65. What is the best way to learn English pronunciation?

By Olga Smith

What is the best way to learn English pronunciation?

Olga Smith

2 July 2020

In my experience, the most useful strategy to learn English pronunciation is to repeat after the model pronunciation using the correct position of tongue, lips and jaw for each English sound. Later work on fluency and articulation.

First, record yourself in order to see how you sound to others. Then, identify your mistakes and correct them, practise the correct form, and then record yourself again. Repetition is the key. The reason why we struggle with English punctuation is two-fold:
1. Not all English sounds exist in our native language and we are not sure how to produce them correctly.
2. Our speech organs are trained for our native language from our childhood. When we start speaking in English, we don’t place our tongue, lips and jaw as native English speakers do.

When I recorded myself in 2004 I was shocked to realize that even I could not understand what I was saying. Then, I started to look for a speech or elocution tutor who could explain how to position my tongue, lips and jaw for English sounds. I was lucky to find a top tutor in London and I fell in love with her method. We were practising accent reduction with funny sentences and verses, it was very enjoyable and extremely effective.

Later, together with Linda, my tutor, we have published 5 books to master English punctuation which became international bestsellers. In 2009 one of the readers of our books, who was a software developer contacted me and said that he absolutely loved our books and that they really worked for him. He offered to create apps based on our books and we have published 8 apps for accent reduction to date.

Here are more difficulties with English pronunciation you might have experienced:

1. Not all English vowels and diphthongs exist in other languages, you might struggle to pronounce them correctly.

2. There are 5 long and 7 short vowels In English. Long vowels do not exist in all languages and there is a tendency to shorten them. This can create a problem for others to understand what you are saying.

3. Bad articulation, in other words, weak consonants or incorrectly pronounced consonants.

4. Your intonation could be very difficult to follow, you might break phrases and make pauses in the wrong places.

In order to master English pronunciation you need to :

• Learn and practice how to pronounce English sounds using received pronunciation (RP). RP is also sometimes called the Queen’s English, Oxford English or BBC English.

• Practice articulation exercises to make your consonants clear and crisp.

• Learn to speak in phrases rather than in separate words; knowing how to link words together correctly.

• Learn patterns of English intonation and vocal techniques.

  The fastest way to get rid of your accent is to do your speech analysis and then download our app: Get rid of your Accent UK1.

• To get the best results with these apps, download the video courses Get Rid of your Accent Part 1 and Get rid of your Accent Part 2.

Benefits of speech analysis:

• During the speech analysis, we will do simple exercises to correct your English sounds. You will immediately see results from our method.

• You will receive a written copy of the analysis with a list of English sounds to practise with corresponding lessons from our accent apps, books and video courses.

• You will save time as speech analysis helps you to focus on particular sounds and other speech patterns and practise them with our accent apps, books and video courses.

• Speech analysis will help you decide whether it would be better for you to join a mini group on our accent reduction course or have individual elocution lessons.

• You will get great results with a plan tailored to your own needs, helping you to focus on the English sounds that will create a good accent.

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64. Top 10 tips to speak like a leader

By Olga Smith

Speech is a very technical subject full of subtle details. I have spent 30 years learning these subtleties and in this blog post, I would like to outline some top tips for people who want to speak like leaders with authority. I will divide the speech into three main categories:

1. What do you say? What do you say refers to the content of your speech, word and phrases they use.

2. How do you say it? How you say it refers to their pronunciation and intonation, power, pitch, pace and use of pauses.

3. Body language. Body language refers to eye contact, posture, gestures and a way of carrying oneself.

Leaders speech content have the following characteristics:
1. Leaders use specific words that allow explaining something in a concise way, for example:
”The speech was not only entertaining but also well researched and clearly structured”.

2. Leaders are careful with words generalisation and superlatives because these words often wash out the true meaning. For example: “The speech was awesome (good, amazing, etc)”

3. Leaders use positive language. In order to sound positive avoid using the preposition “but”, instead of “but”, use the preposition “and”. “Because “but” negates the positive which happened before. Compare these two examples:
“The team has done well, but there are still more challenges to face.”

“The team has done well and is ready to face new challenges.”

4. Instead of talking about problems leaders talk about opportunities. For example, instead of saying: “ Our problem is that our business is very young and the competition is very powerful.” A leader would put it in terms of an opportunity: “We have an opportunity to learn best practices from our competition and offer the best to our customers”.

5. Leaders use assertive words that demonstrate belief and confidence. They do not use words that show hesitation and indecisiveness: seems, maybe, might, perhaps, would, etc. Compare these examples:

“I need this report by Monday. It is a final deadline”.
”It would be good to get this report early next week.”

