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How to Learn English in Levels - a book written in simplified English
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Lesson 4
How to Practise Speaking
On Thursday, I go to school again. We have a new student in our class. Her name is Monica
and she is from Italy.
At the beginning of the lesson, my teacher asks Monica some questions. My teacher knows
Monica because Monica visited her class one year ago. It was a class for beginners and it
was only for two weeks during summer holiday.
When Monica speaks, her English is beautiful. Her pronunciation is very good and she is
very fluent.
My teacher is very happy and she tells Monica, “Your school in Italy must be very good.”
Monica says, “I don’t go to any school. I learn English at home. I use techniques from you. I
do a lot of reading, shadowing and thinking aloud. I try to think more in English than in
Italian.
This is how I work on my English. The two weeks which I spent last summer at your class
helped me a lot. You showed me the way. I know how to work on my English every day. This
is why I wanted to go to your class again because one year ago, I was a beginner and now I
can speak English. I want to learn from you again.”
My teacher is very happy when she hears these words. She thanks Monica for her hard
work.
It is all very interesting for me. I already know about reading. I also know the shadowing
technique. But Monica also speaks about thinking aloud. I don’t know what it is. So I ask our
teacher, “What is ‘thinking aloud’?”
Our teacher says, “It is a very effective technique. You have to have a strong motivation to
learn English if you want to have benefit from this technique.
It is also good to know that for some people this technique is a little crazy. But when you
start to think aloud, your English can be better very fast.”
I say, “I have a strong motivation. I don’t care if the technique is crazy. If it helps, I want to
learn it. Can you teach us this technique?”
“OK, it is actually very simple. You think in your native language all day every day. It is
normal. Now, you can start to think in English. And when you start to think in English, then
you can think aloud. You simply say aloud what you think. It is all.”
I say, “It is very simple. Why is it very effective?”
Our teacher says, “Maybe you can ask Monica. She uses this technique. Maybe she can tell
you more about this technique.”
Then our teacher asks Monica if it is OK for her to speak about her experience with thinking
aloud. It is no problem for Monica.
She says, “When I started with this technique, it wasn’t easy. I started with very simple
sentences. For example, ‘I can speak English. It is good that I can speak English. I want to
be better. I need to practise every day. I don’t know many words. But I can use these words
well. I can say my ideas with these words. I can do this. This is great.’
The sentences were really simple. But at the beginning there was one problem. My thinking
in Italian was long and complicated. I wasn’t able to say in English exactly what I was saying
in Italian. I needed to find a simpler form for English. To think in simple English was the
hardest part. But after some time it was normal for me to think in English.
Then something interesting happened. I met a man from Australia. He was on holiday in
Italy. I was still a beginner, but we started to speak English. I could see that I was able to
speak with him without big problems. My sentences were simple and short, but I was able to
speak. I didn’t translate in my head from Italian to English.
After the meeting with the man from Australia, I started to use thinking aloud more. This
technique helped me a lot with my speaking. I still use it every day. It is really a very effective
technique.”
Our teacher thanks Monica for her experience with thinking aloud. I want to use this
technique because I also want to be better at speaking.
When you want to speak English fluently, think aloud.
Next lesson
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How to Learn English in Levels - a book written in simplified English
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Home
Lesson 5
How to Learn Grammar
After school, I go to the café where my job training starts. I don’t know what to expect. I have
no experience. I am not sure if I can do this job.
When I come to the café, I am very surprised. It is a modern café which sells coffee, tea and
also chocolate cakes and sandwiches. And my boss is only 25 years old. She started to
work at the café more 2 years ago. She has a lot of experience and she knows everything
perfectly. She shows me how to prepare coffee, how to wash the dishes and how to deal
with customers.
It is all new for me. I remember only about 20 percent of what she tells me. But then she lets
me do the work and she corrects me when I make a mistake. She is very friendly and I learn
fast.
After the first day at work, I am very tired. But I am happy that I have a job.
The next day is Friday and I go to school again. One student asks an interesting question,
“Sometimes when I speak I am not sure if I speak correctly. I am not sure if I use correct
grammar. Can you help me what to do if I want to learn grammar?”
Our teacher says, “Thank you for your question. There are two groups of students. Some
students study English because they want to be able to speak. Some students study English
because they want to pass an exam. For each group the situation is different.
First, I will speak about the students who need English for speaking. If this is you, you don’t
have to study grammar a lot. When you learnt your native language, you also learnt it
without studying grammar. You can learn English grammar naturally by using the language.
The best way to learn grammar naturally is by reading a lot. Books are written in good
grammar. When you read, you will learn grammar in the context of the whole sentence. I
also recommend shadowing. When you do shadowing, you practise the correct grammar.
you do it naturally. You don’t have to try to remember anything. You only copy sentences with
correct grammar.
If you need English for speaking but also want to study grammar, you can visit
www.grammarinlevels.com. This website shows what grammar is important for the different
levels of English. You can find the most important grammar rules for speaking there.
The second group of students are those who study English for passing an exam. If you are
one of these students, I recommend studying specifically for this exam. It can take the
versions of this exam from the past years if it is possible and train with them.
Of course, your exam will be a little different, but the structure is usually the same or very
similar. From my point of view, the versions of the exam from the past years are good
training materials. Then I recommend going to the exam only when your results in the
training materials are such that you can pass the exam successfully. Did I answer your
question?”
“Yes, thank you,” says the student.
This is good news. I don’t like studying grammar. I learn English because I want to be able to
speak. I don’t need to pass any exam. I am happy that I don’t have to study grammar much.
I like reading and I am happy that I can learn grammar by reading books. After the lesson, I
go to the website www.grammarinlevels.com. It is really a nice website. There are grammar
rules with examples for each level. They have three levels. These levels are 1000, 2000 and
3000 words.
In the afternoon, I go to my work. It is my second day and I can already do a lot of things by
myself. But my boss helps me when I need it. I see that my work is not very difficult. Also, I
can practise English when I speak to our customers.
When you want to have good grammar, read a lot.
Next lesson
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