Punctuation Rules - Avoid these common errors

Punctuation is a very important aspect of writing; good writing presupposes correct punctuation. Incorrect punctuation is the sign of weak writing, or carelessness. But this sort of thing is eminently avoidable, because punctuation is quite simple to master. Here are some basic rules to keep in mind:

1. Every sentence must end with a full stop.
2. Proper nouns (names of people, places, brands, etc, i.e. unique instances of a class) must always be capitalised.
3. When you use opening quotation marks, do not forget to use closing quotation marks at the end of the quoted word or phrase.
4. Quotation marks are when quoting or sometimes to convey irony, not for emphasis; emphasis is conveyed by emboldening or italicisation, followed by an exclamation mark.
5. Do not use an apostrophe when you are pluralising a word. The plural of toy is toys, not toy’s. Apostrophes are used to form contractions (it is = it’s) and indicate possession.
6. The ellipsis, used to indicate variously the intentional omission of a section of text, an unfinished thought, and a trailing off into silence, consists of only 3 dots. It is pointless to add more dots to an ellipsis. This is excessive punctuation, which is in other words incorrect punctuation.
7. As per the rules of British English, any punctuation mark that is not part of a quoted section of text must be placed outside the quotation marks. However, in the case of direct speech, punctuation marks must be enclosed within the quotation marks.
8. Do not link independent clauses with commas. Independent clauses are groupings of words that can stand alone as sentences. For example, in He knew how to drive, that he didn’t do it very often was a matter more nerves, not inability both the parts before and after the comma are full sentences. In such cases, the comma is not the correct punctuation mark of connection. In needs to be replaced with a semi-colon (‘;’). The sentence becomes: He knew how to drive; that he didn’t do it very often was matter of nerves, not inability.
9. Use a comma after the introductory element of a sentence. The introductory element is a word or a phrase that begins a sentence by providing background, or simply modifies it. For example, Honestly I don’t know how I managed to escape is wrong, because the word ‘honestly’ modifies the sentence. Hence, it should be Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to escape.

Apostrophe

The apostrophe is an important punctuation mark in the English language which is often used incorrectly.
Here are some common incorrect usages of the apostrophe

Your’s shoes are red.
I went to their’s house.
The book’s are on the table.
The flower’s are in the vase.

The apostrophe has two distinct uses in English

1. Used to show possession:
   • Bat owned by Ravi – Ravi’s bat
   • Doll owned by Sita – Sita’s doll
2. Used to show contractions of words:
   • It is so hot today – It’s so hot today
   • I have not done my homework – I haven’t done my homework

Colon and Semi Colon

Many English speakers are uncertain about the correct usage of the colon and the semi colon.

The colon ( : ) is a punctuation mark consisting of two dots one over the other whereas the semi colon ( ; ) consists of a dot above a comma.

In the majority of the cases, the colon is used to introduce a list of things while a semi colon is used to separate sentences where the conjunction has been left out.
The following examples will make the usage clear.

COLON	SEMI COLON
I have packed my cricket kit with the equipment I need: bats, gloves and pads.	Sumit likes to play cricket; Amit likes to play soccer.
A man needs three things to survive: air, water and food.	I drank lemonade; Manish drank tea.

The following sentence will illustrate the use of both these punctuation marks -
I talked to four men: Amit, who is from Delhi; Manoj, who is from Lucknow; Vinod, who is from Mumbai; and Mohan, who is from Patna.

Exclamation Mark

The exclamation mark is a punctuation used to express strong feelings or emotions. It is commonly used after interjections or exclamations.
It is one of the most misused punctuation marks in the English language. We tend to use exclamation marks more often than what is required. 

The exclamation mark should be mainly used to demonstrate shock, surprise, anger or a raised voice. The following cases demonstrate correct usage of this punctuation.

Hurray!
Help!
Go away! I don’t want to talk to you!
Shut Up!

In addition, the exclamation mark can also be used in very informal writing or to express irony, humour or sarcasm.

Comma

A comma is a punctuation used to denote a pause in the sentence. A comma is used to structure a sentence and helps the reader understand the meaning of the sentence.

The following are the most common usages of the comma in the English language.
1. To separate a series of words (nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs) in a sentence.
Ramesh, Shravan, Dilip and Radha went for the meeting.
Sheetal is an intelligent, loyal and hardworking employee.
You must complete the assignment honestly, correctly and quickly.
Manish ran, swam and cycled to complete the athletic event.
2. To separate a series of phrases in a sentence.
Amit completed his homework, packed his bags, polished his shoes and went to sleep.
I went to the market, bought the present, got it gift wrapped and came to the birthday party.
3. To separate the parenthetical elements (a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence).
M.S. Dhoni, India’s cricket captain, hit a six to win the match.
Vishnu, the headboy of the school, has been absent for the last three days.
4. To separate the quoted parts from the rest of the sentence.
The great leader told the crowd, “I will fast till death until our demands are met.”
“Please go back to your houses,” said the policeman to the crowd.

Question Mark

The question mark (?) is an important part of the English language and was developed sometime around the 18th Century. Like the full stop (.), this punctuation mark is used mainly at the end of an interrogative sentence. Many people use it incorrectly or don’t use it when required. Read this article and you will understand when and how to use the question mark.

The most obvious and common use of the question mark is to end a direct question. Look at the following sentences.

1. Where are you going?
2. What is this?
3. Are you mad?
4. Is this the place?
5. How much is this phone for?

Most people don’t know that the question mark has other uses as well. Let’s take a look.

A. To indicate uncertainty.

1. He lived till 1990(?) and was buried near his house.
2. Gandhiji, 2nd October 1869(?) – 1948, was a great Indian leader.

B.  In a series of questions.
 

1. What? He isn’t coming? When did you speak to him? 
2. He’s been hospitalized? Why didn’t you tell me? Is he better now?
3. This is your car? When did you buy this? How much did it cost? 

C. To end a tag question (a statement followed by a question).

1. His phone was stolen, wasn’t it?
2. She’s a great painter, isn’t she?
3. He’s lost his job, hasn’t he?

Many times, people use questions marks even when they’re not required. One such situation would be indirect questions; these do not require a question mark.

1. Rohit asked Nidhi to marry him.
2. The Principal asked him his name.
3. His father wondered whether the car was fine.

Punctuation Marks

Punctuation marks are important in both written and spoken English. In written English, the correct usage of these symbols helps to express the intended meaning of the sentence. In spoken English, punctuation marks denote the pauses and intonations to be used when reading aloud.
Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence.
For instance, compare the following two sentences:
Let’s eat Mom.
Let’s eat, Mom.
Do you see how the usage of a comma changes the entire meaning in both the sentences? The disappearance of comma in the first sentence indicates that the speaker is asking to eat their Mom, which does not make sense. Whereas, the comma after let’s eat in the second sentence helps to convey the meaning that the speaker is suggesting to their Mom to go and start eating, which sounds more sensible and also saves a life.

Symbols of Punctuation

Some of the commonly used punctuation marks are:
Full Stop - (.) Usually used at the end of a sentence.
Question Mark - (?) Usually used at the end of an interrogative sentence to form a question.
Comma - (,) Usually used to denote a pause in a sentence.
Exclamation Mark - (!) Used to denote shock, surprise, anger or a raised voice.
Colon – (:) Used to indicate what is to follow next
Semi Colon (;) Used to link two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction or used to separate two independent clauses in place of comma
Apostrophe - (') Used to show possession or for contraction of word.

