50 rules of pronunciation

Pronunciation Success American English Collected & Edited by Long Pham – IZONE TEAM Long Pham [Type text] IZONE Module – The 10 key towards improvement Number – Practice and listen - When you listen to any recording/video, try to repeat them or speak along Also, there will be a lot of rules for you to remember, and therefore, practice and revise these rules on a frequent basis, preferably after each half module Number – Do not leave off word endings - English words can change their meanings dramatically when you assemble a different ending E.g : light, like, life….; file, fight, fire…  Leaving off word endings often leads to confusion and ambiguity Number – Make a list of frequently used words - Come up with a list of frequently misspelled words and words that have slightly different pronunciations (assess, asset, asset, ASET…) Some frequently misspelled words: business, adjust, general, graduate, specific, severe, general, popular… Number – Open your mouth when you speak English - - Proper English speaking involves a lot of mouth movements If you watch the mouth of native speakers when they speak, you’ll see that each sound produced will accompany a particular mouth movement Practice speaking very slowly, out loud, in a strong voice and exaggerate the mouth movements for best results Number – Don’t be afraid to speak - This may sound like a cliché But if you don’t enjoy speaking English, you can never speak well It’s that simple Number Read aloud in English for 10 to 15 minutes everyday - The materials you use for reading out loud should be the sentences in this handbook After you’ve completely mastered the techniques put forward here, move on to practice other paragraphs as you like Number – Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation errors - Of course you can hear yourself when you speak, but the sound coming to your ears will be distorted So, the best way to check whether you speak correctly is to record yourself and listen again Number – watch the mouth movement of native speakers and imitate them Long Pham [Type text] IZONE - Similar to point number 4, mimicking native speakers’ mouth movements is the best practice to familiarize yourself with the way English sounds are produced Number – listen and repeat - IELTS tests, especially the Cambridge set, always feature Listening test with available scripts After listening for the test, try LISTEN AND REPEAT Compare them with the original scripts to spot any major differences Number 10 – Be patient - Long Pham Most importantly, be patient Fixing your pronunciations involves a lot of time commitment It’s a challenge that cannot be completed overnight So, stay patient and keep practicing [Type text] IZONE Module (Rule -10) – Video - The 15 Vowel sounds of American English - /i:/ please, seat, meet, believe /i/ this, difficult, if, dinner, /ei/ late, gate, baseball, stay, okay, /e/ bed, men, dress, friend /ea/ apple, man, stand, angry - Group 1: from number to number – they’re called front vowel (your tongue is in front) Your jaw opens wider on each vowel (heat, hit, hate, het, hat) /u:/ moon, shoes, room, blue /u/ book, foot, full, push, took /ou/ go, drove, slow, moment, /o:/ always, tall, bought, thought 10 /a:/ hot, topic, office, modern - Group 2: from number to 10 – they’re called back vowel (your tongue is in the back Your jaw forms a round shape and move back a bit with each vowel (boot, book, boat, bought, bot) - 11 /ow/ & /^/ but, done, jump, love 12 /3:/ first, Thursday, girl, work 13 /ai/ time, while, nine, dining, 14 /au/ now, house, brown, announce 15 /oi/ enjoy, noise, boy, annoying Group 3: the remaining words - Rule – the four relaxed vowels - Voiced o Tense: our tongue is tense and sometimes our lips are also tense o Neutral/relaxed: our lips and tongues are relaxed in the back o It is critical to know the difference between tense and neutral vowels Otherwise, you might be confused by words like fool or full, hot or hut, steel and still o The four relaxed vowels are     Long Pham /i/, /e/, 7/ow/ or /^/, 10 /u/ [Type text] IZONE - Rule - /i:/ & /i/ (8 P.G.) - E.g.: beach & bitch, sheet & shit - It’s very important to discriminate these vowel sounds – this difference doesn’t exist in