This month's issue includes pronunciation techniques and exercises to improve your spoken English skills, and a new idiom of the month to help build vocabulary skills. Also, your questions about our accent reduction classes are answered in our "question and answer corner".
The consonant "r" in English occurs as a consonant, as in the word "right" and as a vowel, as in the words "mother" and "bird". This makes it one of the most frequently used sounds in English! Forming the American English "r" can also be a challenge, as it is usually pronounced quite differently from other languages. In some languages, such as Spanish, the "r" is rolled or trilled and is pronounced with the tip of the tongue quickly touching the roof of the mouth. In other languages, such as French, the consonant "r" is made in the back of the mouth almost like a gutteral sound. To make an American English "r", begin by rounding your lips. As you do this, you will feel your lower jaw come slightly forward. Then, pull your tongue far back in your mouth. The tip of the tongue should never touch the roof of your mouth, but is slightly curved upwards.
Let's take a look at an idiom that uses a food word, which many of American idioms and expressions do! The idiom "a piece of cake" is used to refer to something that is very easy to do. If someone asks you to do something for them and it is an easy task, your response might be "that's a piece of cake". If you are very good at playing a sport, such as tennis, for example, you might say, "Tennis is a piece of cake for me!". Other ways you might use this idiom are when you compare how difficult an event or task is. "Tennis may be a piece of cake for you, but it's very difficult for me!". Try to find a time this month when you can use this idiom when you talk to others.
Question and Answer Corner
Question: Please explain how the video conferencing classes work. Answer: Video conferencing provides a unique opportunity to see and hear your instructor live on your computer. All you need is a high speed internet connection and a webcam, and you are set to go. Connect to Cheryl using SightSpeed's free video conferencing software and talk to her in real time. This means that there is no delay between what you hear and what you see. It's almost like being there!
December tuition savings! Register for the 12-week accent reduction video conferencing class during the month of December and receive 10% off of your tuition!
Pronouncing all the sounds in words is a great speaking technique to practice while you speak to others. Although you don't want to over-exaggerate the sounds in words, focusing on pronouncing all the sounds will help make your speech much easier to understand. This will result in less requests for repetitions. Pay particular attention to the sounds in the middle and at the ends of words, as these are the sounds that tend to be omitted most often. When practicing this technique, try it for short periods of time at first, gradually increasing the length of time you use it as it becomes easier for you. You will soon see that not only your pronunciation improves, but your grammar, as well. In English, regular past tense is determined by the "ed" ending, which can sound like /d/ as in the word "logged", like /t/ as in the word "missed", and like "id", as in the word "decided". If the "ed" ending of past tense verbs is omitted, the verb changes to the present tense. This could confuse your listener and result in miscommunications.
