Oral Reading
One of the simplest and most often overlooked techniques towards self-improvement as far as spoken English for foreigners is concerned is oral reading. In fact, studies done on English language learners (ELLs) show that frequently engaging the students in oral reading activities not only helps to develop English fluency, but also has a motivating effect on other students when they hear their classmates speak and actually improve with each activity. When doing oral reading exercises, try to keep the following in mind:
- Do not read in a monosyllabic tone. Try to understand the text that you are reading and give voice to the thoughts behind the written words.
- Storybooks are the best for oral reading practice since they actually allow for simulated conversations. Try to act out the words spoken by each character in the book.
- Record yourself while doing oral reading exercises so that you can catch your mistakes in grammar, intonation and rhythm and correct yourself the next time.
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Sheri Summers If you would like to learn more about how Americans are REALLY speaking English, I recommend the American Accent Audio Course. If you would like to have person-to-person contact to get live help with your accent, I recommend the American Accent Workshop. |
Pronunciation Tip- Blending with R
Here is a tip that can help you if you have problems saying combined sounds like GR, TR, and BR.
You need to start the R before you finish the first sound.
If you finish the first sound and then start the next one, you will get a small extra vowel sound between the two. So instead of saying GREAT, you might say GuREAT.
If the first sound allows it, pull your tongue back to make the R as you start the first letter.
For example, you don't need your tongue to make a B sound so you can start pulling your tongue back the same time you make the B. Then BR like in BREAD comes out smoothly.
For the GR and TR where you need to use your tongue for the first letter, start rounding your lips for the R as you say the G or T.
Then you will be ready for words like GREAT and TRAIN.
It takes a bit of practice but you can do it with some work.
VOA News Report on Using Social Media for Job Searches
As you may know, I am a big fan of Voice of America's (VOA) Special English program. They have a tons of news programs spoken fairly slowly. The reason I like this is because it helps you really hear the sounds of each word. The only thing you have to watch out for is word connections. Since everything has been slowed down so much, you may not hear the words being linked together.
You can find many more videos and podcasts at http://voaspecialenglish.com.
How to pronounce THE
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Someone just asked me how to pronounce the word THE.
He says he sometimes hears /th^/
sometimes /thiy/
sometimes /th'/
sometimes /d^/
He wanted to know which one was correct.
The first three are correct. The fourth one is used but I don't recommend it for you unless you want to use a lot of street talk.
/th^/ is the dictionary form and what you would hear when people speak slowly and clearly.
The dog walked into the room.
/thiy/ is what you use before a vowel.
The egg and the apple are near the ice.
/th'/ is what we generally use before a consonant (and occasionally a vowel.) It is the reduced words and the most common way to use THE in everyday speech.
The boy ate the apple and the banana.
Notice how I used it before both a vowel and a consonant?
If you pay close attention to how native English speakers say THE, you will be able to hear the variations. Just make sure you ask yourself why that version was used for that situation. It will help you as you start to use them in your own speech.
Fast and Easy Answers about Grammar
While I mainly focus on English pronunciation nowadays, many people still have a lot of questions about grammar.
Here is a great (totally free) resource with answers to 55 common questions such as…
A lot or Alot?
A or An?
Accept or Except?
Acronyms and Initialisms?
Active or Passive Verbs?
Affect or Effect?
All Ready or Already?
Allusion or Illusion?
Among or Amongst?
Among or Between?
Amount or Number?
And or But to begin a sentence?
If you have wondered about any of these, don't feel bad. These are questions that native English speakers have, too.
Get answers to these and many more at http://www.drgrammar.org/frequently-asked-questions#95
I hope it is helpful.
Pronouncing BAD and BED
James asked me how to distinguish between the words bad and bed. Here is what I told him and I thought you might like to hear, too…
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Foreign Accents Can Cause Doubt
The University of Chicago has an interesting article out on how a heavy foreign accent can make people less believable. It makes me a little sad, but you may find that non-native speakers of your native language who have heavy accents are sometimes wrongly judged, too.
Read it and let me know what you think…
Foreign accents make speakers seem less truthful to listeners, research shows
A foreign accent undermines a person's credibility in ways that the speaker and the listener don't consciously realize, new research at the University of Chicago shows.
Because an accent makes a person harder to understand, listeners are less likely to find what the person says as truthful, researchers found. The problem of credibility increases with the severity of the accent.
Have You Made Any Funny Pronunciation Mistakes?
Have you ever made a mistake with your English pronunciation and said something funny or embarrasing when you didn't mean to?
I know I have!
Many times.
I ended up asking for a room (pang) in Korean instead of bread (ppang). And one poor guy in Portugal was very surprised when I told him I had a massage for him instead of a message (mensagem.)
I also remember being embarrassed when my friend's mother offered her French guests cravates (neckties) instead of crevettes (shrimp) for dinner. But they were very kind and accepted her invitation.
You may know what I mean. We all make mistakes It happens all of the time. 
Have you accidently said something funny or embarrassing in English because your pronunciation was wrong?
Please tell us your story in the comments area. I, for one, look forward to reading it.
Pronouncing “How Are You?”
How are you?
We say it all the time. It's a part of everyday life.
Are you saying it correctly? What word has the most stress on it?
Is it How? Is is Are? Is it You?
It makes a difference.
Well, the answer is- it depends.
Every English sentence always has one word that is the most stressed. It has the highest pitch. It is also a little bit longer than other words.
Whenever you stress a word, you point to it. Sometimes it is to give information or an opinion, and other times it is to highlight it or contrast it with another word.
So this is how the typical greeting exchange works.
The first person wants to know your state of being. Are you well? Are you happy? Are you upset? So person 1 is going to put the stress on the word ARE to inquire about the state of being.
How are you?
The second person answers Fine, but then wants to direct the question back to the first person. In other words she is saying, We are finished talking about me, now let's talk about you. There is a contrast between me and you. So the second person says.
Fine, how are you?
Listen to the normal exchange.
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By the way, did you know the same thing often happens when 2 people are thanking each other?
Person 1: Thank you.
Person 2: No, thank you.
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Broken Down Sentence
Here is something fun and potentially ear-opening.
Listen to how I break a sentence down into very small pieces. I do this so you can hear how each part is really sounds. You may not have noticed, for example, how people are saying d' instead of to.
Here is the sentence…
I've got to go to the bank.
go
go to
go to the
go to the bank
gotta go to the bank
I've gotta go to the bank.
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Try it out with me in the exact way I am saying it. See how it feels as you say it like this. Is there anything that you are normally saying differently?
Once you get the hang of the new style, try adjusting the words slightly and get used to how it rolls off your tongue.
For example, you could try…
I've got to go to the dry cleaners.
We've got to go to school.
I have to go to work.
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