Expert English Pronunciation, Accent Reduction & Fluency
Do you have trouble following English speakers when you hear them speak? Are you interested in hearing and studying English native speakers use of intonation? Do you want to understand how tone is used in different circumstances, for different reasons? Read More …
Ann Fernald: “Sound is kind of like touch at a distance.” We at Radiolab did our own study of infant-directed speech, recording more than a dozen different parents. The melodies of these recordings illustrate Fernald’s findings that there are a Read More …
You can’t teach what you don’t know. And as native speakers, we don’t have to “know” much about our L1 to be able to use it, do we? I learned about intonation by studying whatever I could find. As with Read More …
Angle Heart, a Facebook Page fan, requested more information about strong and weak forms. This is so easy to teach in person, and so hard to write about, because strong and weak forms are about sounds, not written words. You’ll Read More …
This YouTube video will get your feet moving, your toes tapping, and your spirits soaring! When the songwriters composed this tune, they changed the natural intonation patterns to something less natural, adding an element of surprise and excitement to the Read More …
Here’s a text that will get you started thinking abut the purposes and dynamics of intonation at a level not usually covered in ESL/EFL books and materials. You may be able to find it in a university library, but I Read More …
It’s not free, but very affordable, and such a great teacher resource or self-study tool. I somehow missed talking about this core addition to your teaching resources. And if you’re studying American English pronunciation on your own, this just might Read More …