consider-conflict-content These three words can be pronounced 5 different ways

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, English Melody, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly/by proaccentcoaching

Use English melody and pronunciation at the same time.

Let’s concentrate on a few words that begin with the letters con. To understand how to pronounce these con-words, it is best if you first understand whether the word is going to be used as a noun or a verb. Let’s just say that you can

1. predict which syllable to stress and

2. choose how to pronounce the vowel O in words that begin with C-O-N

First you need know if the word you want to pronounce is being used as a noun (a person, place, or thing) or a verb (the action).

Listen to this week’s Pronounce English with Pam Podcast episode 80 for your lesson about the American English melody and pronouncing the letter O. This week’s lesson is filled with great ideas to help you sound natural and be better understood. Use the words below as a guide while you repeat after me on the podcast!

Melody is what the listener is listening for!

Melody is the movement of a language. One of the ways to understand American English melody is to understand how to use stress in each word. Here we are talking about stress to raise and lower your pitch, specifically in the syllables that are written in large print below. CONcert means to stress the first part of the words CON. Or in the verbs conVINCE means to stress the second part of the word.

Nouns

Stress the first syllable. Practice the O with the vowel sound /a/. Open your mouth!

CONcert

*CONtest

*CONflict

*CONtent

CONcept

CONgress

Verbs

Stress the second syllable . Practice the O with a reduced vowel sound /ə/

conFIRM

conVINCE

conFESS

conTROL

* conDUCT

conFUSE

conSENT

*These words can be used as either nouns or verbs. Put stress on the 1st syllable when saying a noun. Put stress on the 2nd syllable when saying a verb.

noun contest /kan-tɛst/ – verb contest /kən-tɛst/

noun conflict /kan-flikt/- verb conflict /kən-flikt/

noun content /kan-tɛnt/- verb content /kən-tɛnt/

noun conduct /kan-dʌkt/- verb conduct /kən-dʌkt/

Questions? Comments?

CONtact me anytime! Now you know how to say “contact” too.

Listening For Distinct English Conversation

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, business english, English Melody, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

Finding a Good Speech Example

Understanding the American English accent requires you to listen to other American English speakers because how else will you know how to improve your pronunciation and melody unless you have a good role model. In this podcast episode, you will find one of my favorite links for listening to other American speakers. NPR.org so that you can hear timely news stories about any topic that you choose. Be sure to find a speaker that is using the English pronunciation and melody. If you are planning on making some changes in your current talking skills- then choose someone that is speaking in the style that you would like to imitate.

Once you have found a good role model and an interesting story- play the story. Listen to it. Enjoy the story. Learn something. Then it’s time to go back and make that story work for you!

Listening (again) is hard

Learning the English rhythm requires you to do some work on your own, unless you hire a coach. As a coach, I find the right samples and practice work for you. But repeat listening to the news story is the hard part because it takes your time and effort. Take the first 4 or 5 sentences and write them down word-for-word. It takes forever I know. This is what I do for my clients/students. If there is not a transcript written for you, you must write down every word that you hear the speaker say. I guarantee you that the action of writing down each sentence (and listening to the speaker repeatedly) will help you improve your listening comprehension as well as your appreciation of the vocabulary words and the grammar that the speaker is using.

Also, the act of writing (can you find a pen and paper anymore?) will help you concentrate on how that speaker is pronouncing each word.

Understanding the Speaker’s Rhythm

After you listen to this week’s podcast, go back to your written transcript and find the main words in the sentences. These are the content words and they carry the real meaning of the message. Underline these main words. Hint: the main words are the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. They are the “meat” to the message.

Now look at the small words that are not underlined. These are called the function words. They are the small words such as pronouns (I, you, they), conjunctions (and, but, or) and articles (the, a/an) to name a few. The commonly reduced words in English are among the 100 most frequently used words in the language. So we have a lot of reducing to do!

PROnouncing American English Like A Pro!

Now you can practice saying the main words with emphasis while reducing the smaller words. Don’t forget to link the words to the rest of the message group. Listen to this week’s podcast for further instruction how to raise and lower your voice to express your message.

Do you have any words that you are not sure if they should be reduced? Let me know in the comments (You can find the comments section directly below the title)

Credit Photo by Soundtrap on Unsplash

Fixing the sound in “meaSure”

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, business english, Daily English Speaking, English Melody, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

We may not say this sound often but when we do, it is commonly mispronounced. If your goal is to speak English 100% better so that you can sound natural (and with confidence!) learn how to say this awkward sound with preciSIon. Hint: it’s in that word….

