American English Pronunciation Blog » learn american accent

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.

Get an Accent Assessment and a Free Summer Bonus

susan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:27:47 +0000

Do you wonder why your American colleagues and friends don’t always understand you when you speak English? Are you frustrated that people continually ask you to slow down or repeat what you said?

It’s time to stop struggling! Find out why your American English pronunciation is causing you problems by getting a personalized accent assessment.

Here are three reasons you should get an Accent Assessment:

You will learn WHY American English speakers don’t understand you.
You will be learn specific techniques you can use to address your pronunciation problems.
You will receive lessons & resources you can use to study and improve your pronunciation.

Sign up for an Accent Assessment during the month of July and I will give you access to my Accent Reduction Essentials Video Course for FREE.

Click on the link above to sign up or find out more.

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.

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

Pronunciation of the Vowel Combination ou

susan — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:00:45 +0000

Continuing on my theme of American English vowels I’m going to write briefly on the pronunciation of the vowel combination ou.

This vowel combination can be pronounced 3 ways in American English. Here are some examples.

ou can be pronounced like /oʊ/

shoulder
soul
though
doughnut
although

ou can be pronounced like schwa /ə/

cousin
enough
country
tough
couple

ou can be pronounced like /aʊ/

loud
sound
south
found
house

If you want to learn more about how to articulate American English vowel sounds you might want to check out Mastering the American Accent with Audio CDs

This excellent book uses illustrated text with an audio CD to show you where to put your mouth, tongue and lips to form each sound.

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.

EyeSpeak English Pronunciation Software

susan — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:00:39 +0000

Lots of people write to ask me about English pronunciation software. One that has recently come to my attention is called EyeSpeak English.

This program teaches English pronunciation through carefully designed content. Words build to sentences using common everyday themes that contain the language you need to know to speak English effectively with friends and in the workplace.

Topics include:

The software package includes over 100 hours of instruction and the price is only $49.95. This is a real value! EyeSpeak offers a 15 day guarantee so if you decide you don’t like the program within the first 15 days you can get your money back.
Check out EyeSpeak English nowand see how you can improve your pronunciation.

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

susan — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:00:26 +0000

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 flatter for the /n/ sound.

However, the /n/ sound is a nasal so you need to force the air through your nose to make this sound. The /l/ sound is a liquid so the air flows along side your tongue and out of your mouth.

Here are a few words with the /n/ & /l/ sounds that may be problematic:
financial, intellectual, international & analysis.

One book that you can use to help you learn these sounds is Ann Cook’s American Accent Training. Ann explains many problems encountered by Chinese speakers in this book and CD set.
American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition)

Reduced & Connected Speech in American English

susan — Sun, 02 May 2010 11:40:57 +0000

This week several of my students asked me if reduced speech was only appropriate in informal situations. I don’t believe that it is.

Whenever people speak, they have a tendency to save energy by connecting sounds together. This connected or reduced speech is not necessarily sloppy or informal, it’s the way most Americans speak English in everyday situations.

Reduced or connected speech may include:

contractions
linking sounds together
sound assimilation
epenthesis or addtion of certain sounds
deletion of certain sounds

There are rules and patterns you can learn that will help you understand and use American English reduced speech forms.

For students of English who want to learn more about reduced and connected speech I suggest Nina Weinstein’s Whaddaya Say?
Whaddaya Say? Guided Practice in Relaxed Speech, Second Edition

Teachers of American English pronunciation can learn all of the technical details of assimilation, epenthesis and deletion by reading Celcia-Murcia and Brinton’s classic book, Teaching Pronunciation.
Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

Intonation Patterns in American English

susan — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:00:48 +0000

Many American English pronunciation courses focus on how to articulate the individual vowel and consonant sounds in the language. Learning to articulate vowel and consonant sounds correctly can be very useful and will help you reduce your accent.

However, learning to use American English stress and intonation patterns can really help you improve the way you speak. Stress and intonation patterns are often easier for students to learn and apply than individual sounds.

Here are a couple of key intonation patterns that you need to learn in order to improve your American English pronunciation.

1. Rising Intonation-When American English speakers ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” the pitch rises as their voices go up at the end of the question.

For example: Are you going to schOOL? or Do you like to eat french FRIES?

2. Falling Intonation-Alternately when American English speakers ask questions beginning with who, where, why, when and how the pitch lowers as their voices fall at the end of the question.

For example: Where is your HOMEwork? or When are they coming Over?

Before you buy a pronunciation or accent reduction course make sure that the course includes lessons on stress and intonation. These topics are sometimes overlooked but they make a huge difference in the way you speak American English.

One of the best book & CD sets for learning about American English intonation patterns is The American Accent Guide, by Beverly Lujan.
You can read about the book here.
The American Accent Guide, Second Edition: A Complete and Comprehensive Course on the Pronunciation and Speaking Style of American English for Individuals of All Language Backgrounds / book and 8 CDs

The reviews of this book are excellent!