De-stressed Function Words | English Pronunciation

Posted on May 16, 2012 in English Lessons, Pronunciation | 0 comments

My students often tell me that Americans speak too fast, and that makes us difficult to understand. But actually, it's not so much our speed that makes us difficult to understand, it's how we de-stress our function words and transform the way our words sound with connection speech. This change in sound is the major difference between written English and spoken English.

Seasons of the Year | English Vocabulary and Pronunciation

Posted on Apr 25, 2012 in English Lessons | 0 comments

There are four seasons of the year in America, though the temperature and the weather across the country varies widely from coast to coast!

4 Key Steps to Improving Your American English Pronunciation and Accent

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 in English Lessons | 0 comments

So many of my students ask me how to improve their American English pronunciation and wonder if it's even possible. My answer is always the same -- improving your pronunciation is absolutely possible with these key steps and putting the time into practice, practice, practice.

How to Improve Your American English Pronunciation | Lessons & Audio

Posted on Apr 15, 2012 in Pronunciation | 0 comments

Improving your American English pronunciation skills will allow you to be understood when speaking and will improve your listening skills by understanding how Americans speak! Elemental English's series on "How to Improve your English Pronunciation" includes lessons on:

Stress and Rhythm Connected Speech

• Part 1: Connected Speech & Linking
• Part 2: h-deletion

Consonants

• “th” [θ] [ð] Pronunciation

Vowels

• [ɛ] vs. [æ] | English Vowel Pronunciation
• [i] vs. [I]  | English Vowel Pronunciation

Vocabulary Pronunciation

• How to Order at Starbucks (Part 1)
• How to Order at Starbucks (Part 2)
• Fruit Vocabulary and Pronunciation
• How to Order at a Restaurant
• Months of the Year
• The weather
• Dating in America
• Money

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“h”-deletion | Connected Speech in English Pronunciation (Part 2)

Posted on Mar 20, 2012 in English Lessons | 0 comments

Connected speech is a pronunciation technique that native English speakers unconsciously use to speak faster and with more flow. One way in which English speakers connect their speech is by deleting the [h] sound in the beginning of words. By deleting [h], we can connect two words and go directly into the vowel sound.

Time Expressions in English

Posted on Mar 16, 2012 in ADVERBS, English Lessons, GRAMMAR | 0 comments

There are plenty of words in English that can help us clarify exactly or approximately when an action did or did not happen. Here is a lesson on how to use eight of these time expressions.

Stress and Rhythm in American English Pronunciation

Posted on Mar 3, 2012 in Podcast, Pronunciation | 5 comments

Many students think that learning English is about learning grammar, consonants, vowels, and vocabulary. These form the basic foundation of a language, however, if you want to be understood when speaking American English, and if you want to understand native speakers, it is essential that you improve your stress and rhythm.

Connected Speech & Linking | American English Pronunciation

Posted on Mar 1, 2012 in English Lessons, Podcast, Pronunciation | 0 comments

One of the most important aspects of pronunciation and listening is to understand that Americans don't just speak fast--as many students believe--but that they connect their words and change the sounds of words.