• Out of all the foreign accents, the one which is most popular amongst Americans is the British accent.  The Australian accent comes in second.
• As per an analysis, most Americans don’t like really strong foreign accents, since such accents and their respective intonation tend to confuse Americans regarding the context in which a particular statement has been spoken.
• Americans find certain accents interesting especially if they are uncommon like the Scottish or Irish accent..

Apart from these facts, pronunciation also holds a vital place in communication; sometimes even more than the grammar, since it creates the first impression of the speaker in the listener’s mind. Poor pronunciation and lack of command in English may make Americans uncomfortable. They may ask you to repeat some sentences, if they don’t understand you. It may become quite awkward for the person to repeat the same thing over and over again.

This can vary from culture to culture, as well, in addition to the differences in languages being spoken. Studies show that Americans find Asian accented English more difficult to understand. Most of the South Asian languages have a very different grammatical structure from the Indo European languages, and there are many vowels, which are not shared with other Indo European languages.  Moreover, the prosodic characteristics (rhythm, intonation, etc.) of Asian accented English is very different from the Indo-European accent.

Non-native English speakers should focus both on grammar, vocabulary and prosody as well as pronunciation. Accented English is fine as long as your listener can understand you.

EnglishWithoutAccent.com staff

Video Lesson for Spanish speakers: Pronunciation of initial /r/ in English

Developing good communications skills is important, so that we convey our messages clearly and prevent any misunderstanding. When we have communication breakdowns at work, we spend time and energy trying to make amends. It is hard for anyone to admit that their unclear communication caused the breakdown, and thus apologize. It’s wiser to make a conscious effort to prevent communication breakdowns instead.

One way to avoid conflicts at work is to communicate clearly and frequently with your colleagues on the following:

• what you are currently doing for the company

• what are some goals you are striving for at work, and even some of your personal ones that may affect work

• some of the difficulties you are facing with customers, management, colleagues etc (without sounding like you are whining and complaining)

With the increased use of e-mails and text messages, we may forget the value of face-to-face interactions. When we communicate with a person face-to-face, we can build trust and open-ness with our verbal and non-verbal cues. We can also sense and understand the other person’s point of view and what they feel.

Use e-mails if you have specific requests or updates for a colleague, and the message can be read at their convenience. With e-mails, you can still sound cordial, instead of distance. Just a few more seconds of typing some niceties like “Have a great day!” can bring a feeling of goodwill to the reader.

At work today we tend to communicate more via e-mail and this has an impact on our interpersonal communication. For example, if you communicate your unhappiness or anger via email, pause a moment before you hit the ‘Send’ button! Cool down, review what you have written, and edit it so that it sounds more objective. Stick to the facts and avoid character attacks. Be objective and constructive. If you are criticizing something, offer a solution to improve the situation, if possible.

As you learn to communicate more effectively at work, you will be better able to achieve your goals, garner more support during setbacks, and feel much happier at work.

Communication is an art of conveying message to the other party. Imagine in the game of “Pass it on”. One has to convey the hidden message that he received to another party without uttering a word. Similarly, an email message can only convey the content over but not the emotions.

A face-to face communication is crucial. In some books, there are some eye assessing cues that tell us the eye can indicate the truth being said by the party.

In fact, 55% of the communication is actually done through visual communication. 38% is done through vocal communication. The remaining 7% will be through verbal communication. This clearly indicates that the body language – a combination of visual & verbal gives a very high percentage while communicating with one another.

If you like my article, you may go to my website and register yourself to receive more.

Cheers

Dennis Kwan is a trainer, speaker, author, a volunteer at Changi prison and also a Neuro-Linguistics Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner, Hypno-Therapist, Time-line Practitioner. He graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Commerce. He is also certified in Project Management Professional (PMP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Certified ISO 9001:2000 Auditor. For more information, please visit his website http://www.dennis-kwan.com or email him at [mailto:dennis-kwan@dennis-kwan.com]dennis-kwan@dennis-kwan.com

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More Bad Habits That Spoil the Development of Good English Language Speaking Skills

In the first part of this article post, we began a discussion of seven bad habits which spoil the development of good English or other foreign language speaking skills. In this second part, we’ll continue with some additional aspects to be considered when teaching and learning to speak English or another foreign language.

