Speaking Tips
You learn to speak by speaking. The more you speak, the more you practise what you are learning and the sooner you fix new vocabulary and grammatical structures. SO...
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Don´t be afraid to make mistakes!
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Don´t worry about your pronunciation!
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Don´t feel shy or intemidated!
A big part of communicating in a foreign language is simply doing the best you can with the grammar and vocabulary that you have.
Rather than focusing too much on the nuts and bolts of your grammar and pronunciation, focus on whether you are effectively using English to communicate your point.
SO... open up and start speaking during class!
Register: formal and informal
We use different language registers for different types of contexts, just as we speak differently to different people. What we mean by register then is if the language is appropriate to the context. SO...
What makes language appropriate for a context?
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Appropriacy depends upon WHAT YOU SAY and HOW YOU SAY it. It depends upon your choice of words and the way you then produce those words, which in spoken language is largely dependent on pronunciation, intonation and body language.
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What you say and how you say it will in turn be governed by the situation and who you are talking to.
SO...
The formal register is more appropriate for a professional atmosphere (a boss or a stranger)
The informal register is appropriate when addressing to friends and people you know very well.
As learners of English you must be exposed to a wide variety of language and contexts within which that language can be used.
Intonation
Intonation is about HOW we say things, rather than WHAT we say. It is the melody we hear when somebody is speaking
The pitch moves up and down, within a 'pitch range'. Everybody has their own pitch range. Languages, too, differ in pitch range. English has particularly wide pitch range.
The pitch movement (a rise or fall in tone, or a combination of the two) takes place on the most important syllable known as the 'tonic-syllable'. The tonic-syllable is usually a high-content word
These patterns of pitch variation are essential to a phrase's meaning. Changing the intonation can completely change the meaning (surprise, excitement, annoyance, etc)
SO...
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Awareness of intonation aids communication BECAUSE...
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Incorrect intonation can result in misunderstandings, speakers losing interest or even taking offence!
Intonation and grammar
There are some intonation patterns associated to grammar. See these examples as starting-points, rather than rules.
Some examples are:
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Wh-word questions: falling intonation
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Yes/No questions: rising
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Statements: falling
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Question-Tags: 'chat' - falling; 'check' - rising
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Lists: rising, rising, rising, falling
