English TalkEnglish Speaking Practice for Beginners — Starting From Zero
Beginner does not mean you know nothing. Most people at this stage understand more English than they can produce — the words are in there, they just have never come out of your mouth.
Start with these ten sentences
These carry an entire first conversation. Learn them properly and you are ready.
- Hello, how are you?
- My name is ___.
- I am from ___.
- I am learning English.
- Sorry, I did not understand.
- Can you speak slowly, please?
- Can you say that again?
- What do you do?
- I like ___ / I do not like ___.
- Thank you, it was nice talking to you.
Notice that three of them are for when you get stuck. That is on purpose — those are the ones beginners need most and use least.
What to ignore for now
- Tenses beyond past, present and future. You do not need perfect continuous anything to talk about your day.
- Big words. "Good" works. You do not need "magnificent".
- Accent. Being understood is the goal. Nothing else.
- Writing. A different skill. It can wait.
A first week that works
- Days 1-2: say the ten sentences aloud, twenty times each. Yes, aloud. Your mouth needs the practice as much as your memory.
- Days 3-4: answer them too. "What do you do?" — have your answer ready.
- Day 5: one real conversation, five minutes. It will be uncomfortable. Do it anyway.
- Days 6-7: add five more sentences from whatever you struggled with.
The part beginners get wrong
Almost every beginner tries to build a perfect sentence in their head before speaking. The sentence takes ten seconds, the moment passes, and they say nothing.
Say the broken version instead. "I go market yesterday" is understood by everyone. It is also how you eventually learn to say "I went to the market yesterday" — by using the wrong one until the right one replaces it.
Where to practise without being judged
You need someone patient who is also learning, not a fluent speaker who will make you self-conscious. Another beginner is ideal: neither of you is judging the other, because you are both busy being nervous.
Free voice calls with other learners. Nothing to fill in, no signup.
Start in your browser → Get the Android app →Common questions
I know almost no English. Can I still practise speaking?
Yes, and you should start earlier than feels comfortable. Twenty words used in a real conversation teach you more than two hundred words read silently.
Should I finish a grammar book first?
No. Beginners who wait until their grammar is "ready" usually never start. Grammar becomes much easier once you have heard and said the patterns.
What if the other person speaks too fast?
Say so. "Can you speak slowly, please?" is a complete, correct sentence, and most people will slow down immediately.