Podcasts about american english pronunciation

The R sound is NOT an easy sound to pronounce. Even if you've been practicing it for a while, you may feel frustrated that you STILL can't use it as consistently as you would like. So today, instead of telling you how to pronounce the sound, I'm giving you the best strategies to practice the R sound and make it STICK! Download the free R sound PDF to practice with me: https://bit.ly/3Alq9Eq More episodes about pronouncing the R:

Watch  a video version at www.youtube.com/fluentamericanOne of the biggest differences between how American English native speakers and language learners sound has less to do with the vowels or consonants we use or the words we stress but the pitch we use as we speak. The reality: we often struggle to feel natural adding the elements we need to use in our pronunciation. Let's demonstrate the effect pitch transitions can have on our speech in American English.Welcome to Wake Up American, where Monday through Friday, we spend a couple minutes on a challenging aspect of American English pronunciation and walk through examples to help you achieve a more natural sound the next time you speak in American English at work, at home, or out and about town.Support the Show.

In this English lesson, you will learn how to pronounce develop.

Want to know how to pronounce the NG sound in English, and common exceptions for this sound? Join me in today's episode! To practice with more words and sentences, read the full blogpost here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/ng-sound-in-english/

Want to know how to pronounce the NG sound in English, and common exceptions for this sound? Join me in today's episode! To practice with more words and sentences, read the full blogpost here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/ng-sound-in-english/

In this episode of the My English Matters Podcast, Madam Azimah talks to English communication trainer Nasyeela Dzulkifli about the differences between British English and American English pronunciation. To learn even more with us, make sure to sign up to our FREE course, Speaking with Confidence. Go to myenglishmatters.com/subscribe to sign up!

Today we welcome back Camille Hanson to talk about American accents and whether or not our native accent matters.

What are 2 important you can do to feel more confidence in the way you speak American English? In this podcast episode, I go through 2 different concepts that will change the way you view your American English Pronunciation journey. I discuss how CONSISTENCY is so much more important than perfection, how to have POSITIVE self-talk, and how to change your overall mindset to make you feel more CONFIDENT in your abilities to speak American English. Listen now to experience this mindset change, and join my program to attend the Confident ProMindset trainings that I talk about! My next one is November 10th, 2022 so make sure to join my program before then so you can attend! Join my program here: http://pronunciationpro.com/trial/ I can't wait to see you at my next Confident ProMindset training!

Join Sean, our American English pronunciation expert, and learn how to pronounce the /ʌ/ sound. You will find this sound in words like sun, run, or love. So it's not just a U! Give it a try!Free trial to start learning a language right now: www.mosalingua.com/podcast

This episode will help you pronounce the English TH consonant sound when there are many in a sentence, and how to make it smoother in sentences and between several tricky consonants. Have a question for me too? Ask me here! https://hadarshemesh.com/ask-hadar/   If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

This episode will help you pronounce the English TH consonant sound when there are many in a sentence, and how to make it smoother in sentences and between several tricky consonants. Have a question for me too? Ask me here! https://hadarshemesh.com/ask-hadar/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

This episode will help you pronounce the English TH consonant sound when there are many in a sentence, and how to make it smoother in sentences and between several tricky consonants. Have a question for me too? Ask me here! https://a73023-tmp.s431.upress.link/ask-hadar/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://a73023-tmp.s431.upress.link/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://a73023-tmp.s431.upress.link/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://a73023-tmp.s431.upress.link/influency-community/

In this episode our American accent expert, Sean, explains how to pronounce the unvoiced TH sound, practicing with minimal pairs such as "Thought and Thanks", "Think and Sink" and "Thin and Tin". Free trial to start learning a language right now: www.mosalingua.com/podcast

In this episode Sean, our American English Pronunciation expert, explains how to improve your accent by learning how to pronounce the æ sound (or short "a" vowel sound) that you find it in words like "last", "that" and "cat". Free trial to start learning a language right now: www.mosalingua.com/podcast

If you want to get more fluent in English or improve your pronunciation and accent, then it's time to make sure you have your syllables are in order. We talk about what syllables are, how to count syllables, and there's even a short syllables quiz included in this lesson. Syllables are the foundation of language.

[EP 80] Enjoy a lovely song in this episode of Unexpected English. Listen to improve and practice your accent: Daughter! Water! You may even want to sing along - it's great practice! Lyrics Everything she sees She says she wants Everything he wants I see she gets That's my daughter in the water Everything she owns I bought her Everything she owns That's my daughter in the water Everything she knows I taught her Everything she knows Everything I say She takes to heart Everything she takes She takes apart That's my daughter in the water Every time she fell I caught her Every time she fell That's my daughter in the water I lost every time I fought her Yeah, I lost every time (music) Every time she blinks She strikes somebody blind Every time she thinks Blows her tiny mind That's my daughter in the water Who'd have ever thought her Who'd have ever thought That's my daughter in the water I lost every time I fought her Yeah, I lost every time *** Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, then please share with your friends. Word of mouth really helps!  Follow on Spotify and Instagram too! THANKS for listening and for your support!

Join my transformational program and improve your pronunciation and confidence: https://hadarshemesh.com/newsound2021 TH is such a fun sound to practice because you get results fast – if you practice it correctly! This TH lesson is one of dozens of lessons inside my program New Sound. NEW SOUND is the only program for speakers of English as a second language that focuses on everything you really need to own your voice in English and find the freedom you deserve, by simplifying pronunciation, intonation, and stress. In this episode, you'll get to practice the TH in a simple and effective way, and also get a taste of what it's like to learn with me in my program. Check it out here: https://hadarshemesh.com/newsound2021 In the program you'll also learn about intonation, rhythm, stress, phrasing, breathing, voice, body language, fluency strategies, building your vocabulary, effective practice, building habits, and so much more! Everything you need to transform your English. Go here to watch the video version of this episode: https://theaccentsway.com/th-sound-lesson/

Today, join Alisah to learn how to pronounce correctly 10 of the most commonly mispronounced words in English: the, calm, hour, think, Wednesday, done, island, fruit, front and color.Free trial to start learning a language right now: www.mosalingua.com/podcast

In this episode, you'll learn how to speak fast in English WITHOUT compromising your clarity. I will also talk about the difference between GOOD fast and BAD fast speech, and how by applying the three points I teach you in this episode you'll be able to master the American rhythm and intonation. To watch the full video click here: https://theaccentsway.com/speak-faster/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

In this episode, Sean, an American English Pronunciation expert, shows you how to master the R sound.

Pronouncing Ordinal Numbers (first, second, third). After 3rd, the rest end in "TH", a classic sound in American English! Private Coaching Classes for American English Pronunciation. Contact Pam@ProAccentCoaching.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/proaccent/support

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English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words. This week we’re going to talk about the OW diphthong, as in the word ‘GO’. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Go: gow [IPA: goʊ] Know: now [IPA: noʊ] Only: own-lee [IPA: oʊnli] Lonely: lown-lee [IPA: loʊnli] Don’t: downt [IPA: doʊnt] Won’t: wownt [IPA: woʊnt] Cold: kowld [IPA: koʊld] Scroll: skrowl [IPA: skroʊl] Hotel: how-tel [IPA: hoʊtel] Download free practice sheet and audio: https://theaccentsway.com/ow-as-in-go/ Another useful episode – WANT vs WON’T: https://theaccentsway.com/want-wont/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words. This week we’re going to talk about some of the most difficult words in tech for non-native speakers. Missed the first part? Check it out! https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/95/ Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Data: dey-duh [IPA: ˈdeɪɾə] Silicon Valley: si-li-kaan va-lee [IPA: ˈsɪlɪkɑn ˈvæli] Engineer: en-djuh-nir [IPA: ˌendʒəˈnɪɹ] Product: praa-d’kt [IPA: ˈpɹɑːdəkt] User experience (UX): yuw-z’r ik-spi-ri-y’ns [IPA: ˈjuːzəɹ ɪkˈspɪɹiəns] Third party: th’rd paar-dee [IPA: θɜːɹd ˈpɑːɹɾi] Application: ap-luh-key-sh’n [IPA: ˌæpləˈkeɪʃən] Interface: in-t’r-feys [IPA: ˈɪntəɹfeɪs] or i-ner-feys [IPA: ˈɪnəɹfeɪs] Model: maa-d’l [IPA: ˈmɑːdəl] Module: maa-djuwl [IPA: ˈmɑːdʒuːl] Security: suh-kyu-ruh-dee [IPA: səˈkjʊrəɾi] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words. This week we’re going to talk about some of the most difficult words in tech for non-native speakers. To get the free pronunciation cheat-sheet and audio go to the magazine post here: https://theaccentsway.com/top-10-tech/ Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Algorithm: al-guh-ri-th’m [IPA: ˈælɡəˌɹɪðəm] Developer: duh-ve-luh-p’r [IPA: dəˈveləpəɹ] Editor: e-duh-d’r [IPA: ˈedəɾəɹ] Automation: aa-duh-mey-sh’n [IPA: ˌɑːɾəˈmeɪʃən] or o-duh-mey-sh’n [IPA: ˌɔːɾəˈmeɪʃən] Architecture: ar-ki-tek-ch’r [IPA: ˈɑːɹkɪtektʃəɹ] Firewall: fai-y’r-waal [IPA: ˈfaɪəɹwɑːl] or fai-y’r-wol [IPA: ˈfaɪəɹwɔːl] Hardware: haard-wer [IPA: ˈhɑːɹd weɹ] Software: saaft-wer [ˈsɑːft weɹ] or soft-wer [ˈsɔːftweɹ] Framework: freym-w’rk [IPA: ˈfreɪm wɜːɹk] Server: s’r-v’r [IPA: ˈsɜːɹvəɹ] Infrastructure: in-fruh-struk-ch’r [IPA: ˈɪnfɹəˌstrʌktʃəɹ] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

