Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? I see that there has been a lot of “buzz” on the web lately about an American English pronunciation book and CD set called Pronounce Pro. The book and audio were developed by an American English pronunciation teacher in California.
I haven’t used the book [...]
Posts Tagged ‘learn american english pronunciation’
Pronounce Pro American English Pronunciation Book & CD
American English Pronunciation Classes
This is a great story about the power of pronunciation classes-
Foreign born scholars at the University of California at Berkeley found that spoken English is a tricky subject. Before the class, few of the scholars had help identifying their specific English pronunciation issues and how to overcome them. That’s why many of them were willing to pay [...]
American English Pronunciation with Pictures and Audio
The Language Guide website features excellent pictures and audio files that you can use to improve yourAmerican English pronunciation. I use this with the students at the school where I work in Washington, DC and they have found it to be an excellent resource.
American English Audio.
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American English Listening Practice with the VOA (0)
Pronunciation of [...]
Syllable Stress-The Quickest Way to Improve Your American English Pronunciation?
Many pronunciation experts say that learning to use syllable stress in words is the best way to improve your American English pronunciation. That’s because when you use American English syllable stress correctly you create the speech rhythm that Americans use to identify words.
Although you can’t see syllable stress in the written form of the language, you [...]
American English Pronunciation-The Schwa Vowel Sound
Many of you have been asking me about the schwa vowel sound. Here is a brief description.
The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in North American English. The schwa sounds like “uh”. It is pronounced with the mouth very relaxed. The IPA symbol for schwa is /ə/.
Below are some common words that have [...]
American English Pronunciation & Accent Reduction Books
My new favorite accent reduction book for intermediate to advanced students is called Mastering the American Accent, by Lisa Mojsin. I really like the organization of topics and the American English pronunciation exercises in this book.
One of my favorite American English pronunciation books for teachers are Teaching American English Pronunciation, by Peter Avery and Susan Ehrlich. You can read my [...]
Linking in American English
American English speakers use linking to join words toegether so that they are easy to say and flow together smoothly. It often sounds like people are saying one long word since they are no spaces between words.
Here are 2 common types of linking in American spoken English.
Consonant to vowel linking
When words that end in a [...]
American English Intonation Patterns
Perhaps you have heard people say that intonation is the melody or the music of spoken American English. That’s because English speakers use different types of intonation or pitch patterns in phrases and sentences.
These intonation patterns are extremely important because they convey meaning. If you are not aware of how Americans use these pitch [...]
Accent Reduction Tip-The Dropped T Sound
English is not always pronounced the same way that it’s written and that is the cause of many pronunciation problems. One sound that American English speakers frequently drop is the /t/ sound.
The /t/ sound is often dropped after the /n/ sound in spoken American English. This is very natural and it helps speakers to pronounce clusters [...]