4. Leaning Face, Chin or Head Against Hand, Fingers or Palm

By all means, learners need to avoid leaning their head against their arm, fingers, palm or hand when speaking. This prevents correct enunciation in a number of ways which can be easily avoided. Be sure that you and your foreign language learners sit or stand up straight during speaking practice sessions with hands and arms away from the head or face.

5. Having Generally Poor Posture

When speaking, neither you nor your foreign language learners should stoop, slump or be hunched over in any manner. This restricts the chest cavity, overly compresses the diaphragm and muffles breathing and tone production.

6. Elision, Slurring or Generally Poor Enunciation of Spoken Sounds

If the practice of “cutting off” or eliding word endings is common in your or the EFL learners first language (L1), careful attention should be paid to avoiding this habit crossing over into the speech of English or other foreign language. One technique that is very helpful with this is the “mirror technique”. Briefly, a mirror is used by the foreign language learners to watch themselves speaking and pronouncing in the target foreign language.

7. Not Correcting “Problem Sounds” When Speaking

When someone is learning English as a foreign language, they tend to get stuck on a certain series of problem sounds in English. These “problem sounds” tend to be quite specific depending on the first language (L1) of the learner. Since these problem sounds are predictable, for the most part, in a particular L1 language group, the English as a foreign language teacher must take care in teaching their correct formation and pronunciation. Native Spanish speakers, for example, will need to work on the correct formation and pronunciation of letters and sounds such as: sh, ch, x, g, w, p, b, v and “th”, among others.

Promote the Development of English or Foreign Language Speaking Skills

One final point for now in regards to good speaking skills development is the use of dental prosthetics and appliances. If your learners have them they can either be removed, if possible, during English class as an aid to better pronunciation, if applicable. Alternatively, the EFL teacher and EFL learner must take impediments caused by dental or other prosthetics into account when practicing speech and pronunciation in English or other foreign languages. Be sure to consult with a qualified Dentist or Orthodontist too in order to better understand the inter-related relationship between dental mechanics and speech production.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, expert author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 120 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” and English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.

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Nowadays it’s necessary for every modern person to know at least one foreign language, as it can help to find a high-paid job, improve social status and get acquainted with people from other countries. However when someone teaches a foreign language often very little attention is paid to learning pronunciation. Indeed, it’s very strange that this very important language skill is usually set aside as secondary important and when it comes to pronunciation we often have at best only basic oral skills and slight knowledge of phonetics.

However it is very important to place high emphasis on phonetics and pronunciation when learning a foreign language. Native speakers won’t understand you, if your pronunciation of words incorrect or word order is wrong. That’s why one should have a great concern in using pronunciation guide, doing pronunciation exercises, learning pronunciation rules, consulting pronunciation dictionaries. Before starting any course in phonetics or downloading any pronunciation software it is useful to have some prior knowledge of phonetics and pronunciation teaching.

In the most general sense Phonetics may be defined as the study of sounds and the human voice. Phonetics has three main branches: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics. But for those who want to learn to speak a foreign language it is articulatory phonetics that is of primary importance.

You may be interested in the question: what pronunciation exercises are the most efficient and useful for a person who wants to improve his/her pronunciation skills? Here are some tips, which can help you to solve your pronunciation problems and obtain [http://www.qwertystudios.com/speech/tts-study/study-accurate-pronunciation/study-accurate-pronunciation.html]accurate pronunciation:

1.Learn pronunciation rules

2.Consult pronunciation dictionary

3.Pay attention to word stress

4.Listen to songs and film dialogues to improve your intonation skills

5.Record your speech and compare it with the original

6.Master your pronunciation skills uttering tongue twisters

7.Use computer programs to make language learning easier

8.Listen to texts in background mode

9.Read aloud to polish the pronunciation of difficult sounds

Today among numerous language teaching aids, it is learn to read programs and pronunciation software which are of vital importance for those who want to communicate easily with native speakers.

