Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Most non-native English speakers have problems articulating the two ‘th’ sounds that we use so frequently in in spoken American English.
Here is a link to a lesson on the 2 ‘th’ sounds. At the end of the lesson is an audio practice activity that [...]
Posts under ‘chinese speakers’
American English Audio Lesson: The 2 Sounds of TH
American English: Don’t Drop Word Final ‘ed’
I meet many non-native English speakers who have excellent grammar. However, they do not articulate word final consonant sounds strongly enough and this contributes to their accent.
One word final sound that many people fail to articulate is the past tense ed. Failing to pronounce the ed will definitely contribute to your accent!
Most of my students [...]
American English Vowel Sounds-How Can You Tell the Difference?
Last week, I was working on vowel sound articulation with one of my accent reduction coaching students. We were working on the tense /iy/ sound in the words feet & leave and the lax /I/ sound in the words fit & live.
My student, a project manager at an international communications company, said “but Susan, I [...]
American English Pronunciation: Linking and Liasons
Linking happens in every English sentence. We connect two words together when the first word ends in a vowel sound and the next word begins with the same vowel sound.
that table sounds like thattable
next time sounds like nexttime
We also connect words when the first word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins [...]
Syllable Stress Patterns: Compound Words
Those of you who read my blog frequently know that using syllable stress correctly is one of the very best ways to improve your comprehensibility when you speak English. That said, here are a few syllable stress patterns for compound words that you may find useful.
Compound nouns are stressed on the first word in the [...]
American English Pronunciation Tip-Don’t Drop Word Final Sounds!
Many non-native English speakers tend to drop word final consonants such as the S sounds in words such as: boys, washes and stops.
When you do this it contributes to your accent and it creates grammatical errors that will confuse your listeners.
Keep in mind that word final S has 3 sounds in spoken English. In the [...]
Linking within Words for Smoother Speech
If you are an advanced student of American English pronunciation you have probably learned about linking (or liaisons). Linking refers to the connections between words. Ann Cook, author of American Accent Training, says that these connections “allow us to speak in sound groups” instead of word by word.
Spoken English has linking between words and also [...]
American English Pronunciation: How to Make the /n/ & /l/ Sounds
Chinese speakers from some dialects tend to confuse word medial and word final /l/ & /n/ sounds when they are speaking English. This causes communication problems and contributes to your accent.
The /n/ & /l/ sounds are articulated in almost the same manner as the tongue touches behind the tooth ridge. The tongue is a bit [...]
American English Pronunciation: The R & L Sounds
In spoken American English both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are called “liquids”. That’s because the air stream moves around the tongue in an unobstructed manner. Both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are voiced so you should feel a vibration in your throat when you say them.
When you make the light /l/ sound, the tongue [...]
American English Pronunciation: R Colored Vowels
The American English r is a very difficult sound for many non-native speakers to articulate correctly!
The American English r sounds like /ɚ/. The sound is made by bunching the middle of the tongue high in the back of the mouth and rounding the lips. The tip of the tongue curls up a bit, but it [...]