What is Business English?

Business English is, quite simply, English geared towards the conduct of business and international trade. It is generally taught to non-native English speakers who want to do business with English-speakers, and is thus a purely functional category of English aimed at preparing learners for effective communication. On the other hand, it can also be learned by native English speakers who are more habituated to casual use of the language and are not sure of their footing when it comes to formal, office-environment talk.
The focus in Business English is on the language and skills required for regular business communication: the vocabulary of trade and finance, presentations, negotiations, meetings, everyday conversation, networking, correspondence, report writing etc. The strict rules of grammar are sometimes ignored or sidestepped for these purposes.

How to write a formal letter

Formal letters are also known as ‘business letters’, although this can be a misleading term, because formal letters are not necessarily only used in business. Formal letters are official letters. They are written:

1.      Objectively, i.e. with a particular, well-defined objective or set of objectives (for e.g. enquiring about job openings) in mind and not for the sake of arbitrary correspondence.

2.      Concisely, i.e. to the point and not conversational. One must write clearly and logically, avoiding unnecessary wording.

3.      Between parties that have a limited sphere of interest in one another, i.e. their interest is limited to the objectives of the letter and do not extend to other issues.

4.      According to a set of formatting rules that most clearly differentiate it from informal letters.

When writing formal letters, it is important that this format be followed, because it is an accepted professional protocol. The rules are as follows:

1.      Begin with your name and address. Phone number and email address are optional.

2.      Leave a line, and enter the date.

3.      Leave a line, and enter the recipient’s name and address.

4.      Leave a line, and enter the salutation.

5.      Immediately below the salutation, enter your subject (the objective of the letter) in as few words as possible, but not to the extent that it is incomprehensible.

6.      Leave a line, and begin with the content of your letter.

7.      Leave a line, and enter the valediction.

8.      Everything must be left-aligned.

Let us look at the rules in a little more detail, with examples:

1.      Own name and address:

 

Name

Number and Colony

City-Pin Code

[Phone number]

[Email address]

 

Ravindra Kumar

E-200, Rajpurohit Colony,

New Delhi-110065

 

2.      Date:

 

The month must be written as a word, followed by the date and year.

 

November 20, 2012

 

3.      Recipient’s name and address:

 

Name and/or Designation

Company/Organisation/Institution

Address

 

The Warden

XYZ College Hostel

XYZ College, Delhi University

New Delhi-110065

 

4.      Salutation:

 

Dear [name of recipient] or ‘Sir/Madam’,

 

Dear Sir or Madam

5.      Subject:

 

SUB: [subject]

 

SUB: Details of hostel facilities and fees

6.      Content:

 

The content, as has already been mentioned, must be clear, concise, logical, and related to your objective. For e.g., since the subject offered above is ‘details of hostel facilities and fees’, you must simply mention that you wish to obtain mentioned information because you are considering taking up residence at the hostel as a student of the college.

 

7.      Valediction:

 

Yours faithfully/sincerely/respectfully,

[Full name]

 

Yours sincerely,

Ravindra Kumar

8.      Left alignment:

 

The letter will look like this:

 

Ravindra Kumar

E-200, Rajpurohit Colony,

New Delhi-110065

 

November 20, 2012

 

The Warden

XYZ College Hostel

XYZ College, Delhi University

New Delhi-110065

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

SUB: Details of hostel facilities and fees

 

I have recently been enrolled as a student of XYZ College. It is my intention to take up residence at the college hostel, and I would be grateful if you could provide me with the necessary details, regarding the different rooms offered, the fee rates for different rooms, and the facilities that are offered.

 

Yours sincerely,

Ravindra Kumar

Capitalisation Rules

The rules governing the capitalisation of letters in written English are as follows:

1.     Capitalise the first word of every sentence (see emboldened letter of first word of this sentence), and every new line.

 

2.     Capitalise the first word of quoted sentences.

He said to her, “You have betrayed my trust.”

3.     Capitalise proper nouns.

I want to holiday in the Himalayas.

4.     Capitalise words derived from proper nouns.

I want to study English and history in college.
‘English’ and ‘history’ here serve as the subjects that the speaker wants to study in college, so they are both fundamentally common nouns; however, the subject title ‘English’ is derived from the proper noun ‘English’, which refers to the language. Hence, it must be capitalised.

5.     Capitalise a person’s title when

- it precedes his/her name,
President Sharma
- when it follows his/her name on an address/signature line,
Regards,
Sharma, President
- AND when used as a direct address,
What is the verdict, President?
- Do not capitalise when the title is used after the holder’s name to describe him/her.
‘I call this meeting to order,’ said Sharma, the president of the club.

6.     Capitalise cardinal directions when they are used to refer to specific locations.

I am headed to the South this summer.

7.     Capitalise the first and last words in titles of publications, and all words in between except for

- Little words like a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or  and nor, and

- Prepositions, regardless of length.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

War and Peace

Down and Out in Paris and London

English Writing Tips

English today has become a global language. It is one of the most spoken, written and conversed languages in the world. Knowledge of English today has become a compulsion because it’s an international means of communication and is required in every field, be it science and technology, entertainment, etc.
A basic knowledge of English is a requirement of most professionals and companies as it is the way to reach to a large number of people residing in different part of the globe.
Learning to write in English has a lot to do with other things also. Let’s start by discussing why we should learn English, and the reasons are as follows:

·         Global Medium:

English is a universal language and thus a person knowing it is at advantage in many ways. They won’t be in need of a translator and can at least roam in a country with one common language to converse in, irrespective of them not knowing the language of that country.

·         Advantage In Education:

It is an added advantage when you go for higher studies, jobs or any opportunities in the fast growing world and economy.

·         Connect Better:

It helps connect better with different cultures and people..

·         Business opportunity:

Most of the work done in business world is in English. For  example:  the e-mails, agreements, important documents, etc. all are in English.

·         Technology:

Most of the software, be it in computers, laptops, tablets or cell phones are in English and thus knowing the language is good.

·         Easy To Learn:

It is a relatively easy language to learn, speak and write in comparison to Mandarin or French.

If a person wants to improve his/her English writing or speaking skills, the best way to do that is by practice.
Both writing and speaking English require certain skills which are as follows:

-         Good Grammar:

The first and the most important step to improve one’s English skills is to have knowledge of grammar. The mistakes made in grammar are that of most basic in nature. For e.g.:
 A apple instead of an apple.

-         Vocabulary:

One should try and improve their vocabulary as that is their knowledge of words. The more words you know, the more it gets easier for you to write or speak in English.  Read or go through the dictionary whenever you don’t understand a word, or want to expand your database of the word.

-         Spellings:

Spellings are an integral part of the learning process. To learn English, one must know their spellings correctly. If the spellings are wrong, then they may acquire a totally different or contrasting meaning. Sometimes they can make no sense at all.
Once you have written something in English, either get it checked by somebody who knows their spellings well or with the technology we have today, just run a ‘spell –check’ on your laptops/computers.
To improve your spellings you should look up in the dictionaries more often ang go through the various spelling related websites on the internet.

-         Reading Skills/ Pronunciation :-

When learning English one should read a lot, be it stories, articles, online forums, blogs or whatever interests you.
Reading helps one not only to improve their reading skills but also their writing skills which, in turn, also result in the knowledge ofgood spelling and different usage of words.