Now would we come to the subject of how to say it as a leader.
6. The first thing to think about is the pitch if your voice. If you would like to demonstrate power and authority, then speak with lowered pitched voice. High pitched voice is typical for children, women and elderly people.

7. The second most important thing is the pace of your speech. Avoid rushed speech.

8. Use pauses between sentences, paragraphs and dramatic pauses. Do not be afraid of a pause, do not try to fill the pause with meaningless words. Allow yourself to breathe and focus instead

9. Think about your voice projection and articulation. Make sure your speech is clear and crisp and others hear you well. Leaders do not whisper so that people can’t understand what you say. Leaders do not shout, as shouting is perceived as a sign of desperation and weakness.

10. To look, feel and sound like a leader make sure you have good posture, maintain eye contact and have open gestures when speaking to show your confidence. Avoid slouching, looking down and closed gestures which are associated with people who are unsure of themselves and scared.

I recommend that you practise the language of leadership with our apps Elocution Lessons, Get rid of your Accent UK1 and Power, pitch, pace, pause.

More on www.batcsglobal.com

Read related blogs:

https://www.batcsglobal.com/accent-reduction-blog/2019/8/17/elocution-lessons-benefits

http://www.batcsglobal.com/accent-reduction-blog/2020/1/9/elocution-lessons-with-boris-johnson

http://www.batcsglobal.com/accent-reduction-blog/2020/1/19/elocution-lessons-with-boris-johnson-part-two

http://www.batcsglobal.com/accent-reduction-blog/2020/2/4/elocution-lessons-with-boris-johnson-part-three

63. What are some daily practices one should do to improve their communication skills?

By Olga Smith

The number one purpose of communication is to understand others and be understood. Therefore, communication involves three main skills:

1. Listening and tuning in to your partner or audience.
   Good communicators use 3D listening which means they are paying attention to how people perceive their messages, understand who they are speaking to, and establish a rapport. It is important to pay attention to the intonation and voice. People constantly ask me how can they improve their communication skills. Often, when we talk to others, we do not have the patience to listen. We hear a few words and very quickly we start anticipating what the other person will say. We even try to finish their sentences which is not very helpful, particularly for the person who is talking. I recommend avoiding commenting, judging or advising regarding what you listening to. Just listen and engage your mind and heart by listening to another person.

2. Communicating clearly and in an interesting engaging way to keep your audience’s attention. This skill is particularly important when speaking on the phone. You can achieve this skill by performing speech exercises.

I recommend the following daily practices.

• Read, listen and make notes on topics that interest you the most.

• Practice clarity of speech with the app Get Rid of your Accent

• Look people in the eyes when you speak to them, smile.

• Ask questions, and listen to the answers without interrupting the person you are communicating with. See what you can understand from the tone of voice, intonation, etc. Try to tune in to their speech pace, breathing and loudness.

• Practise intonation and inflection with the app Fluent English Speech. The wrong intonation might be perceived as rude or inappropriate. The right intonation can make you sound powerful, compassionate, etc.

• Practise stressing your messages and using the pauses in the right places with the app Fluent English Speech

• Master colloquial speech with the app Elocution Lessons

To get the best results with these apps, download the video courses Get Rid of your Accent Part 1 and Get rid of your Accent Part 2.

Competent communicator knows how to speak confidently and use public speaking skills such as:

Informing
Inspiring
Persuading
Selling
Facilitating a discussion
Creating relationships and partnerships
Expressing yourself in front of others
Using visual aids successfully
You can also learn how to modulate your voice to show and understand emotions; you can do it with the app ‎Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause.

More on Get Rid of your Accent | Elocution Lessons

62. How non-native English can become teachers of English

By Olga Smith
24 June 2020
To improve your English skills I recommend that you divide them first into four main groups:

1. Speaking and use of English

2. Pronunciation and fluency

3. Grammar and writing

4. Listening

Bellow are my recommendations for each group:

1)To master speaking and use of English I recommend reading books phrases, sentences, verses, prose passages and extracts from newspapers out loud and speak to native English 10–30 minutes a day in person or on the phone.

2) To master pronunciation and fluency download apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1 (available on Google Play and the AppStore), Elocution Lessons and Fluent English Speech, Business English Speech (Available only on the AppStore).

3) Keep writing on a regular basis in English and check your mistakes with Grammarly

4) Listen to an audiobook or YouTube video several times, make a note of phrases and words you do not know, then listen again. This way you can enlarge your vocabulary and enhance your understanding of English. I recommend the audiobooks Get Rid of your Accent for Beginners, Get Rid of your Accent Part One and Two and Get Rid of your Accent for Business.

