Instructions

Speaking English runs in your browser OFF-LINE

Speaking English is a talking textbook - just click and listen

The lessons talk to you - just click, listen and practise, as many times as you like

Go to a subject by clicking on the Index at the left of the page

 Bumblebee    Click on these symbols to hear everything between them spoken non-stop   Bumblebee


Speaking English Course A

Free Lesson A
 Rose, Apogee
Getting to know one another

Check that everything in this free lesson works on your computer
before deciding to buy other Speaking English lessons

Click and listen to each sentence as many times as you like

Say each sentence as many times as you like

Practise saying each sentence until it sounds right

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT


 Rose, Apogee   Bumblebee    Greetings
Good morning!

Good morning!

My name is Andrew.

My name is Alice.

 Comma butterfly     Now we will ask you a question.

What is your name?     Bumblebee
My name is . . . .


 Bumblebee    In the afternoon you say "Good afternoon".

Good afternoon!

In the evening you say "Good evening".

Good evening!

Now let me introduce you to Paul.

Alice, this is Paul.

Paul, this is Alice.

How do you do, Paul.

How do you do, Alice.

When you meet someone you know, you can say,

Hello.

Then ask them how they are, like this.

Hello Paul, how are you today?

Very well thank you, and how are you?

Or Paul could say,
I’m fine thanks, and you?

When you leave someone, you say "Goodbye".

Goodbye.

When it is late at night you say, "Goodnight".

Goodnight.     Bumblebee

 Rose, Apogee   Bumblebee    Jobs

Now we will talk about our jobs.

I am an engineer.

What is your job Alice?

I'm a teacher.

I teach young children aged 8.

Or you could say:-
What is your occupation?
Or,
What is your profession?
Or,
What do you do for a living?
We will now ask Paul what he does for a living.
What is your occupation Paul?

I'm a computer scientist.

 Comma butterfly    We will now ask you what your job is.

What is your job?     Bumblebee
I am a . . . .


 Rose, Apogee   Bumblebee    Where We Live

We will now talk about where we live.

Alice, where do you live?

I live in Chichester, a town on the south coast of England.

Where do you live?     Bumblebee

I live in . . . .
 Bumblebee    I would like to live in a small village in the countryside.

   I would like to live by the seaside.

 Comma butterfly    We will now ask you where you would like to live.

Where would you like to live?     Bumblebee

I would like to live in . . . .


 Rose, Apogee   Bumblebee    Are You Married?

We will now talk about whether we are married or single.

Are you married Andrew?

Yes. My wife’s name is Angela.

Are you married Alice?

Yes. My husband’s name is John.

Are you married Paul?

No. I am single but I have a girlfriend called Jenny.

 Comma butterfly    Now we will ask you if you are married or single.

Are you married or single?     Bumblebee

I am . . . .

If you are married, tell us your husband’s/wife’s name.

My husband’s/wife’s name is . . . .
 Bumblebee    Alice, do you have any children?
Yes, I have one son and one daughter.

My son is called Joseph.

My daughter’s name is Elizabeth.

I have three daughters.

Their names are Gemma, Katie and Emily.

If you have any children, tell us what they are and what their names are.     Bumblebee

I have . . sons and . . daughters.
Their names are . . . . . .

Now that we know one another, how about a nice cup of tea?


 Rose, Apogee   Bumblebee    The Seasons

The Seasons and the Weather

It is usually warm in Spring.

It is usually hot in Summer.

It is usually cool in Autumn.

It is usually cold in Winter.

We need sunglasses when it is sunny.

We need an umbrella when it rains.

But an umbrella is no good when it is windy.

We need warm clothing when it snows.

What is the weather like today?

Today it is sunny but yesterday was windy.

I hope it is warm tomorrow because my children are going to the seaside.

I got soaked to the skin last week because the rain was so heavy.

 Comma butterfly    We will now ask you what the weather is like where you are.

What is the weather like today?     Bumblebee

The weather today is . . . .

 Peacock butterfly     Practice
 Bumblebee    NOTE: All the Speaking English lessons use the words 'practice' and 'practise'. Practice with a 'c' is the noun. Practise with an 's' is the verb. They both sound the same    Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    Now listen to us talking.

Practise saying each sentence until it sounds right.

Repeat each sentence out loud before going on to the next one.

This morning I met Paul in town.

He was with Jenny his girlfriend.

They are going for a picnic in the countryside today.

I met my friend Susan.

She was on her way to the coast.

It’s lovely weather for a day out.

What does Susan do for a living?

She is a secretary for an engineering company at the moment.

My daughter Katie would like to be a secretary when she leaves school.

I thought she wanted to go to university?

We are hoping she will but she is fed up with studying at the moment because she has just finished her exams.

Same with my daughter Elizabeth, but she has applied to a university near where her grandparents live.     Bumblebee

The words which were underlined are used again here to give you more practice.
Repeat each sentence out loud before going on to the next one.

 Bumblebee    The children are going to the countryside today to meet their grandparents.

They always have a lovely time there.

They will stop somewhere for lunch on the way.

My friend has just finished his education and has applied for a new job.

Susan thought I wanted to go to the shops too.

I’m fed up with the rain, although the weather is fine at the moment.

My son at university is being sponsored by a company.

My daughter has finished studying for her final exams and will leave school this summer.

I have applied for a new job with a big company.