-         Converse more:

One  should converse more often in English when learning it. It is always better to have someone around to correct you. Conversing more in English will also improve one’s pronunciation skills, which are very important to have good command over the language.

-         Revise:

This applies basically to the written part though. It is always good to revise once whatever you have written as there may be mistakes, which might not be visible to us but can result in big blunders.
The best way to revise is to run an error check on the laptop as there is already an option for that or you can always do that with the help of software available online.
You can also ask somebody, whose English is good, to go through the article once, just in case to check the errors made.

English is a beautiful language but people learning it may face some problems with it. The mistakes made are of the most basic problems one can think of. Some of the common mistakes made in English are as follows:

·         Revise or proofread to see if there are any spelling mistakes or not.
·         Use the words carefully and never over use the words while writing. E.g.:

The party was a blunder mistake. (Wrong sentence)

The Party was a blunder. (Correct sentence)
                            Or
The party was a big mistake. (Correct sentence)

·         Wrong usage of articles like a, an, the. E.g.:

 

A Umbrella (wrong)
An umbrella (right)

·         Wrong usage of similar words. E.g.:

The wait of the box is 10kgs. (Wrong word)
The weight of the box is 10kgs. (Right word)

·         The usage of tenses should always be kept in mind, i.e., whether the conversation or the sentences are being written in past tense, present tense, future tense. E.g.:

I slept. (Past tense)
I sleep. (Present tense)
I will sleep. (Future Tense)

·         The speech needs to be kept in mind while talking. E.g.:

He will eat dinner.
He told he will eat dinner. (Wrong speech)
He said that he will have dinner. (Right speech)

·         Use punctuation marks like comma (,) , hyphens(-) etc., carefully and only where required.
·         Use idioms carefully or they may change the whole meaning of the sentence.
·         Never end a sentence with a preposition. e.g.:

The flowers bloom in September as it has the pleasant weather. (Wrong sentence)
The flowers bloom in September as the weather is pleasant. (Right sentence)

·         Never start a sentence with a conjunction. E.g.:

And the game begins. (Wrong sentence)
The game begins. (Right sentence)

·         Always write or talk according to the occasion, i.e., formal or informal. E.g.:

Hi, what’s up? (Informal)
Good morning. How are you? (Formal)


By keeping all these little things in mind, people can very easily overcome the mistakes they make in English.
And apart from following all these, “Practice is what makes one perfect”, so keep practicing!

Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are phrases that are designed to be difficult to say, testing one’s articulation. They usually do not make much sense, and rely, generally, on alternation between similar sounds, like that of s and sh, or on a sequence of sounds that requires ceaseless repositioning of the tongue.
Tongue twister is an example of spoken English exercises that are developed by combining the effects of similar sounding words or alliteration with a group of words that are intended to be very hard to speak or result in a slip of tongue.
 Tongue twisters can be used as a type of spoken word game. They help develop articulation and reduce the probability of fumbling and stuttering during conversation. The basic aim is to familiarise the tongue with difficult and same sounding words, and to make the mouth muscles flexible. Adeptness with tongue twisters will naturally lend confidence to one’s speech and will also help improve pronunciation to a great extent.

Here are is a tongue twister that you can start practicing with:
The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us.
The above example has been claimed to be the most difficult of common English tongue twisters by William Poundstone.

Some of the other popular tongue twisters in the English language are:

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.
For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore
Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.
The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter
And made her batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter makes better batter.
So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better

Which witch wished which wicked wish? 

Shep Schwab shopped at Scott’s Schnapps shop,
One shot of Scott’s Schnapps stopped Schwab’s watch.

Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now, See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed
Soar's seesaw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
just because See's saw sawed
Soar's seesaw.

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

How to master the exercise of learning and speaking tongue twisters correctly?
Tongue twisters help to perk up spoken English and pronunciation immensely.  Here are a few things to keep in mind while doing this exercise:
·         The first and foremost task is to prepare a list of popular tongue twisters.
·         Once you have a good collection of tongue twisters, start practicing them one at a time.
·         Say them aloud and pronounce each word slowly. Keep doing this till you don’t get comfortable pronouncing each word separately and clearly.
·         Speed up once you are comfortable and have learnt the twister.
·         It’s better to do this exercise in front of someone who is good in English or is an expert in voice over and diction learning. They could guide you and also measure your improvement.
·         Practice this exercise on a regular basis to improve pronunciation and fluency.

Intonation and Stress

English is known as a stressed language; stressed languages are languages that are spoken with differing levels of emphasis for the different words and syllables in the sentences. This is a feature that syllabic languages do not share; syllabic languages are languages that are spoken with equal emphasis on every syllable. Speakers of the latter cannot understand why speakers of stressed languages seem to almost rush past certain words while slowing down and stressing on others.
To explain, consider the word ‘can’. When one uses this word positively, it becomes c’n; the vowel a goes almost unsaid, unstressed, as in We can go out on Sunday. Take, on the other hand, the negative form, ‘can’t’. This never goes unstressed; it always pronounced cahnt. The result is that saying We can go out on Sunday will take less time than saying We can’t go out on Sunday.
As a result of this, it is required of any English speaker that he or she be aware of the words that are stressed in English and those that aren’t. This will of course become clearer through regular conversations, but for now, you must remember:

1. Content words are stressed. Content words include
   1. Nouns (e.g. Hari, Sunidhi)
   2. Normal verbs (e.g. run, build, shout)
   3.  Adjectives (e.g. beautiful, large, friendly)
   4. Adverbs (e.g. loudly, quickly, randomly)
2. Function words are unstressed. Function words include:
   1. Determiners (e.g. a, the, an)
   2. Auxiliary verbs (e.g. don’t, can, was)
   3. Conjunctions (e.g. and, but, as)
   4. Pronouns (e.g. he, she, us)

Spoken English Exercises

Speaking crisp and clear English is a significant part of learning the English language. It not only enhances the scope of communication but also augments the possibility of getting a good job. Today, most employers look for manpower with intermediate to expert English skills – both oral and written. But as English is considered to be the most widely used language for formal communications, more emphasis is placed upon spoken English skills than writing skills. This implies that it is imperative to develop and master speaking English, so that it goes a long way in shaping your career.
There are many aspects that need consideration when we talk about spoken English. Attaining fluency, developing vocabulary and learning the correct pronunciation/diction are some major points that need to be recognised in this regard. The best way to do this is by practicing a number of Spoken English Exercises that are fun and easy to do.
Some of the most common exercises and activities to improve spoken English are summarized below:
Reading – newspapers, books, magazines, dictionary, etc. aloud : Make it a habit to read either a newspaper, magazine or a book of your choice daily. The first part is to ‘read’ and the second part is to ‘read aloud’. While the first part will build the stock of words and knowledge of current affairs, the second part will help to learn and improve the pronunciation of different words. Don’t be shy; you do not, necessarily, have to read in front of anyone. You can try this in front of a mirror and check your diction yourself.
Playing word games that help stretch mouth and tongue muscles : Tongue twisters help to familiarize the tongue with similar and same sounding words and flexes the mouth muscles. Opening the mouth properly while speaking is very important. This adds accent and clarity to speech and prevents words from getting jumbled up inside the mouth. For example:
A twit who tweeted on twitter twice twittered a tweet to a twitterer.
OR
I thought a thought but the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.