I propose that you address each point in a focused way. I recommend practising one or two skills a day for 45 minutes for each skill. For example, write for 30 minutes and make a note of Grammarly corrections and make up a few short sentences with the correct grammar form for 15 minutes. Then practice one vowel sound with the app Get Rid of your Accent UK1 for 20 minutes and one connected speech pattern with the app Fluent English Speech for 10 minutes. Then speak to a friend in English paying attention to the vowel sound and connected speech pattern you mastered on that day, also try to use grammar pattern that you have mastered on that day. If you live in the USA download the apps for General American accent mastery: ‎American Accent App and ‎Fluent American Speech.

To get the best results with these apps, download the video courses Get Rid of your Accent Part 1 and Get rid of your Accent Part 2.

You will see that this strategy works really well. When you become a teacher of English you can practise the same method with your students.

61. The best way to learn English fast

By Olga Smith

For the last two months, I have been travelling to Thailand, Spain and Israel. I tried to speak with local people in English and realised that the conversation didn't go beyond twenty words of very basic vocabulary. People told me that they learned English for five to seven years in schools, but according to their level of speech, it felt they learned it for two days maximum. How come? It turned out they learned spelling and grammar for those seven years, but rarely spoke.

Also, I met many people who have been living in the UK for thirty years and they still speak in pidgin English. Some of them were PhDs and they complained to me that people treated them like morons because of their primitive English. Well, the reason for their poor English was that they made a choice to stick to their native community (Iranian, Russian, Spanish etc.) and to not pursue English. Interestingly enough, their passive vocabulary was often very good as they could write well, read books and papers, but they didn't dare to use this vocabulary in their speech, because they were not sure how to pronounce it and it made them shy to use it.

One of my friends is a Chinese lady who has been living in London for seven years and has an English boyfriend. She is still hesitant to speak English, she constantly repeats: "I learn English, but it's very difficult... I am not good, it's very hard". No wonder, she learns English for an hour twice a week, but then she speaks in Chinese for the rest of the time.

I decided to do a little experiment with my Chinese friend. Firstly, I told her to say to herself and others that English is easy and that she speaks good English because when she was constantly repeating that her English was bad, to me it sounded like a self-programming for having bad English. Secondly, I gave her three new short phrases a day and asked her to repeat them five times several times a day. Thirdly, I asked her to reduce the time she speaks in Chinese and gradually increased the time she speaks in English and use the new phrases. After just a week her confidence to speak was so much higher and she felt powerful as a person.

For all who wish to talk in English with confidence fast I want to recommend three things:

1. Stop learning English, and start speaking it by repeating three new useful phrases several times a day. Your speech organ muscles will get used to English, you will enlarge your vocabulary and gain the confidence to speak. Repeating, repeating and repeating, like parrots!

2. Reduce the time of speaking in your native language and increase the time you speak in English.

3. Listen to English TV and Radio channels, make a note of phrases you hear and repeat them five times several times a day. In the past, I met Greeks, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and their English was advanced. Guess what these countries have in common: English TV channels that are not translated into their native language.

Listen to audiobooks in the series Get Rid of your Accent from Audible, or download our apps: get rid of your accent uk1 and Fluent English Speech. All audio tracks were recorded by trained actors, just listen and repeat after them.

I wish you to be empowered by your outstanding English! More on www.batcsglobal.com

60. How do I give a great 2 minute speech?

By Olga Smith

23 June 2020

1. Identify the topic, the title, and the purpose of your speech. Below are examples of a speech purpose:

Informing
Inspiring
Persuading
Selling
Creating relationships and partnerships
Introducing yourself to others

2. Prepare in advance your 2–3 key points and remember that a good presentation includes:

• Engaging beginning, for example with a powerful quote or questions that create interest in your audience

• Good structure: introduction, main part and conclusion

• A powerful ending that is memorable for the audience

• Clear messages which are stressed appropriately

• Connection with the audience on an emotional level

3. Take your mobile phone and open voice memos. Start speaking and record your first speech on this subject. Then listen to it and make notes:

1. What else do you want to add to your speech

2. What you like in your speech

3. What you dislike in your speech and delete it

4. After that take the phone and record your improved/edited speech one more time.

5. Then type your speech.

Below is the list of main rules of speech writing and presenting:
Stress the most important words that contain the meaning and the essence of a sentence. As a rule, we stress numbers, names, strong words like "never", "not" and words that carry the most important meaning in a sentence.

Write short sentences and use short punchy words. There is a difference between a written and a spoken word. It is fine to use long sentences if you write a PhD thesis or a scientific article for a magazine because readers can read it several times if needed. But if you speak in long sentences, then your listeners might feel lost in words and lose the plot. Thus you might fail to deliver your message.