Gal Gadot’s name pronunciation with an Israeli accent is quite different from how most English speakers pronounce it. And now that Wonder Woman 1984 is OUT, let’s talk about how to pronounce Gal Gadot’s name correctly. As an Israeli, I can’t ignore the fact that the way English speakers pronounce her name is quite different than how we pronounce it in Hebrew. So today I’ll teach you how to speak with an ISRAELI ACCENT

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “resolution”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Resolution: ruh-zuh-luw-sh’n [IPA: rezəˈluːʃən] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

Let’s learn how to stress words in English and how to use American intonation as we analyze a monologue by Bill Murray from the final scene of the movie Scrooged. Download and practice with my visual script: https://bit.ly/2WH1x1G To watch the original episode go to the Accent’s Way magazine: https://bit.ly/37J64Hq Merry Christmas!

One of my favorite things to do is to answer the questions of my students and audience, and in this episode this is exactly what I’m going to do. And if you know me by now, you know that to every question there’s always more than just a simple answer. This is why I’m sure you’ll find something valuable for you (even though it wasn’t you who asked the question). If you want to ask me a question, you can submit it here: https://hadarshemesh.com/ask-hadar/ Here’s the list of the questions with timecodes: 6:18 – Wei Zeng “My problem is I can’t use he/she and his/her correctly without thinking in speaking. It sounds silly. Could you give me some suggestions or design a drill to improve it?” 18:11 – Tomoko Nakayama “How do you pronounce ‘year’? It’s so hard to pronounce ‘year’. My ‘year’ sounds like ‘ear’, and I keep practicing it.” 23:17 – Nejla Yber “I’m from Turkey and I’m living in Seattle, WA, for about 5 years. l went to ESL class but l could not finish because l started work. Now l have more time to study but I cannot concentrate on it. Please tell me, how can l write and speak clearly English?” List of the episodes and useful resources mentioned: Sprint: Boost your English with this Effective Pronunciation Practice! https://youtu.be/gNAbdeTA10Y How to Practice Pronunciation Effectively? https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/21/ How to use GOOGLE to improve your pronunciation https://theaccentsway.com/how-to-pronounce-any-word-in-english/ How to stay MOTIVATED when learning ENGLISH | 5 ground rules https://theaccentsway.com/motivation-in-english/ Improve your Pronunciation FOR FREE!! https://theaccentsway.com/practice-on-your-own/ How to say EAR, YEAR and HERE https://theaccentsway.com/ear-year-here/

In this episode, you’re going to master the flap T and R transition in American English. I’ll teach you how to pronounce it with an American accent, and then how to practice it effectively! Don’t forget to download my freebie and get a list of words and sentences with flap T + R along with an audio practice: https://theaccentsway.com/flap-t-r/ Learn the American ‘R’: https://theaccentsway.com/the-american-r/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce 10 of the most commonly mispronounced TV shows. Each one of them has a particular combination of sounds that makes it challenging to pronounce. Here’s a loose transcription of the names as explained in the episode:  Stranger Things:  strein-dj’r thingz [IPA: ˈstreɪnʤər ˈθɪŋz] The Handmaid’s Tale: thuh-hand-meidz teil [IPA: ðə ˈhɛəndˌmeɪdz ˈteɪɫ] Pretty Little Liars: pri-dee li-d’l lai-y’rz  [IPA: ˈprɪt̬i ˈlɪt̬əɫ ˈlaɪərz] Big Little Lies: big li-d’l laiz  [IPA: ˈbɪg ˈlɪt̬əɫ laɪz] Black Mirror: blak mir’r  [IPA: blæk ˈmɪrər] Game of Thrones: gei-m’v thrownz  [IPA: ˈgeɪm əv ˈθroʊnz] Orange is the New Black: o-r’nj’z thuh nuw blak [IPA: ˈɔrənʤ əz ðə nuː ˈblæk] Westworld: WES(t)-w’rld  [IPA: ˈwɛst̚ˌwɜrɫd] Queer as Folk: kwir-az-fowk [IPA: ˈkwɪr æz ˈfoʊk] The Bachelor & Bachelorette: th’ bachl’r [IPA: ˈbætʃlər] / bach-luh-ret [IPA: ˌbætʃləˈrɛt] To watch the video version of the episode, go here: https://theaccentsway.com/tv-shows/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “vulnerable”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Word: vuhl-nuh-ruh-b’l or vuhln-ruh-b’l IPA: [ˈvʌl.nə.rə.bəl] or [ˈvʌln.rə.bəl] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

What is the best way for you to learn English as introverts? If you are an introvert you know that some of the English learning methods out there are not as effective for you. Introverts need to acknowledge and understand their needs and use the right learning methods that work best for them. In this episode, I will share with you some strategies that can help you improve your English without going against your nature. If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce words that end with the suffix ‘-ial’. Get your FREE ‘-ial’ Suffix Pronunciation Practice here: https://theaccentsway.com/suffix-download/ Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: memorial: me-mo-ree-y’l [IPA: məˈmɔːriəl ] testimonial: tes-tuh-mow-nee-y’l [IPA: ˌtestəˈmoʊniəl] editorial: e-duh-to-ree-y’l [IPA: ˌedəˈtɔːriəl] trivial: triv-y’l [IPA:ˈtrɪvjəl] When this suffix appears after a SH sound, it changes: financial: fai-nan-sh’l [IPA: faɪˈnænʃəl] social: sow-sh’l [IPA: ˈsoʊʃəl] commercial: kuh-mur-sh’l [IPA: kəˈmɝːʃəl] martial: mar-sh’l [IPA: ˈmɑːrʃəl] influential: in-flu-en-sh’l [IPA: ˌɪnfluˈenʃəl] potential: puh-ten-sh’l [IPA: pəˈtenʃəl ] controversial: kaan-truh-vur-sh’l [IPA: ˌkɑːntrəˈvɝːʃəl] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “world”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: World: w’rld [IPA: wɝːld] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “schedule” in American English. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Schedule: ske-dj’l [IPA: ˈskɛdʒəl] or ske-djuw-w’l [IPA: ˈskɛdʒuwəl] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “mirror”. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Mirror: mir’r [IPA: ˈmɪɹəɹ] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

As an English learner, you must have wondered – what are the things that are preventing me from reaching a breakthrough in English? You may think it’s just more vocabulary, or phrasal verbs, and maybe all those fancy tenses that people use… When in fact, it’s something a lot more basic and primal. It’s not what ELSE you need to learn, but instead – it’s how YOU think about yourself when speaking English. Yes, how we think about our English has a big part in how confident we feel when speaking English. Are we thinking kind and empowering thoughts? Or are we being harsh and critical? In this episode, I’ll dive deep into explaining how you can reach a breakthrough simply by changing the way you think about your English. More useful episodes on the topic: Want to improve your speaking vocabulary? STOP LEARNING NEW WORDS ✋  https://theaccentsway.com/improve-speaking-vocabulary/ How To Learn New Vocabulary | Build Pronunciation Confidence

In this episode, I’m going to talk about the biggest English pronunciation challenges for Mandarin Chinese speakers – all broken down and explained. But first – don’t forget to download the FREE American English Pronunciation Guide for Chinese Speakers: https://theaccentsway.com/chinese-speakers-english-guide/ In this episode you’ll learn what the main pronunciation challenges are that Chinese speakers face and why they are difficult. But more than that – you’ll learn how to overcome them and become a more confident and clear English speaker. Not a Chinese speaker? I bet as a non-native speaker of English you can find at least one challenge that is relevant to you

