Speak More Clearly” is designed for both people who speak English as a second language and wish to speak English more clearly, and for native English speakers who wish to learn a different English accent. You can think of it as an accent coach to help learn a new accent for a language you already know.
1 Speak More Clearly British Accent Speak More Clearly British Accent by Esther Bruhl Speech Therapist www.speakmoreclearly.com Speak English with Confidence! Speak More Clearly British Accent by Esther Bruhl 2 Table of Contents Introduction 7 How to use Speak More Clearly 11 Notes on Rhythm and Intonation in English 19 Extra Tips for clear speech and pronunciation in English 23 Consonants 27 /p/ Consonant 28 /b/ Consonant 29 /t/ Consonant 30 /d/ Consonant 31 /k/ Consonant 32 /g/ Consonant 33 /f/ Consonant 34 /v/ Consonant 35 /th/ Consonant 36 /th/ Consonant 37 /s/ Consonant 38 /z/ Consonant 39 /sh/ Consonant 40 /zh/ Consonant 41 /ch/ Consonant 42 /j/ Consonant 43 /m/ Consonant 44 /n/ Consonant 46 /ng/ Consonant 47 /w/ Consonant 48 /h/ Consonant 49 /l/ Consonant 50 /r/ Consonant 52 /y/Consonant 54 3 British Vowels 57 /a/ Vowel 59 /o/ Vowel 60 /i/ Vowel 61 /e/ Vowel 62 /u/ Vowel 63 /ee/ Vowel 64 /er/ Vowel 66 /ar/ Vowel 67 /or/ Vowel 68 /oo/ Vowel 70 /oo/ Vowel 71 /oe/ Vowel 72 /ie/ Vowel 73 /oy/ Vowel 74 /ow/ Vowel 75 /ay/ Vowel 76 Sentences for working with Stress and meaning 79 Dialogues for working with pronunciation, stress patterns and intonation 83 Paragraphs for working with Stress and Intonation 87 Features to note when speaking English from other background Languages 91 The International Phonetic Alphabet 107 Table of Videos 109 4 Vowels 5 Speak More Clearly British Accent Prologue “Speak More Clearly” is designed for both people who speak English as a second language and wish to speak English more clearly, and for native English speakers who wish to learn a different English accent. You can think of it as an accent coach to help learn a new accent for a language you already know. When I created "Speak More Clearly" I wanted something that was clear and simple, and because frequent practise is the key to learning a new accent, I wanted the course to be very convenient to use. I have designed "Speak More Clearly" so that no matter where you are, at home, in the car, in the offi ce, on the train or bus, even if you have 5 minutes, you can practise your new accent. Because there is no complex software, or elaborate theory, you can practise while working at home, in the car, on the train, in the bus or even at your offi ce! Simply purchase and download the audio from www.speakmoreclearly.com and listen to it on your computer 6 Vowels or copy it to an MP3 player or a CD or tape. Then you can listen to and repeat the exercises any time you have a few spare minutes. Even if you are unable to speak out loud, simply listening and repeating the exercises in your head will help. Our accent training uses native speakers and everyday language to naturally and quickly improve your pronunciation. You simply listen to the exercise and repeat the word or phrase. Over time your natural language skills, and the expanded ability of the ear, will cause your accent in English to naturally change to be more like the native speaker in our audio training. The key to clearer speech is to practise frequently. I have included precise, detailed instruction for where to place your tongue and lips for each sound. This allows you to position your mouth for sounds you may fi nd diffi cult, and practising the mouth position together with the audio input, will give you rapid progress. If you are ready to start learning a new accent, and you have not already done so, I encourage you to download the British Accent, American Accent or Australian Accent audio training course from www.speakmoreclearly.com/ and start right now! Remember this purchase is covered by our 100% money back guarantee so the only thing you have to risk is your time. With daily practise we guarantee that you to will improve your speaking skills. Best Wishes "Speaking More Clearly" Esther Bruhl 7 Speak More Clearly British Accent 1. How to obtain the best results from this program 2. Rhythm and Intonation as integral parts of speaking more clearly in English This program can be used to help develop a different accent in English- that is an English (British) or American (U.S.) accent, or for those wishing to speak English more clearly or to be understood better when speaking English. To hear the sounds, rhythm, stress, pitch, intonation and structure of a language we need to ‘attune’ our ear to the particular language. To do this we need to listen to the language over and over as we did when we were learning our ‘mother tongue’ when we were a child. When we can ‘hear’ the sound of a particular language we can then correct our speech production more easily and effectively. Introduction 8 Introduction To obtain the best results with this program we suggest that you repeatedly listen to the particular section you need, and repeat the production of the words or sentences over and over again aloud to yourself. This allows you to attune your ear, and for your articulators (mouth parts), to become used to moving in the new way and for this new way to become a speech habit. In this program each consonant and each of the major vowels are covered by: 1. An explanation/ description of how to make the sound 2. List words containing the particular sound 3. Sentences