some other languages like Vietnamese - - The difference lies in fact that one vowel is tense /i:/ and the other vowel is relaxed /i/ /i:/ please, steal & steel, me, see o Usually spelt with ee, ea, ie, ei o o Your lips must be tense and your tongue must be tense in the back of your mouth Put your fingers right in the back of your jaw on your throat; when you produce the sound, your fingers should be moving a bit o Another practicable way to practice this vowel sound is to smile (like when you say “cheese”): sheep, sheet, lead, feet, feel /i/: if, different, this, think o Usually spelt with I, y (in the middle of the word like system, gym) o o o - Leave, live Sleep, slip These, this Sheep, ship Sheet, shit Lead, lid Beat, bit Steal, still Sentence practice: Differentiation o Can you feel it? o o o o o - When the sound is produced fast, it can sound like /ư/ Vowel pairs - Differentiation o o o o o o o o - Your tongue and your fingers will not be moving Also, your lips should be relaxed Rather similar to the /i/ in Vietnamese Can you fill it? Did you heat it? Did you hit it? He doesn’t want to leave He doesn’t want to live Sentence practice o o o Long Pham The beans have been cooking since six o’clock Sit in that seat by the window We ate our meal, by the mill [Type text] IZONE o o o o o o o - The seal will live in the ocean Tim’s team grinned after seeing the green field Pip and Pete shipped the sheep cheaply Those bins are for Bill’s beans Does Jim still steal Jill’s jeans? The girls put concrete on Jill’s sneakers Pick cherries at their peak or you will eat the pits Mix – Practice saying these sentences (a little slow for the first time and speed it up for the 2nd time) – Concentrate on your mouth movements o o o o o o o o o o She was feeling sleepy after eating the big meal These three people speak Chinese We love the green fields and the beach breezes Steve believes he will see Peter this week I will leave the East Coast in three weeks There are six filthy dishes in the kitchen sink Mr and Mrs Smith lived in India for six years Bill took some interesting pictures on his trip to Italy last spring The winter wind will bring a big chill Do you think that this swimmer has the ability to win? - Remember that the main difference between these vowels is not that one vowel is long and the other is short, but rather one vowel is tense and the other is neutral/relaxed - Even a relaxed vowel can sometimes be prolonged if the word is stressed E.g.: wow, your house is big - Rule - /a:/ & /ow/ - /a:/ can be a problem to a lot of people because sometimes /a:/ can be spelt with the letter /o/ E.g.: hot, stop – these two are pronounced exactly the same as the /a:/ in father, army or watch - - The o and the a have similar sounds frequently, which is the /a:/ o To create the /a:/ sound, open your mouth wide Keep your tongue at the bottom of your mouth and keep your tongue at the bottom of your mouth touching the bottom teeth o This vowel is usually longer than most non-native speakers tend to make it E.g.: stop, that’s impossible Particularly, if it’s a verb or a noun, we prolong the “a:” in the stressed syllable E.g.: that’s impossible, that’s my new job “O” words that are pronounced with /a:/ (these can be confusing, so take your time to get used to them) o o Long Pham Hot Top [Type text] IZONE o o o o o o o o o o - Sock Mop Product Solve Problem Almost like you punch yourself in the stomach to make a tiny little noise Commonly spelt with letter u (but, fun, number) ou ( cousin, country) Some other: love, son, other, done Shot, shut Don, done Lock, luck Cop, cup Not, nut Robber, rubber The modern novel is very popular Tom will watch hockey with his father John will probably study biology in college I will not bother to respond to Tom’s offer If you gossip about your boss, you might lose your job Bob opened the box and followed the instructions Tom put some cotton, rocks and doorknob in his locker His mom made a concrete model of a hockey rink Sentence practice /^/ sound o o o o o - Not Blob Sentence practice /a:/ sound o o o o o o o o - Follow Vowel pairs – differentiation o o o o o o - Probably /ow/ & /^/ - neutral sound: lip & tongue neutral at the back There is hardly any movement o o o - Stop We