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “Genre”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Genre: jaan-ruh [IPA: ˈʒɑːnrə] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the pair “Can” and “Can’t”. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Can: kan [IPA: kæən] or k’n [IPA: kən] Can’t: kant [IPA: kænt̚] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the triplet “Though”, “Thought”, and “Tough”. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Though: thow [IPA: ðoʊ] Thought: thaat [IPA: θɑːt] Tough: tuhf [IPA: tʌf] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “literally”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Literally: li-duh-ruh-lee [IPA: ˈlɪɾəɹəli] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we’re going to talk about how to pronounce the word “water”. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Water: waa-d’r [IPA: ˈwɑ:ɾəɹ] or waw-d’r [IPA: ˈwɔ:ɾəɹ] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

If you feel that you’re not clear in English – this can help! In this episode, I’m going to share with you 3 exercises that will help you improve your speech and clarity, and give you the freedom to use your voice in a more expressive and engaging way. All you need is a wine cork (no wine is needed) and a text! To watch the exercises on video: https://theaccentsway.com/english-pronunciation-exercises/ To learn more about the vowels of English: https://theaccentsway.com/english-vowels/ Your morning practice routine: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/50/ R boot camp: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/54/ Vocabulary drills: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/42/

What is the BEST way for you to learn English? Can someone who is not YOU know such a thing? Is it really about that one method to become fluent or is it about understanding what YOU need? In this episode, I’m going to talk about how to find out the most effective way for you to learn English, how to understand what type of learner you are (so that your learning process will be more effective), and at the same time, I’m going share with you the secret method that has helped ME master English and become a confident speaker. Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/

Download my FREE R word drills and sentences WITH audio to practice the R: https://bit.ly/2uwlVbz How frustrating is it to KNOW how to pronounce the R in English, but when you need to use it… it's not there for you! (Or it feels like you have mud in your mouth ?) I mean, why is your RRRR not listening to you?!?! But worry not, because I got you covered. If you do this R BOOT CAMP every day for 2 weeks, you will see how it is SO MUCH EASIER FOR YOU to use the R freely, and spontaneously when speaking. It's all a matter of developing your muscle memory. You can pair it up with my morning pronunciation practice: https://theaccentsway.com/pronunciation-practice-english/ And you're good to go To watch the R Bootcamp on video: https://theaccentsway.com/american-r-sound In this drill, first we practice the R before different vowels and really get comfortable with those transitions. Then, we'll work on 2 tricky sounds that sound similar to the R: the L and the W. We'll also practice the R after different vowels and build your muscle memory. Once you're done, we'll move to practice the R sound in different clusters and from there we'll move to full words and sentences. And don't forget, when you're done, put ‘DONE' in the comments area on the website! Also, was there any drill in particular that you feel helped you the most? How To Learn New Vocabulary | Build Pronunciation Confidence ? https://theaccentsway.com/how-to-learn-new-vocabulary/ More video and audio materials on R in English: Make the American R! | American English Pronunciation https://theaccentsway.com/the-american-r/ The R sound in English: The most in-depth lesson you'll ever hear https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/17/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ Join the Live English show on all my channels on Thursdays at 12 p.m. EST.

⬇️ Download my FREE R word drills and sentences WITH audio to practice the R: https://bit.ly/2uwlVbz How frustrating is it to KNOW how to pronounce the R in English, but when you need to use it… it's not there for you! (Or it feels like you have mud in your mouth ?) I mean, why is your RRRR not listening to you?!?! But worry not, because I got you covered. If you do this R BOOT CAMP every day for 2 weeks, you will see how it is SO MUCH EASIER FOR YOU to use the R freely, and spontaneously when speaking. It's all a matter of developing your muscle memory. You can pair it up with my morning pronunciation practice: https://theaccentsway.com/pronunciation-practice-english/ And you're good to go

⬇️ Download my FREE R word drills and sentences WITH audio to practice the R: https://bit.ly/2uwlVbz How frustrating is it to KNOW how to pronounce the R in English, but when you need to use it… it’s not there for you! (Or it feels like you have mud in your mouth

This episode today is for English teachers, in particular, those who run their own business. If you’re not a teacher, you can download the script here and use this episode as a listening exercise: https://hadarshemesh.com/transcript/english-teachers-building-business/ Join my FREE Q&A workshop for English Teachers: https://englishteachersacademy.com/workshop-webinar/ Question: Why do super talented and passionate teachers struggle with finding more students and building a sustainable business online? Why is it so hard for teachers to scale from one-to-one to one-to-many? It’s not because they’re not good teachers. It’s usually because there’s one missing element, that unless teachers embody it, it will be forever challenging to keep growing and developing personally and professionally. And that’s what I share in this episode. Everything I talk about is based on my own personal experience and the transformations I’ve gone through in life and in my business, as well as on the experience of the teachers in my community and in my membership program English Teachers Academy. To learn more about English Teachers Academy go here: https://englishteachersacademy.com/join/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ Join the Live English show on all my channels on Thursdays at 12 p.m. EST.

In this episode, I’m going to share with you the ideal morning pronunciation practice for your English. To watch the daily practice on video: http://theaccentsway.com/pronunciation-practice-english Now, here’s the thing. Pronunciation is, basically, knowing how to use your muscles, your articulation organs. And as muscles, they need to be trained and you need to build up your muscle. And in order for you to master the sounds of English and to be in command and control of your tongue, which you should be, you need to exercise it. This is why I created these exercises for you that you can do every single day. Do this 15-minute practice every morning before you start your day, or before an important meeting, and you’ll feel the difference. More videos about voice and vocabulary drills: Do you change your voice when you speak English? Here’s why: https://theaccentsway.com/change-your-voice-in-english/ How to Use Your Voice in ENGLISH to Sound Powerful and Confident: https://theaccentsway.com/improve-your-speaking-voice-in-english/ How To Learn New Vocabulary? Build Pronunciation Confidence

In this episode, teacher Will talks to us about what is individual vs systemic racism and how it affects English learners, the importance of diversity in the English learning industry, what privilege is and other good stuff you truly don’t want to miss. Because everything we talk about in this episode, has to do with how we think, teach and learn English. This is a part of an interview I had with teacher Will on the Live English show. Teacher Will’s Instagram: @ask_teacherwill (https://www.instagram.com/ask_teacherwill/) Teacher Will’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2Zf0hnt Join the Live English show on all my channels on Thursdays at 12pm EST. Are you a teacher? Learn more about English Teachers Academy and join: https://englishteachersacademy.com/join/ One of my recent episodes on how to talk about social justice in English: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/43/  Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/

Accurate pronunciation of English words is just one of many components of effective communication in the workplace. There is a lot to gain personally and professionally from improving your American English pronunciation! You'll build your confidence, gain more respect at work, reduce communication misunderstandings, and learn more about how the English language is spoken.People are motivated to invest in pronunciation training for many reasons. Whether it is a quest for learning or feeling fed up with being judged, at risk, shamed, or frustrated, it takes a lot of courage for someone to turn to help with their pronunciation. While working with a professional pronunciation teacher or coach is one of the best ways to get results, there are some steps you can take to improve your American English Pronunciation. I share tips to get started on your path of improving your pronunciation as well as stories from the professionals I've helped to improve their American English Pronunciation. At the end of the episode, you'll get definitions and examples of idioms and phrases for everyday life and the workplace.This episode is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/3sPIDS382AU. Infographics for this episode are available at https://www.pinterest.com/ExpresstoImpress/. A transcript is available for this episode at https://www.express-to-impress.com/american-english-pronunciation/.

One question I get asked regularly by learners of English is, “how come I practice a new word and succeed in pronouncing it right but then fail to get it right when using it in a conversation later on?” Has that ever happened to you? In this episode I discuss why it is not enough to improve in English simply by watching a video or listening to a podcast, and what you need to do to really see results when you speak. Use Google to practice your pronunciation: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/08/ Sign up to be notified when registration opens for Accent Makeover: https://theaccentsway.com/join-2/ Are you a teacher? Learn more about English Teachers Academy and join: https://englishteachersacademy.com/join/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course. You can also download an interactive list of  50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words.

