Spoken English Secrets

One of the best strategies you can use to improve your spoken American English is to learn to use syllable stress correctly.

That’s because when you use syllable stress correctly it creates a speech rhythm that sounds familiar to American listeners.

When non native English speakers stress every syllable in a sentence with the same emphasis it creates a flat accent that Americans find very difficult to understand.

There are many syllable stress rules you can learn and apply to improve your accent.  Here are two patterns-

1) 90% of two syllable verbs have stress on the first syllable.

2) Words that end with the suffixes ‘tion’ & ‘graphy’ are stressed on the syllable just before the suffix.

When you apply syllable stress correctly you will be able to reduce your accent and communicate much more effectively in American English.

Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch in spoken language. In spoken English these intonation patterns convey meaning.

In rising falling intonation the speaker’s pitch rises and falls on the focus word in the sentence. Listen to each sentence. The pitch will rise and fall on the focus word.

Statement- He wants to go to the PARty.

Wh question-When are they LEAVing?

Contrast this type of intonation with rising intonation. Rising intonation is used to convey a sense of doubt. Listen to each sentence. The pitch will rise and stay high on the focus word.

He wants to go to the PARTY?

They’re LEAVING?

These are just two of the types of sentence intonation used by Americans to convey meaning. Since intonation is so important to meaning in American English your ability to use intonation correctly will help you improve your accent and help people to understand you.

You can learn all about American English intonation patterns in this course called the American Accent Accent Audio Course.

American English has five letters known as vowels but there are at least 11 simple vowel sounds and 3 diphthongs (although there are some regional differences).

As an example let’s examine the sound of the vowel ‘a’ in two different words.

Say the word ‘apple’. Listen to the sound of the /ae/ The sound of the ‘a’ in ‘apple’ is a lax vowel sound. Your face should feel relaxed and your jaw should drop down a little when you say this sound. Put your hands lightly on your face and say ‘apple’. Your face and jaw should feel relaxed.

Now say the word ‘cake’. Listen to the sound of the /ey/. The ‘a’ in the word ‘cake’ is a tense vowel sound. When you say this sound your face should feel tense and your mouth should be pulled back. Put your hands lightly on your face and say ‘cake. Your face and jaw should feel tense.

Most American English vowels have more than one sound. In order to improve your accent you should try to learn all 14 vowel sounds.

When you are speaking American English a letter ‘t’ that occurs in the middle of a word often sounds more like a /d/.

This sound is called a tapped T and it is one of the main differences between an American English accent and a British accent.

To make the tapped T sound, let your tongue lightly flap against the gum ridge behind your teeth. Do not release a puff of air with this sound.

The tapped T sound occurs in the following situations:

Before unstressed “er” & “or” as in the words: later, better & water.
Before “ing” & “ed” as in the words: shouting & shouted.
Before a unstressed word endings as in the words: city & thirty.
When linking words such as: “cut it out” or “put it on”.

The tapped T is very frequent in spoken American English. Your ability to recognize words that contain this sound will help your comprehension when you are listening to Americans speak. Your ability to use this sound will make your accent sound more American.

There are thousands of professionals living in the United States who need to speak American English clearly and confidently in the workplace. These professionals include doctors, IT managers, accountants, trainers and salespeople.

They know that improving their spoken American English will help them to communicate more effectively with business associates, customers, clients & colleagues.

You may be one of these highly educated professionals. Chances are that your reading, writing and grammar are excellent! Unfortunately, you may have found that your spoken English is so accented that American English speakers don’t always understand you when you speak.

Working with an accent reduction coaching can help you.

Speaking American English with a strong foreign causes frustration and breakdowns in communication. When people fail to understand you, conversations and negotiations fall apart.  Even routine tasks such as answering the phone or giving directions can become painful to complete.

By working with an accent reduction coach, you will learn to recognize and change the sounds and patterns that you unconsciously transfer from your own language to English. You will learn to speak in a way that will allow American listeners to understand you more easily.

An accent reduction coach can identify the pronunciation features that stop Americans from understanding what you are saying.  An accent coach will help you learn the sounds and patterns of spoken English that you need  in order to sound more American.

Most people actually begin to hear English differently after their first accent reduction coaching session. They feel progress with their own speaking after about five weeks.

People who take accent reduction courses are usually highly motivated professionals who are looking for better job opportunities or promotions. increased social opportunities and better cultural understanding.

If this sounds like you, it may be time for you to investigate accent reduction coaching.

The schwa is the relaxed vowel sound that is frequently used in unstressed syllables. This sound is used in both British and American English.

The schwa is made with your tongue sitting in a relaxed position in the center of your mouth. It sounds like “uh”. The phonetic symbol for the schwa sound is /ə/.

Any vowel can sound like a schwa when it occurs in an unstressed syllable.
HELən
THOməs
bəNAnə
pəTAto
əMERəcə
CəNAdiən
techNOLəgy
PRObləm
POLəcy
prəDUCE
prəCEdure
səLUtion
dəLAY
dəLIVer
əCONəmy
phəTOgraphy
phəTOgrapher
PHOtəgraph

Since the schwa is the most common vowel sound in spoken English, it is very important that you learn to use it correctly! Click on the link here to learn more about the schwa vowel sound.