Make sure you have good articulation and clear speech which you can master with the app Get Rid of your Accent. You will find rules and practical exercises for voice modulation and use of pauses in the apps "4Ps, Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause" and "Fluent English Speech". They will help you to make your speeches impressive, powerful and interesting.

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59. How do business English skills help close deals?

By Olga Smith

If you have good business English skills you will be able to close deals because you will:

1. Feel and look confident. Confident people are trusted and have the ability to persuade and lead others.

2. Know what and how to say your key messages. You will stress the right words in order to emphasise important things

3. Create a good impression of an educated, knowledgeable and credible person. People will trust that you have enough knowledge and expertise to do business with you. Credibility is the key to closing deals.

   Because English is the language for international communication you will be able to work in international and global companies and close large deals. As a result, you will get higher earnings.

I recommend our bestselling app Business English Speech to bring your English to a professional level and master the crucial skills to achieve economic success!

More on Get Rid of your Accent | Elocution Lessons

58. Is learning English grammar guarantee good English speech?

By Olga Smith

There are more exceptions from rules than rules when it comes to the English grammar. If you think too much about grammar you might end up thinking a lot instead of speaking. It might even create a barrier to speaking fluently. Therefore I recommend paying more attention to practising speaking rather than learning grammar. Below are a few practical tips that will help you to speak fluently in English fast:

1. Speak every day for 10–30 minutes preferably to native speakers of English, or non-native speakers with good English. This will help you to overcome the barrier to speak. Don’t think about the grammar when speaking, think of the free flow of your speech. Memorise phrases, rather than separate words.

2. Listen to an audiobook several times. When you listen to the book for the first time, you just get the main ideas; the second time write down words you don’t know; the third time and repeat a small section at a time after the audiobook. This way you will also learn new vocabulary. I like the books in the series Get Rid of your Accent as they help to learn new words and expressions quickly and with the correct pronunciation.

3. Write a few sentences about yourself, choose topics that you talk most about: your name, education, work, study, hobbies and interest. Write down a list of your professional vocabulary and practice it out loud. Then record yourself, listen to your recording and make a note of your mistakes. Correct them and then Record yourself again. Do these recording exercises for each topic.

4. The English tend to speak in phrases, often linking the words together. To sound fluent in English, liaise words that belong together in a phrase gliding from one word to another, almost pronouncing them as one word.

5. Practise common English phrases, sentences and verses with correct pronunciation with the app Elocution Lessons.

More on Get Rid of your Accent | Elocution Lessons

57. How can I acquire a beautiful speaking voice?

By Olga Smith

In order to acquire a beautiful speaking voice, I recommend doing your speech analysis. Speech analysis will help you see what exactly you need to change to sound pleasant. It may be that you have a very high pitched voice or a very low pitched voice. You might speak in a monotonous way without proper stresses or pauses. Your voice may be too loud or too quiet. You might have poor articulation. You might speak too quickly so that your listeners cannot follow you, or too slowly so that others falling asleep whilst you talk or try to talk over you. As you can see, there can be a number of reasons. Your individual speech analysis will help you hit the right target.

The best tool to master your articulation is with the app ‎Get Rid of your Accent UK1.

Then master your 4Ps, you can do it with the app power, pitch, pace and pause.

It is also important to check your sentence stress, intonation and infection because it creates a certain emotion. You can master these with the app Fluent English Speech.

More on www.batcsglobal.com

56. What is articulation of speech?

By Olga Smith

What is the basis of English articulation? Why is it so important? What are the examples of other performers who use it too? Where you can learn it? When it is particularly useful? We will answer all 5 questions in this blog.

1. What is the basis of English articulation?
   It is called muscular warm-up and rhythmic exercises. These simple exercises strengthen our speech organs, particularly the tongue and lips. It is very good to do tongue-twisters to master your articulation. Here is a little example of a tongue-twister from our book Get Rid of your Accent, Part 1:
   She sells seashells by the sea-shore;
   If she sells seashells by the sea-shore,
   Then I’m sure she sells sea-shore shells.

2. Why is articulation so important?
   Because strengthening your speech organ muscles helps to master the articulation of English consonants which make your speech crisp and clear.

3. What are the examples of other performers who use warm-up exercises?
   Dancers, musicians and athletes warm up their muscles in order to perform better and avoid injuries..

4. Where and how you can learn articulation?
   You can master muscular warm-up and articulation exercises during speech lessons in a drama school, with a private elocution tutor or with our apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Elocution Lessons and Business English Speech., as well as with our video course Get Rid of your Accent Part Two.