must discuss this with the other judges My buddy Doug is a wonderful drummer On Mondays he plays the drums in that club On Sunday I had duck for lunch with my cousin He doesn’t study much and he loves to have fun The spellings can be confusing at times, so, it’s best to look up for word meanings and pronunciations in Oxford dictionary Long Pham [Type text] IZONE - Rule – “pool” or “pull” (lesson 10 P.G.) - /u:/ - tense o Commonly spelt as oo (food, moon), ue (blue, true) o For /u:/, your lips move forwards like you’re kissing someone o o o o o o o o o - Blue Booth News Juice Ruler Food Choose Mood Moving o o o o o o o o o /u/ - neutral - o Common spelling pattern oo (look, took, shook), ould (would, could, should), u (push, pull) o o o Look at the good book Distinguish “food” & “foot” The following are words that have “oo” spellings but are produced with “u” sound o o o o o Foot Took Cook Shook Stood o o o o o - Note: lower vowels “uh” – don’t skip the w in these cases o Wood o Would you help me? o Holywood, California - Word pairs practice o Food, foot o o o - Loop Knew Tooth Smooth Pool Moon Shoes Zoo Grew Good Look Book Wool Swoosh Fool, full Pool, pull Push, pull Practice some sentences: the first slow, speed up for the 2nd time /u:/ o Long Pham The report was due on Tuesday at noon [Type text] IZONE - - o o o o He knew the values of those suits o o o o o o The woman in the wool pullover is good-looking You should walk in the woods The crew uses a lot of new tools In the future, there will be new school rules Susan wore her new shoes to school /u/ It would be good if you could help me You should walk in the woods He took a good look under the hood He spent his childhood playing football Mixed o o o o o o He took a good look under the hood and found a flute Julie enjoys good book after school He put his foot in the new boot She took her students to the brook to wash their shoes We pulled him out of the swimming pool The fool ate until he was full - Rule – /ae/ - as in “apple” & /au/ (10 P.G.) /ae/ o Your lips are open, your tongue is down and tense o Visualize you’re saying /a:/ with a smile (open your mouth wide) o In British English, this sound very frequently resembles /a:/ o The common spelling pattern for this word is the letter a  Apple, angry, man, fat, dance  Los Angeles, class, random, answer, o If it’s a noun or a verb, make sure that’s it is prolonged  “I can’t stand that class”  Last January, Adam travelled to Los Angeles, California - Extra word practice o o o o o o Long Pham Back Dad Fax Value Sat Hatch o o o o o o [Type text] Jacket Taxi Apple Catch Rabbit Tack IZONE - Sentence practice o Jack lacks cash because of a bad gambling habit o o o o o - /au/ o o - - I brought my black jacket on my trip to France My family understands that I can’t handle that matter The fat cat wore a jacket Pack your sack and bring your magnet He sang about an actor named Jack This is an important sound! If mispronounced, it can often make you misunderstood Begin with the /ea/ sound as in “hat” Then, slide your mouth forward to form a “w” sound E.g downtown /AU/ practice Now House Round Loud Gown Sound Ouch Out Found - South Ounce Rebound Mouth Bounce Flower Thousand Spout Count Sentence practice: o o o The brown couch is downstairs Her house is on the South side of the mountain I was proud of the sound that came out of my mouth - Rule – “/o:/ o Your mouth forms an oval shape o Don’t push your lips forward too much, don’t say “oo” (British speakers this and it is strictly not American English) o o o In British English, this sound is very different from American English For instance: tall, fall The common spelling pattern for this sound is    o “au” – automobile, August, audience, applaud “aw” – law, saw, awful Sentence practice   Long Pham “al” – tall, small, always He paused in the hall to talk with Paul The author talked to the small audience [Type text] IZONE - Rule 40 – How unstressed syllables works - So, what happen to syllables that are not stressed? - Take a look at the words that have one thing in common: a vowel followed by an m in word ending o o o o - Madam Problem Symptom Album In many languages, Vietnamese included, these syllables are pronounced the same way E.g madam In English, the