University bound students need advanced linguistic skills that will enable them to participate in discussions and seminar-type settings.

Chinese speakers who want to speak English well need to learn many new speaking skills  including syllable stress, linking, intonation as well as some vowel and consonant sounds.

If you are a Chinese speaker who wants to get into an American University, you many want to consider some American English pronunciation or accent reduction classes. This type of training will help you in your academic and professional career.

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The /ng/ sound is a voiced, nasal sound. To articulate this sound you must raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate and push the flow of air which through your nose.

This will feel unusual at first but don’t worry, it will help you articulate the sound completely.

Chinese speakers who want to speak English more clearly should consider accent reduction coaching.

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American English speakers link many words together, especially the smaller function words. Linking creates smooth transitions between words in a phrase or sentence and gives your speech a smooth sound.

Here are 3 rules for linking words when you are speaking English.

1. When the same consonant sound is found at the end of the first word and the beginning of the next word pronounce them as one long sound (Consonant +Consonant). For example:

• team mate sounds like teammate
• that time sounds like thattime
• bus stop sounds like busstop

2. When a consonant sound ends one word and is followed by a vowel sound make the consonant sound part of the second word (Consonant +Vowel). For example:

• save it sounds like savit
• called up sounds like calledup
• turn around sounds like turnaround

3. When a vowel sound is at the end of one word and the beginning of the next word add a /y/ or a /w/ sound between them (Vowel + Vowel). For example:

• sounds like do/w/ it
• sounds like see /y/it
• sounds like I/y/ am

Here is some more information on linking and liaisons in American English.
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Course participants learn the following accent reduction techniques:

• How to use syllable stress correctly so that Americans will understand you
• How to pronounce the /w/ sound (this sound has several spellings)
• How to pronounce  the voiced and voiceless th sounds (2 of the most common sounds)

All accent reduction coaching is done live online using Skype video. Lesson plans and course materials  are be sent to you in advance of each session.

To learn more about how accent reduction coaching can help you speak English more clearly you can follow this link-Learn American Accent Online

Dropping word final sounds both contributes to your accent and creates grammatical errors that will confuse American listeners.

Keep in mind that word final S has 3 sounds in spoken English. In the word boys the S has a voiced /z/ sound. In the word washes the S has a voiced /ez/ sound. In the word stops the S has a voiceless /s/ sound.

Voicing is important in American English because vowels that occur before a voiced sound get extra length when you are speaking.

In my accent reduction coaching sessions I have found that my Chinese and Spanish speaking clients often have these type of pronunciation problems.

There are several great accent reduction books that you can use to learn these techniques. My favorite book for self study is called Mastering the American Accent.

Learning to use syllable stress is one of the most effective techniques that Chinese speakers (and speakers of most other languages) can use to improve their English pronunciation.

This is how it works.

In English words with two or more syllables, one syllable always receives extra stress or emphasis. The vowels in stressed syllables are longer and articulated with a slightly higher pitch than the vowels in unstressed sylllables.

When you stress the syllables in words correctly, people can understand you much more easily! When you stress the syllables in words incorrectly, people have to work hard to understand you and the message gets lost.

Here is a link to a chart you can use to view some examples of English syllable stress.

Pronounce your voiced final consonant sounds more clearly.

In American English some of the most common voiced consonant sounds are: /b/,/d/, /g/, /ð/,/z/, /r/, /m/, & /n/. You need to make sure that you pronounce these sounds correctly, especially when they occur at the end of a word.

Pronouncing voiced consonants is so important because when a word ends with a voiced consonant sound the preceding vowel sound is lengthened.

Here are two examples:

The word cap has a short vowel sound. The /æ/ sound is said very quickly.  However, in the word cab the vowel sound is lengthened because it precedes the voiced /b/ sound. This word sounds more like caab.

The word pick has a short vowel sound. The /ɪ/ sound is said very quickly.  However, in the word pig the vowel sound is lengthened because it precedes the voiced /g/ sound. This word sounds more like piig.

When you lengthen the vowel sounds before voiced consonants your words much easier for American listeners to understand.

Want to learn more? Take action and get yourself an accent reduction book, CD or audio course. You’ll need some help if you really want to reduce your accent and speak so Americans can understand you.

The answer is probably not.

However, you can modify your accent so that people can understand you much more easily. An accent reduction coach can teach you to modify the features of your current pronunciation that contribute most strongly to your accent.

For Spanish speakers that often means learning to pronounce word endings such as the -ed  more clearly. For Chinese speakers accent reduction often involves learning to use syllable stress correctly. Indian speakers usually need to learn to use American English intonation patterns such as falling intonation.

You can modify your accent so that native English and other world English speakers will understand you more easily. But you will probably need some help.

Contact an accent reduction coach for a free consultation. There is no obligation and you will undoubtedly learn some insights and techniques that you can use to reduce your accent.

Here is my response:

When we say the word “it” in a sentence the sound of the T changes. The location of the T within a word or phrase determines its sound.

There are two things that you may be hearing.
1. T’s that occur at the ends of words do not have a lot of aspiration like they do when they occur at the beginning of words. T’s that occur at the ends of words are called “held t”.

2. When a T is between 2 vowels as in the phrase “think it over” the T sound becomes a /d/ sound. This is called the “tapped t”.

When people say the word “it” alone you may hear a strong T sound. You will not hear this strong T when “it” is in (idizin) a sentence.

Great question!

Reduced speech usually involves using the schwa vowel sound /ə/ for the vowels in reduced syllables.

Here are a few examples:

• want to sounds like wannə
• going to sounds like gonnə
• got to sounds like gottə
• have to sounds like haftə
• has to sounds like hastə

You probably don’t want to use reduced speech with your boss. That would be too informal. However, you would want to use it with your American friends.

One of the best accent reduction books (and audio) for learning about reduced speech in American English is Nina Weinstein’s Whaddaya Say?