Why do you need accent training?

There are many reasons why people who speak another language want to improve their accents.

See if these are some of your reasons:

1) People can't exactly get your point sometimes. It seems like you have to repeat yourself several times. Even then, you are not sure if your message was completely successful. You end up sending an email just to clarify.

2) Even though you might not care what others think of you, something about the way you speak affects your confidence. You feel that if you could just pronounce English more correctly, you would feel better about yourself. It's like buying a new pair of shoes. You would shine!


3) You feel that if you spoke more eloquently, or more like a native speaker, you would be offered better job roles, leading to more career advancement. Like it or not, the more you can fit into your company or industry's culture, the more you will rise to the top!

4) You just want to perfect some problem areas. You always pronounce a certain word incorrectly, so you want to learn the rules or just the correct way to pronounce it. It is a personal achievement to say that you have accomplished correct pronunciation.

Which category do you fit into? More than one?

Please leave a comment describing your pronunciation difficulties. I promise to write back!

and visit http://english4professionals.webs.com for more information on how to improve.

Did you catch that?

If you did not grow up in the United States, chances are that there are some strange pronunciation rules about American English that you didn't learn in your native country. So, when you got here, you heard people speaking and couldn't catch the meaning of some sentences. At first you thought it was strange, but after time, you saw some patterns in some of the everyday expressions. For example, when someone asked "What's your name?", did it sometimes sound like "Whatcher name?" Instead of the "ts + y" sound, it changed to "ch" sound. Have you noticed that? Look at a few more examples and then I will introduce some other patterns.

1. /t/ + /u/ = "ch"
Examples: Can I "getchu" something?  "Cantchu" do it?" "Whatchu" want? I'll "letchu" know. "Haventchu" done it yet? I "betchu" he won't come. 

This pattern also happens in words that have a t+u spelling:
Examples: actually "actchually"; virtual "virtchual"; natural "natchural".

2. /z/ + /j/ = "zh" (the word "your" becomes "zhur")
Examples: Who "doezhur" nails? "Whenzhur" birthday?
"Whenzhur" birthday? "Whozhur" doctor?

This pattern also happens in words that have an s + u spelling:
Examples: casual "cazhual"; usual "uzhual"; version "verzhion".

3. /s/ + /j/ = "sh" (you becomes "shu")
Examples: "Yeshu" can. "Bleshu". 

This pattern also happens in words that have sur spelling:
Examples: insurance "inshurance"; sure "shure".

4. /d/ + /j/ = "ja"
Examples: "Didja" like it? "Couldja" come here? You tried "jer" best. "Congrajalations".

This pattern also happens in words that have d + i or d + u spellings:
Examples: individual "indivijual"; gradual "grajual"; educate "ejucate".

I hope this helps in your speaking and listening. For more on my classes and private lessons, please go to http://english4professionals.webs.com

Are you a good public speaker?

When you think of the words public speaking, you may think of giving speeches in a formal setting, such as at conferences or formal events. Yes, that is public speaking. But other jobs also require you to speak in front of 'people'. Flight attendants give announcements about safety on a plane; professors and teaching assistants give lectures. But also on a smaller group level, telling a story to your coworkers while you are eating lunch. Do you want these people to understand your story, your announcement, your point?

Maybe you think your pronunciation is 'good enough'. You are just getting by. When you come across new words that you've never seen before in English, you just take a guess as to the correct pronunciation. Sometimes you may speak rapidly, thinking that people will understand you more or will not notice any mistakes. The end result, however, is that you do not get your message successfully delivered. What you get is a lot of blank stares.

Because it's so common for people to 'not understand' the announcements or messages from people who's first language is not English, people usually shrug and say, "I didn't understand a thing that person is saying." It's common because most people are just surviving in the world. You are just doing your job. But are you satisfied? What if some tips for guessing correct pronunciation can help you?

Here are some pronunciation tips:

1) When you see a preposition as a prefix to a verb, stress the verb. (A prefix is in front of the word.)
     Ex: outdo (stress do); overlook (stress look); foretell (stress tell); understand (stress stand)

2) When you see a preposition as a prefix to a noun, stress the prefix.
     Ex: outlook (stress out); upbringing (stress up); overage (stress over); forehead (stress fore)

3) If a noun has two syllables, stress the first syllable.
    Ex; ending (stress end); reason (stress rea); section (stress sec); dental (stress dent)

4) Study a list of prefixes and suffixes because most of the time, the prefix/suffix is not stressed.

    Common short prefixes that are not stressed: de, dis in, im, pre, re, un, sub, en, em, il, ir
    Ex: depict (stress pict); disrespect (stress pect); indeed (stress deed); imprison (stress pri)
           predict (stress dict); reduce (stress duce); undo (stress do); submit (stress mit); enjoy (stress
           (joy); embody (stress bo); illegal (stress legal); irrelevant (stress rel)

    Sometimes it looks like a prefix, but it isn't. That's because many words have been added to
    English from other languages. So, it's best to look them up in an online dictionary and click on the       pronunciation. Or you can go to FORVO, a web site where native speakers list words and their
    pronunciations: http://forvo.com/languages/en/

    Common short suffixes that are not stressed: en, er, est, ful, ic, ity, ive, ly, ion, ible
    Ex: lighten (stress light); writer (stress writ); finest (stress fin); joyful (stress joy); tonic (stress ton)
           infinity (stress fin); creative (stress creat); unruly( stress ru); fusion (stress fus); crucible
           (stress cruc)

I hope these tips helps. I strongly suggest picking a good online dictionary such as dictionary.com and looking up all questionable word pronunciations! Please visit my site for further instruction:
http://english4professionals.webs.com/