Speaking Notepad is the very pronunciation teaching program which will give you an invaluable opportunity to listen to pronunciation of words as many times as you need it. You can choose by yourself the themes of the texts and their complexity. With Speaking Notepad attaining powerful pronunciation and improving reading skills turns into a pleasant pastime.

Konstantin Artemev http://www.qwertystudios.com

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Introduction

When you take a look around the world, there are a number of places that still do not speak English. This is likely to continue for some time as well over half of the world’s population lives within areas that do not have heavy English-speaking populations. For that reason, it can sometimes be difficult to learn how to speak fluent English simply because there is no one around you that speaks the language. Textbooks and seminars can only take you so far in your knowledge of English, but at some point you actually have to start speaking the language on a regular basis in order to attain mastery in the language.

This can be a problem in areas of the world that do not have that many English-speaking people and for that reason you need to come up with innovative ways to improve your pronunciation of the English language in spite of the lack of English people with which to chat. This does require some critical thinking and unorthodox ways of doing things, but there are a few ways in which you can still get it done. Some suggestions are listed below.

Media

The first place that you should go is the English-speaking media, starting with agencies that are specifically broadcasting news. Major international news agencies such as CNN and BBC broadcast themselves into all of the different corners of the world and these agencies only employ people with a completely fluent grasp of the English language. For this reason, watching such news agencies will allow you to slowly grasp the pronunciation of specific words in English and that in turn will allow you to truly grasp the language. You do not have to chat back and forth with someone to learn how to pronounce English words properly, you just need to have them pronounced properly for you to hear.

If news agencies aren’t your cup of tea, then the next step would be to take a look at sources of entertainment that come out of the English-speaking world and circulate around the globe. Movies from Hollywood are an excellent example as they tend to be very popular around the world and they often come with English that is spoken very well. You just have to be careful to avoid movies in which the actors are purposely speaking in rough accents with poor language and you should still be able to get a lot of help towards improving your English pronunciation despite living in a country without many native English speakers.

The Internet

The internet tends to be the answer to a number of different questions nowadays and it is definitely the answer to learning a language when nobody around you speaks that language. The internet allows you to download pronunciation guides that were uploaded at the other end of the world and it also allows you to conference with other people and [http://www.englishlink.com/courses_ENG_HTML.asp]learn English online by talking to them. You can learn how to speak English through telephone conversations with the other side of the world and you can also learn how to read and write English by having instant message or e-mail conversations with those same people.

If you are looking for an easy way to perfect your English pronunciation, it is most definitely online learning. Online learning will give you access to methods of learning the language you would never in a million years have thought possible in a non-English area of the world. It will speed up the learning process and ensure that you learn the language and its pronunciation within a reasonable amount of time.

Learn English at our [http://www.englishlink.com/]online english school. We can help you develop your English skills so you can reach your goals through our online English school.

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Australia, Great Britain, and America all speak the same language, but you simply have to visit each country to realize that, while they all speak English, it is far from a universal language. The English spoken in Great Britain, America, and Australia has many similarities, but a surprising number of differences as well. The main reason for this is the vast distance between each country. Here are some of the common differences you will find between these three versions of English.

Pronunciation Differences

Pronunciation between the three types of English is very dissimilar. In American English the “r” at the end of the word almost always affects its pronunciation, whereas in Australian and British English the “r” is often silent. Also, the emphasis placed on the syllables of the word varies from British, Australian, and American English. In Britain, the world adult has the emphasis on the first syllable, whereas in America it is placed on the second half of the word. Australian English is unique in the fact that many words have sounds that are eliminated. Instead of saying good day, the Australian speaker says g’day. The main pronunciation difference between the three, however, is the pronunciation of the vowel sounds.