syllables that we stress are longer, louder and higher in pitch & syllable stress are extremely important: o Madam - the first a is completely different from the 2nd a – the first one is longer and louder o o o Problem Symptom Album - If you notice, all the ending ‘am, em, om, um” are pronounced the same /owm/ The point to be highlighted here is that in English, we reduce and we stress - Another set of words with “o” in each word o o o o - Adam /’ea dowm/ Note that the d between the vowels (Adam) sound exactly like a short “t” Some words are pronounced exactly the same but their spellings are slightly different: o Lesson – lessen /’le sn/ o o o o - Photography Photo /’fowu tou/ - an exception to this rule All the unstressed syllables are reduced and become /ow/ o Atom /’ea towm/ o - O’ clock Doctor way – weigh collar – caller # colour Profit – prophet /’pro fit/ (Note: prophet = (1) a person who claims to see what happens in the future or (2) a person who supports or teaches new ideas/theories) Seller – cellar (= wine cellar – an underground room used for storing things) For the following list of words, single out the syllables that are stressed and reduce the unstressed syllables and make the sound /ow/ or, less commonly, /i/ Note to underline the stressed words o Long Pham Economy [Type text] IZONE o o o o o o o Memory Control Contain Develop Europe Information Commercial - The more you listen to spoken English, the better syllable stress and reductions you will acquire because the words will become more familiar to you and you’ll automatically get a feeling of which syllables you’re supposed to stress - Also, when looking up for new words, make sure to check their stress patterns - Rule 41 – Basics of stressing the right words within sentences - Just like certain syllables are stressed in words, there are certain words that we have to stress in sentences This is very important to learn because this is what create the natural music and rhythm of American English and it’s a really important skill to master to have a good accent o I will be driving to the market to buy something to eat - The underlined words are verbs and nouns – they are content words Content words are the words that carry the most meaning of a sentence If other words were to be eliminated and if we only said the underlined words, you’d still understand what the speaker was trying to say o Generally speaking content words are: o o o o Nouns: house, dog, men… Verbs (action words): go, eat, sleep, drive, think… Adverbs: carefully, clearly, well, soon… Adjectives: tall, short, good, bad, difficult, easy… - Function words: are the other words around the content words They’re other words that are not absolutely necessary to the meanings of the sentence - Remember to jump up (go higher in pitch) for words that need to be stressed Practice saying the sentence once again: o - I will be driving to the market to get something to eat This is the natural rhythm of English When we have two content words, generally the second content words get more stress o o o o o Long Pham E.g I’ve got a job (Job gets more stress as it is the 2nd content word) Do me a favour See you later Let’s go for a walk Did you your homework? [Type text] IZONE - In all of these cases, the second word gets more stress Compare these two sentences: o o o - Did you get the job? In the 1st sentence, get is emphasized, but it is a pronounce, therefore it didn’t get emphasized In the 2nd sentence, job is emphasized because it’s a noun, so we reduce pronouns and we stress nouns Similarly: o Did you see it? o o o - Did you get it? Did you see the film? Who stole it? Who stole my money? If we add another element to the end of the word, it may become different: o Who stole the money from me?  o o o o - He’s fixing the car He’s fixing the car for them Take a look at these sentences and try figure out the stress pattern: o I just got a new job I am so excited about it I couldn’t find one for a long time o o o o o - From is a preposition and me is a pronoun, so these two are reduced I was washing the dishes I was washing the dishes for her I’m working at the store I’m selling women’s shoes I started working there last week On the first day, I was really nervous, there