Listening : Listen to English news channels daily, watch English movies or shows and listen to English songs to acquire correct diction and understand various accents. You will be able to speak well only when you listen well and get the pronunciations right.
Correcting diction by recording your voice : You can record your own voice and listen to your pronunciation. The focus remains mainly on the grammar and the choice of words while speaking. Therefore, to correct your diction and ascertain your weak points in spoken English, you need to listen to your ownself speaking. This will also help in improving the amount of stress and type of tone required to speak different words.
Practicing speaking by talking more : Don’t lose an opportunity to speak in English. Make it a point to speak in English, whenever and wherever possible. Call friends up and interact with them in English. Try to use the new words that you learn from your daily readings. You can also talk to your parents and siblings in English, if possible. This will also help in making thinking in English your second nature; enhance your fluency and confidence to speak in English publicly.
Playing games on public speaking : Public speaking bolsters confidence. Try to play games with your friends that involve giving short speeches on various topics. Participate in class or group presentations to get rid of the fear involved in speaking English in front of a large audience. You can initially practice speaking in front of a mirror in your room. This will help you to notice your body language, voice tone and facial expressions, and in turn will prepare you to speak fluently in public.
Listening to English songs and read the lyrics aloud : Listening to English songs can be considered a type of accent training. It helps in understanding varied accents. You can use sub titles in the beginning. Once you memorize the lyrics, you can read them aloud on your own. This will help in bettering pronunciation.
Playing word games : Word games like Scrabble introduce new words and hence increase the vocabulary. Games on identifying Idioms and Proverbs can also be played to learn and familiarise oneself with them. This will help you in learning a variety of expressions and describing different situations, while you speak. The more knowledge of words you have, the better it is for you while speaking.

Silent Letters

These are those letters in words which are not pronounced when we say the word. In other words, these letters or alphabets are written when spelling the word but not said out loud verbally. This is mainly because of the changes in pronunciation that the English language has seen over the centuries, in olden times the silent letters used to be pronounced and the spellings also varied greatly.  On this page we have listed out the different types of silent alphabets and examples of the words they are used in.

Silent B
The alphabet ‘B’ is not pronounced when it comes after ‘M’ in a word
Climb
Plumber
Tomb
Comb

Silent C
'C' is not pronounced in words like
Muscle
Scissors
Acquire

Silent D
'D' is not pronounced in words like:
Sandwich
Wednesday
Edge

Silent G
The alphabet is not pronounced when it comes before ‘N’ or ‘M’
Gnat
Diaphragm

Silent GH
'GH' is not pronounced before 'T' and at the end of many words
Rough
Through
Alight
Light
Borough

Silent H
‘H’ is not pronounced when it comes after ‘W’
Why
Whether
Where
Sometimes the ‘H’ is silent for some words, even when it is the first letter of the word
Hour
Heir
‘H’ is not pronounced when it comes before ‘Y’
Thyme
Rhyme

Silent K
Whenever ‘K’ is followed by an ‘N’ at the beginning of a word, ‘K’ is not pronounced
Knot
Knight
Knock
Knowledge

Silent L
‘L’ stays silent in most words when it comes before ‘D’,’ F’, ‘M’, ‘K’.
Yolk
Half
Calm
Talk
Should

Silent N
‘N’ is not pronounced when it follows ‘M’ in a word
Autumn
Column

Silent P
‘P’ remains silent when it starts a word and is followed by ‘sy’ or ‘ne’
Pneumonia
Psychotic
‘P’ is also not pronounced in certain words like
Psalm
Receipt

Silent S
We usually avoid pronouncing ‘S’ when it comes before ‘L’ in words like
Island
Aisle

Silent T
‘T’ is not pronounced in words like
Castle
Beret
Listen
Depot
Whistle
Gourmet

Silent U
‘U’ is not pronounced in words when it comes after ‘G’ and is followed by a vowel
Guess
Colleague
Guitar
Tongue

Silent W
We avoid pronouncing ‘W’ when it begins a word and is followed by ‘R’
Wrist
Write
Wrong
‘W’ is not pronounced in these three pronouns
Who
Whose
Whom
It is also avoided in words like
Two
Sword
Answer

Silent X
‘X’ is not pronounced in most words that have come from the French language
Faux Pas
Bordeaux

Silent Z
‘Z’ remains silent in the word
Rendezvous

English Pronunciation

Pronunciation can be a tricky matter when it comes to the English language. Unlike with languages like Hindi and Tamil, letters in English take on multiple phonetic forms (think of the a in ‘can’ and the a in ‘war’); thus, the concept of pronouncing a word the way it is spelled does not apply. This is partly the result of derivation; English is a derivative language. It means that many of its words and phrases have been borrowed from other languages (cafe, boutique, cocoa).

The unpredictability that results from being a derivative language, makes pronunciation in English difficult to master. A written course is possibly the least helpful way to go about it. It is through continued contact with English speakers and practice that one’s pronunciation improves. Watching English-language films, TV shows, and news channels is also very useful. Both methods, however, require conscious effort. One must pay close attention while conversing with someone who is fluent and while watching English-language film or TV productions, and through practice, make correct-sounding speech a matter of habit.

There are, however, some guidelines that we can provide on pronunciation that should help in giving you an idea of the contours of spoken English:

Regarding Consonants

B
Usually pronounced like the ‘b’ in ‘big’. However, in words ending with ‘-mb’, such as comb, plumb, numb, bomb, etc, the ‘b’ is silent.

C
Usually pronounced like ‘k’, as in ‘cat’. However, ‘c’ takes on the sound of ‘s’ when it precedes ‘e’, ‘i’ or ‘y’, as in ceiling, cistern, cynic, etc.

-dge
Usually pronounced like ‘j’, as in ‘bridge’.

G
Usually pronounced as in ‘go’. However, before ‘e’, ‘i’ or ‘y’, ‘g’ is often pronounced like ‘j’, as in germ, ginger, gyrate, etc.

-gh
In some words, ‘-gh’ is pronounced like ‘f’, as in laugh. However, in some words it is silent, as in high.

H
For example, ‘head’. However, in a few words, the ‘h’ is silent, as in hour, honour, etc.

K
Generally pronounced like the ‘c’ in ‘cat’. However, when followed by ‘n’, it is usually silent, as in knife, knave, knight, etc.

L
Generally pronounced as in ‘leaf’. However, in a few words, the ‘l’ is silent, especially when followed by ‘k’ and ‘f’, as in talk, walk, half, calf, etc.

S
Generally pronounced as in ‘sun’. However, in some words ‘s’ is pronounced like ‘z’, as in nose, president, etc. In a few words, such as television and azure, ‘s’ takes on a sound generally represented phonetically as ‘zh’.

Th
Generally aspirated, ie, let out with a puff of air, as in think, third, etc. However, in some words, such as this, ‘th’ is not aspirated.

X
Usually pronounced like in box (the sound is –ks). However, when it is the first letter of a word, x is pronounced like ‘z’.

Y
Generally pronounced as in yesterday. In some words, it takes on the sound ‘ee’, as in city. In yet other words, it takes on the sound ‘ai’, as in fly.

Regarding Vowels
A
Before two consonants, ‘a’ is pronounced as in sand. This also applies when it appears before a single consonant at the end of a word, as in fan.
Before a single consonant followed by a vowel, ‘a’ is usually pronounced as in ate (the sound is ey).
Before ‘l’ and after ‘q’ and ‘w’, ‘a’ is usually pronounced as in call (the sound is like ‘aw’). Other examples are squash and wall.

