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Greetings!
In this issue, you will learn important tips for improving your speech, as well as intonation patterns for ending statements. You can take these ideas with you and use them in every speaking situation. Also, continue to expand your vocabulary by learning this month's new words. With every one you learn, your language comprehension will improve. As always, we answer questions you have asked through your feedback.
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| Expanding Your Vocabulary |
 This month's vocabulary words include some great words. Try using them whenever you have the opportunity to help build your vocabulary.
1. infamous: pronounced
"IN-fuh-miss: This word means a having a very bad reputation, notorious. For example, "The infamous outlaw killed many innocent people in his lifetime".
2. famous: pronounced "FAY-miss": This word means having a good reputation, widely known, renowned, celebrated. For example, "The mystery writer was famous for his intriguing books.
3. impeccable: pronounced "im-PECK-uh-bul": This word means without fault or error. For example: The little girl at the restaurant had impeccable manners.
4. superfluous: pronounced "sue-PER-floo-wuss": This word means more than is necessary or needed, extra, surplus. For example: All the boxes in that warehouse are superfluous. |
| Intonation Pattern for Ending Statements |
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In American English, we signal when we have completed a thought or sentence by making our pitch go down. This means that every time we come to the end of a sentence, we lower our pitch. If we end with a rising pitch, it tells our listener that we are just pausing or that we have more to say.
If you tend to end your sentences by raising your pitch, you are most likely linking your thoughts together. Each sentence runs into the other one, making everything one long sentence. This is called a "run-on" sentence and can confuse your listener.
By running your sentences together, your listener may have a difficult time separating one thought from another. They may have a dificult time understanding what you are saying because there is just too much information being presented at once.
Try focusing on how you end your sentences when you speak. Does your pitch go down or up? Once you are aware of your current intonation pattern, you can change it if you need to.
Ending statements with the correct pitch is an important part of the American English language and will make a big difference in how otehrs understand you. |
| Question and Answer Corner |
Question: Do I have to register for the 12-week course if I only want to take a few lessons?
Answer: No, with the short program, you can register for up to five classes and pay as you go. If you have something specific you want to review, such as presentation skills, or if you have a very mild accent and want to work on specific sounds, the short-term classes are for you!
Question: What program do you use for accent reduction?
Answer: I developed the Speaking Your Best accent reduction program after years of working in the field. I was trained in other programs, but never really found one that I thought included all the aspects of spoken English. The Speaking Your Best program treats each student as a unique individual, so no two programs are the same. Your goals, as well as information from your speech evaluation go into making your program customized just for you.
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I hope you find the information in this newsletter useful and welcome your feedback and comments.
Sincerely,
cheryl posey
speaking your best, inc. | | |
| The Five Most Important Speaking Tips |
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If I could only give you five tips to help you improve your speaking skills, they would be the following:
1. Speak slowly: No matter what speaking situation you find yourself, remember to speak slowly. This will make your accent less pronounced and give native American English speakers more time to process your speech.
2. Focus on pronouncing the ending sounds of words. Become aware of every final sound in word, especially those that affect grammar. The final "s" on plurals and on the present tense third person singular (ex: walks, talks), and the "ed" past tense endings are all very important.
3. Listen to how native speakers talk and imitate them. Listen to how they pronounce and emphasize words when they speak. Pay attention to how native speakers emphasize important words and how they end statements and questions. Intonation is just as important as pronunciation!
4. Ask for repetitions. If you don't understand a word, epression, or a sentence, ask the speaker to repeat! No one will think badly of you. This is how you learn. Wouldn't you rather ask someone to repeat than to misunderstand what they said?
5. Only speak using gramatic structures you have mastered. Try to avoid speaking in long, complex sentences that you haven't mastered yet. All it does is create more opportunities to make grammar errors. Use grammar that you know well. No one wil think you are stupid. People expect to hear correct grammar, so they will only notice if you make a mistake.
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