was so much to learn Answer: I just got a new JOB I’m so EXCITED about it I couldn’t FIND one for a long TIME I’m working at the STORE I’m selling women’s SHOES I started WORKING there last WEEK On the first DAY, I was really NERVOUS, there was so much to LEARN When you stress a word, make it louder & longer, but don’t put too much melody in it o Have a NICE DAY (exaggerated) o It’s nice to MEET YOU (exaggerated) - Rule 42 – Focus words and thought groups - Let’s talk about what happen when we have a long sentence with a lot content words - Basically, we need to divide one sentence into thought groups - E.g I will be driving to the market/to get something to eat - As can be seen, the sentence is separated into thought groups by a comma The most important word within a thought group is called the FOCUS WORD o Long Pham The focus word of the first thought group is market [Type text] IZONE o - Sometimes a sentence can have three focus words o I will be driving to the market/ to get something to eat/ because I was very hungry o - The second focus word is eat The three words in bold are the focus words So, how you divide your sentences? You can use your natural instinct/intuition to decide For instance o o I will be driving/to the market  this thought group is another way to divide your thought group because it also makes sense I will be driving to/the market  not sensible to break down your thought groups in this way - So, you have a choice of whether where to pause based on your intuition as long as it makes sense It depends on how quickly you want to speak The important thing to keep in mind is when you have a thought group, emphasize one key word the most - Let’s try another sentence: o I was watching a movie/ with my friends/when suddenly it started to rain - Obviously , that’s a very long sentence, so if you don’t break down and stress any word, it would be very hard to understand So, breaking it down to chunks (thought groups) make it have a very nice rhythm and much easier to understand o I was so tired/that I couldn’t wait/ to get home o o - Sentence practice: o If I forget to pay my BILL/ please REMIND me about it o o o o - Or “I was so tired/that I couldn’t wait to get home It’s up to you how to you how to break down the sentence He wants to KNOW/if you NEED anything/from the SUPERMARKET Did you know it was SNOWING/in all parts of the EAST COAST? When we CLIMBED/to the top of the MOUNTAIN/we could see the OCEAN Or “when we climbed to the top of the MOUNTAIN/we could see the OCEAN” When you have a longer sentence with a few thought groups, make sure you find the focus word and stress that one the most Remember, it’s the last content word (if it’s a noun or a verb) Rule 43 – How to stress adjectives and nouns - Let’s talk now about which words to stress: noun or adjective Listen to these sentences: o It’s a HOT day o - It’s a hot DAY Which one sounds correct to you? In English, nouns, rather than adjectives, are stressed, so the correct way is o o Long Pham It is a hot DAY You did a good JOB [Type text] IZONE o o o o - I’m wearing a black JACKET I’m wearing a black BLOUSE/and a black JACKET Blouse /blauz/ a piece of clothing like a shirt – worn by women Remember, the important rule is to emphasize the nouns If you emphasize the adjectives instead, it will be difficult for native speakers to understand you o - I have blonde HAIR I’m wearing a BLACK blouse/and a BLACK jacket Sentence practice o I have brown EYES o o o o o o I have a nice JOB I have an older BROTHER I went to a PARTY/ and I have a good TIME He has blue EYES I’m wearing black SHOES I’m wearing a gold RING - Take a minute now to describe yourself (your hair, your eyes and what you’re wearing today using proper stress) - If the adjective is alone, we stress it of course For instance: o o o - That was GOOD But if have a noun o o o - He’s TALL It’s HOT He’s a tall MAN It’s a hot DAY That was a good JOB Sentence practice 2: o o o o o o o o o o o o Long Pham That was FAST That was a fast FLGIHT I have FIVE I have five DOLLARS It’s OLD It’s an older FILM He’s YOUNGER He’s my younger BROTHER That was GREAT I had a great TIME I have an older BROTHER/ and a younger SISTER She has brown HAIR/ and blue EYES [Type text] IZONE o o o - That old LADY/ has a little DOG My new CAR has four DOORS I read a good BOOK/during the long FLIGHT What happen when we have adjectives before a noun? E.g.: big black dog, angry old man Long hot shower In this case, we emphasize the first adjective and the noun o o o BIG black DOG ANGRY old MAN LONG hot SHOWER - That’s all there to this rule Keep practicing - Rule 44 – Compound nouns - Compound nouns are two words that represent one thing For example: credit card - In this case, we stress the first word: CREDIT card Also, join the words together - Let’s practice some other compound nouns o EYElid o EYE-brow o FOREhead o EARring - Some compound words with HAIR: o HAIR style o HAIR colour o HAIR brush o HAIR salon - Things around your house o BOOKshelf o WASHING-machine o LAPtop o WINDOW-frame - In your wallet: o DRIVER/DRIVING license o CREDIT card o CELL phone o CAR keys o CHEWING gum - Sentence practice: o Please give me your PHONE number/with the the AREA code first o My house has three BEDrooms/ and two BATHrooms o I got a HEADache from the loud ROCK music o The POLICE officer was on a MOTORcycle Long Pham [Type text] IZONE o o o - After their WEDDING day, they went on their HONEYmoon Don’t put the NEWSpaper in the TRASHcan I bought a BIRTHDAY present for my ROOMmate Remember, when it’s an adjective plus noun, we stress the noun But when it’s a compound noun, we stress the first word o Green HOUSE o GREENhouse - Rule 45 – rules of stressing phrasal verbs - Pick up - Break down - Pick and break are verbs; but if we add prepositions and other words afterwards, they become phrasal verbs: pick up, break down - With phrasal verbs, we stress the second element which is usually a preposition, so we say: o Pick UP o - Sometimes the phrasal verbs can have a pronoun or a noun in between, so we can say: o o o - Cross it OUT Work out & Workout I had a great WORKout (emphasizing the first part) I work OUT for three hours every morning Sentence practice: o o o o o - Pick it UP Turn it ON Sometimes, phrasal verbs can have a noun equivalent For instance: o o o - Break DOWN I found OUT about it Can you look it OVER for me? I’ll think it OVER and I’ll call you BACK I can’t figure OUT why it broke DOWN When he grew UP/ he moved OUT Remember if it’s a phrasal verb, we stress the 2nd part – the preposition But if it’s a noun, we stress the first part For example: o o o o o o o Long Pham MakeUP: I’m wearing some MAKEup Make UP: I’m sure he made UP the story It can’t possibly be true CHECK-up: I went to the doctor for a medical CHECK-up Check UP: after checking UP on him, the doctor can’t diagnose any disease BREAK-up: It was a very painful BREAKup Break UP: the decided to break up since they can’t get along well anymore Turn OFF: the light is hurting my eyes Could you turn it OFF, please? [Type text] IZONE o TURNoff: that’s a real TURNoff (not interesting & attractive) o Print OUT: have you printed OUT the information? o PRINTout: he handed me a copy of the PRINTout - Rule 46 – names of places and people - Let’s learn the rules of stress for names of people and names of places - If the place has two words, we stress the 2nd word: o South AMERICA o United KINGDOM o Los ANGELES o Las VEGAS o Mexico CITY o South AFRICA o Central PARK - The same thing happens when we stress the names of people, we stress the last name – the 2nd word o o - Martin Luther KING John F KENEDY Think of actors/actresses that you like: o Julia ROBERT o o - Barrack OBAMA When the name has three words, we stress the last word For example: o o - George WASHINGTON Brad PITT Tom CRUISE Sentence practice o John WILSON and Bob JONES went to South AMERICA o o o o Central PARK is in New YORK His father likes Bob DYLAN, but his grandfather likes Frank SINATRA Barrack OBAMA was elected president of the United STATES Is that Julia ROBERTS or Nicole KIDMAN? - Remember the final name gets the most stress - Rule 47 – abbreviations and numbers - Abbreviations are the short form of a longer name o CNN (Cable News Network) o W.H.O (World Health Organization) o Ph.D (Doctor of philosophy) - The rule is we stress the last letter of the abbreviations, for example: Long Pham [Type text] IZONE o o o - Call me BACK asaP pC – my pC is broken dvD, cD, iQ Parker (Spelling: p – a – R/ k – e – R) We emphasize the last element (according to the syllables) Numbers work the same way – we generally emphasize the last element, for example o 3799 Thirty seven ninety NINE 58 – fifty EIGHT 812 – eight hundred TWELVE Area code 310/555/8239 Practice saying your telephone number, your birthday, your birth year & or an important holiday o o o - asaP Sometimes, people might ask you to spell your names (especially when you come overseas to study), make sure to break up your names and emphasize the last part: o o o - ph.D Try to think of more abbreviations and speak them using the proper stress pattern o - uclA Don’t pronounce each letter separately, try to say it as if it were one word (link it together) and stress the last element o o o o - cnN October twenty seven/nineteen eighty-eight She was born in nineteen ninety-four ……… Sentence practice: o o o o o I went to work/ at 9:15/ and came home/ at 5:45/ Flight 507/ left LAX/ at 7:25/ This CD/ costs $ 19.99/ He was born in L.A./ in 1987/ When they got married/, he was 31/ and she was 29/ - Remember: in abbreviations and in numbers, the last element gets stressed - Rule 48 – stress for special emphasis - The last rule for word stress: any word can be stressed if you have a good reason to stress it – if you want to emphasize the word for some reasons: o o o Long Pham This is the best ICE-CREAM/ I’ve ever HAD/ This is the BEST ice-cream/I’ve ever had/ That’s the BIGGEST dog/I’ve ever seen/ [Type text] IZONE - You emphasize words to put more emotions in them & to make sure people understand your point But be careful, don’t that too much, in regular conversations, you usually emphasize the last word (ice-cream, had – as they are content words) o - I love your new CAR However, there’s still room some creativity there o o o o o o You don’t smoke, /do \you? I USED TO smoke I don’t SMOKE now, but I USED to smoke You will NOT go there tomorrow night, right? I WILL go Do you speak French or German? I speak French AND German - In the first case, we emphasize “used to” to say that you smoked before, but not now In the 2nd case, you’re disagreeing with the speaker In the last one, the speaker emphasizes that he can speak both languages - The message here is that the stress pattern of the words can change according to the meanings we wish to convey: - o o I will drive to the beach/next week – Normal way o I will drive to the beach/next week – to say that you’re not going to walk or take a bus, but you will drive instead o o I will drive to the beach/ next week – stress the location you’re going to o Finally “I will drive to the beach next week  in this case, put a little more extra stress on the word “week” I will drive to the beach/next week – emphasize I to mean that it is you, not someone else, will drive to the beach I will drive to the beach/ next week – not this week or weeks from now – but next week You can see how the stress change leads to changes in meanings Let’s say this sentence normally first o o Marry made a cake for my birthday MARRY made a cake for my birthday (emphasizing that it’s Marry who made the cake, but not anybody else) o o o Marry MADE a cake for my birthday (she didn’t buy it but made it herself) Marry made a CAKE for my birthday (she didn’t make cookies) Marry made a cake for MY birthday (she didn’t make a cake for anybody else’s birthday, but MY birthday) - Remember, for special emphasis or for clarification, you can stress any word - Rule 49 – rising and falling intonation - Intonation is the going up and down of your voices (the rising and the falling of the pitch) Long Pham [Type text] IZONE o o - All right\ (falling intonation because it’s a statement/answer) All right?