E
Before two consonants and before a single consonant at the end of a word, ‘e’ is usually pronounced as in desk or ten. This also applies when ‘e’ appears before a single consonant followed by a vowel (ever), although sometimes ‘e’ is pronounced ‘ee’ in such cases, as in even.
At the end of a word, ‘e’ is usually silent, as in ate, fate, etc; however, at the end of very short words, ‘e’ usually takes on the sound ‘ee’, as in be.

I  
Before two consonants and before a single consonant at the end of a word, ‘i’ is usually pronounced as in fit or fill. However, in some cases, before two consonants, ‘i’ takes on the ‘ai’ sound (rhymes with eye). For example, wild.
Before a single consonant followed by a vowel, ‘i’ generally takes on the ‘ai’ sound, as in eye and tire.

O
Before two consonants in some words and before a single consonant at the end of a word, ‘o’ takes on the sound ‘aw’, as in rock and not.
In other words, it is pronounced ‘oh’ when it appears before two consonants, as in bolt.
The same applies when it precedes a single consonant followed by a vowel.

U
Before two consonants and before a consonant at the end of a word, ‘u’ usually takes on either the short ‘oo’ sound, as in pull and put, or the blunt ‘uh’, as in duck and jut.

Before a single consonant followed by a vowel, ‘u’ takes on the long ‘oo’ sound, as in June.

How to speak in English (Learner's Experience)

Speaking English is a challenge for any learner of the language, especially when they’re not well equipped  with the vocabulary and the grammar. However, these are obstacles that can easily be  crossed with a little bit of effort and participation.
The first step to learning is realising the fact that learning the English language should not be a duty or chore for you; it should be taken as a fascinating hobby that will help you to expand your horizons in many aspects of your life. Don’t take learning as a task; instead enjoy it, and you’ll be able to conquer such obstacles easily.
One of the most important aspects of improving spoken English is to have an extensive vocabulary so that you could express your thoughts clearly and easily. Having a good stock of words  would help you to be more precise with your construction and more articulate with your speech.
However, only the knowledge of vocabulary won’t be sufficient in improving your speaking skills.  Your sentences might not make sense if you simply do a literal translation of words from your native language into English, without supporting it with proper grammar that must go along with it. Therefore, having knowledge of basic grammar is another very necessary component of improving spoken English.
It is not necessary to have an extensively  detailed knowledge of grammar for speaking fluent English. In fact,  speaking in absolutely correct grammar may sometimes lead to awkwardness in casual and informal meetings or talks. So, if you are not looking to improve your spoken English for work-related purposes, just having a basic grasp of grammar would be enough to get you started.
Once you have the grammar and the words required, the next step is  to be able to convey them to  others  in a confident and easy manner. For this, you need to believe in yourself, as well as  know your limitations at the same time.  While you reap the benefits of your learning, also do recognize your limitations in terms of speaking. A simple trick is to  keep the sentences short and simple. Also, do not hesitate to ask the other persons for clarification if you do not understand them or  you yourself are stuck on a word or two in the middle, and need some help.
Remember that English, just like any other language, may carry more than one meaning in its spoken words.  A sentence could be idiomatic or sarcastic or questioning, etc., so you need to pay attention to different tones and stress points to get clues about the hidden meanings. This observational activity would also prepare you to utilise what you learn from here in your future conversations.
Last but not the least, keep practicing.– Speaking English yourself as much as you can and trying to understand the different accents of native English speakers are two things that would take you a long way in retaining what you learnt as well as improving your spoken English skills. Watch English movies, news channels, soap operas, etc. to hear crisp English diction and absorb the different styles of pronunciations.  Record yourself having a conversation and compare it with a native speaker’s diction, so that you can recognise your grey areas  and act upon them.  
Keep in mind that while you are a learner, you still need to follow social norms. Be polite and respectful while talking to others. If you are not sure about the correct ways to address people and respond to them in English, take some time out and learn the necessary phrases and words before you step out into the world.
Once you start following these tips religiously and conversing in English regularly, you will surely notice a significant improvement in your spoken English skills!

Improve Spoken English-Learn How to improve Spoken English (Learners Experience)

The English language is spoken in many nations including India. Speaking the language fluently allows one to feel confident while communicating or interacting with different people. Not being fluent in English often leads to embarrassing situations for us; we feel unsure of ourselves and that only makes things worse. Here are a few ways that can help overcome the fear, and become confident in speaking English:

1. Ever wondered why you are so fluent with your mother tongue? It is because you speak and hear the language more often. What does this suggest? The first and the most crucial step to improve spoken English is to speak it as often as you can. Speak in English with friends, family, relatives, etc. Do not worry about making mistakes. In fact, encourage people around you to correct you as often as they can. This will help you speak correct English and boost your confidence.
2. Feeling under confident forces us to speak rapidly because we stumble with words or feel unsure about the pronunciation. Do not let this happen, it shows anxiety and the other person will struggle to understand what you are saying. Speak at a comfortable pace and pronounce your words correctly. There’s is no reason to feel shy or intimidated. We all make mistakes and the only way to learn is to practice and have others correct us.
3. Use a dictionary to learn new words or to find out the meaning of a word you may have heard. Make a list and use these words as often as you can.
4. Read books, newspapers and magazines. This will allow you to understand the language better and help you learn new words to widen your vocabulary.
5. Watch English movies, preferably with subtitles. This, too, will aid you in understanding the language better.
6. Read one article out aloud every day, and if possible ask someone to listen and correct you. Focus on speed, clarity and correct pronunciation.
7. Record your own voice and listen to it. This will help you gain confidence and work on your mistakes.
8. Try and find a partner who is also interested in improving his/her spoken English. Practice together, correct each other and learn together.
9. Think in English, instead of translating sentences from other languages that you’re familiar with. Doing this leads to grammatical mistakes and deteriorates the quality of your spoken English. 
10. Join an online English learning course. Such a programme provides you with the right content and opportunities to practice with other users. Besides this, your answers are corrected and proper feedback is provided.

Spoken English Tips (Learner's Experience)

The following tips helped me improve my spoken English and overcome my hesitation in the language. Hope they are useful for you too.

1. Don’t worry about making mistakes because you will make mistakes as a learner.
   
   
2. Be patient. This isn’t a one day process.
   
   
3. Learn certain phrases that can be used in multiple situations.
   
   
4. Learn how to greet someone properly.
   
   
5. Talk slowly and carefully. Don’t rush through your sentences.
   
   
6. Restrict yourself to simple sentences until you gain confidence.
   
   
7. Watch out for your pronunciation. Many online tools will tell you how to pronounce a word correctly. Check one of them out when you’re in doubt.
   
   
8. Carefully observe how proficient speakers of the language pronounce words and frame their sentences.
   
   
9. Ask your friends, relatives and anyone you can to point out your mistakes and correct them.
   
   
10. Speak to them in English only. Practice is a must.
    
    
11. Record yourself reading one article aloud every day. Focus on pronunciation, speed, clarity and emphasis.
    
    
12. Many online sites offer you the opportunity to voice chat with another user. This is an effective way to practice.
    
    
13. Learn at least one new word every day and use it as a part of your conversation with people. By the end of the week, you should know seven words really well.
    
    
14. Learn new words everyday
    
    
15. Read at least one article of your choice aloud every day. 
    
    
16. Watch English movies with subtitles.
    
    
17. Watch English shows.
    
    
18. Read books and magazines.
    
    
19. Keep a pocket dictionary handy for any word you may need to know the meaning of.
    
    
20.  When you hear a new word, try to find its usage and its antonyms.
    
    
    Best of luck!
    