5. When it is particularly useful to do articulation exercises?
   Doing warm-up and articulation exercises would be very useful before a job interview, a public speech, an important conference call, a presentation, a court appearance, teaching a class, giving a lecture, etc. We recommend that you do articulation exercises regularly, at least once a day for a few months if they have a goal to get rid of an accent and speak clearly.

   More on www.batcsglobal.com

55. How to pronounce the /r/ sound in English

By Olga Smith

In this blog post, we will share with you great tips based on 25 years of teaching experience for the English/r/ sound and how to avoid mistakes associated with this sound.

Speech organs position for the English /r/ sound:
The tip of the tongue curls back slightly in the roof of the mouth, just behind the alveolar ridge, and the breath squeezes past whilst the tongue is still and not vibrating.

There are other pronunciations of the letter "r" or sound /r/:
In old fashioned RP, the /r/ sound was often pronounced with a single tap of the tip of the tongue behind the teeth in between two vowel sounds.

In other languages, the letter "r" is pronounced differently from English.
For example, the French vibrate the tongue towards the back of the mouth.
Russians, however slightly vibrate the tip of the tongue very quickly as the breath passes through.

In our experience of teaching speech, the English /r/sound is particularly difficult for Japanese and Chinese students. They often pronounce the /r/ sound using their lips and the result is the /r/ sound replaced with a /w/.

Tips to pronounce the /r/ sound correctly:

• Do not vibrate your tongue, keep your tongue still

• Do not use the lips to pronounce /r/

• Practice lesson 41 and articulation tongue exercises with our apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Elocution Lessons and Business English Speech.

More on Get Rid of your Accent | Elocution Lessons

54. 5 top skills to dominate a group discussion

By Olga Smith

There are situations when it is appropriate to dominate a group discussion:

• When chairing a meeting

• When presenting a topic/argument

• When leading a debate

The skills you need to master to dominate a group discussion are :

1. Quick reaction

2. Good voice projection and effective use of pauses

3. Confident speech and voice

4. Intellect and knowledge about topics discussed

5. Setting up goals and desired outcomes, and asking appropriate questions and wrapping up the discussion.

How to master the skills of dominating a group discussion:

1. Listen intently to the participants of the discussion. Prepare in advance for a discussion: learn about the participants of the discussion, their names, positions, achievements, strengths and weaknesses.

2. Master your voice projection and use of pauses for effect to make your speech powerful with the app Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause.

3. Make sure your speech is very clear and you have good articulation. You can master your speech with the app Elocution Lessons and Get Rid of your Accent UK1 for British English and with the apps American Accent App and Fluent American Speech for General American accent.

4. Do research on the topic of the discussion and make sure you understand it well.

5. In your mind, crystallise the desired outcome you want to achieve as a result of this discussion. Prepare questions and answers for them, see how you can wrap up with appropriate phrases, such as: “it’s clear now”, “let’s move on”, “we don’t have enough time to discuss this in great length now”, “let’s come back to that, but now we must address the…”

   More on www.batcsglobal.com

53. Intonation, inflection and sentence stress in English

Why is intonation important? What is intonation? How does it influence your speech and the impression you make on others? I will answer all these questions in this blog post.

Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch in a phrase or a sentence. Each person will unconsciously copy the speech patterns of his native language or dialect, starting from the time he first begins to talk.

Inflection refers to the gentle rise and fall of the voice in a word or syllable. There are six main inflections in English. In this blog post, I would like to discuss the two most basic inflections:1

1.    Simple Rising
This inflection is used when asking questions. It sounds light and positive.

2.      Simple Falling
This inflection is typical to use for a statement.

I am Russian, and in Russia, we tend to use simple falling a lot. When I had just arrived from Russia and was not aware of the differences in intonation in English and Russian, I was perceived as too direct. When I asked someone to do something for me it sounded as if I was giving orders. I was using polite words like "please" and "could you", but my intonation was inappropriate for requests. I felt people hated me. Then I took elocution lessons with one of the top London speech tutors Linda James. Linda taught me that I should use a simple rising to sound polite when asking people to do something for me. It was amazing to experience the change in my life after I had adjusted my intonation for English, people started to treat me with respect and warmth because I appeared polite with my new intonation.

Another problem I had all my life was that I sounded very monotonous. My speech was boring and people would not listen to me. I had management positions in big corporations and had to speak to my team, but I felt then when I was speaking, I could not maintain people's interest. Linda also helped me with this problem. She taught me how to use sentence stress and stress the most important messages in each sentence. I felt that there are so many people like me in London who would benefit from the knowledge I gained from Linda and decided to share it in our books and apps. You can practice English intonation and sentence stress with the app Fluent English speech and with the book Get Rid of your Accent, Part Two, Advanced level.

