Topic: Vowel oʊ
Accent Error Patterns: using vowel /o/ instead of /oʊ/ You will be understood, but it sounds short to an American listener How to Correct This: Quick fix - just hold "o" longer. Details: Close your jaw and relax your lips slightly as you hold the "o" Practice Steps: Practice common words with /oʊ/: no, go, show, program, over, old, open, own, don't Repeated phrase practice: go to _____ (the office, my house, the airport); don't _____ (worry, talk about it, think about it, answer that) In addition, letter "o" in American English often says vowel /ɑ/ and not vowel /oʊ/, so I am including some resources for you about spelling vs vowel sounds. We practiced vowel /ɑ/ in lesson 7, you can check that out in the Five by Five playlist or on my website if you missed it. Resources: When Vowel /oʊ/ video: https://youtu.be/NphEKe1gnAc longer class on Vowel /oʊ/ and letter O, sounds vs. letters: https://youtu.be/gxgdIb0hei8 website practice: https://www.speechmodification.com/free/simple-rules-for-spelling-american-vowels If you have questions about this topic or anything else we've covered so far in the Five by Five challenge, please feel free to leave comments on this or any other video. I also invite you to join our live Friday Q & A classes, where you can ask about American Accent topics and get your questions answered, we'll be doing that tomorrow and you can find it at this link: https://youtu.be/nBb9u2bgP0w Join all of our live YouTube classes by subscribing to the channel.
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Topic: Vowel /ɛ/
Accent Error Patterns: using vowel /e/ (tense) or /æ/ (too open) red sounds like raid men sounds like man How to Correct This: open jaw, central, lax tongue and face use an anchor vowel - red tent Practice Steps: listen to minimal pairs to make sure you can differentiate /ɛ/ /eɪ/ vs. /ɛ/ pairs: take tech fade fed wait wet main men /æ/ vs. /ɛ/ pairs: man men had head sad said band bend Next, practice common words with /ɛ/: get, went, said, men, tell, when, then, ten, met Then try repeated phrase practice: ten ____ (people, weeks, days, times); Went to ______ (work, school, the store, Europe, the library) Resources: When Vowel /ɛ/ video: https://youtu.be/-lBd55mXGzI longer class on Vowel /ɛ/: https://youtu.be/rhLgJEmu7LM website practice: https://www.speechmodification.com/free/how-to-pronounce-vowel-eh If you have questions about this topic or anything else we've covered so far in the Five by Five challenge, please feel free to leave comments on this or any other video. I also invite you to join our live Friday Q & A classes, where you can ask about American Accent topics and get your questions answered, we'll be doing that tomorrow and you can find it at this link: https://youtu.be/nBb9u2bgP0w Join all of our live YouTube classes by subscribing to the channel. Topic: plurals
Accent Error Patterns: leaving off the s or z sound, using s instead of z How to Correct This: learning which sounds to use: when the noun ends in these sounds, p t k f: use /s/ states, tops, books everything else, use /z/ - times, years, needs Use linking to help with voicing the /z/ - the boys are, the computers are, the menus are Practice Steps: name things around you, singular and plural book, books, computer, desk, window, colleague phrases: two _____ (friends, computers, weeks, years) Resources: When s says z video: https://youtu.be/mOf3J7o8OSQ longer class on plurals: https://youtu.be/z3seYdNB7B4 website practice: https://www.speechmodification.com/free/30-day-accent-challenge-day-26 Topic: How we use pitch to convey meaning Accent Error Patterns: Not enough pitch change, speaking too low How to Correct the Errors: Find the ideal medium pitch for your voice: mm-hm? Second pitch, hm, is the middle of your range. Call this pitch a 2, medium Rise up to a 3 for stressed words Fall off to a 1 to show the end of a phrase Practice Steps: Try simple phrases: statement 2- 3- 1 I'm going. I've got it. 2231, you can do it. I understand that. question word 2 -3-1 how are you? What's going on? no question word - 22 3rise is it ready? Are you coming? Resources:
Watch a longer class about using pitch: https://youtu.be/PNOj36c8_i0 Use a target phrase for pitch practice: https://youtu.be/fWB8Dbel4i8 More practice on our website: https://www.speechmodification.com/free/how-to-use-pitch-to-improve-your-american-accent American Accent Training Lesson 11: How Americans Say the "t" in Water, Little, and Other Words8/2/2018 Topic: American T in the middle of words Accent Error Pattern: Americans use flapped t, stopped t, and aspirated t in words. You might use the aspirated t for all, or a different type of T. How to Correct the Errors: Learn common words that use flap T, as this is the pattern which will have the biggest impact on your speech sounding more American. Practice Steps: Try flap T words: better, matter, water, city, Saturday, Seattle, little Repeated phrase practice: better _____ (speech, business, communication, than that) a little _____ (bit, busy, hot, tired, much) Resources: American T videos: https://youtu.be/VkJDDaiEjRs website practice: american-t-how-americans-say-the-t-sound-in-the-start-middle-and-ends-of-words.html Need more help with this topic? Don't miss our Live Class this Friday, where we'll be covering this topic in more detail and taking your questions. |
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