Over the years, I’ve taught a wide range of individuals, from those who struggled to make any progress to those who excelled within as little as several weeks. Through teaching, I’ve learned a lot about the different personality types when it comes to learning. I’ve taught across generations from young infants all the way to …
Accent reduction is an area where it’s not uncommon for students to experience extreme frustration. Despite spending large sums of money paying for a private tutor, students often don’t achieve anywhere near the desired results. Learning English phonetics is easy. Improving your accent? That’s a different story. Most schools provide their students with teaching materials …
Why Understanding Phonetics Isn’t Improving Your Accent Read More »
Received Pronunciation (RP) is a popular British accent among learners worldwide, from actors to ESL students. Search for a tutor online via various teaching platforms or look for an accent reduction school, and you’ll most likely find RP mentioned as the gold standard of clear, articulate British English. The same holds true for YouTube videos …
Received Pronunciation or Standard British English? Read More »
British English pronunciation uses a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. The sounds of RP are aspirated from the front of the mouth. But what exactly does that mean? During my early days of teaching pronunciation, I remember teaching the plosive sound /t/ to a Japanese student. For native speakers, producing this sound seems effortless. …
The problem that many students face is the mechanics of how we create sounds. You will often hear people say that the sounds of RP are aspirated from the front of the mouth. But the question we have to ask is how is this achieved? You see, most phonetics books draw attention to the positioning …
English language learners often make the mistake of putting too much emphasis on their pronunciation output and not enough on their input. Both are important components of the learning process, but it’s crucial to find a balance. It’s important to understand how each individual sound is produced, but that’s just one aspect of the journey. …
Improve Your Pronunciation by Listening to Audio Books Read More »
Students often ask me how long will it take to see a significant improvement. This is a difficult question to answer since every student is different. The first and most crucial stage is for the student to simply become aware of their flaws. This is a fundamental and essential step. Many students make the mistake …
Having previously spent almost a decade living in Japan, I can affirm that Japanese speakers tend to encounter extreme challenges with English pronunciation. A prevalent issue among Japanese learners is the struggle to differentiate between the sounds /l/ and /r/. In Japanese, a sound that falls between these two English sounds is utilized, as evident …
English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers Part I Read More »
Accents play a pivotal role in shaping how we communicate, influencing the impressions we leave on others. The surge in interest in accent training underscores a desire for individuals to enhance their spoken English, aiming for a more polished and professional sound. Within this discourse, the term “neutral English” has gained popularity, often associated with …
The neutral RP accent is one of the most sought-after English accents. Received Pronunciation tends to be easily understood and facilitates easier communication, especially for those who are from a non-native English-speaking background. Received Pronunciation isn’t necessarily ‘the Queen’s English’ or the accent spoken by Tory MPs. It’s an accent that is spoken by a …