More on www.batcsglobal.com

52. 6 rules of public speaking

By Olga Smith, 12 May 2020

6 rules of public speaking are:

1.       Good posture.
Stand in a good centred position with feet firmly on the floor, slightly apart, relaxing the knees and hips, and keeping the shoulders down, free from any tension. Feel your spine straightening with your head balanced on the neck, as if it was attached to the ceiling by a piece of elastic coming from the top of it. This posture is good for making you look and feel confident.

2.       Correct breathing
The basis for all speech is breath. In normal everyday speech, we use a small volume of breath to pass through the vocal chords to create a sound. When we need to increase the volume and produce louder speech, we need to increase the breath capacity in the lungs, allowing the voice to be projected forward with energy and attack. Correct breathing will help you relax during your speech.

3.       Use pauses effectively
The use of pause can be a very effective means of engaging with the audience for the public speaker. “Less is more”, say less with more pauses. There is nothing worse, when trying to impart a great deal of information to your audience, than discovering that because you are speaking quickly and without pauses, very little of this information is being listened to.

4.       Stress your key points
To convey the meaning in a sentence, native English speakers usually stress important words and throw away small, unimportant words. “Throwing away” means these unimportant words are not given the same length and vocal energy.

5.       Change your voice to show different emotions
The pitch of the voice changes with different emotions. For example, when a speaker is expressing anger, excitement or surprise the pitch will rise, but when expressing deep, sensitive, sorrowful feelings the pitch will fall.

6.       Know your audience and engage with it
The purpose of public speaking is to have a certain effect on the audience. Learn about your audience and adjust your speech accordingly. Show a real interest in your audience. Engage with your audience by asking them appropriate questions.

7. Make sure that your speech is crisp, clear and easy to understand. Record your speech several times and see how others can hear it. Download the app Get Rid of your Accent to master your speech clarity.

You can learn and practice public speaking skills with the app Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause and from the book Get Rid of your Accent Part Two Advanced Level.

More on www.batcsglobal.com

51. The most difficult sound in English "th"

By Olga Smith, 28 April 2020

There are two "th" sounds in English:

1. Voiced as in "that" 
2. Unvoiced as in "thanks".

In order to create the sound put the tip of the tongue between the top and bottom teeth to allow the air to squeeze past. It sounds very simple. Why then so many people can not pronounce the "th" sound correctly? The main reason is that the "th" sound doesn't exist in many languages and that's why many people struggle with it. Below are the main difficulties with the "th" sound for different nationalities:

1. Russians, French and Germans, for example, substitute "th" with "s" or "z" sounds. Instead of "I think" they would say "I sink", and instead of "that is " they would say "zet is". What is the difference between the  "th" and "s" and z" sounds? For "s" and "z" the tongue is behind the closed teeth, for the "th" always between the teeth.

2. Indians and Pakistanis, for example,  substitute the "th" sound with "t" or "d" sounds, instead of "that" they would say "dat", instead of "I think" they say "I tink". What is the difference between the "th" sound and "t" and "d" sounds?

The "t" and "d" sounds are plosive consonants and in order to create them you need two positions:

1. The tip of the tongue goes high up and touches the teeth ridge

2. Then you must drop the tongue and create a little explosion, that's why  "t" and "d" sounds are called plosives. The sound is short.

   The "th" sound, on the other hand, is a bit longer (it is a fricative consonant). In order to produce it, you must remember to breathe out and have a tiny gap between the teeth and the tongue so that the air can squeeze past. Many people make a mistake and bite their tongue and instead of the "th" we hear "t" or "d" sounds.

In order to master the "th" sound, we recommend that you:

1. Read the list of words starting with the  "th" sound very slowly, looking at your mouth in the mirror. Here are a few examples for you: thanks, three, third, thought, thumb, thing, thin

Do you see your tongue between the teeth"? Is there a tiny gap for the air to squeeze past?

2. Other sounds may create an extra difficulty when pronouncing the "th" sound, such as "r" after the "th" as in "three". We recommend that you separate the "th" and then pronounce the rest of the word a few times, then connect it and pronounce the whole word.

3. Practice lessons 36 and 37 from the apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Business English Speech, and Elocution Lessons.

Four things to avoid when pronouncing the "th" sound:

1. Avoid making a big gap between the teeth, you need to gently touch the tongue with your teeth.

2. Avoid biting your tongue, because it will not be possible to pronounce the "th".

3. Avoid putting too much of the tongue out between the teeth as the sound will be incorrect and it will create too much strain for your speech organs.