How To Speak Like A Leader

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, business english, English Melody, Professional Credibility, Pronounce English With Pam, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

Quality is Knowledge and Practice. To begin preparing for your success, listen to episode 57 and get ready for your next leader opportunity. Remember that your success in life begins with the number one ability – To speak!

Use these ideas as the catalyst for having your ideas valued and accepted.

Use your best voice to lead business discussions

prepare your next talk,

and most importantly keep your listeners listening.

Click here for your Perfect Phrases.

What speaking opportunities are in your near future? Write in the comments section (under the title). Have you tried any of these practical phrases before? Which ones do you think you will try out?

TOP 5 STEPS FOR SPEAKING YOUR BEST

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, business english, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

Call it whatever you want Accent Modification, Speaking Fluent English, Speaking English Clearly, or just plain ole Learning to talk better. Follow these 5 steps to become a better communicator, others will learn from you, remember you, and enjoying talking to you.

TOP 5 IMPORTANT STEPS FOR SPEAKING YOUR BEST

“It’s about MELODY more than perfect pronunciation.” -Pam

1. Finish the word!

Pronouncing the final sounds of each word is tricky for a few reasons. First you don’t want to over-pronounce the last sound in a word. This sounds like I am contradicting myself. Say the sound but don’t push it out too much. Second, you may be able to say a word perfectly, but once you start talking faster your mouth and lips may not be able to keep up. And third, some of your sounds may be too weak-so you think you are saying the final sound- but a human ear will not hear it.

What you think you are saying, “I‘ll see you at five o’clock”

What others hear, “I_ see you a_-fai_-o’claw_”

What is the big deal? We link words together when we talk. If your last sounds are not pronounced, the important linking skill does not work. And you will not sound smooth.

2. Count the beats of the word.

For example a typical mistake for the word Colorado is “co-ra-do” (3 beats). The correct pronunciation is 4 beats “co-ler-ra-do”

The word particularly is 5 beats “par-ti-cu-lar-ly”, but a typical mistake is saying it with only 4 beats “par-ti-cu-ly”.

The word business is 2 beats “biz-nis”, but many times the mistake is saying it with 3 beats “biz-i-nis.”

What is the big deal? If you reduce the amount of syllables (or say too many) of a word, the listener is left to fill-in-the-blanks and will need a second or two to catch up with you. There will be problems with sounding choppy and a lack of understanding.

3. words stand above rest

Some ^ should ^ the ^

If we said every word with the same voice we would put our listeners to sleep. That’s the definition of being monotone. One tone.

When we TALK like THIS, we would be HEARD, and have PERSONALITY in our CONVERSATION.

What is the big deal? When every word sounds the same, you will sound boring and lack spark in your conversation. Put some effort into your important words. Listeners are waiting for you to emphasize the important words.

4. Parts of a word are bigger than Other parts.

It’s my goal in life to teach everyone how to pronounce the word “develop.” If you continue to pronounce it without the American English stress, it will sound like “devil up.”

The stress should be in the middle syllable. (VEL). “di-VEL-lip” Then the other syllables become smaller.

What is the big deal? Even if you are pronouncing each sound correctly, the word will not sound like itself. While you are on the next sentence, the listener is still wondering why they heard the word “devil.”

5. Say some words L-O-N-G-E-R.

Do you know that the only difference between saying “ice” and “eyes” is one sound. But the listener doesn’t care about that, as much as, the length of the word.

“ice” ends in a /s/. This sounds like a short word with an “s” on the end.

“eyes” ends in a /z/. This word is pronounced L-O-N-G-E-R than the other one. It’s the length of the word (the vowel) that we are listening for. Not the “z” pronunciation.

What is the big deal? Not all words are created equal. Listener confusion.

You’ve Got This!

So there you have it- we need to stretch some words longer, higher, and give our voice personality. We need to pronounce the correct amount of sounds and syllables and link them together in a cohesive way. Once you can do these 5 steps you will sound fluent, more natural, and develop a confident, speaking style.

It’s all about the English melody

for you to become a good conversationalist

and an awesome public (or private) speaker.

The hardest part is to know which skills you are doing correctly and which skills could use some help.

I have quick and easy directions so that you can show improvements within one hour. Of course, this will take some practice so that you can make it a new habit. But these are achievable goals.

If you would like a free 30-minute consultation, contact me, let’s talk- and I will advise you.