    

Also see
How to improve English
Learn English Online
Improve spoken English
How to learn English quickly
10 tips for speaking English
More English speaking tips
Qualities of a Good English teacher

Seven tips for English learners

Many people think you need to live in a foreign country, have a close foreign friend, or spend long nights with your head buried in a boring grammar book, to master English…In fact, you can become a very successful learner of English if you follow some basic rules.
1. Relax and enjoy speaking
When you use English, don’t worry about making mistakes. The chances are you will always make small mistakes when speaking a foreign language. The important thing is to learn from the errors you make. Babies don’t learn to walk without falling over a lot!
2. Learn about how you learn
Recent research has shown that many of us have a preferred way of learning. If you are a visual learner, you can link language to pictures and images. Watch films with subtitles, try to visualise yourself in imaginary situations speaking English, fix words with pictures in your mind  If you have an auditory style, you have a ‘good ear’ for language and should listen to as much music as possible and watch movies in English. If you have an analytic style, then spend time studying grammar and comparing Vietnamese with English. A learner with an interactive style needs to spend as much time as possible speaking with others, discussing language and generally working in a team. A really good learner spends time on all these styles. Yet it is a sad fact that all over the world, many people are still taught in a traditional style that favours analytic and auditory learners.
3. Learn memory techniques
There are plenty of books on how to improve your memory. It is a skill that the successful learners I know take very seriously.
4. Immerse yourself
I once visited the home of a Spanish student who was actually quite a successful businessman. His house was littered with those small pieces of yellow paper called post-it notes! Every time he went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, to the bathroom to shave or used the remote control to change channel, he looked at those words. Again and again and again. Once the word was fixed in his mind, he put the paper into a file that he looked through at the end of the week. This way, he learnt 10 words a day, seven days a week. Read, listen and speak English at every opportunity! The best musicians and football players practise their skill over and over. The skill of communicating in a foreign language is the same.
5. Get Connected
I recently met someone who three times a week leaves her small village outside Hanoi, travels 1 hour on a motorbike and when she arrives at her destination, speaks in English for two hours to her friends in Britain, Australia and the US.  Her destination?  An Internet Café with voice chat facilities in the nearest small town. When I met her, she had never spoken to a foreigner face to face before, but after only two months of practising, she could hold a conversation with me in English.
The Internet has brought so many benefits to language learners. You can find great sites for practising grammar, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation and now, most importantly of all, speaking.
6. Learn Vocabulary systematically
Remember that learning English is not just about learning grammar. When we speak, we express most of our ideas through our choice of vocabulary, through collocations and fixed expressions. Think carefully about how you organise your notebook, don’t just write a long list of new words! Try to divide your notebook into sections. Here are some ideas…
subject pages; shopping, holidays, money verbs and nouns that go together; do your homework; make a cake expressions which use common words; overweight, to get over something, over the moon phrasal verbs; to grow up, to tell off, to look after fixed expressions; on the other hand, in my opinion, by the way idioms; once in a blue moon, to be over the moon, out of the blue expressions with prepositions; at night, at the weekend, in March, in 1988
Finally….
7. Get motivated: don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.
In London, I had a Thai friend who was attending university there, studying fashion design. Her English was excellent. She told me that when she was fifteen she decided that it was her dream to study fashion in the UK. She found out what IELTS score she needed and started studying right away. When she was nineteen and old enough to go, she was ready. Her early start was a smart move: when she returned to Thailand after a year, some of her friends were still studying English, waiting to go abroad to study. She is now fluent, well qualified and walked into a great job!

70 ways to improve your English

·  Start your own English language blog. Even for people who don't have to write in English, writing can be a great way of properly learning the kind of vocabulary you need to describe your own life and interests, and of thinking about how to stop making grammar mistakes. The problem most people have is that they don't know what to write about. One traditional way to make sure you write every day in English is to write an English diary (journal), and a more up to date way of doing this is to write a blog. Popular topics include your language learning experience, your experience studying abroad, your local area, your language, or translations of your local news into English.

·  Write a news diary. Another daily writing task that can work for people who would be bored by writing about their own routines in a diary is to write about the news that you read and listen to everyday. If you include your predictions for how you think the story will develop (e.g. "I think Hillary will become president"), this can give you a good reason to read old entries another time, at which time you can also correct and mistakes you have made and generally improve what you have written.

·  Sign up for a regular English tip. Some websites offer a weekly or even daily short English lesson sent to your email account. If your mobile phone has an e-mail address, it is also possible to have the tips sent to your phone to read on the way to work or school. Please note, however, that such services are not usually graded very well to the levels of different students, and they should be used as a little added extra or revision in your English studies rather than as a replacement for something you or your teacher have chosen more carefully as what you need to learn.

·  Listen to MP3s. Although buying music on the internet is becoming more popular in many countries, not so many people know that you can download speech radio such as audio books (an actor reading out a novel) and speech radio. Not only is this better practice for your English than listening to English music, from sources like Scientific American, BBC and Australia's ABC Radio it is also free.

·  Listen to English music. Even listening to music while doing something else can help a little for things like getting used to the natural rhythm and tone of English speech, although the more time and attention you give to a song the more you will learn from listening to it again in the future.

·  Read the lyrics to a song. Although just listening to a song in English can be a good way of really learning the words of the chorus in an easily memorable way, if you want to really get something out of listening to English music you will need to take some time to read the lyrics of the song with a dictionary. If the lyrics are not given in the CD booklet, you may be able to find them on the internet, but please note that some lyrics sites deliberately put a few errors into their lyrics for copyright reasons. Once you have read and understood the lyrics,  if you then listen and read at the same time, this can be a good way of understanding how sounds change in fast, natural, informal speech.

·  Sing karaoke in English. The next stage after understanding and memorising a song is obviously to sing it. Although some words have their pronunciation changed completely to fit in with a song, most of the words have the same sounds and stressed syllables as in normal speech. Remembering which words rhyme at the end of each line can also be a good way of starting to learn English pronunciation.

·  Write a film, music, hotel or book review. Another motivating and easy way to make yourself write in English is to write a review for a site such as Amazon or Internet Movie Database. Many non-native speakers write reviews on sites like this, and if you have some special understanding of the book, music or film due to your first language or knowing the artist personally, that would be very interesting for the English speakers who read and write reviews on the site.

·  Only search in English. Switching your search engine to the English language version of msn, yahoo, Google etc. can not only be a good way of practising fast reading for specific information in English, but could also give you a wider choice of sites to choose from and give you an idea of what foreigners are writing about your country and area.

·  Read a book you've already read or seen the movie of in your own language. Although most language learners under Advanced level would probably learn more from reading a graded reader or something from the internet than they would from reading an original book written for English speakers, for some people reading something like Harry Potter in the original can be a great motivator to improve their English. To make this easier for you and make sure that it motivates you rather than just making your tired, try reading a book that you already know the story of. This not only makes it easier to understand and guess vocabulary, but you are also more likely to remember the language in it. If you have not read the book before, reading a plot summary from the internet can also help in the same way.

·  Read a translation into English. Another way of making sure books are easier to understand is to choose a book that was originally translated into English, preferably from your own language. Even if you haven't read the book in your own language, you will find the English is written in a slightly simplified way that is more similar to how your own language is written than a book originally written in English would be.

