Expert English Pronunciation, Accent Reduction & Fluency
Q. Why is it difficult for native speakers to understand me when I talk with them in English? A. You are using the sound system of your first language when you speak English, which has it’s own sound system. Did you know Read More ...
If Arabic is your native language, you may be using the Arabic “sound system” when you speak English. There are some important differences between Arabic and English. There are many more vowels in English than Arabic, and the ones that aren’t Read More ...
If Japanese is your first language, you may be using a Japanese “sound system” when you speak English. Japanese has fewer vowels with very regular lengths, but English vowels can be stretched or shortened anytime, depending on the need. English Read More ...
If an Indo-Aryan language like Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali, Sinhala, or Divehi, is your native language… you may be using its “sound system” when you speak English. The more you understand about the English sound system, the better you will sound Read More ...
If French is your native language, you may be using the French “sound system” when you speak English. The “mode” or starting position in French is different from English. English front vowels are longer and more tense than French vowels. Schwa exists Read More ...
If Korean is your first language, you may be using the Korean “sound system” when you speak English. But the Korean sound system does not use stress in words and sentences in the way English does. [bctt tweet=”the Korean sound Read More ...
If your first language is Russian, or a dialect of Russian, you may be using the Slavonic “sound system” when you speak English. You may not have learned much about this if you studied English as a foreign language. Some Read More ...
If Chinese is your native language, you may be using the Chinese “sound system” when you speak English. In Chinese, tone is word-specific, but in English tone is statement-based and must be adjusted for what’s new, what’s different, and what’s Read More ...
If Spanish is your native language, you may be using the Spanish “sound system” when you speak English. You may not be stretching and shrinking your English vowels to shape each word. You may be using a Spanish melody for your Read More ...
If you are difficult to understand when you speak English, you are probably using your first language sound system as you say English words. English is stress-based, and you must learn to “package” words and “package” phrases, using strategies that Read More ...
Written for ESL and EFL teachers, tutors, and accent reduction coaches, as well as advanced level English students who can read and understand the English on this website. Inside, you’ll discover how our languages differ and learn great strategies and Read More ...
Take Private Lessons. American Pronunciation Coach provides private, intensive, customized training to help you speak English more fluently and comprehensibly, and reduce your accent. We will work together to help you achieve your goals. I will diagnose your speaking habits in English and teach you Read More ...
Just as artists use charcoal or paints or clay to create an experience, teachers use research, best teaching practice and personal insights to craft the best learning experience for their students. I consider what I do to be an art Read More ...
Bilingual babies are smarter than monolingual babies, in some ways. Recent research studies looked at how bilingual babies switch back and forth between the two languages they’re learning, and what role that has in developing greater mental control in certain parts Read More …
Pronunciation Made Easy, an e-dictionary that bridges the sounds of Portuguese to the sounds of English, is intuitive and learner-friendly. It’s targeted at beginners, but also works very well for intermediate learners. And it’s packed with a sound system strategy Read More …
English Laboratory has put together a fantastic English fluency program for Spanish speakers. Developed in north-eastern Spain, directed and managed by bilingual English/Spanish speaker Jennifer England, it offers a great way to improve your fluency in English. If you’re one of those people Read More …
Teaching English pronunciation and intonation is a challenging job. And learning it is even harder. Part of the problem is that we are born with our first language intonation already programmed; we know that babies, by 6 months in utero, Read More …
My Chinese friends say they notice that Westerners use lots of pleases (qi?ng) and thank yous (xiexie) when speaking Chinese. And actually, they say, we use way too many of them for Chinese taste. A Chinese linguist, Kaidi Zhan, says Read More …
For 10 years, Fernald and her colleagues and students have traveled worldwide to record mothers interacting with their babies, bringing the tapes back to Stanford for detailed acoustical and linguistic analysis. She has found that mothers of all nations 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 …
In her 2011 TED talk, “The Linguistic Genius of Babies,” Doctor Kuhl discusses how babies under 8 months of age from different cultures can detect sounds in any language from around the world, but adults cannot do this. 6 So Read More …
Recent studies suggest that content delivered in heavily accented speech may be harder for listeners to remember. The same problem also occurs for listeners with hearing difficulties. It may be neurological, not cultural-bias or lack of exposure. Van Engen and her Read More …
3-SYLLABLE WORD RHYTHMS Words Ending in -TION, -SION, -CIAN Sharing one of the graphics that will be in Part 2 of English Pronunciation Guide for Japanese Speakers, in the Chapter about Word Rhythms. Source: (1) American English Pronunciation Coach Read More …