containing words with the target sound As well as this there will be some dialogues (dialogs) for practise of connected or conversational level speech. We will also touch on intonation patterns and speech rhythm. It helps to know when trying to reduce your accent in English, that most of the consonants can be paired. That is, there are pairs of consonants that are made the same way in the mouth. You make the same mouth movement. These pairs are called minimal pairs. The only difference is that one of the pair is made without switching on the voice in the throat (making sound in the throat), and one is made with voice activated. These pairs follow. The fi rst sound of the pair will be the whispered or unvoiced sound, and the second will be the voiced one. If you put your hand on the voice box at the front of your throat (the bit that sticks out-‘Adam’s apple’), you will feel it vibrate on production of a voiced sound, and there will be little or no vibration for the unvoiced sound. [...]... ‘u’ said very short and quickly –the schwa sound) after the consonants /s /z/ ‘ch’ ‘sh’ ‘j’ ‘zh’ ( as in vision) e.g., passes, beaches, washes, packages, noses 24 Speak More Clearly British Accent 25 Vowels 26 Speak More Clearly British Accent Consonants In the next section we will go through all the consonant sounds This section includes: • An explanation of how to make the sound • List words containing... with your practice and to reap the benefits of learning to Speak More Clearly 17 Vowels 18 Speak More Clearly British Accent Notes on Rhythm and Intonation in English Rhythm is about timing within a phrase or sentence This mainly equates to where we place the strong or weak stress in a sentence While learning to pronounce a word or sentence clearly, it is also important to learn where the stress is... of rhythm and intonation 9 Vowels 10 Speak More Clearly British Accent How to use Speak More Clearly To get the most from this course you should follow these 4 steps • • • • Step Step Step Step 1: 2: 3: 4: Read and practise the introductory sections Practise the sounds that are hard for you in English Learn to pronounce the end consonants in all words Learn to speak with the correct rhythm and stress... response I think he is coming at noon - (level pitch) person is thinking and will probably say more about this 21 Vowels 22 Speak More Clearly British Accent Extra Tips for clear speech and pronunciation in English Elision or Linking Elision or linking words when speaking makes the rhythm of speech in English sound more natural and flowing If a word ends in a consonant and the following word begins with a... take less or more time to make automatic depending on your mother tongue and whether you are used to moving your mouth in this way 14 Speak More Clearly British Accent How to acquire vowels more easily Follow steps 1 - 4 as above but note the following: 1 The audio is extremely important for the vowels and you need to listen and repeat over and over to ‘hear’ the vowel sound What you can clearly distinguish/’hear’... the next sound 12 Speak More Clearly British Accent For each sound that you need to master do the following: 1 Start by saying just the sound itself Listen to and repeat with the audio using the detailed instructions on how to form the sound Use this to get your mouth used to moving in this new way It is most important that you say the sounds, just reading them will not change your accent 2 When you... less stressed or stressed differently because of the meaning structure of the whole sentence A sense of this can be achieved mainly by listening to native speakers and listening for the ‘stress’ and melody of the sentences 20 Speak More Clearly British Accent Intonation is the pitch or tone pattern English uses in a sentence to convey the meaning- state something, convey surprise or sarcasm, or when asking.. .Speak More Clearly British Accent /p/ and /b/ /t/ and /d/ /k/ and /g/ /f/ and /v/ /s/ and /z/ /sh/ and /zh/ (as in vision) /ch/ and /j/ While working with the program, it is extremely important to notice and include... level, next practise the sentences Listen to the audio and say it after the speaker At this point if you need more sentences to practise you can find others in other sound sections in the program that contain words with the sound you need Or you can make up your own sentences from the word lists provided 13 How to use Speak More Clearly tip: You can practise sentences you use a lot at work or socially... speak with the correct rhythm and stress How much do I need to practise and how long will it take? To learn to speak more clearly in English, or to learn a new accent in English, you must break-up the task into easily managed chunks which you then combine The improvement in your clarity, or accent, will compound as you go It is important that you understand this and give your practice the required time . 1 Speak More Clearly British Accent Speak More Clearly British Accent by Esther Bruhl Speech Therapist www.speakmoreclearly.com Speak English with Confidence! Speak More Clearly British Accent by. note when speaking English from other background Languages 91 The International Phonetic Alphabet 107 Table of Videos 109 4 Vowels 5 Speak More Clearly British Accent Prologue Speak More Clearly . we guarantee that you to will improve your speaking skills. Best Wishes "Speaking More Clearly& quot; Esther Bruhl 7 Speak More Clearly British Accent 1. How to obtain the best results from