Differences in Spelling

Not only do the three types of English sound different, but they are also spelled differently. In some ways, the spelling reflects the difference in pronunciation. For instance, Americans use the world airplane to refer to a flying mode of transportation. In Great Britain, the word is aeroplane, and it is pronounced with an audible “o” sound. Another common difference in spelling is aluminium, which is the UK spelling, and aluminum, the US spelling. Again, the difference shows the difference in pronunciation of the two words. In this instance the Australian spelling is the same as the UK spelling.

Another common spelling difference between UK English and American English is the use of -our verses -or at the end of the word. For instance, in the UK, colour, flavour, honour, and similar words all end in -our, whereas in America they are spelled with the -or ending (color, flavor, honor). In Australia, the -our spelling is almost universal.

Similarly, the endings -re and -re are different between the different English dialects. In America you will go to the theater or fitness center, whereas in Britain you will visit the theatre or fitness centre. Again, Australian English follows the British pattern.

There are other common spelling differences as well. For instance, in American English, words that sound as though they end with an -ize will always end in an -ize. However, in UK English, they typically end in ise (i.e. realize, realise). Also, British English often doubles consonants when adding a suffix when American English does not, such as in the world traveller.

Interestingly, the three languages also have distinct vocabularies. For instance, the “hood” of a car is called the “bonnet” in Australia and Britain. Australia has several terms that are not used in either of the other countries, such as “bloke” (man) and “arvo” (afternoon). Also, Australians use some phrases that are combinations of British and American terms, such as “rubbish truck.” Rubbish is commonly used in the UK, and truck is commonly used in America.

Grammar Distinctions

Besides spelling and pronunciation differences, British, American, and Australian English all have some subtle grammar differences as well. For instance, in Great Britain, it is perfectly acceptable to use a collective noun (such as army) as a plural word (“the army are coming”), whereas in America collective nouns are almost always singular (“the army is coming”). British English also uses the irregular form of the past participle of several verbs (learnt rather than learned). Also, British English tends to drop the definite article in some situations. For instance, British English speakers may refer to being “in hospital” instead of “in the hospital.” Australian [http://www.englishlink.com/courses_ENG_HTML.asp]English grammar tends to follow British rules. [http://www.englishlink.com/aboutus_ENG_HTML.asp]Learning English online online has never been so comfortable and easy. You can use English Dictionary Software to help improve your online English learning.

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The English language can be very difficult to pronounce and listening to British English speakers from different regions of the country can be quite confusing. There are hundreds of variations on these regional accents and many towns have their own particular differences.

The standard pronunciation of British English words which is indicated in grammar books and dictionaries is usually the accent of educated middle-class speakers from the South of England. This is actually quite old fashioned as all regional accents are now accepted as both educated and correct. Most people now accept that there is no one standard English accent which is the right one.

There is, however, a huge variety in regional differences within the United Kingdom and even more variations of speech in other English-speaking countries. These are all correct.

It is perfectly correct to say :

bath: with a short ‘a’ sound

bahth: with a long ‘a’ sound

In the north of England the short ‘a’ sound is usual

However, it still possible that a variation in pronunciation may be a mistake and not a regional variation. Even native English speakers sometimes mispronounce a word. For example:

gist: pronounced with a hard ‘g’ sound is incorrect.

jist: correct pronunciation is with soft ‘j’ sound even though the words starts with ‘g’

Pronunciation of British English changes a lot. It is not a static language. This is because some words which are said correctly by careful speakers may be pronounced incorrectly by many people. The incorrect version becomes the norm and subsequently becomes correct and accepted. A good example of this is :

pronunciation: now accepted as correct in spelling and in the way it is said.

pronounciation: the original correct word which has given way to the more widely used form.

Great care should be taken when pronouncing phrases such as ‘law and order’. Careful speakers avoid putting an ‘r’ sound into it between the words ‘law’ and ‘order’ giving:

‘law rand order’

This can be a problem with any words or phrases containing the ‘aw’ sound followed by a vowel.

drawing: often mispronounced as ‘drawring’

awe-inspiring: mispronounced as ‘awrinspiring’

I saw it: sometimes said as ‘I saw rit’.

