English Pronunciation And Accent Reduction

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The native English speakers in these lessons are a mixture of American and UK accents. You can learn about the differences between American and British accents

We've also got some great diagrams to make it clear what shape your mouth should make and where your tongue should be, as in this example:
These images will help you understand the shapes your mouth should make.

Lesson 1 - Many Sounds In English Are Not In Your Native Language.

For example, a lot of English as a Second Language (ESL) students struggle to pronounce the "th" sound (as in "thing') or the the 'r' sound (as in "rent') because these sounds are not present in their native language. It's time for you to get some help with pronouncing these common English sounds.

Lesson 2 - Some combinations of sounds can be hard to pronounce.

Usually it's pretty easy to pronounce a single consonant such as "b" "k" or "f", but what if the consonants are grouped together? These are "consonant clusters". A "d" and an "s" might be easy on their own, but how about together such as in "Dads". We'll help you learn how to pronounce consonant clusters

Lesson 3 - Syllable Structure Can Vary A Lot.

In many languages syllable structure is nice and regular. Not so with English. We like to keep things interesting by having lots of alternatives. You might get lucky and get: Consonant Vowel Consonant Vowel such as in "yo-yo", but you can also have Consonant Vowel Consonant Consonant Vowel Consonant as in "bed bug" Do you find yourself wanting to add an extra vowel on the end of "bug"? This lesson will help you with your English syllable structure

Lesson 4 - Words Are Not Always Pronounced The Way They Are Spelt.

In this lesson you'll learn some handy rules to help you avoid getting tricked by English spelling. If you want to learn when a "c" is hard and when it's soft, or when "wh" sounds like a "w" and when it tries to be tricky and sound like and an "h" then this [[Pronunciation|lesson on spelling and pronunciation is for you.

Lesson 5 - It's Important To Stress The Correct Syllable In A Word.

Stressing the wrong syllable in a word can make the word completely unrecognizable to the native English speaker who you are trying to chat to. Learn how to stress the right syllable by using pitch, length, loudness and tongue position

Lesson 6 - Pitch And Loudness Change The Meaning Of Sentences.

Some languages use different tones to say different words. People don't think of English as being a tonal language, but get the tone wrong and everything you say will sound like a question, or you will sound uninterested or seem rude. We've put together a few tips to get you started with learning how tones are used in English.

Lesson 7 - Words Change Their Pronunciation When In A Sentence.

Have you ever wondered what a "schwa" is? A quick lesson that teaches you this and more about how words are pronounced differently when they are in a sentence.

Lesson 8 - American and British Accents Are Different.

American's like to say that they speak "American" rather than "English". Perhaps that started on Independence Day? In this extra special final lesson we have 130 audio examples so you can hear the difference between American and English accents for yourself. You've found the best stuff now!

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