susan | American English Pronunciation Blog

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Accent Reduction Tips for Spanish Speakers

Image via Wikipedia One of the most problematic American English vowel sounds for Spanish speakers is the /ı/ sound. I call this sound /ı/ as in Silver. The /ı/ is a relaxed sound. That means that you need to relax your facial muscles in order to say the sound correctly. Spanish speakers often over pronounce

How to practice the /w/ sound

Many of my accent reduction clients from India, Turkey, Germany and Russian speaking countries need some instruction on the American /w/ sound. I teach them that the /w/ sound in American English is articulated with the lips rounded. The teeth do not touch the lips to make this sound! ~ Here’s a short exercise

My iPad book for the American Accent

You are probably here on my ConfidentVoice blog because you are one of those motivated people, looking for the very best resources for learning to speak with a clear American accent. ☝ There are tons of websites, books, CD’s and podcasts that you can use to improve the way you speak American English. Some of

Do I need to know the IPA to improve my American English pronunciation?

I receive lots of questions from people about the IPA symbols used for American English vowel and consonant sounds. Here is some basic information. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system that was developed to represent the sounds of spoken languages. The system uses characters from the Latin and Greek alphabets. IPA symbols include

American English Pronunciation: The Best Pronunciation Dictionary

Each week I receive lots of questions from people asking about the best online dictionary for American English pronunciation. I usually use Merriam Webster, but I don’t love it.☹ The dictionary’s audio voice articulates the sounds at the ends of words too strongly. There are also LOTS of advertisements….but it’s free so we can’t complain.

American English Pronunciation: How to Make the /n/ & /l/ Sounds

If you are a Chinese speaker who is working to improve your American English pronunciation, you may have found that you’re having trouble with your /l/ & /n/ sounds. Don’t worry!! This is a very common problem & you can fix it. ✔ The /n/ & /l/ sounds are articulated in almost the same manner.

Why don’t people understand me when I speak English?

All of the people who I work with in my accent reduction coaching program are: well educated professional career oriented successful ✪ Still, many of them speak English with an “accent” that American listeners find difficult to understand.✪ They are working with me in order to understand WHY American listeners don’t always understand them and

American English Pronunciation Video Tutorials

One excellent tool that I use with all of my accent reduction clients is the American English pronunciation software developed at the University of Iowa. The Phonetics Software shows you how to pronounce all of the American English vowel and consonant sounds using audio and video samples. The animated diagrams show you how to move

Lose or Loose? What’s the difference?

This morning one of my accent reduction coaching clients asked me: What’s the difference between the words lose & loose? Here is my step by step answer: Phonetically, the verb lose sounds like luwze. The vowel sound is /uw/ as in Blue. The S has a /z/ sound. Phonetically, the adjective loose sounds like luwse.

Those American O’s!

OK, this post is for all you Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese speakers…let’s take a minute to talk about those American O sounds. My accent reduction clients who speak Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese often ask me to work with them on the sounds of O. They find the letter O rather confusing…and I totally

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