Learn English About How to Pronounce TH | American English Pronunciation video lesson. Do you want to learn English about how you're supposed to pronounce a /TH/ sound as voiced TH sound or unvoiced TH sound when speaking English? Get FREE E Book Lessons here

To download the practice sheet click here: https://theaccentsway.com/the-r-in-english-podcast-freebie/ Many non-native speakers of English struggle with the R in English.  Not only that this sound is challenging to pronounce (put the tongue where?!?) and makes us feel like pirates, but it also keeps changing depending on where it’s positioned. So even though it might be easy to pronounce in some words, it could be impossible to pronounce in other words and that makes us feel like the R is impossible!  To understand the R we need to do three things: Understand how to pronounce it Understand the different types of R sounds and what might be the challenge of each  Practice, practice and then practice some more. In this episode I’m going to walk you through each and every one of those steps, and at the end, even offer you the perfect way to practice with my practice sheet and audio: https://theaccentsway.com/the-r-in-english-podcast-freebie/ I’m also going to talk about the difference between the American R and the British R! But most importantly I’ll give you tips and hacks on where and how to CHEAT, so you invest less effort, pronounce less R’s and sound BETTER! Whether you’re struggling with pronouncing it or you know how to pronounce it but you don’t use it consistently,  or sometimes you become too self-conscious about it, in this episode you’ll find things you can do that’ll help you use it naturally and easily. For more about the R in English, watch: The American R: https://youtu.be/DCNjahCAMOU American Accent in 5 steps: https://youtu.be/cnVJQt-GlHE   And remember #ClearIsBetterThanAccurate Sign up to be notified when registration opens for Accent Makeover: https://theaccentsway.com/join-2/ Are you a teacher? Learn more about English Teachers Academy and join the WAITLIST: theaccentsway.com/english-teachers-academy-announcement/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course. You can also download an interactive list of  50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words.

Learning to speak a new language can be challenging, no doubt about that. Especially English. All those funky words like knight, laugh, paradigm and psychology that have all these letters that are not pronounced. And what about the confusing pairs like celery-salary, back-buck, pool-pull that if we confuse them, we may sound unclear? Or words like beach, focus, spreadsheet and fox that if we mispronounce them, we might get a face-palm moment

See the summary and the video here: https://www.gonaturalenglish.com/regional-american-english-accents/ SUMMARY OF REGIONAL AMERICAN ENGLISH ACCENTS There are around 160 recognized dialects of the English language, or regional accents. These terms are often used interchangeably. Even if you’re really into accents, it would probably be impossible to learn them all. Even native speakers can’t understand them all. For example, it’s very difficult for us American English speakers to understand Scottish English speakers! Join our American English Pronunciation course to improve your accent now. (https://www.gonaturalenglish.com/pronunciation-course/) AMERICAN ENGLISH ACCENTS: THE 4 MOST COMMON ONES If you travel around the US, you will encounter different American English accents. In this lesson we will look at 4 of the most common accents:  Southern, New England, New York City, & Midwestern. Remember, these are general accent regions.  Even within these regions there are smaller subdivision of accents!  Hale is from the South so this is the accent he is most familiar with. In this lesson, our English teacher Hale shares clips from American TV shows that feature the US Southern Accent: -Designing Women -The Help -King of the Hill Next, let’s look at the New England American English accent. The most famous version is the Boston accent. In this lesson, you can see examples from the video clips: -The Heat -The fighter -Good Will Hunting New York City is not too far from New England, but the accent is a bit different. Within New York City, there are even distinctive accents in different neighborhoods (Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn). Check out the clips from: -Rosie Perez -Raging Bull -Seinfeld Finally, let’s look at the Midwest. This is often considered where “standard” American English comes from. However, there are variations from speakers in Minnesota and the Dakotas that are definitely something different. Check out the clips in the lesson from the shows and movies: -Making a Murderer -Drop Dead Gorgeous -Fargo In conclusion, if you want to develop a specific regional accent, you’ll really need to find a teacher from that region or go there to get immersed in the dialect! In general though, it’s not necessary to become an expert in a regional dialect. It’s probably more sensible to learn “standard” American English, which is the accent you hear most news reporters, journalists or other nation-wide broadcasting professionals using. Pro Tip 1: Understand that there are four major regional dialects in the United States, each with different accents Pro Tip 2: Learn standard American English, not just one regional accent. Pro Tip 3: As you advance in your listening skills, if you want a challenge start watching TV shows and movies that feature regional accents. Pro Tip 4: Improve your standard American accent using our Pronunciation course(https://www.gonaturalenglish.com/pronunciation-course/)

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 13, I invited Ryo who is an attorney at law and an English coach based in the US. Ryo is an attorney at law specializing in international law and taught writing at Harvard as a TF (Teaching Fellow). He currently teach English to students in Japan via LINE App. He tries to share useful English phrases and tips that are actually used in the U.S. Both on his Twitter and Youtube, he tries to bring in the ethics/morality perspectives in addition to the language because of the significant difference that lies between the Japanese and the American cultures. Here are notes When learning English pronunciation, vowels are important!! Ryo teaches pronunciation as well as conversations. Contact him for more information if you are interested in his lessons! Ryo's social media links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharaoEnglish Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYCJlJsxBAiubXDq1eTFAWA In the second segment, I shared my notes about the trip to Europe in September. There are 4 points. If you plan to visit Europe, check this out! If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter You can download each episode from this link: http://thevoiceofenglish.libsyn.com/ The guests' information is listed at http://schwagirl.com/podcast-fb-live-guest-information/ Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators.   In Episode 13, I invited Ryo who is an attorney at law and an English coach based in the US. Ryo is an attorney at law specializing in international law and taught writing at Harvard as a TF (Teaching Fellow). He currently teach English to students in Japan via LINE App. He tries to share useful English phrases and tips that are actually used in the U.S. Both on his Twitter and Youtube, he tries to bring in the ethics/morality perspectives in addition to the language because of the significant difference that lies between the Japanese and the American cultures. Here are notes When learning English pronunciation, vowels are important!! Ryo teaches pronunciation as well as conversations. Contact him for more information if you are interested in his lessons! Ryo's social media links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharaoEnglish Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYCJlJsxBAiubXDq1eTFAWA   In the second segment, I shared my notes about the trip to Europe in September. There are 4 points. If you plan to visit Europe, check this out!   If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter     You can download each episode from this link: http://thevoiceofenglish.libsyn.com/ The guests' information is listed at http://schwagirl.com/podcast-fb-live-guest-information/ Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl   Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

In this episode, I am going to give you a tip for learning American Pronunciation.

