American English Pronunciation Blog » american english audio

Accent Reduction Books & Audio Courses

susan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:49 +0000

Students who are really motivated to improve the way they speak English should invest in some training. One way to do this is to buy an Accent Reduction or American English pronunciation book with CD’s. There are several books with CD’s that are very affordable.

Here are some of the most popular choices:

1. For people who have never taken an accent reduction or pronunciation class before but read and write English well I recommend Mastering the American Accent.

2. For people who have studied pronunciation before and need to focus on intonation I recommend American Accent Training.

3. People who like audio courses with very detailed descriptions of American English sounds should take a look at Best Accent Training.

Click here to read detailed descriptions and reviews of these accent reduction books and audio courses.

Using books and CDs is a very affordable way for you to improve the way you speak American English!

If you are serious about improving your accent these resources are well worth the small investment.

Feel free to send me an email to ask more about these books and audio courses. I’d be happy to answer your questions!

Learn the Intonation of English with American Accent Training

susan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:07:10 +0000

This week on the blog there have been a lot of you looking for information on American English intonation patterns.

One of the best books for learning and practicing the rhythms and intonations of spoken American English is Ann Cook’s American Accent Training.

American Accent Training includes a book plus 5 CDs that you can use to listen and practice.

Intonation cannot be learned without listening and the 5 CDs in this package give you plenty listening practice.

Here is a short article with some more information about intonation patterns.

American English Pronunciation: The /iy/ and /I/ Sounds

susan — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:00:47 +0000

One of the American English vowel sounds that non-native speakers frequently mispronounce is the /iy/ sound as in the word sheep.

They frequently shorten this sound so that it sounds more like the /I/ sound as in the word ship.

This means that when non-native speakers (especially Spanish & Portuguese speakers) say the word cheap, it sounds like chip. When they say the word seat, it sounds like sit. When they say the word seek, it sounds like sick. When they say the word beach, it sounds like…….well, you know!

Here is an exercise you can use to practice listening to and pronouncing these confusing sounds.

The /iy/ and /I/ sounds.

Good luck!

Reduced Speech in American Spoken English

susan — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:00:26 +0000

I get a lot of questions from people about the reduced speech forms that they hear when they listen to American English conversations. Examples include: gonna, wanna and hafta.

Here is a link to Nina Weinstein’s Voice of America episode on reduced speech. Nina is the author of the book Whaddaya Say. You can see the book by clicking on the link below.
Whaddaya Say? Guided Practice in Relaxed Speech, Second Edition

American English Audio Lesson: The 2 Sounds of TH

susan — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:00:47 +0000

One problem that many or most non-native English speakers face in speaking American English is how to make the two sounds of ‘th’.

Here is a link to a lesson on these two very common sounds. At the end of the lesson is an audio practice activity for you to use.
American English Audio Lesson-The TH Sounds

If you like the lesson, be sure to sign up for my free four week accent reduction course on the page. This is a free introductory course with no obligations!

American English Consonant Sounds

susan — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:45:13 +0000

Did you know that there are 24 different consonant sounds in American English?

When you make these consonant sounds your mouth narrows and the air flow is obstructed by your tongue, teeth and lips. There is a lot of action happening in your mouth when you pronounce consonants so let’s talk more about this.

When you make any consonant sound there are three things that you need to be aware of – the Place, the Manner and Voicing. These are the 3 ’secrets’ for making English consonant sounds correctly that you need to know.

Click on the link below to read more about consonant articulation and listen to a short audio lesson on American English consonant sounds.

English Audio Lesson: Reduced Speech

susan — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:06:03 +0000

Several of my students tell me that they have trouble understanding the spoken English of native speakers. This is not at all unusual.

One reason that native English speakers are difficult to understand is because they often use reduced speech. When native speakers use reduced speech the words seem to run together and this can make it very difficult to understand what they are saying.

Click on the link below to hear a list of phrases that American English speakers commonly reduce in everyday speech. You do not necessarily have to pronounce these reduced phrases, however it is critical that you are aware of them because native speakers use them all the time!

AMERICAN ENGLISH AUDIO REDUCED SPEECH

The very best book for learning to use reduced speech is Nina Weinstein’s Whaddaya Say? Take a look at this great book & CD.

Learn American English Pronunciation with Songs

susan — Wed, 12 May 2010 11:17:33 +0000

One fun and effective way to learn the rhythm of spoken English is to sing songs. In my pronunciation classes last year I used this website called KaraokeParty to teach American English songs to the students and they found that this was very helpful way to practice phrasing, linking and vowel lengthening.

To find the free songs on this site choose Songs and then select the type of music you want. Songs that have a lock or star are for subscribers but there are many FREE songs you can sing along with!

Learn American English pronunciation with songs.

American English Pronunciation: Question Intonation Patterns

susan — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:42:34 +0000

When I was teaching one of my pronunciation classes this week I found out that my students did not know about the two different intonation patterns for questions in American English. Here they are:

1. Use rising intonation when the question can be answered with a “yes” or a “no”.

2. Use falling intonation when the question starts with a “wh” word such as what, when, where, who or how.

Here is some American English audio for rising intonation.

The Importance of the Schwa Sound

susan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:00:02 +0000

This week many people have emailed to ask about the English schwa vowel sound. This vowel sound is found in both American and British English and it is the most common sound in the English language.

The best place to learn about the schwa is here on the BBC website. Be sure to view the funny video at the bottom of the page.

Charlsie Childs has some great lessons on the schwa vowel sound on her CD, Improving Your American English Accent. You can check it out by clicking on the link here. Improve Your American English Accent : Overcoming Major Obstacles to Understanding