4. Avoid breathing in when pronouncing the "th", always breathe out.

50. The most important sound in English: [ə] - schwa, as in "the"

By Olga Smith

The schwa is the most used sound in English. It is important to sound fluent and natural. In our experience, almost all students of English make many mistakes with the schwa. Let’s have a look at this sound and sort it out once and for all! The schwa is highlighted in all examples below.

5 most important characteristics of the schwa [ə] are:

1. It is the shortest sound in English.

2. The schwa is always unstressed. It is pronounced in unstressed syllables and in a multi-syllable word there can be more than one schwa as in “conclusion, announcement, effortless”.

3. It is a very neutral sound; when pronouncing the schwa, remember that your speech organs should be relaxed and neutral

4. The schwa is used to make the speech more fluent because many unstressed syllables and even unimportant words are pronounced with the schwa.

5. It is used in contracting unimportant words for the meaning of the sentence or phrases.

   5 main classes of words that have the neutral vowel shwa [ə]:

   1. Endings of names: Linda, Michael, Olga, Richard, Spencer.

   2. Auxiliary verbs in unstressed position will often have the schwa: have, has, had, were, was, are, am.

   3. Articles, prepositions and particles in unstressed position will often have the schwa: a, the, to, of, as, for, from.

   4. UK counties ending in “shire”: as in Oxfordshire, Berkshire

   5. Names of places ending in “ford” as in Stamford, Stratford.

Below are the most common mistakes people make when they do not know how and when using the schwa:

1. They pronounce the words the way they are spelt. Many Latin words ending with “tion”,”sion” as in “emotion, confusion” are pronounced with the schwa at the end, but people whose native language is based on Latin, like Spanish for example, do not use the schwa and pronounce words the way they are spelt. English spelling and pronunciation are not the same. English pronounce unstressed ending “tion” , “sion” with the schwa. Prefix “con”, “ob” as in “conclusion”, “oblivious” are also pronounced with the schwa. But many wrongly pronounce [ɒ] as in “box”, instead.

2. They make the schwa too long. Remember that the schwa is so short, it is almost not there.
   When you make the schwa too long it is not good English and even the stress in a word can change to the wrong one.

3. Sometimes they pronounce [i:] as in “please” in the article “the”, they say thi: table. It is important to use the schwa. The only time you can pronounce “the” with a short sound [ɪ] as in “big” is when the next word starts with the vowel, for example, “thɪ illness.”

4. They pronounce the article “a” as diphthong [eɪ] as in “pay”. The article “a” is always unstressed and should be pronounced with the schwa.

5. They pronounce prepositions “of” and “from” with the sound [ɒ] as in “box”, these prepositions should be pronounced with the schwa.

6. Quite often, they pronounce “r” which is in spelling in words with the schwa as in “doctor, sponsor, wondered”.

   We teach the schwa in all our books and apps. Practice lessons 6 with the following apps:
   Elocution Lessons, Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Business English Speech; practice the schwa in lessons 5 and 6 with the app Fluent English Speech.

   Olga Smith

   www.batcsglobal.com

49. 5 steps to improve fluency in English

By Olga Smith

The English tend to speak in phrases, often linking the words together. To sound fluent in English, liaise words that belong together in a phrase gliding from one word to another, almost pronouncing them as one word.

I would like to outline 5 connected speech patterns:

1. Consonants elision
   bus stop, soap powder

2. Liaising vowel to vowel
   go out, so easy

3. Liaising article and preposition with the main word
   at the cinema, in the woods

4. Liaising words that form compound nouns
   bank clerk, assistant manager

5. Use linking “r”
   car insurance, fair enough

You can find practical fluency exercises in our app Fluent English Speech and in our video course.

 Read our popular blog about the benefits of elocution lessons

48. How do I get rid of my native accent and get an American accent?

By Olga Smith

In order to get rid of your accent you need to:
1. Learn and practice how to pronounce sounds of General American pronunciation
2. Do articulation exercises to make your consonants clear and crisp.
This process has several stages:

The first stage is to make sure that you put your lips, tongue and jaw in the right position for the learned sound. If you fail to do so, the sound will not be precise and may be different altogether. Follow the instructions on the speech organ position given at the beginning of each lesson. Pronounce the sound several times, looking in the mirror to make sure you do it correctly.

When you have just started working on a sound your speech organs are not trained; therefore, they might not go automatically for correct placement. When you use the mirror, you can see yourself and adjust lips and jaw positions. When it comes to the tongue position, you need to think about its position and adjust it. When you feel that your sound is correct, start pronouncing the words, sentences and verses in the lesson.