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 12, I invited Yuko April Ito who is an English coach based in Japan. Yuko teaches mainly Japanese women in Japan in 30s and 40s who would like to restart learning English. She focuses on "real" English which is actually spoken outside Japan as opposed to "classroom" English. Yuko visited the US when she was 14 years old and she realized that the world was so big! She shared her experience in the US and in other countries and why she started teaching "real" English. Here are my notes: English is the best language to communicate with people in the world Use English all day even in Japan so that you will be familiar with it Go out and see the world! Here are the links to her social media ☆Who is Yuko? https://youtu.be/D8Stxd0mtP8 ☆Facebook https://www.facebook.com/eigodekirari ☆Twitter http://twitter.com/eigodekirari7 ☆ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yuko_april_english This episode is sponsored by "Online Business Course" by Emiko Rasmussen and Aiko Hemingway This course is for women who would like to start their own business using the skills that were built in their career. The next course starts on Oct. 26th. And there is a free workshop on Oct 20th at 5pm PST. Come join us on 10/20! Register link: https://bit.ly/2EmPNLH In the second segment in this episode, I am talking about my trip to Europe. My husband and I visited 4 countries in Europe and it was a blast! I shared the mind shift I experienced!! If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter You can download each episode from this link: http://thevoiceofenglish.libsyn.com/ The guests' information is listed at http://schwagirl.com/podcast-fb-live-guest-information/ Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/ Next 3 month intensive pronunciation course starts in Jan 2019. If you are interested in it, please visit this page to learn more about this course. Only three spots available! http://hatsuonkyosei.com/index.php/courses/facebook-course/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 12, I invited Yuko April Ito who is an English coach based in Japan. Yuko teaches mainly Japanese women in Japan in 30s and 40s who would like to restart learning English. She focuses on "real" English which is actually spoken outside Japan as opposed to "classroom" English. Yuko visited the US when she was 14 years old and she realized that the world was so big! She shared her experience in the US and in other countries and why she started teaching "real" English. Here are my notes: English is the best language to communicate with people in the world Use English all day even in Japan so that you will be familiar with it Go out and see the world!   Here are the links to her social media ☆Who is Yuko? https://youtu.be/D8Stxd0mtP8 ☆Facebook https://www.facebook.com/eigodekirari ☆Twitter http://twitter.com/eigodekirari7 ☆ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yuko_april_english   This episode is sponsored by "Online Business Course" by Emiko Rasmussen and Aiko Hemingway This course is for women who would like to start their own business using the skills that were built in their career. The next course starts on Oct. 26th. And there is a free workshop on Oct 20th at 5pm PST. Come join us on 10/20! Register link: https://bit.ly/2EmPNLH   In the second segment in this episode, I am talking about my trip to Europe. My husband and I visited 4 countries in Europe and it was a blast! I shared the mind shift I experienced!!   If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter     You can download each episode from this link: http://thevoiceofenglish.libsyn.com/ The guests' information is listed at http://schwagirl.com/podcast-fb-live-guest-information/ Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl   Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/ Next 3 month intensive pronunciation course starts in Jan 2019. If you are interested in it, please visit this page to learn more about this course. Only three spots available! http://hatsuonkyosei.com/index.php/courses/facebook-course/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 11, I invited Miho Noguchi the bilingual MC and Coach based in Japan. Miho is an event host MC / interpreter based in Gifu, central Japan. She started her public speaking career as a Japanese-English bilingual radio news announcer and DJ in Nagoya and shifted into her event host career in 2010. She has hosted many international corporate events, congresses, as well as wedding receptions of international couples. She is also a home-based voice-over talent, and is known as the Japanese GPS voice behind Google Maps app. In 2016 her voice was replaced by a new synthetic voice system, which sparked a huge backlash on Twitter and other social media platforms. Later Google decided to put her voice back on the app and you can still hear her voice. And in 2017 she won the title of the Japanese delegate of Mrs. Globe beauty pageant and ran for the international competition in China with 70 other contestants from around the world. She also teaches English to those who want to become MCs or public speakers through workshops and also one-on-one online coaching. Here are my notes: Your voice is your asset!! It is amazing that a great English speaker like Miho says "I am still struggling with English" and she practices a lot! I hope that will motivate you. English and Japanese "good" voices have different pitches. Find yours in English and in Japanese by downloading a free PDF at http://bilingualmc.jp/ She coaches who want to become a bilingual MC for international events. Contact her to set up a trial session. Here are the links to her social media Website and newsletter signup link: http://bilingualmc.jp/ Facebook Page: htttp://www.facebook.com/bilingualmc.jp Instagram: mihonog Twitter: @mihonog Miho Noguchi & Emiko Rasmussen's Podcast: "Her Confidence Her Way" https://www.herconfidenceherway.com/ In Aug, I have a sponsor! She is Megumi the blogger based in Hawaii. She writes about Hawaiian life, English learning, and other interesting things. Check out her blog here: https://www.megumi711.com/ She operates Yes! サロン which is a community where you can output English so that you can improve English. If you are looking for an opportunity to output English, check out her twitter. https://twitter.com/MeginHawaii If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators.   In Episode 11, I invited Miho Noguchi the bilingual MC and Coach based in Japan. Miho is an event host MC / interpreter based in Gifu, central Japan.  She started her public speaking career as a Japanese-English bilingual radio news announcer and DJ in Nagoya and shifted into her event host career in 2010.  She has hosted many international corporate events, congresses, as well as wedding receptions of international couples.  She is also a home-based voice-over talent, and is known as the Japanese GPS voice behind Google Maps app.  In 2016 her voice was replaced by a new synthetic voice system, which sparked a huge backlash on Twitter and other social media platforms. Later Google decided to put her voice back on the app and you can still hear her voice.  And in 2017  she won the title of the Japanese delegate of Mrs. Globe beauty pageant and ran for the international competition in China with 70 other contestants from around the world.  She also teaches English to those who want to become MCs or public speakers through workshops and also one-on-one online coaching. Here are my notes: Your voice is your asset!! It is amazing that a great English speaker like Miho says "I am still struggling with English" and she practices a lot! I hope that will motivate you. English and Japanese "good" voices have different pitches. Find yours in English and in Japanese by downloading a free PDF at http://bilingualmc.jp/ She coaches who want to become a bilingual MC for international events. Contact her to set up a trial session.   Here are the links to her social media Website and newsletter signup link: http://bilingualmc.jp/ Facebook Page: htttp://www.facebook.com/bilingualmc.jp Instagram: mihonog Twitter: @mihonog Miho Noguchi & Emiko Rasmussen's Podcast: "Her Confidence Her Way" https://www.herconfidenceherway.com/   In Aug, I have a sponsor! She is Megumi the blogger based in Hawaii. She writes about Hawaiian life, English learning, and other interesting things. Check out her blog here: https://www.megumi711.com/ She operates Yes! サロン which is a community where you can output English so that you can improve English. If you are looking for an opportunity to output English, check out her twitter. https://twitter.com/MeginHawaii   If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter   Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 10, I invited Zakiyama from Zakiyama English based in Japan who is an English coach and mentor. He speaks British English. He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington, with the degree of Linguistics and Business minor. Currently, he is working for an IT company based in Tokyo. And he provides English lessons. Now Zakiyama coaches English, but when he went to the UK for the first time, he could not understand a very simple sentence. Someone said "How are you?" to him, but he heard it as "How old are you?" That happened on his very first day in the UK. Since then, he practiced English hard. And he is coaching English from his own experience being in the UK and also in the US. Enjoy his encouraging messages! Here are the links to his social media Website: http://zakiyama-english.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/zakiyamaenglish Notes from this episode Synaesthesia : Seeing words or objects as colors Reading: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/what-it-s-like-to-live-with-synaesthesia-a7079241.html Bouba/Kiki Effect : Linking shapes to sounds Reading: https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2016/oct/17/the-boubakiki-effect-how-do-we-link-shapes-to-sounds Coursera : Online Courses and Credentials by Top Educators. Join for Free https://www.coursera.org/ In Aug, I have a sponsor! She is Megumi the blogger based in Hawaii. She writes about Hawaiian life, English learning, and other interesting things. Check out her blog here: https://www.megumi711.com/ She operates Yes! サロン which is a community where you can output English so that you can improve English. If you are looking for an opportunity to output English, check out her twitter. https://twitter.com/MeginHawaii If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" The purpose of this podcast is to encourage English learners and also English teachers. We all share tips and points of how we can improve our English and become better communicators. In Episode 10, I invited Zakiyama from Zakiyama English based in Japan who is an English coach and mentor. He speaks British English. He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington, with the degree of Linguistics and Business minor. Currently, he is working for an IT company based in Tokyo. And he provides English lessons. Now Zakiyama coaches English, but when he went to the UK for the first time, he could not understand a very simple sentence. Someone said "How are you?" to him, but he heard it as "How old are you?" That happened on his very first day in the UK. Since then, he practiced English hard. And he is coaching English from his own experience being in the UK and also in the US. Enjoy his encouraging messages! Here are the links to his social media Website: http://zakiyama-english.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/zakiyamaenglish Notes from this episode Synaesthesia : Seeing words or objects as colors Reading: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/what-it-s-like-to-live-with-synaesthesia-a7079241.html Bouba/Kiki Effect : Linking shapes to sounds Reading: https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2016/oct/17/the-boubakiki-effect-how-do-we-link-shapes-to-sounds Coursera : Online Courses and Credentials by Top Educators. Join for Free https://www.coursera.org/ In Aug, I have a sponsor! She is Megumi the blogger based in Hawaii. She writes about Hawaiian life, English learning, and other interesting things. Check out her blog here: https://www.megumi711.com/ She operates Yes! サロン which is a community where you can output English so that you can improve English. If you are looking for an opportunity to output English, check out her twitter. https://twitter.com/MeginHawaii If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact MUSIC: Artist: Nicolai Heidlas Title: Hawaiian Winter Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Aiko Hemingway's online pronunciation study material "American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers" is available on Teachable. Check out the link: https://hatsuonkyosei.teachable.com/

If you’ve been following my YouTube channel, you know that I’ve been focusing on Natural American English pronunciation recently. Well today, I thought that I would bring that lesson flow to the podcast. Actually, it was a request from one of my students, so Vincent, this is for you! I noticed that quite often when there is an N and ... Read More

