American English Pronunciation Blog » learn american english pronunciation

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.

Pronounce Pro American English Pronunciation Book & CD

susan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:00:28 +0000

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 in my accent reduction classes but if you are a learner who likes a pronunciation book with lots of dialogs and mouth diagrams you might want to check it out. You can also download the audio files for immediate access.

Pronounce Pro American English Pronunciation Book & CD

American English Pronunciation Classes

susan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:00:44 +0000

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 for American English pronunciation classes.

After an online speech evaluation the scholars learned to identify and create American English sounds that they do not have in their native languages — as well as to understand the importance of using the correct sentence stress and intonation.

American English Pronunciation with Pictures and Audio

susan — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:00:44 +0000

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.

Syllable Stress-The Quickest Way to Improve Your American English Pronunciation?

susan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:00:58 +0000

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 need to know that in spoken English one syllable in each word always receives strong stress or emphasis while the other syllables are reduced.

For example- 90% of two syllable English nouns are stressed on the first syllable and 60% of two syllable English verbs are stressed on the second syllable.

The vowels in stressed syllables take on a special quality in spoken English. These vowels are lengthened and pronounced with a high pitch. This makes words sound comprehensible to American listeners. When you are speaking you really need to lengthen the vowels in stressed syllables!

The vowels in reduced syllables are not pronounced long and clear. Instead these vowels are pronounce with the “schwa” sound which is a low pitched “uh”. The symbol for the schwa vowel sound is /ə/.

That means that when you pronounce 2 syllable words such as PEN-cəl and STU-dənt, you put strong emphasis on the first syllable. The second syllable is reduced.

This combination of stressed syllables with long vowel sounds and reduced syllables with the schwa vowel sound create a speech rhythm that is very American.

To learn more on how to apply syllable stress read my article called Syllable Stress in American English.

American English Pronunciation-The Schwa Vowel Sound

susan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:00:20 +0000

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 the schwa vowel sound. You can see that there are many spellings for this sound.

was
done
does
us
what
tough

When you are speaking American English the vowels in stressed syllables have a long clear sound but the vowels in unstressed syllables are usually reduced. They are said quickly with a low pitch. In fact many vowels in unstressed syllables are so reduced that they sound like a schwa /ə/.

The combination of stressed syllables with long clear vowel sounds and reduced syllables with the schwa vowel sound create a distinctly American English speech rhythm.

Listening & Understanding American English Speakers

susan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:15 +0000

One of my most thoughtful students wrote this week to tell me that he has a very difficult time understanding American English speakers. In response to his concern I will explain a few listening strategies you can use to increase your understanding of spoken English.

1. Anticipate and predict what might be said

Before going into a situation where you will be conversing with a native English speaker think about the context and predict how the conversation might proceed. You should be able to anticipate many of the words and phrases that the English speaker will say.

Review those words and phrases in your head or even write them down. This way you will be more ready to hear these words and phrases should they occur.

2. Don’t try to understand every word

Don’t listen for every word! American English speakers pronounce content words and focus words with more emphasis than the other words in a sentence or phrase. That’s because content and focus words are the most important for meaning. The other words, called function words, are reduced in the spoken language.

Listening for content and focus words reduces the amount of inofrmation you have to translate and it will help you focus on the most important words. Click here to read more about content and focus words.

3. Practice listening using online resources

One of the best online resources for practicing listening comprehension is

http://www.esl-lab.com

This is how I suggest you use the listening exercises you’ll find here.

First look at the title of the lesson and make some predictions about what words and phrases you might hear in the story.

Then look at the vocabulary words in the pre-listening exercises and make a few more predictions.

Then listen to the audio without looking at the text. Try to focus on the content and focus words (the words with the most emphasis).

After that check your comprehension by listening to the audio as you read the text. Notice which words and phrases you didn’t understand and make a note of them.

American English Pronunciation & Accent Reduction Books

susan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:00:12 +0000

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 review of that book by clicking on the link above.

To read reviews of the most popular American English pronunciation books for students including Mastering the American Accent, please visit my Confident Voice Bookstore.

Linking in American English

susan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:00:23 +0000

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 consonant sound are adjacent to words that begin with a vowel sound the consonant sound becomes part of the second word. To link these words together hold the consonant sound of the first word until you say the vowel sound of the second word.

Here are some examples:

1.. likes it = likes-sit

2. laughed at = laught-tat

3. explain it = explain-nit

In the above phrases the consonant is the last sound of the first word and the first sound in the adjacent word.

Vowel to vowel linking

When words that end in a vowel sound are adjacent to words that begin with a vowel sound English speakers add a /y/ or /w/ sound to link them together.

Here are some examples:

1. too + early = toowearly

2. who + is + it = whowizit

3. I + am = Iyam

If you can use linking when you are speaking with Americans your accent will improve and people will understand you more easily!

Eva Easton has some nice lessons on linking in English pronunciation on her website.

You can also read and print my article called Improve Your American English Pronunciation and Reduce Your Accent With Linking.

American English Intonation Patterns

susan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:11:57 +0000

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 or intonation patterns you could risk confusing or offending your listeners.

Here are some examples of how American listeners interpret pitch patterns:

If your pitch is very high it indicates that you are surprised.
If your pitch is very low it could indicate that you feel angry.
If your pitch is too neutral it may indicate that you are uninterested in the conversation.

Using the correct intonation is vital if you want to perfect your English communication skills. Please click here to read my article about intonation in American English.