Or let’s get right to it. Let me customize our classes together and I will teach only what you need to learn.

Virtual lessons -Private or in Small group Packages. Contact me to discuss the details. No obligation to purchase.

Pam@ProAccentCoaching.com

Let’s meet and learn together! 7 days to go!

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly/by proaccentcoaching

It’s the first day of summer and let’s celebrate! Let’s meet next week and learn a slew of American English techniques using words that end in “ATE”.

In one hour, you will learn

10 new vocabulary words and use them 20 different ways.
how to use your voice to indicate which part of the word the listener should hear the most.
how to pronounce two different vowel sounds. Pam will help coach you personally!
that it’s fun to learn together!

The class is Thursday, July 1st. so hurry!

choose class time: 10 am (EST) or 5 pm (EST)

Email Pam quickly! Limit 10 people per class

Class fee $20 usd. Once you sign-up you will receive a PayPal link (for payment) and a Zoom class link .

Practice these two words in this week’s show. I have 18 more words to share with you. I can’t wait to hear how you sound!

Practicing 3 Vowel Sounds in Head-Hat-Hot

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, business english, Daily English Speaking, English Pronunciation, ESL, Speak English Clearly/by proaccentcoaching

The English spelling system has 5 letters that represent the vowels A-E-I-O-U (and sometimes Y), but when talking, these vowels have at least 20-different vowel sounds!

Pronouncing English vowels are defined by changes made with the tongue, the degree of muscle tension (tense or relaxed), and lip movements. These tiny little changes make a BIG difference successfully communicating your intended words. For example, the comparisons below show that if you try to pronounce a word with one vowel sound, ex: head, but pronounce the word with a different sound, the desired word may sound more like ‘had’, ‘hat’, or ‘hot’. This week’s podcast will help you hear the differences and give you words to practice saying the differences.

Listen to Ep. 26 Pronouncing English With Pam Podcast

/ɛ/ This is a relaxed sound. Our mouth is open slightly, lips are neutral.
pen, men, slept, head, better

/æ/ tense sound (mouth open). lips are back slightly.
fast, had, slap, clap, man, pan, Pam

/ɑ/ tense sound (mouth is open the most), lips are forward a little or neutral.
stop, daughter, fought

Can you say these two words differently?

/ɛ/ – /æ/
head -had
men -man
guess- gas
said- sad
slept -slapped
end- and
then- than

/ɑ/- /æ/
hot-hat
mop-map
rock-rack

How did you do? Do you have difficulty hearing the difference between words? Tell me in the comments below!

We Celebrated! How To Pronounce Past Tense

in Accent Modification, Daily English Speaking, English Pronunciation, Foreign Accent Reduction, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

Today we Celebrate Our Anniversary! And yesterday we “celebrated”! Since we are always talking about past events, let’s learn how to pronounce the -ED using the American English Pronunciation. With regular verbs, we add an -ed to the verb to change the word to mean something that has happenED in the past. There are a few different ways to pronounce the ED sound, so to simplify this for you, here are the 2 most important pronunciation changes:

If the verb ends in a T or a D, you will add an extra syllable at the end.

That extra syllable will sound like “did”

pound + ed (pounded) will sound like “poun-did” and wait + ed (waited) will sound like “wai + did”

2. All other verbs will have a small sound at the end of the word.

cook + ed = “cookt”

play + ed = “playd”

Listen to this lesson and practice repeating after me.

And by the way, Happy Anniversary. It’s been 4 years since I have been recording my podcast. And thank you for listening!

Please comment below about verbs + ed that you have questions about.

Talking About Time? Use These 3 Words!

in American English Pronunciation, English Pronunciation, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

This is a great lesson packed with exercises for learning about pronouncing 3 vowel sounds, while learning about these three tiny words that are important to use when talking about time concepts. It’s an 8 1/2 minute listen. Enjoy!

My Personal Picks

in Accent Modification, American English Pronunciation, Daily English Speaking, English Melody, English Pronunciation, Foreign Accent Reduction, Speak English Clearly, speech and language/by proaccentcoaching

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

A New Year means New Beginnings. But for some reason I wanted to reflect back and review some of my favorite recordings, and tell you about the most popularly viewed recordings. I can’t believe it but the recording called, Ring, Ring Hello! currently has over 1,000 listeners. It’s been played in over 50 Countries. You never know what is going to become popular. Unless it’s stuck on constant replay-it must be a favorite somewhere!