I thought while we were on the topic (see my video-my last blog), I would also include the meaning and pronunciation of some common English suffixes and how to say them. Interestingly, I have also noticed that some people have difficulty pronouncing the ‘y’ at the end of words and sometimes leave it off. For example it’s not ‘He was thirst’, it’s …
English Common Endings ‘al’ and ‘el’ Pronounce Correctly- VIDEO
How to say words with English Common Endings ‘al’ and ‘el’ Most English common endings are said with a schwa vowel as they aren’t the most important part of the word. Having said that, English common endings or suffixes, do give us information about the word. I have chosen to make a video about the English common endings ‘al’ and …
Small English Pronunciation Error with a Big Effect- AUDIO
Sometimes it’s the small English pronunciation errors that can have a big effect on being understood easily when you speak. One English pronunciation error, that people make is to leave the /s/ sound out in the /ks/ consonant blend at the end of words. This is especially common if the word after it begins with a consonant also. Just this …
Stop Being Confused- What sound is this in English?
Because English letters can say more than one sound, sometimes it can become quite confusing and students ask me ‘what sound is this in English?’ The vowels in English can be especially confusing. This time I thought I would address the ‘a’ letter/vowel and hopefully reduce the confusion. What English sound is this? In British and Australian standard English, the …
How To Sound Natural In English
While there are lots of elements to sounding natural in English, I’m going to talk about 4 things that I think are key elements that you need to work on and master. These 4 elements of how to get natural English, focus on suprasegmental elements of English. That is stress, rhythm and intonation. 1) Natural English- Right Syllable Stress in …
Cool Food Idioms You Can Find In Your Fridge
I recently shared a post by Analytical Grammar/ Grammar Planet’s post, about all the food idioms you can find just by looking in the fridge! I’ll put the link in at the end of this post, as it’s a cool image as well. In the meantime, what I thought would be fun would be to take 7 of the most …
Don’t Say These 12 Words Wrong- British English and American English-VIDEO
Have you ever made a social faux pas or mistake by using the wrong word in English? I have ! Have a listen to the video and hear what happened . Sometimes the difference between words used in British English and American English does matter! Oh and don’t worry, I talk about Australian English as well. You can also use …
The difference between a British RP and American Accent-VIDEO
One of the differences between a British RP accent and American accent, is that some words of more than one syllable are said with different stress on the syllables. Also listen to the difference in the way the trainer pronounces the vowels in the words for the British RP accent or the American accent. This is another opportunity to practise …
Pronounce These Difficult English Words ‘maths, paths’-Audio Lesson
I know it’s hard enough to pronounce words ending in ‘th’ in English, and then when you add a possessive or plural /s/ it becomes even more ‘fun’! I would like to show you how to pronounce difficult English words such as maths and paths. As I work with students on skype, or face to face, or receive requests via …
English Speaking Fluency- Practise This….
An important element in English speaking fluency is to say words ending in consonant blends in sentences, without leaving out one of the consonants. Then the next level of mastery in English speaking fluency is: To say all the sounds in the consonant blend at the end of words, and at the same time to link the last consonant to …