American English Pronunciation Blog » Pronunciation Exercises

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!

Improve Your English Pronunciation with Popular Songs

susan — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:53:38 +0000

Using songs is an effective and fun way to improve your spoken English. This is a fun and energizing way to improve both listening and pronunciation.

One thing that I like to do in my American English pronunciation classes is sing popular songs with the students. This helps them with English rhythm, linking and intonation.

Carolyn Graham’s Jazz Chants®: Student Book is an excellent way to improve pronunciation.

Click here to see one of the websites I use for using songs to teach English pronunciation.

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!

Pronunciation Practice Technique: Rehearse

susan — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:07:28 +0000

One way to practice your American English pronunciation is to rehearse. This is what I mean.

Before going into a situation where you know you will be conversing with native English speakers, predict how the conversation might proceed. Depending on the context you should be able to anticipate many of the words and phrases that you will need to say.

Review those words and phrases in your head or even write them down. Rehearse the conversation by yourself or make a recording that you can listen to. Use a checklist to remind yourself of the pronunciation features that you are trying to change.

Holding a rehearsal may seem simple but it is a very effective way to practice the pronunciation features you are working on.

If you are not sure what aspects of your pronunciation are contributing to your accent you need to consider an Accent Assessment. Getting an assessment will tell you the specific pronunciations that YOU need to work on in order to improve the way you speak.

IPA for American English

susan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Many of you have written and asked me questions about the IPA and how to read phonetic transcriptions of English words.

I did some searching on the web and found this page from the Antimoon site. The page shows you how to read and write phonetic transcriptions. Each word and transcription has an audio recording using American English. Check it out!

IPA for American English

American English Pronunciation Practice-Mirroring

susan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:25:26 +0000

Lots of people will tell you to watch American television shows to hear authentic examples of American English. That’s an excellent idea but you can take it a step further to get some serious pronunciation practice.

Instead of simply watching your show, choose a character to imitate. As soon as your character starts to speak, try to say exactly what they are saying. Speak right along with the character!

Mirror the character’s spoken English for about 15 seconds at a time. This will really help you get a feel for the way American English speakers use syllable stress, sentence stress, linking and intonation patterns.

Don’t be a couch potato! Put your TV time to work.

Free American English Audio

susan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:00:09 +0000

This is a nice, clean webiste that you can use to listen to and repeat American English words. I like the audio on this site because it’s easy to hear the syllable stress and the schwa sound in reduced syllables.

The site has both audio and video.

American English Audio

The Best Online Dictionary for American English Pronunciation

susan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:00:09 +0000

Lots of my students have asked me what the best online dictionary is for learning to pronounce American English words. I like to use http://dictionary.reference.com/ because they show both the spelled pronunciation and the IPA spelling.

The audio is not terrific though.

The Merriam-Webster ESL Learner’s Dictionary has a great section called Pronunciation Exercises that I frequently recommend to my students.

Pronunciation Games for Vowels, Consonants & Syllable Stress

susan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:31 +0000

Oxford University Press has some online pronunciation games that you may like to try. There are pronunciation games for vowels, consonants and syllable stress. The games have British English audio but the consonants with voiced and voiceless sounds and many of the syllable stress patterns are the same as in American English. I just tried the games and they are quite fun!

Pronunciation Games

3 Strategies for Practicing American English Pronunciation

susan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:27 +0000

Sometimes it’s hard to know how to practice your pronunciation outside of class. Here are three strategies that I use with my students.

1. Use a checklist

Make a checklist of the pronunciation features that you need to work on. You can use the results of your accent assessment or feedback from your pronunciation teacher to make this list. Each day choose one of the pronunciation features that you need to improve and practice it for 20-30 minutes. You can practice using an audio CD, TV, online videos or you can practice with a friend. After a while you can work on 2 or 3 pronunciation features at time.

2. Rehearse

Before going into a situation where you know you will be conversing in English predict how the conversation might proceed. Depending on the context you should be able to anticipate many of the words and phrases that you will need to say. Review those words and phrases in your head or even write them down. Rehearse the conversation a few times aloud. Use your checklist to remind yourself of the pronunciation features that you are trying to improve.

4. Memorize patterns & phrases

Memorize short quotes, dialogues and poems as well as words with difficult syllable stress patterns. Practice saying these over and over while exercising, bathing, walking or driving. I often do this in the car when I am driving alone. I still remember the Spanish dialogs I had to memorize back in high school so I know that this is effective!

Whatever strategies you chose, you must practice consistently, just like you would if you were training for an athletic event or learning to play a musical instrument. Consistent practice will help your mouth and tongue develop the “muscle memory” needed for you to articulate American English sounds correctly.