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When you’re absorbed in listening to a song, you naturally nod your head or move your body based on the rhythm.
There’s a certain rhythm to speaking English too. It may not be as noticeable as loud drumbeats, but there are certain words in sentences that English speakers emphasize – while other words are said more quietly.… Read more “How to Use Sentence Stress to Speak English More Naturally”
English is a “stressed” language.
We’re not literally talking about how stressful English can sometimes be (especially with its contradicting rules!). What we mean is English stresses or emphasizes some words and syllables compared to others. They’re pronounced more strongly with higher pitch, and they even take more time to say.… Read more “7 Stress Rules in the English Language for Perfecting Your Pronunciation”
Say this sentence out loud:
“I need to study English often if I want to be fluent.”
Do you think you pronounced all the vowels correctly?
Without any short vowel sounds, the same sentence would sound something like this:
“I need to stoo-dai een-glai-sh ohften ai-f I way-nt to be fluent.”… Read more “How to Correctly Pronounce Short Vowel Sounds to Enhance Your English Fluency”
Have you thought about teaching your students the schwa sound? Maybe you’re not sure how to approach it, or you figured it’s something they’ll pick up themselves?
You’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll show you how to teach the schwa sound effectively and why its pronunciation should be a priority for all your students.… Read more “How to Teach the Schwa Sound and Boost Your Students’ Fluency”
How many times do you think the R sound appears in this sentence?
“The first time I ever tried to fry chicken, I started a fire!”
Six times!
The R sound is a tricky one in English. Not only is it hard to spot, but it’s also got a variety of pronunciations, depending on which accent from which country you’re talking about.… Read more “How to Pronounce the American R Sound for Fluent Speech”
The schwa sound is perhaps the laziest sound you can make that has the greatest impact on your English fluency.
So what do I mean by “laziest”?
The schwa sound requires hardly any effort to pronounce, and every native English speaker makes the sound entirely unconsciously.… Read more “How to Use the Schwa Sound to Skyrocket Your English Fluency”
Have you found it difficult to teach the R sound to your English students? Or perhaps you’ve had students who avoid working on their pronunciation?
The R sound in English is a particularly hard one to teach and something that many students (and teachers!)… Read more “How to Teach the R Sound in English Using the ESA Method”
If you’ve ever taught children how to speak English, you’ll notice that they tend to have a harder time with vowels than consonants.
In particular, one of the toughest pronunciation points for children would be long vowel sounds. While short vowels are simpler and more intuitive, children often need guidance in saying long vowels properly, especially since these can have different spellings for each word.… Read more “7 Creative Ways to Teach Long Vowel Sounds for Children”
What’s the best way to teach long vowel sounds?
Every teacher will have their own unique approach, but there’s one thing that many effective English language classes have in common: they have a diverse mix of activities that get students naturally curious and interested in the lesson.… Read more “10 Long Vowel Sounds Activities to Fast Track Learning”
Which pronunciation is correct?
“Did you receive that eh-mahl yesterday?”
Or: “Did you receive that ee-meyl yesterday?
These two statements pronounce the word “email” differently. Although “email” has the letters E and A, the correct way to say it would be ee-meyl.… Read more “130+ Essential 2-Syllable Words with Long Vowel Sounds”