Every now and then, someone raises an eyebrow at our name: “Shouldn’t it be Speak English instead of TALK • ENGLISH?”

The question is understandable — learners often first encounter the phrase “speak English” in their textbooks. But in reality, our name is not only correct, it also captures the very essence of what language learning is about.

If you open a dictionary, you’ll see the answer for yourself. WordReference includes, under the seventh sense of talk, the definition “to use a language in speaking or conversing,” complete with the example “They talk French together.” Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, likewise, gives “Are they talking Swedish or Danish?” as a natural way of asking which language is being used in conversation. So, while “speak English” might feel like the default choice, “talk English” is just as valid —
especially when the focus is on interaction.

Literature provides an even more charming confirmation. P. G. Wodehouse, with his usual wit, once wrote of a character’s “shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French.” His phrasing may make us smile, but it also underlines that “talk + language” has long been an accepted and playful part of English. The beauty of Wodehouse’s choice is that it does not highlight formal skill, but the act of using a language in real-life conversation.

This is where the subtle distinction between speak and talk comes alive. Speak suggests ability, knowledge, or formality: someone might speak English as a skill, or speak at a conference to deliver a prepared message. Talk, however, suggests communication, exchange, the rhythm of voices meeting in conversation. We talk on the phone, we talk things over, we talk behind someone’s back. To talk English, then, is not to claim polished mastery but to engage, to share, to connect. It is the difference between having a tool in your pocket and actually using it to build something with others.

Historically, English speakers once used speak and talk far more interchangeably than they do today. Over the centuries, speak gravitated toward formal or ability-related contexts, while talk became the word of everyday life, of dialogue and human interaction. Choosing talk in our name deliberately reclaims that spirit: English not as a performance to be judged, but as a conversation to be lived.
And that is precisely what lies at the heart of our philosophy. At TALK • ENGLISH, we believe English is not just a skill to demonstrate on exams, but a language to share, interact with, and inhabit. Our classrooms are designed as spaces of real conversations where students do not simply repeat grammar drills but step into English as a living practice. To us, learning is not about reciting polished speeches — it is about laughing, asking, wondering, and even making mistakes together in the language. It is about living English, not just knowing it.

So, when people ask why our name is TALK • ENGLISH and not Speak English, the answer is clear. Speaking a language may show ability. Talking a language shows life. Our name embodies our vision: that confidence comes not from perfection, but from conversation. And in our classrooms, that is exactly what we do — we talk English.