A Better Way of Shadowing: Break It Up First, Then Speed It Up
I frequently recommend shadowing to my students as one of the most effective ways to attain speech fluency and a natural rhythmic flow…
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The “-ATE” Escape: Why “Graduate” Changes Its Last Vowel
It sometimes surprises my accent students when I tell them that words like graduate, separate, moderate, associate, and estimate can be pronounced two…
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Podcast Companion: Building the American R From Scratch
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we focus on the American /r/ sound, building it up “from scratch” by explaining how to…
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Why Stressing “To” or “For” Can Confuse People More Than Mispronouncing a Vowel
Here at AccentFirst, we covered the topic of stressing the main point of a sentence a few weeks ago in a podcast episode.…
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Podcast Companion: Why Everything Gets Quieter After the Main Stress
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we talk about finding the point of your sentence, also called the focus word, and especially…
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The Problem Phrase Bank: Build Your Own Pronunciation Practice List
A lot of pronunciation practice is generic. You work through a textbook, complete an app lesson, practice a particular sound, or follow a…
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Didja Hear That? Part 2: Assimilation in Everyday American English
In the previous episode of The Accent Journey, we looked at examples of assimilation and connected speech, such as supposed to → suppose-ta,…
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Y’all, You Guys, and Youse: What Your Choice of “You” Says About American English
Imagine you’re talking to five people and want to say: “Are you ready?” Who exactly does you refer to? Everyone? One particular person?…
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Podcast Companion: Assimilation in American English (Part 1)
In this week’s episode of The Accent Journey Podcast, we explore the first of two episodes on assimilation in connected American English, the…
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The H You Don’t Need: How “Give Him a Call” Becomes “Give ’Im a Call”
Listen to a native American English speaker say: Give him a call. At normal conversational speed, you may hear something closer to: Give…
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