Now go back and click on as many sentences as you like - then say them out loud.     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    The English Alphabet is :

 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 

 a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h   i   j   k   l   m   n   o   p   q   r   s   t   u   v   w   x   y  z     Bumblebee


 Rose, Apogee  Numbers, Dates and Times

Numbers

Listen to the numbers below and then practise saying them.

 Bumblebee    1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    11    12    13    14    15    16    17    18    19    20     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    20    30    40    50    60    70    80    90    100    110    120     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    21    35    49    57    61    71    82    98     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    100    1,000    10,000    100,000    1,000,000     Bumblebee

We use commas (,) to separate numbers.

We use a decimal point () to separate numbers less than one.

The words 'zero' 'nought' and 'O' all mean the same thing.

We say 'and' after the word 'hundred'.

For telephone numbers we say each number separately.

When two of the same number are together we often say 'double'.

Examples:

 Bumblebee    12,356        2307        453        020 932 1005    Bumblebee

Dates

In Britain, we usually say dates as day, month then year.

We talk about dates in three different ways.

 Rose, Apogee  Different ways of saying dates
 Bumblebee   Day/month/yearDay/month/yearMonth/day/year
      21/6/63 The 21st of June 1963 June the 21st 1963
      1/11/2000 The first of November 2000 November the 1st 2000   Bumblebee

Times

You can talk about time in two different ways:-
1. Using only numbers.
2. Using the words "past" or "to" the hour and "quarter" "half" and "o'clock".
 Rose, Apogee  Telling the Time
 Bumblebee    Numbers onlyPast/to/quarter/half/o'clock
3.10       ten past three
2.30       half past two
12.40       twenty to one
4.45       quarter to five
4.00       four o'clock     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    The 24 hour clock is often used for travel timetables but not usually in ordinary conversation.

For example:

08.00 is eight o'clock in the morning.

17.30 is half past five in the afternoon.     Bumblebee

 Peacock butterfly     Practice

Look at the numbers, dates and times below.

Practise saying them and then listen to see if you were right.

Don't forget that you can say the number 0, dates and times in more than one way.

 Bumblebee    $300.67       £1.50       10,000 francs       €170       1,45371
025%      01123 746 591       44 0121 7653       21/2/1980

11/11/2000       15/2/2000       6.45 am       12.12 pm     9.30

2.00       206 mm       05 kilo       15 kilos       05 litre       35 litres

2000       The new millennium     Bumblebee


 Grizzled Skipper butterfly    Bumblebee    Sentence Intonation

In English it is important to raise or lower your voice correctly at the end of a sentence. This is called 'sentence intonation'.

Below are some common intonation patterns although you may hear people use different intonation.

Throughout our lessons try to listen for sentence intonation.

In this lesson, raise the voice for THIS colour and lower the voice for THIS colour.

Raise your voice at the end of real questions that start with, for example,
Do - Have - Can - Are - Is - Will.
     Bumblebee

 Bumblebee    Practise these sentences, letting your voice rise at the end of the last word.
Alice, do you have any children?

Are you married Paul?

And you?     Bumblebee

Lower your voice at the end of real questions that start with
What - When - Why - How - Which - Where.
 Bumblebee    Practise these sentences, letting your voice fall at the end of the last word.

What is the weather like today?

Where would you like to live?

What do you do for a living?     Bumblebee

Lower your voice at the end of questions you ask as part of the conversation when you expect a 'yes' answer.
 Bumblebee    Practise these sentences, letting your voice fall at the end of the last word.

How about a nice cup of tea?

It's hot isn't it?

You were late yesterday, weren't you?     Bumblebee

Lower your voice at the end of statement sentences.
 Bumblebee    Practise these sentences, letting your voice fall at the end of the last word.
Now let me introduce you to Paul.

Very well thank you, and how are you?

No, I am single but I have a girlfriend called Jenny.

I live in Chichester, a town on the south coast of England.     Bumblebee


 Red Admiral butterfly    Bumblebee    Rhythm
English sentences have a rhythm, like the beats in music.

For example:

What is the weather like today?

I would like to live by the seaside.

My daughter's name is Elizabeth.

All these sentences have 4 'beats'.

In each Speaking English lesson, listen and practise the rhythm of the sentences.  Bumblebee


 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly    Stress and Pronunciation
When a word has several syllables, one or more of the syllables is spoken with more emphasis or 'stress' than the others.

Practise saying the following words with the correct pronunciation and stress.

 Bumblebee     Place the emphasis on that part of the word which is THIS colour.

Be careful of differences between spelling and speech.

question   introduce  someone  countryside  engineer
occupation  company  lovely  emphasis  pronunciation.
    Bumblebee


Click on the globe logo to hear a sample of the Speaking English Theme Song.
The words in the sample are:-
"If you can speak English you can talk to the world, speak English, talk to the world".


 Rose, Apogee  Tailpiece

I will speak.   I am speaking.   I have spoken.


  Professor of English     Course  A      
End of Free Lesson A
   Rose, Apogee
(Play the Song)      

If this free lesson has helped you to speak better English,
go ahead and buy a full course of 10 lessons!

Click the "How to Buy" button in the Index.


Speaking English Theme Song B Godfrey/Copyright Control.
© Copyright of Speaking English.com Limited, 2005.

  How to buy Speaking English courses