If you are a new listener to this podcast, welcome! I'm Craig. This is Reza. With over 40 years of teaching between us, we'll help you improve your English and take it to the next level. In this episode: British and American English pronunciation differences Más podcasts para mejorar tu ingles en: http://www.inglespodcast.com/ More podcasts to improve your English at: http://www.inglespodcast.com/   Listener Feedback: Elisa, Finland:Hi again,I hope you are both well!Really interesting topic and you gave us many fantastic tips and examples. Thanks. (How to start a conversation and make small talk - inglespodcast.com/77)And I'll attempt to remember not trying (to try) to brake the ice by saying " Hi, nice day for it ;) Sorry, but have I met you before? " It definitely would be skating on thin ice ;) Patreon update: 7 patrons donating (in total) $9.70 per month We need $100 per month to pay for full transcriptions of each episode:Thanks to our wonderful patrons Daniel Contreras Aladro, Armando Agudelo, Manuel Tarazoma, Arlem Lara, Sara Jarabo, Mamen and My good friendCorey Finneran from IvyEnvy.comIf you would like to support us on patreon, go to https://www.patreon.com/inglespodcast Email from AinhoaWhat does TO FIGURE OUT mean? To ‘figure it out’ means to “solve or discover the cause of a problem.” In British English, I would say ‘work it out” Example: “Don’t worry about lunch tomorrow when your family comes to visit. We’ll figure it out/work it out. We can get a Chinese takeaway.” “Why are we paying so much money for the electricity bill? I can’t figure it out!” (to figure out = resolver, solucionar) Hi Reza and Craig,congratulations for your great job (on your great work)! you've found the perfect combination of learning English and entertainment; I really love your podcasts.I have pronunciation doubts about the words "tomatoes" and "potatoes" because I've heard different ways of pronunciation of both words, which is the correct one?.Finally, I send you (I'm sending you) a proverb in English that I've learned in English class when I was at school, it says: "It takes two to make a quarrel". Thank you again and please, keep on podcasting, (It takes two to tango - this cannot happen without more than one person)- When you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame. "My friends are getting a divorce and there's a really bad atmosphere between them. It takes two to tango. Italki are offering a special deal to listeners of Aprender Ingles con Reza y Craig – 100 free italki credits (ITCs) when you sign up for their paid service. Buy 1 get 1 free! Find a teacher and improve your speaking with italki Reza and I want to thank italki for sponsoring Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig British and American English pronunciation differences We spoke about British American English in Episode 16 ( http://www.inglespodcast.com/2014/03/05/craig-said-that-he-would-make-the-tea-airc16/ ) Vitamin - VIT-a-min (UK); VITE-a-min (US)Aluminium - al-loo-MIN-ee-um (UK); al-LOO-min-um (US)Privacy - PRIV-a-see (UK); PRIAV-a-see (US)schedule - SHED-ual (UK); SKED-ual (US)Garage - GARE-idge (UK); ga-RAHJ (US) Advertisement - ad-VERT-iz-ment (UK); AD-ver-tize-ment (US) Brits often shorten this to ADVERT(Change in stress sometimes: GARE-idge (UK); ga-RAHJ (US), ad-VERT-iz-ment (UK); AD-ver-tize-ment (US), BA-llet (US); baLLET (US), AD-ult (UK); ad-ULT (US)Herb - HERB (UK); ERB (US)Oregano - o-re-GA-no (UK); o-RE-ga-no (US)Water - WAH-ta (UK); WODDER (US) - 'T' in the middle of the word sounds like a 'D' in American English: better, writing, bottomThe 'R' sound at the end of words is stronger in American English: water, mother, teacher, bar, were, chair etc Sometimes, the letter 'A' is pronounced differently: class, after, example, laugh, can't ...and now it's your turn to practise your English. We want you to practise your pronunciation. Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/inglespodcast and record the list of words in this episode.It can be in American English or British English pronunciation - or both. We don't mind, as long as you practise your speaking. Send us an email with a comment or question to craig@inglespodcast.com or belfastreza@gmail.com. On next week's episode: Reza and Craig's Christmas Special Más podcasts para mejorar tu ingles en: http://www.inglespodcast.com/ More podcasts to improve your English at: http://www.inglespodcast.com/ The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called 'See You Later'

Have you ever wondered why English has so many terms with similar meanings. For instance, take the words “everyone” and “everybody.”  They mean virtually the same thing. They make up a group of all, or many people. The good thing is that since the words mean the same thing, you can choose whichever one you want to use and everybody will know exactly what you mean.   On the other hand, if you use the word “someone”, you are speaking in general terms that someone in the group, nobody in particular, just someone that you probably don't know, is involved. You might say, “Everybody is coming to the party tonight, but someone will be dressed as a clown.” Now, you know that by using the term “everybody”, that a lot of people are going to be there, but only one of that group will look like a clown, and you have no idea who that might be.   These are just a few of the many English tips that Gabby provides on a continuous basis to help non-native speakers learn English. As always, check out, and subscribe to Go Natural English for all your English language tips.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlCimqzciH0   Episode transcript below:   Hello! Hello! What's up, my awesome English-learning friend? I have a quick English tip for you about three words that are commonly mispronounced by English language learners. Why? Because they're confusing. So, I want to clarify this common challenge. So, the three words are “again”, “mountain”, and “pain.” What do they have in common? They all have “a-i” as vowels that are back to back. So, you're tempted to pronounce each vowel individually like “a – e” so what I hear a lot, which is a mistake is “a-gay-een”, “mount-ay-een”, and “pay-een”, which sounds really weird and not smooth and fluent at all. So, to sound more fluent and more native-like, you have to mix these vowels together and just make them sound like “eh.” It's easy – “eh” – “eh.” Alright so “again”, “mountain” – “mountain” sorry, I don't want to confuse the stress there “mountain”, and “pain.” It's all kind of an “ay-eh-eh.” But they're not two separate sounds. It's one sound, so, this little piece of information will make a huge difference on your English. That's what Go Natural English is all about, is giving you these little tips that make a big difference on your fluency, and for your confidence in speaking English with other fluent and native English speakers. So, if you like learning this way, and learning a little and using it a lot, learning a lot from it, come back to gonaturalenglish.com. Visit me there and I'll give you a free eBook and you can find out about the premium Go Natural English course. It's super cool. I think that you would love it but you can come see if it might be right for you. So, here on YouTube we have three free tips a week. You can also check out the Go Natural English podcast on iTunes and on Stitcher for five times a week, quick tips that will help you out. So, that's what I'm here for. I hope that you are enjoying learning English the natural way and I can't wait to see you again soon. Alright, bye for now.   The post Again, Mountain, Pain – How to Say 3 Difficult Words in American English Pronunciation appeared first on Go Natural English.

Are you familiar with the most common vowel sound in the English language? Well, you are about to meet the “schwa” sound. “What is that”, you say? Well, the “schwa” sound is that “uh” sound that is found in the unstressed syllables of words.   In this podcast, Gabby explains how the “schwa” sound is a lazy utterance that is used instead of the actual pronounced syllable in some words. Gabby provides three examples to illustrate the “schwa” sound – “pencil”, “question”, and “famous.” You will find that a great many English words have this particular sound. By listening to native English speakers, over time you will be able to not only hear the sound, but you will be able to use it yourself. This will help you sound more like a native English speaker.   To learn more about learning English, visit gonaturalenglish.com, and just by visiting you can get Gabby's free mini eBook. You can also find Gabby on Facebook and Twitter. Expand your opportunities and improve your English language fluency. Subscribe to Go Natural English today.     Episode transcript below:   Hello, and welcome to the Go Natural English podcast. I'm your host, Gabby Wallace, your American English teacher and Number One fluency coach. I'm so excited to bring you the tip today that will help you so much with your English fluency through pronunciation. Now, before I forget I want to remind you that you can get the free Go Natural English mini eBook just by visiting gonaturalenglish.com. Enter your name and email address and I will send you your free mini eBook to help your English fluency immediately. So, I hope to see you over there as soon as you're done listening to this quick English tip on the GO Natural English podcast right here. So, I have a really important tip that I want to share with you really quickly here. The most important sound in the English language is actually one that you probably didn't learn in your English class, and that makes me mad because it's really important. It's called the “schwa” sound but the name is not important. What is important to know is that when you have an English word that has two syllables like, “today” – one, two – “today.” Two syllables, right? “Today.” Two parts – we break the word into syllables and there's two in the word, “today.” Well, you have one syllable that is stressed and another syllable that is not stressed. So, we have a lot of words that have two or more syllables in the English language. You're always going to have one stressed syllable and another syllable that's weak could be a “schwa” sound. So, I'm going to share some examples with you and I want you to listen to see how the weak syllables all sound very much alike. And that is the “schwa” sound. It makes a kind of “uh” sound. It's a funny sound, right? “Uh” but check it out. How about the word pencil.” Do you notice how the first syllable is strong, “pen”, and the second syllable is weak and it sounds like ‘Uh?” “Pencil, pencil.” OK, how about the word “question?” The strong syllable is the first one “quest – ion.” And the second syllable kind of sounds like “uh” again. OK, how about the word “famous?” Well, the first syllable is strong again, “fam” and the second syllable “ous.” So, even though the spelling is different for all these words, right? “Pencil” – p-e-n-c-i-l. “Question” – q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n. And “famous” – f-a-m-o-u-s. Even though those spellings are so different those weak syllables – the “schwa” sound makes those weak syllable all sound alike. One more time – “pencil'”, “question”, “famous.” OK, and those three words are just three examples off the top of my head. Now, there are a lot more examples that you'd be able to hear the “schwa” ...

