Learning pronunciation is like....dancing?

I've recently been listening to the teachings of an excellent and seasoned ESL professional, Adrian Underhill. He shows ESL instructors how to teach pronunciation. The way he explains the process of learning pronunciation is fascinating. He describes it like learning how to DANCE.

In dancing, you need to move certain parts...your legs, arms, feet and hands, not to mention your hips. The same with pronunciation of any language. You need to move your lips, tongue, jaw and voice box.

The two are also similar in that the movement of one affects the movement of another. A slight turn of the hand in dancing leads your partner to turn her body to the side. Tension in your arms and hands helps your partner maintain balance.

In a similar way, dropping your jaw opens your mouth.

Here's an example of the interaction of the different mouth parts:

When speaking English, the tongue and the lips are in opposition, according to Underhill.

When the tongue is forward, the lips are back. So, when you say /i/ like 'leap', your lips stretch wide as if pushing back, and there is tension. Meanwhile, your tongue is pushing forward and toward the top of your mouth.

However, when the tongue is back, the lips are forward. Say 'loose' and push your tongue backward and round your lips. They are forward and rounded now.

Adrian also says that one sound leads into another as you move your mouth parts.

You can test this by using the vowel chart, and starting at /i/ like let, slide from that sound to /Ԑ/  like bet by opening the mouth and dropping the jaw. Then keep opening the mouth and dropping the jaw until you get to/ae/ as it cat.  The tongue stays in front whole time.

What I've learned from Adrian is that I can teach people how to learn through muscle memory. By teaching them how to move their mouth parts in progression, slowly like steps, they will remember. Therefore, constant repetition is not necessary ---movement makes the memory.

As a learner, when you become aware of how you are moving, you are then truly learning!

Growing and changing isn't easy....

So, you're learning to speak American English clearly and confidently? It's not easy, is it? It's challenging. That's how you know you are growing.

Personal growth stretches you and gives you the feeling that you don't fit in your own skin. For me, moving to a new state, North Carolina, has been a big time of change. Even though I'm still living in the United States, the culture is different. The accent is different. Lots of things are different.

For example, yesterday at the grocery store, I was looking for breadcrumbs. I went down the aisle where the past and sauce was kept. I couldn't find breadcrumbs! I walked up and down the aisle 3 or 4 times. My daughter, Adrianna, was getting impatient. So I finally asked a store clerk. He told me that I could find the breadcrumbs in the aisle with all the baking supplies. He said it's different in North Carolina. That's where they put breadcrumbs, next to flour and baking mixes. Interesting....

Driving at night in the countryside is also a big change....no streetlights to guide the way. I never thought it could look so dark outside!

Another difference is the accent - it is in the category of Southern accents. The part I notice the most is the 'long i" sound. It's supposed to sound like /ai/ but it just sounds like /a/. When someone says, "It's right over there," it sounds like "rot over there". "Get" sounds like "git" and "on" sounds like "own". I like the accent. Who knows, maybe after several years living here, I'll pick it up.

Here's another thing - changing your accent happens. You pick it up when you around certain people a lot, like all day long. Coworkers, relatives, classmates all have an influence. But if you choose to be negative about the change that's happening in you, you will not change your accent. You will make a conscious decision. Therefore, when people say, "Go with the flow," they want you to take it easy and be positive. This mental state of relaxation promotes positive growth.

Language reveals a lot!

Language, or specifically the words that make up a phrase, can reveal the attitude or perspective of a culture. And the attitude shown refelcts the values that are important to a culture. In America, for example, there is a 'can do spirit', an importance put on achieving goals, even aggressively, if needed. In a book called Working with Americans: How to build profitable business relationships, authors Allyson Stewart-Allen and Lanie Denslow give some examples of expressions that show the American attitude:

"Run for office" - this phrase expresses that the politician desires to achieve the post so much that he or she will run as if running in a race to win.

"What goes around, comes around." - This means that each individual has the power to influence another, so use your power wisely. Your bad or good behavior will eventually come back to meet you!

Here are a few I have thought about:

"Just do it." - a classic Nike ad that demostrates Americans' willingness to take risks, even big ones, to achieve higher and higher goals.

"Go for it." - similar to "Just do it".

"You can't win if you don't play." - This phrase is often used when talking about the lottery. It's a common desire to win the lottery, but you will never win if you don't buy a ticket. The phrase can also mean that if you don't take a risk to do the action required, you won't achieve the end result.

The last comment I want to make is to all of the people who wonder why American English has so many expressions from sports. The answer: Americans put a big emphasis on winning, or achieving, just as athletes focus on winning the game, achieving the championship!http://english4professionals.webs.com