The second stage is aimed at helping you learn a sound by repeating and imitating after the teacher. This exercise will help you to make the sound as correctly as possible and train your speech organs for the particular sound. The more you repeat, the better your pronunciation becomes.

The third stage gives you an opportunity to practice the sound on your own American accent app. You will be hearing yourself and mastering the sound. This stage is essential before recording yourself. We recommend that you practice each sound for about 20-40 minutes a day, with little breaks in between.

The fourth stage involves recording yourself and listening to the recording. It helps you to see whether you have progressed in mastering the pronunciation and to identify where you still make mistakes.

The fifth stage focuses on eliminating mistakes. Correctly repeating the words where you made a mistake will help you avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

The sixth stage has the purpose of helping you incorporate the learned sound in your everyday speech. It’s about paying attention when you speak. We say: think before you speak and slow down for the period of mastering your speech.

If you speak fast, you are likely to speak in your autopilot mode, with your accent. After the lessons, you will be able to correct yourself. This stage is also trying to find the learned sound in the newspapers, on the radio, on TV and when people are speaking English.

The next step in eliminating your accent is to develop fluency, by speaking in phrases rather than in separate words, while knowing how to correctly link words together. You can practice this with the app Fluent American Speech.
Finally, learn the patterns of American/English intonation and vocal techniques so that your speech is more close to native speakers.

More on www.batcsglobal.com

47. Fluent American Speech App

By Olga Smith

Do you want to sound fluent in American/English and more like a native English speaker? Is your speech a bit monotonous? Then our new app Fluent American Speech is for you. After you mastered all American/English sounds in our American Accent App (link), you can take your English to the next level. In this new app, we provide rules and practical exercises you need to sound fluent and natural. The app also includes pronunciation rules with practical exercises for difficult word endings and silent letters.

6 things this app will help you with:

1. To sound fluent and more like a native American/English speaker within 1-2 months

2. Your messages will be clear and powerful

3. You will learn pronunciation rules that make your speech grammatically correct.

4. Becoming a competent communicator and public speak

5. Increasing your personal confidence

6. Improving your job prospect and social life

Who is this app for:

·       Professionals, doctors, diplomats for whom a high standard of English and clarity of speech are important

·       People who want to sound fluent in English like native speakers

·       Pronunciation and speech teachers

·       EFL or ESL teachers

·       Public speakers and presenters

We believe that the best way to develop a certain skill is to base it on practical work. The best way to master fluency is by the regular, daily practice of exercises in this app. The course is adapted for smartphones and tablets, allowing you to study at anytime, anywhere. Practise with this app and watch your career, education, and social life blossom.

45. Queen Elizabeth II pronunciation and how it changed over time

By Olga Smith

In 1956 Nancy Mitford wrote in her book Noblesse Oblige: “It is solely by their language that the upper classes nowadays are distinguished – since they are neither cleaner, richer, nor better-educated than anybody else.” Indeed, the British aristocracy tends to speak with a particular accent, that is RP. But with time their RP is changing. Let’s see how.

I have been listening to the Queen's 21st birthday speech which was recorded in 1947. She speaks very much like her mother. Her vowels and diphthongs are rather tight.

If we listen to her latest speech of the opening of the Parlament, we can see that her speech changed. It has become more relaxed and natural. I assume that after the death of the Queen Mother, the Queen communicated with people whose RP is more general and now her RP sounds less tight and more relaxed.

When I have published my previous blog Elocution Lessons based on RP, I have mentioned Refined RP, which the Queen and her generation and class speak. Some of our students wrote back to me and said that they would like to have Refined RP. I remember when I started my elocution lessons in 2004 I also wanted to learn Refined RP as it seemed so beautiful to me. When I was listening to the Queen’s speeches I thought it would be a good idea if I learn to speak like the Queen. But my tutor Linda James told me that if I do I will become a figure of fun because no one speaks like that anymore, and I will sound very unnatural.

In fact, if you listen to the Queen's grandchildren Prince Wiliam and Harry, you would see that their speech is very different from the speech of their ancestors. There is a general tendency, nowadays, in aristocratic circles to sound more relaxed. In contrast, I have noticed, that some aspiring social climbers, who are not of aristocratic background, but who would like to mingle with the aristocracy try very hard with their RP and sound rather unnatural.

At the same time, not trying at all, such as not pronouncing word endings, not stressing important words, etc, sounds lazy and lacks clarity. Based on General RP and recorded by highly professional actors, our apps and books will make your speech clear by:

• Articulating consonants well

• Pronouncing the vowels and diphthongs correctly

• Mastering the flow of speech

The purpose of our elocution lessons is to help you sound educated and feel at ease in any environment.

Read our popular blog about the benefits of elocution lessons.

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