game. You complete each level as you complete each chapter.

  For those who don’t enjoy playing video games, treat this table like your wish list. You will get an item as you complete a chapter.

  You have no idea how much you will enjoy ticking these topics as you learn and how happy you will be the day you have a tick on all of them. I was jumping with joy when I completed all of these topics.

  Guidelines:

  Think in English.

  Follow the book flow. Do not jump to Chapter 2 if you haven’t read Chapter 1.

  Complete the recommended exercises; else the learning will not be as effective.

  Focus on recognising the sounds we produce whenever we discuss pronunciation (not the letters from A to Z). I will explain this more when we begin pronunciation.

  Notice that the topics listed under each section in the video game table or the wish list table are actually the parts that make them. Grammar is made up of eight parts of speech written in the table – Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions and Interjections. The rest of the topics are also important to discuss.

  Pronunciation is made up of sounds, syllables, sentence stress, intonation, and tone.

  Fluency and Comprehension tips and exercises are given too.

  Hope you enjoy the learning experience!

  Chapter 2: Nouns and Consonant Sounds

  Think of your favourite person. I can guess who that person is if I look at them from a Grammar perspective. That person is a noun.

  In this section, you will be learning nouns.

  Your favourite person could be your wife, husband, daughter, son, friend, mother, father, or someone unknown.

  Write who the person is. ____________________________________

  They are all common nouns.

  Write the person’s name here. ____________________________________

  The name of your favourite person is a proper noun.

  Just like your favourite person, things or places that you like are all common nouns. But their names are proper nouns.

  For example, I like movies and home. These are common nouns. Their names such as Harry Potter and India are proper nouns.

  Write your favourite things and places. (Common nouns)

  ____________________________________

  Write the names of your favourite things and places. (Proper nouns)

  ____________________________________

  Notes for Reference:

  Review the notes below to see examples.

  Types of Nouns

  Proper nouns refer to the individual name of a person, place or thing.

  Common nouns refer to the rest.

  Proper Nouns

  Common Nouns

  Ansh, Ruby, Sheru, India, Harry Potter, 3 Idiots, Sunday

  boy, girl, elephant, dog, country, book, education, birthday

  If you think of common nouns, there are so many of them.

  Things, places, or people that you like or dislike

  Things that you use

  Things that you eat

  Even your feelings and state of mind are nouns, for example, love, hate, happiness, pain, fear.

  There are so many types of common nouns; therefore it’s a good idea to recognise how they are divided further.

  Learning Tips:

  Don’t focus on learning definitions.

  Focus on recognising each type of noun through the definitions given.

  Common nouns can be divided into: abstract, collective, compound, countable and uncountable nouns.

  Countable

  Things you can perceive with your five senses and can be counted.

  Uncountable

  Things that cannot be counted.

  Collective

  A group of people or things.

  Compound

  Made up of two or more words.

  Abstract

  Things you cannot experience with your five senses.

  Examples:

  Countable

  photograph, book, key, phone, case, base

  Uncountable

  butter, cheese, honey, water, wood, rice

  Collective

  army, group, band, team, village, school, bunch

  Compound

  keyboard, mother-in-law, makeup

  Abstract

  Feeling: love, hate, anger, peace

  State: pain, happiness, loyalty, compassion

  Events: education, reality

  Ideas: truth, faith, belief

  Interesting Facts about Abstract Nouns:

  Friend is a count
able noun; however, friendship is an abstract noun.

  Nouns ending with the following suffixes are often abstract. One example is given for each. Write one more that comes to your mind.

  -tion: pronunciation

  -acy: democracy

  -ity: publicity

  -ship: ownership

  -ism: professionalism

  -age: marriage

  -ment: agreement

  -ence: patience

  -ance: tolerance

  -ness: sadness

  Activity:

  Look at the things around you and write two examples for each type of noun.

  Proper nouns:

  Common nouns:

  Countable:

  Uncountable:

  Collective:

  Compound:

  Abstract:

  Now that you recognise the different types of nouns, think of what you would say if there was more than one person, place, or thing.

  For example, toy is a noun; what would you say if there was more than one toy?

  Please write here. ________

  Answer: toys

  Beach is a noun; what would you say if there was more than one beach?

  Please write here. ________

  Answer: beaches

  Lady is a noun; what would you say if there was more than one lady?