These are just a few examples of what makes English pronunciation so difficult. It can be very hard for a learner to develop good listening skills when there are so many variations in accent and mispronunciations are so common among native British English speakers.

Copyright: Louie Jerome 2008

Louie Jerome is a UK writer, editor and publisher. She is also a qualified teacher of English as a second language.

Writer Soup is a monthly internet magazine for writers and readers. http://www.learn-english-now.co.uk

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There are varying types of English pronunciation and its articulation lurking in the Educational Institutions of all the non-native speakers of English today. American English and British English vary in pronouncing such words. Both English, as times rolled by produced another multiple branches of pronunciation and articulation.

An obvious example is seen and heard from Japanese who learned the language, a Filipino, Singaporean, Russian, Arabian and many other non-native speaking citizens. Both American and British English vary their pronunciation in the word “either”. Both vary in saying the “ei” of “either.”

Asian countries in particular pronounce the words in a different manner compared to both American and British. The slang manner of producing the sounds of the words of Americans is different from Asian countries. This is because the nasal cavity structure of the Americans are bigger than people of the Asian countries.

It is to be noted that the nasal cavity is one of the factors affecting the sounds the way you pronounce the words. Other factors are the lower and the upper teeth, the lower and upper lips, the tongue and the diaphragm.

To learn English as the second language, these factors affecting the sound produced should also be given emphasis in the discussions or lessons to be discussed in learning English as the second language. This is for the learners to determine some of the problems affecting the acquisition of the language.

Psychologically speaking, the best age for the learner to start learning English as the Second Language is within the age of 6 up to 10 years old. This is because of the fact that their acquisitions on certain things are very great. Thus, we have to feed their minds with proper and correct information about learning English.

It is not solely the responsibility of the teacher for these young learners to learn English. This is due to the fact the when these learners go out of the classroom, most of the time, their acquisition of the language also stops. Therefore a follow up from the parents or guardians are very important to speed up learning English.

Just like any other subject, English also has fields that that are confusing on the part of the learner. Therefore, careful and detailed planning of the lesson to be discussed in front of these kids should be given considerable time so that the acquisition of the language, though it is hard achieve 100%, a favorable number of the learners will acquire the proper and correct pronunciation and articulation of English.

Today, it is necessary to [http://www.eaziessay.com]learn English as the Second Language. For beginners, especially young kids, teach them the basics first. But for advance learners and those who are already on the process of writing a letter, you should have a pattern or a [http://www.lettercover.org]cover letter sample as guide.

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Knowing English or a Foreign Language

When we think of learning English or learning a foreign language, invariably we are inferring the ability to speak the language first and foremost. Indeed, if someone says “I know Spanish”, for example, we almost automatically think that the person means they can speak Spanish. Later, if the need arises, we may improve our skills in reading and writing in English or the foreign language we are learning, but first we must speak and pronounce it with some degree of skill and fluency.

Pronouncing the “G” Sound

In pronouncing the hard “G” sound as in go, get, girl, give, gate and gut – the sound is produced by releasing a full glottal stop at the beginning of the sound. This example shows a learner with her thumb and forefinger at the throat / jaw junction external to the glottal area. The back of the tongue is pressed against the upper rear palate. Sound is produced by suddenly releasing air from the lungs through this region. In phonetics, this is referred to as a full glottal stop.

“G” Sound Pronunciation Word Lists

The following short lists of words have the hard “G” sound using a full glottal stop in the initial word segment, then in the medial segment of the word and finally at the terminal segment of the word.

Go, good, goal, gain, gale, gab, get, guild, guilt, gold, and gone

Magma, muggy, bigger, beggar, boggy, foggy, figgy, baggy and jiggy

Mug, mig, big, beg, bog, fog, fig, jig, jug, hug, bug, bag and hag

Watch the Video Example

This “G” sound pronunciation video gives an example of speech aspects in American English pronunciation. Watch and listen as I direct this EFL learner through a “G” sounds pronunciation list. Then try the pronunciation for yourself if you’d like at http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=pvBYL4D1NdQ

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books, English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com

Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.

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