Learning English can be a full time and sometimes frustrating job. It is possibly the craziest language on the planet and yet it is spoken by one in seven people. Very often English teachers have to Very often English teachers have to explain things that don't really make sense, nor do they seem to follow any set of logical rules. Let's face it, English pronunciation, by and large, is unpredictable. It takes effort and practice to get it right, or at least get close to the correct pronunciation. In this lesson, Gabby examines the past, present, and future tenses of the word “read.” She explains that in the present and future tenses, “read” is pronounced like “reed”, whereas in the past tense, it is pronounced “red” like the primary color. The more you listen to native English speakers, and pay attention to how they speak, the better your English will be. Try to imitate native speakers at every opportunity. Go Natural English will guide you and provide useful tips about how to improve your English skills.  

In the usual classroom setting, we first learn how to read words instead of speaking them. This is the reason why many non-native English speakers have troubles with some certain words. It's very important to learn through our ears, learn the sounds and not by the way we read it. In this video, Gabby will share us how to pronounce words with “-rth” like worth, north, birth.   There are many words with “-rth,” but most importantly, even though there are many vowels that comes before this three letter combination, we always use one vowel sound regardless of the spelling. Sounds great right?   The mistake or problem of a lot of English learners have is that, they want to read the vowel in the way that they have learned it in the alphabet with the “-rth” sound. But there is a vowel sound that we called the R-colored vowel which Gabby will explain as we further watch the video ahead.   Click here to watch the video on YouTube.   Photo Credit: Pablo Fernández     Exposure to English & the right method of learning are keys to fluency Click here to find out how you can get more Go Natural English materials & strategies To be fluent, you must speak! Try your first premium 1-to-1 live online tutoring lesson with a qualified native English speaker teacher at Verbling. Click here to learn more and try the first one free! The post How to say words with “rth” like worth, north, birth – American English Pronunciation Tip appeared first on Go Natural English.

Hi guys! That’s me – Robby from AccentAdventure.com – and this time around we’re going to learn how to pronounce the following American phrase properly: WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU? The main focus here is on the sound created by the double TT in the middle of the word “matter” – it’s the so called FLAP T sound – and it’s actually much closer to the letter D than T! That’s the reason why I’ve transcribed the flap T sound with the letter D or with a two letter combination TD in my American Pronunciation learning program Accent Genie, and as you can see in the screenshot below – the FLAP T sound in the word “fitting” is transcribed with the two letter combination TD (just because in this case it’s not as close to D as in the word “matter”). But anyway – going back to today’s phrase WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU? – it basically becomes “What’s the maDer with you?” because Americans transform the double TT into a sound which is much closer to D (with a little hint of “R” in it probably). If you want to get it just right, however, please watch the video above where I’m looking at this phrase in depth and I’m also giving you a few useful tips on how to get the FLAP T sound just right. Other things that you have to watch out for when practicing this phrase are the W sound in the word WHAT’S and you also have to make sure to put stress on the first syllable of the word “matter”. So this is how you pronounce this phrase when speaking with American accent (the underlined syllable indicates the stressed syllable): Uat’s the maDer with you? Is it all a bit too confusing? Well, watch the video above and keep practicing till you get it right – practice is what makes one perfect, don’t you ever forget that! ;-) And of course, if you’re REALLY serious about your American accent and English pronunciation improvement in general, you definitely want to check out the Accent Genie program which is all about learning the American pronunciation in a fast and effective manner. Chat soon, Robby

Taking IELTS? Get our free IELTS video training course now Do you struggle with pronunciation? Do you want to be able to pronounce your English words like a native but are you not sure how to do it? Today you’ll meet Mandy Egle from Pronuncian! Mandy is a pronunciation expert and she is going to... Read More The post AEE 128: American English Pronunciation Podcast Shows How to Self-Correct appeared first on All Ears English Podcast | Real English Vocabulary | Conversation | American Culture.

When do we pronounce plural nouns with a /z/ sound?Hi. My name is Enrique and I am the creator of  Say it in English...!  This is the fifth podcast of a series that will discuss topics related to American English Pronunciation. Our weekly podcasts are available on iTunes store for free. So check them out and download them when you got the chance.In today's podcast we will talk about the /s/ sound and its correct pronunciation in plural nouns.If you remember what it was said on our last episode about the /z/ sound, you should easily pronounce the next words correctly. Check carefully the singular form of every single word in the next list. Do they end in a voiced or in a voiceless sound? How do you pronounce the plural form of nouns that end in a voiced sound?Listen and repeat after me:eye      eyesarm     armsshoulder      shoulderscar        carsbar       bars1.     The word "eye" has the diphthong /aɪ/ which ends in the vowel sound /ɪ/. Vowels are voiced, so the plural form of the word eye has to be pronounced with the /z/ sound although it is spelled with the letter "s".2.     The word "arm" ends in the consonant sound /m/. The consonant sound /m/ is a voiced sound because the vocal cords vibrate during its articulation. So, when we add the /s/ sound to the word arm, the /s/ sound turns into a /z/ sound.3.     "Shoulder" ends with the consonant sound /ɹ/. This is a voiced consonant sound. So, when we add the /s/ sound to the word shoulder, the /s/ sound turns into a /z/ sound. 4.     The same happens with the words "car" and "bar". Both end with the voiced consonant sound /ɹ/. So, their plural form has to be pronounced with the /z/ sound. Let's try it one more time. Listen and repeat after me.eye      eyesarm     armsshoulder      shoulderscar        carsbar       barsWhen do we pronounce plural nouns with an /s/ sound? We already saw that some consonants are called voiced because the vocal cords vibrate during their articulation. Some examples are the consonants /m/ and /ɹ/ from the words in the previous list. Consonants sounds are not all voiced. In matter of fact, there is a big group of consonant sounds that are produced without vibration of the vocal cords. These groups of consonant sounds that are not vibrated are called voiceless consonants.As an example of voiceless consonant sounds, we can mention the next consonants:Listen and repeat after me:ptkIf you paid carefully attention to your own articulation while pronouncing these consonant sounds, you could realize that all these sounds are produced without vibration of the vocal cords.Let's try to pronounce the next nouns. I will say the singular form of every noun first and then its plural form. All plural nouns in this list are pronounced with an /s/ sound.Repeat after me:map      mapspot     potsdesk    desksWhy do we not pronounce the /z/ sound in the plural form of these words?  The reason is simple... All these words end in voiceless consonants. So, the /s/ sound of the plural form is not affected by the vibration of the vocal cords and /s/ does not turn into a /z/ sound.Let's try one more time the pronunciation of these nouns. All of them are pronounced with an /s/ sound.map      mapspot     potsdesk    desksThat's it for today's program. I hope you find this podcast, and the previous one, useful to improve your English pronunciation of the plural form of nouns. There is still one more case of the plural form of nouns. It is the case of words that end in sibilants. We will develop this topic in our next podcast. Stay in tune. This is an ELC academy podcast sponsored by Say it in English...! Your pronunciation improvement is just waiting for you...! Bye, bye...!