·  Skip the first ten pages. If you have given up with a book in English or are reading it very slowly, try skimming through the first ten pages or skipping them completely. The start of most books tend to be mainly description and are therefore full of difficult vocabulary and don't have a clear story line yet to help you understand what is happening and to motivate you to turn the next page. If the book is still too difficult even after the introductionary part is finished, it is probably time to give that book up for now and try it again after you have read some easier things.

·  Read a book with lots of dialogue. Opening up books before you buy one and flicking through them to find one with lots of direct dialogue in it has several advantages. If there is less text on the page due to all the speech marks etc, this can make it easier to read and easier to write translations on. Dialogue is also much easier to understand than descriptive parts of a book, and is much more like the language you will want to learn in order to be able to speak English.

·  Read English language comics. Even more than books with lots of dialogue, comics can be easy to understand and full of idiomatic language as it is actually spoken. There can be difficulties with slang, difficult to understand jokes and/ or dialogue written how people speak rather than with normal spellings, so try to choose which comic carefully. Usually, serious or adventure comics are easier to understand than funny ones.

·  Read English language entertainment guides. Nowadays most big cities in the world have an English language magazine and/ or online guide to the movies, plays, exhibitions that are on in the city that week. Reading this in English is not only good value, but it could also guide you to places that English speakers are interested in and where you might hear some English spoken around you.

·  Read English language magazines. Like books, if you can read two versions of the same magazine (Newsweek in your language and in English, for example), that could make understanding it much easier.

·  Take a one week intensive course. Although you cannot expect to come out of a very short course speaking much better English than when you started it, if you continue studying a little over the following weeks and months, the knowledge you gained then will gradually come out and mean that your level of speaking, listening etc. are better than they would have been if you hadn't taken that course. This positive effect can still be true up to a year later.

·  Follow your intensive course up with an extensive course. The more time you can spend studying English the better, but studying periodic intensive courses with a few hours of study a week in between is probably better value for money than any other system as it gives your brain time to subconsciously learn and start using the new language you have learnt before you introduce the next new "chunk" of language.

·  Supplement your group class with a one to one class. Another good way to combine two different kinds of classes is to study both in a group class and one to one. Having a one to one teacher, even if just a couple of times a month, will mean that you can be taught exactly the language that you need, that you will have more time to speak, and that you can have as much error correction as you like.

·  Supplement your one to one class with a group class. The benefits of having a group class are often less clear to students, but they include the fact that you will learn to deal with several people speaking at once, have a chance to practice skills such as interrupting people, and will hear a range of different viewpoints and topics.

·  Teach your children or friends some English. Recent research has shown that elder children tend to be a couple of IQ points above their younger siblings, and the most likely reason is that explaining things to their little brothers and sisters gives them an intellectual boost. In the same way, teaching someone lower level than you the English you already know is a great way of permanently fixing that knowledge in your own brain.

·  Ask your company to start English lessons. Even if you don't need to speak English at work, English lessons can be a fun and reasonably priced way for your company to spend their training budget in a popular way.

·  Have English radio on in the background while you are doing your housework. Even if you are not listening carefully, it will help you get a feel for natural English rhythm and intonation.

·  Play English language learning games on your Nintendo DS. Although such games can have quite random language and are unlikely to improve your ability to speak English on their own, the next time you hear or read the same language elsewhere it will be really fixed in your brain by the fact you have played a game with it in already. It is also a nice way of taking a break from your other English studies while also doing some English. To make sure it really is a break and to avoid wasting time learning language from the game that is not much used in daily life, don't bother writing down any new language you see in the game, but just try to learn it from playing the game again.

·  Say or think what you are doing in English as you do your daily tasks. As you are doing your chores, try creating sentences describing what you are doing, e.g. ‘I am unscrewing the ketchup bottle cap'. This gets you used to thinking in English without translating, and can be a good way of seeing what simple vocabulary that is around you everyday you don't know. yet

·  Watch English language films with English subtitles. For people who can't understand a film without subtitles but find themselves not listening at all when reading subtitles in their own language, this should be the way of watching a film that you should aim for. If it is too difficult to watch the whole film this way, try watching the (usually important) first 10 or 15 minutes of the film with subtitles in your own language, switch to English subtitles after that, and only switch back to subtitles in your own language if you get totally lost following the story of the film.

·  Watch films in your language with English subtitles. If you are finding English films with English subtitles too difficult or you can't find English films with English subtitles in your local video shop, this is a good second best option. Looking for local films with English subtitles can also sometimes be a good sign of quality, as it means the producers of the film are expecting it to be popular internationally as well.

·  Watch English films with subtitles in your language. Again, this is not as good practice as English language films with English subtitles, but is more relaxing, can be easier to find suitable DVDs for, and is also possible with VHS.

·  Watch the same film or TV episode over and over again. This can not only save you money on DVDs, but will mean that you can really learn the language without having to study it. Some comedies can also get funnier the more you watch them, especially if you watch them with no subtitles and so understand a little more each time you watch it.

·  Be realistic about your level. One thing that holds many language learners back is actually trying too hard and tackling something that their brain is not ready for yet. Checking your level with a level check test on the internet, by taking an English language test (FCE, CAE, IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL etc.), or by taking a free trial level check and/ or lesson in a language school will help you find out what your level is and so choose suitable self-study materials.

·  Be realistic about your reading level. Most researchers agree that people learn most when reading something they understand almost all of. If there are one or two words per page that you have never seen before, that is about the right level. If there are three or more on every page, you should switch to something easier and come back later.

·  Read graded readers (= easy readers). These are books that are especially written for language learners like you, e.g. Penguin Readers. Although it can be difficult to find something as interesting as things written in newspapers or on the internet, in terms of learning the language only people who need to read for their work or an exam usually gain more from reading things written for graded readers. Graded readers of classic books like Charles Dickens also have the benefit of giving you a lot of knowledge about the literature, and culture more generally, of English speaking countries in a short time.

·  Read the whole thing with no help. Although using a dictionary has been shown to help with both short term and long term learning of vocabulary, the fact that using it slows reading down can stop some people reading in English at all. Reading a whole book quickly through just for pleasure from time to time will help you remember how fun reading in another language can be.

·  Read and learn everything. At the opposite extreme, it can be hard work but very satisfying to get to the end of a book knowing that you have learnt every word in it. See other tips on this page to make sure it is a book that is easy enough to do this with and to ensure that the vocabulary you learn is useful.

·  Watching English children's films or TV programmes. Although some of the vocabulary you can learn from things made for children can be a bit strange (lots of animal names and maybe animal noises, including baby names for things), the fact that not only the language but the structure of the story is simplified can make it an easy and motivating thing to watch. Like good language learning materials, the same language is also often repeated to make it memorable, and the use of catchy songs etc. can increase this positive effect on your memory.  

·  Read English children's books. This is very similar to watching English children's movies, but with the added advantage of there being more illustrations than adult books, which both helps you to understand the story and makes the page brighter and more motivating to read.

·  Keep a list of language to learn, e.g. a vocab list. Even if you don't often find time to go though your vocab list and it keeps on building up, just the act of choosing which words you need to learn and writing them down on a special list can help you learn them.

·  Go through your vocab list several times every day. If ticking off words on a vocabulary list on the train to work is inconvenient or embarrassing for you, you can keep your list of words to learn as an entry in your electronic dictionary, as a mobile phone to do list or as a text file in your MP3 player (e.g. iPod). Although the time spent transferring the information between different formats like these may seem wasted, in fact any time you spend using the vocabulary like this will help you learn it.

