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 ...
Effective pronunciation teaching always has these components 1. Raises awareness by helping students notice the difference when they hear it, and recognize when they produce it. For vowels and consonants, use tools like manythings.org/pp for listening recognition, and feedback loops Read More …
I use Audacity just about every week, to record myself and to record my students. Audacity is available for free, it is open software designed by volunteers and given to the world. It shows sound as spectrograms; I use the Read More …
First, go to the Sounds of Speech website: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english Find the front vowels, and study the /ae/ sound, noting what the jaw movement and back-of-tongue movement. This sound, /ae/, always occurs in stressed syllables. Then open http://m-w.com Type the word Read More …
You’ll just have to memorize them…. -ER spelling is pronounced -AIR as in [chair] inherit, inheritance, inherent, whereby, thereby, whereas, error, -ER spelling is pronounced -EAR as in [fear] coherent, coherence, criteria -AR spelling is pronounced -ER as in Read More …
Learn the pronunciation of the vowel in the stressed syllable, as well as how the ‘a’ in pronounced. I recommend using m-w.com to hear American pronunciation. The following words have at least one ‘a’ that sounds like the vowel in the Read More …
pronunciation-based listening exercises MINIMAL PAIRS (e.g. bet/bat or very/ferry) 1. Minimal pairs, identification: student sees a written pair; identifies which the teacher (or recording) says 2. Minimal pairs, discrimination: hear two words; tell if they are identical, or a minimal Read More …
A sounds like /uh/ as in [but] When letter A is the initial, and only, sound in multi-syllable word: (a/wake, a/gain, a/head, a/greed, a/go, a/way, a/long, a/round, a/cross, a/mount, a/lone, a/fraid, a/rrive) A sounds like /ah/ as in [hot, father] Read More …
When we learn to speak another language, we must acquire some new sounds and strategies. We may also have to reset how and when we employ stress and timing. These slides will accompany a webinar conversation between Peggy Tharpe, M.A. Read More …
Harvard’s Tsedal Neeley discusses our future lingua franca, and advises business leaders on ways to prepare for it. [bctt tweet=”Harvard’s Tsedal Neeley discusses our future lingua franca, and advises business leaders on ways to prepare.” via=”no”]
For a few years now, I have been doing empirical research in my one-to-one courses teaching English pronunciation. I discovered that certain specific gestures, mostly hand and arm, actually change and improve the pronunciation of my clients, and quicken their Read More …