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T Between Vowels – Practice with the audio
Recently I made a post on how to pronounce T, entitled Pronouncing T – Practice the poem with the audio. The poem I posted helped you to practice the T which is at the beginning of a word or any stressed syllable. But in Toronto, and many other areas in North America,...
Pronouncing T – Practice the poem with the audio
Pronouncing T varies between languages. For example, where the tongue makes contact with the top of the mouth varies, as does the angle of the tongue and the air expelled. In this poem, the T sounds are primarily made at the beginning of the words. In this case, the T...
REFINING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS: How to make home practice habitual
Accent modification is like ballroom dancing for the tongue A while back, when I was studying ballroom dancing, the teacher was saying to do this, do that, remember this, remember that, and I thought: learning to pronounce differently is like ballroom dancing for the...
The Dilemma – What is “Correct” English?
I am often asked, “Is that ‘correct’ English?” It is not a simple question to answer. I have thought about this often but recently I was reminded of it again as I listened to the audio version of Between the World and Me. Written and read by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the book...
Video Post on The Schwa: The Lazy Vowel – Part 5
If you’ve been watching my latest video series, you’ll understand that the schwa refers to the reduced vowel sound which English speakers use everywhere. But did you know that this reduction can also affect complete words that are not stressed in a sentence? As the...
Video Post on The Schwa: The Lazy Vowel – Part 4
Why is the schwa so important? As the most common vowel sound in the English language, the schwa can sometimes tell you if a word is a noun or a verb. Did you know RE-cord (the noun) is pronounced differently than re-CORD (the verb)? And there are many like that....
Video Post on The Schwa: The Lazy Vowel – Part 3
In this video, we introduce you to shifting stress related to changing the suffix – for example pho-TO-graphy vs photo-GRA-phic. I know it can be a lot to take in but if you watch the entire series, hopefully it will all come together. I suggest that you also watch...
Video Post on The Schwa: The Lazy Vowel – Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my series on the “schwa”! What is the schwa? Only the most common vowel sound in the English language. If you haven't already, I suggest you watch Part 1. Each video looks at one aspect of the schwa and how it influences our speech in different...
Video Post on The Schwa: The Lazy Vowel – Part 1
What is the SCHWA? The SCHWA is the reduced vowel sound in English which makes your language sound more natural, like a native speaker. Each part of the series looks at the role of the schwa in different contexts. Here is a summary of the five parts: 1. English is a...
Video Post on Travel Idioms
This is the last of my series on common idioms that are useful to know and use at work. There are 7 videos in total. We have covered idioms involving animals, food, movement, violence, weather, sports, and now travel. Today I have 4 travel idioms to share with you:...