When do we pronounce plural nouns with an /s/ sound?Hi. My name is Enrique and I am the creator of  Say it in English...! Say it in English...!  This is the fourth podcast of a series that will discuss topics related to American English Pronunciation. Our weekly podcasts are available at iTunes store for free. So check them out and download them when you got the chance. In today’s podcast, we will cover the pronunciation of plural nouns with the consonant sound  /z/.A very common pronunciation mistake that EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students make is pronouncing the plural forms of certain nouns with the consonant sound /s/ instead of the consonant sound /z/. Most of the plural forms that are spelled in English with (s) should be pronounced with a /z/ sound, but EFL students usually ignore this fact and they tend to pronounce all plural nouns with the consonant sound /s/.There are phonetical reasons to pronounce the plural form of certain nouns with the consonant sound /z/ instead of the consonant sound /s/.Let's see, for example, the word tree.tree...!Listen and repeat this word three times after me...tree..., tree..., tree...!As you can feel, the last sound in this word is a vowel sound. It is the vowel sound /i/. Ok, it is spelled with double (e), but the sound is /i/. Vowel sounds are voiced; it means that the vocal cords vibrate when vowels are articulated.Now, put gently your fingers on your throat and feel the vibration while pronouncing the vowel sound /i/.Repeat three times after me./i/...,/i/...,/i/...!As you can feel, there is a strong vibration. The vocal cords vibrate to produce this sound. So, when we add an extra /s/ to this vowel, the /s/ sound turns into a /z/ sound. We cannot stop vibrating the vocal cords when adding the /s/ sound to this vowel. The /s/ sound is not a voiced sound, but voiceless. It means it is produced without vibration of the vocal cords. Now, put gently your fingers on your throat and feel if there is vibration or not.Listen and repeat the /s/ sound three times after me.../s/...,/s/...,/s/...!As you can feel, there is no vibration. The vocal cords do not vibrate when pronouncing the /s/ sound.When pronouncing the vowel sound /i/, its vibration reaches the /s/ of the plural form and /s/ turns into /z/. This is the simple logic in the understanding of why we are expected to pronounce the plural form of certain nouns with a /z/ sound, although the word is spelled with (s).Listen and repeat three times after me, both the singular and plural forms of the word tree:tree..., trees...!tree..., trees...!tree..., trees...!Now, let's check out how both the singular and plural forms of the word tree are represented phonetically by using the IPA symbols:/tɹiː/...,/tɹiːz/...!/tɹiː/...,/tɹiːz/...!/tɹiː/...,/tɹiːz/...!Notice that the /z/ sound is neither long nor a strong sound. It has to be pronounced both briefly and very smoothly. Failing in doing this, the articulation of the plural form of certain nouns could sound very foreign to native speakers' ears. The /s/ sound, on the other hand, is usually long and strong.Are consonants sounds voiced too?Vowels are not the only voiced sounds. Some consonants are voiced too. Let's take, for example the word door.door...!Listen and repeat this word three times after me.door..., door..., door...!As you can feel, the last sound in this word is not a vowel sound, but a consonant.  It is the consonant sound /ɹ/.  Some consonant sounds are voiced; it means that the vocal cords vibrate when these consonants are articulated.Now, put gently your fingers on your throat and feel the vibration while pronouncing the consonant sound /ɹ/.Repeat three times after me:/ɹ/..., /ɹ/..., /ɹ/...!As you can feel, there is a strong vibration. The vocal cords vibrate to produce the /ɹ/  sound. So, when we add an extra /s/ to this voiced consonant, the /s/ sound of the plural form turns into a /z/ sound. We cannot stop vibrating the vocal cords when adding the /s/ sound to the /ɹ/ sound to make the plural.Now, let's check out how both the singular and plural forms of the word "door" are represented phonetically by using the IPA symbols:/dɔːɹ/..., /dɔːɹz/...!/dɔːɹ/..., /dɔːɹz/...!/dɔːɹ/..., /dɔːɹz/...!As we noticed before, the /z/ sound is neither long nor a strong sound. It has to be pronounced both briefly and very smoothly. Failing in doing this, your articulation of the plural forms could sound very foreign to native speakers' ears. The /s/ sound, on the other hand, is usually long and strong.That's it for today's program. The pronunciation of plural forms with the /s/ sound will be covered ín our next podcast. This is an ELC academy podcast sponsored by Say it in English...! Your pronunciation improvement is just waiting for you...! Bye,...bye...!

    Learn to recognize and pronounce the SCHWA SOUND.Hi. My name is Enrique and I am the creator of Say it in English...! This is the second podcast of a series that will discuss topics related to American English Pronunciation. Our weekly podcasts are available at iTunes store for free. So check them out and download them when you got the chance.  In today's podcast, we will talk about one of the most important vowel sounds in English: the schwa sound.When it comes the time to pronounce words in English, it is a very common fact that non-native speakers of English tend to omit sistematically the use of an importarnt sound in English phonology: the schwa vowel. It is incredibly fascinating to find out that most EFL (English as Foreign Language Students) are not aware about this sound. The natural consequence is that it is never used, but replaced by non standard vowels coming from the native speaker's mother tongue.Believe it or not, this ignored sound is the most common vowel sound in English. It is always present as part of unstressed syllables. It is never present in stressed syllables.Its articulation is simple. Just keep the lips relaxed and do not open your mouth too much. In matter of fact, the opening of the mouth is little when pronouncing this vowel sound.Repeat three times after me:/ə/ ..., /ə/ ..., /ə/ ...As you can listen, its sound is not definitively clear. It is a reduced vowel sound.Let's take, for example the word lesson. This word has two syllables. One is stressed: less; the other is unstressed: on.                               less-onThe first syllable (less) is stressed, it means that it has to be full pronounced. The vowels and consonants in this first syllable have to be perfectly articulated because this syllable is stressed.On the other hand, the second syllable (on) is not stressed, but de-stressed. This lack of stress makes the syllable week  So, its elements are pronounced faster and without paying too much attention to their careful articulation. The sounds in this second syllable are, in conclusion, reduced. The vowel sound especifically experiments here the greatest reduction. It becomes a non-definite vowel sound called schwa.Let's listen this word again. Pay attention the way the second syllable is articulated.                              less-onNow, let's take a look to its phonetic representation using the IPA symbols:                         /ˈlɛs ən/ The vowel in the second syllable is definitely not an (o), but a schwa.Let's have a little more of the vowel schwa on the next words.cushoncircuslemmongeniusapronaboutNow listen and repeat after me.cushoncircuslemmongeniusapronabout         Now that you are aware about the existence of the schwa, why do not you start finding out what words from the ones you usually use have this sound. Use a dictionary that includes the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols to find out where the schwa sound is. I highly recommend dictionary.com. It is a free dictionary and it has a huge amount of information. It includes the IPA symbols in it. Just write the word in the search box and click the link that says Show IPA symbols.        That's it for today's program. Let's keep in touch with our free podcasts in iTunes store. This is a presentation sponsored by Say it in English...! Your improved pronunciation is just waiting for you...!

Standard dialects of English and other dialects around the world. Hi. My name is Enrique Guerra Medina. I am the creator of Say it in English...! This is the first podcast of a series that will discuss topics related to American English Pronunciation. Today’s podcast is about accents. Many students of English believe that the standard form of American English learned in the classrooms is the only form of American English they can learn, so they usually ask: “Why do I not understand some American native speakers? What’s wrong with me?”The truth is that the formal English that we learn in the classrooms is most of the time so different from the way native speakers talk. Among other reasons, it is due to the existence of what it is called dialects.A dialect is not a minor form of language. It is the way certain community uses the official language, the standard language. Communities from different regions can speak the same language, but differently. The difference can be based on pronunciation, vocabulary and even grammar. There are more than 60 dialects in the USA territory. Among them, the northern and southern dialects, the Boston dialect, the New York dialect, the Texas dialect, and the African American Vernacular English dialect. As you see the list is long. We didn’t mention the dialects from all over the world, but they are more than one hundred, including the more than 30 British dialects, the Australian dialect, the Canadian dialect and other non native speaking countries where English language is spoken.Every single community has its own dialect and, of course, its own accent. English as a Second Language students need to understand this and not to feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable when they face the shocking experience of talking to a native English speaker who has an accent that makes his English a language almost impossible to understand.When such situation occurs, it is the encounter of the two accents that creates the conflict, the interference. Yours and the other’s.Our mother tongue sounds and intonation patterns interfere constantly the way we speak other languages. We tend to speak with an accent. Native English speakers are able to identify almost immediately the particular way you pronounce their language, in spite of hours of intensive and exhausting exercises under the supervision of speech trainers. To get rid of our own accent is the most difficult thing to do. We can try hard for years, but we will never speak like a native English speaker. Our mother tongue will be affecting, in one way or another, our pronunciation. It is not the objective of learning a new language to speak like native speakers do. Some students have the ability to produce an accent very similar, almost identical, to native speakers of English, but this is just a plus in their learning. The purpose in learning a new language is not to have a perfect English accent; but to communicate our thoughts and feelings efficiently. Such proficiency is possible to be reached without sacrificing our own accents.I remember have been part of a multinational meeting. We were 5 persons from different nationalities who tried to arrive to an agreement about a task given during a conversation class. There were two young men from Japan, a woman from India, a Chinese man and a Peruvian guy. I was the last one. We needed to discuss certain information from two small cards. We literally could not understand each other not even a word on our first try, but after a few minutes we could. That day, we had a long discussion about a crucial ethical topic. It was one of the most incredible experiences I ever had.As I said before, accents can interfere our communication, but if we are able to control efficiently the proper sounds of English, I mean vowels and consonants, we will overcome any communication problem. So, for awhile, we will concentrate on the sounds of English as our main concern.The next podcasts will cover progressively information related to vowels, consonants, diphthongs and tripthtongs and the way they have to be articulated in English words. Future works will include topics in intonation patterns and English rhythm as well as the natural speech phenomena, important topic to get fluency and confidence in Spoken English.I hope to help you get a deep understanding of all subjects that will be cover along the next podcasts. Good luck and keep in touch with our weekly podcasts available at iTunes store for free. This is a Say it in English...! podcast. Your improved pronunciation is just waiting for you…