·  Convert your vocab list to English only. One way to stop yourself translating and therefore increase your speed of comprehension and production is to learn all your vocabulary without the use of your own first language. Ways you can write a vocab list in only English include with synonyms (words with the same meaning, e.g. "tall" and "high"); with opposites ("high" and "low"); with pronunciation factors such as number of syllables (the number of beats, e.g. three for "de- ci- sion") and the word stress (the syllable that is pronounced louder and longer, e.g. the second syllable in "baNAna"); and gapped sentences (e.g. "I am not _________________ in science fiction" for the word "interested").

·  Cross out and delete. Crossing out or deleting words, sentences or whole pages that you have learnt can be a great motivator, and save your list of things to learn becoming too big to handle.

·  Throw everything away and start again. One of the things that can put most people off learning is a stack of half finished books or a huge list vocabulary waiting to be learnt. Simply getting rid of all that and starting again with something new from zero can be a great motivator and get your studies underway again.

·  Label things in your house or office with post-its. The easiest vocabulary to learn is the vocabulary of things you see and use everyday. If you can write the names of things around you on slips of paper and stick them on the real thing, this is a great way of learning useful vocabulary. If you can leave them there over the following days and weeks, this is a very easy way of revising the vocabulary until it is properly learnt.

·  Label a drawing. For people who can't put labels on real things, the next best option is to take a photo of a real place in your life like your office, print it out, and then draw lines to all of the things you can see in the picture and label them in English with the help of a dictionary. You can do the same thing with places you pass through everyday like the station. Because you will see the same thing again and again, it should be easy to really learn the words for those things.

·  Keep a diary in English. This is a popular method of making sure you use English everyday for people who don't often speak English and can't think of things to write about. The fact that you are writing about real things that have happened to you means that any words you look up in the dictionary will be vocabulary that is useful for you and easy to learn.

·  Online chat. The closest thing to speaking for people who don't have the chance to speak English is online chat, as you have to think and respond quickly, and the language is short and informal just like speech.

·  Listen to the radio news in English. You can make this easier by reading the news in English first, or even just by reading or listening to the news in your own language.

·  Read an English language newspaper. Freebie newspapers like "Metro" in London are usually the easiest to understand, followed by mid-brow titles like "The Daily Express" or "The Daily Mail" in English. Popular newspapers like "The Sun" are more difficult because of the idiomatic, slangy use of language and the number of jokes in the headlines and articles.

·  Write fiction in English, e.g. short stories. For people who find writing a diary about things that happen to them everyday boring, the best thing is to let your imagination go and write about whatever comes into your head. The advantage of this is that if you can't think of how to say something in English, you can just change the story to something that is easier to explain. Perhaps the easiest way to start writing fiction in English is with a diary, changing any details you like to make it more interesting and adding more and more fantasy as the weeks go on.

·  English language exercise videos. This is quite similar to how babies learn, by listening, watching and copying. It is also good for your health!

·  Learn a famous speech or poem in English by heart. Although you may never hear or get the chance to say exactly that line, having one memorable example of an English grammatical form in your head can make it much easier to learn other examples of the same grammar as you hear them. It is also something you can practice over and over without being as boring as grammatical drills.

·  Get tipsy (= a little drunk) before speaking English. This can not only improve your fluency while you are drinking, but can also improve your confidence in future days and weeks by showing you that you can communicate what you want to say.

·  Use a dictionary while you are watching a movie. Films often have the same words many times, so if you look up important words the first or second time you hear them, you should have learnt them by the end of the film. It is easier to use a dictionary if you watch with English subtitles.

·  Learn and use the phonemic script. Although there are many sounds in English, there are even more spellings. By learning the phonemic script and writing vocabulary down with it, you can both add another stage to your vocabulary learning that should help you learn it more thoroughly, and improve your pronunciation. It can also make things easier for you by stopping you trying to pronounce different spellings of the same pronunciation different ways.

·  Learn some spelling rules. Many people think that English spelling is random, but in fact most words follow some kind of rule, e.g. the "magic E" that changes the pronunciation of "mad" and "made".

·  Record your own voice. For people who don't have much or any correction of pronunciation from a teacher, recording yourself and listening back makes it easier to hear whether you are really making the English sounds that you are trying to or not.

·  Use computer pronunciation analysis. Although most programmes that claim to tell you when you are pronouncing correctly or not don't actually do that, listening many times and seeing how your voice changes as you try to match the sounds and waveform given by a pronunciation CD ROM can be good practice and more motivating than just recording your own voice.

·  Learn as many words as you can of one category, e.g. animal words. Learning similar words together can both expand your overall vocabulary and make them easier to learn by forming links between the words in your brain.

·  Take holidays abroad. This is not only a good opportunity to speak English in situations where you really have to make yourself understood in order to live, but it is also a good motivator to study English seriously in the weeks and months before your trip. If possible, also try to use English even when you could use your own language, e.g. when you pick a guided tour of a museum or historic place or when you book a flight on the internet, and try to avoid package tours.

·  Draw pictures of the words you want to learn. Especially if you are artistic, this can be a better way of learning vocabulary than writing translations or example sentences.

·  Find a foreign boyfriend or girlfriend. No tips on how to do this here, but everyone agrees that getting or even just looking for a date in English can be a great motivator to improve your language skills.

·  Arrange a conversation exchange. Swapping lessons and conversation with someone who wants to learn your language can be a good alternative for those who aren't looking for romance, or can sometimes lead onto dating for those who are!

·  Sign up for an English language exam. Even if you don't need to take an exam and don't want to or can't take a special course to study for it, paying to take an exam like TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or FCE can really motivate you take your English studies seriously.

·  Model your accent on one particular actor. e.g. try to speak like Robert De Niro. Students who say they want to sound more like a native speaker have the problem that native speakers don't sound all that much like each other. Choosing one model can make the task of improving your pronunciation more clear, and is quite fun. Doing an impression of that person also makes a good party trick.

·  Use an English-English dictionary. Trying to use a bilingual dictionary less and switching to a monolingual one can help you to stop translating in you head when you are speaking or listening, and other useful English vocabulary can come up while you are using the dictionary.

·  Occasionally talk to or e-mail your friends in English. Many people find this a bit false or embarrassing, but if you think of it as a study club and set a particular time and/ or place, it is no different from studying maths together.

·  Go to an English or Irish pub. As well as having a menu in English and being a good way of finding out something about the culture of English speaking countries, you might also find there are free English language listings magazines, English language sports on the TV and/ or foreign people you can speak to.

·  Buy a speaking electronic dictionary. Although most electronic dictionaries are not as good as paper ones for the amount of information they give you about each word, some of them have the very useful function of saying the word with the correct pronunciation.

·  Learn your electronic dictionary vocabulary list. Most electronic dictionaries also have a button which you can push to see the last 30 or more words you looked up. By deleting words you decide are useless or you have already learnt from this list, you can use it as a "to do list" of words to learn that you can look at several times a day in the train etc.

·  Switch operating system to English. Changing the operating language of your mobile phone, video recorder etc. to English can be an easy way of making sure you use the language everyday.

·  Set goals. Deciding how many hours you want to study, how many words you want to learn or what score you want to get in a test are all good ways of making sure you do extra study.
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