/ (when it’s a question) There are different ways we can say hello o o Hello\ - Hello, nice to meet you! Hello/ (when you answer the phone for instance – the pitch goes up) – Hello, who’s calling? - If you’re using the wrong intonation, people might be confused about what you’re trying to say, they may misunderstand you or get the wrong impression – you may sound nervous, insecure or unsure of yourself if your intonation is going up rather than down - Practice the following intonation by saying simple sentences that are statements Remember a statement is not a question After we this, we will learn some rules for intonation with questions With questions, sometimes the intonation rises, but not always so - Statement o I like it\ o o o o o o - - My name is Bob\ It’s cold outside\ I’m tired\ I’m hungry\ I’m hungry because I haven’t eaten all day Don’t confuse stress and intonation – we have learnt that for stress – we jump up on the key word, but intonation is when you jump up, how you it o Have a nice day\ (you still stress the word day but not with a high pitch – it’s not “Have a nice day”) o Note that your voice is still going down even though you’re still stressing the word It’s important that your pitch is down Practice – think of how you feel right now o o o o - Have a nice day\ I feel good I’m feeling happy Today is Monday I’m going to work soon Make some statements while making sure that your pitch goes down in the end The rules for intonation for Questions – we can have either rising or falling intonation depending on what kind of question it is o o o o Long Pham Yes/No questions (rising intonation) – can be answered by either a yes or a no Are you happy? Did you that? WH questions (falling intonation) – what, why, how, where, when? – These questions cannot be answered by “Yes, No” [Type text] IZONE o o o o o o o o - How old are you? Where you live? What you do? Where were you born? How did you that? Are you hungry? Did you like it? Sentence practice o o o o o o o o o o - What is that? Are you angry at me/? Why are you angry at me\? Is it hot in there? Why is it so hot in there? Did you get there late? Why did you get there late? Have you been to New York? How many times have you been to New York? Did it start? What time did it start? Remember, for statements & WH questions, we use falling intonation For other questions, we use rising intonation - Rule 50 – changing intonation - How can intonation change within one sentence? - Within one sentence, the intonation can both rise and fall - 1st case – Enumeration (listing items in a series) o I bought chicken/, fish/, apples/ and sugar\ o The last one will have falling intonation When you keep your intonation rising, people know that your list will continue o o I woke up/, ate breakfast/ and went to work\ List some sports you like to watch or some activities you like to or what you have in your refrigerator today   - I like to run/, to play tennis/ and to swim\ I have milk/, water/, sugar/ and bread\ nd case – saying one short sentence in different ways o o o Long Pham I think it’s gonna rain\ I think it’s gonna rain/ If you say it the 2nd way with an upward pitch, it sounds like something else is coming are you’re not finished speaking [Type text] IZONE o o o o o I think it’s gonna rain/ but I’m not sure\ I’d love to eat that\ I’d love to eat that/but I’m on a diet\ Give me your number\ If you give your number/, I’ll call you\ - Generally, to indicate that you’re not finished and you have something else to say, let your pitch go up at the end of the first part of your sentence It’s kind of having a comma and knowing that your expressions are just partially finished - 3rd case: Also, with introductory words/phrases, we use rising intonation o o o - On the other hand/, maybe I’ll take the blue one If you ask me/, I think you did a good job\ If I were you, I’d talk to him case: giving a choice Should I call you/ or send you an email\? Do you like chicken/ or beef\? Does he have green eyes/ or blue eyes\? Is he a young man/ or an old man\? Sentence practice o Are you married/ or single\? o o o o - In my opinion th o o o o - However It’s something you put in the beginning of a sentence – usually followed by a comma o On the other hand/, may be I’ll go o o o - On the other hand They have four children/, ages seven/, nine/ eleven/ and fourteen\ I went to the gym/, came home/ and called my friend\ As far as I know/, I’m not allergic to anything\ According to the weather report/, it’s going to rain\ Remember: rising intonation when you’re not finished speaking and have something more to say In contrast, you’d use falling intonation at the end of your sentences Long Pham [Type text] IZONE Putting it all together - paragraph practice Part (15 P.G) Paragraph 1: a foreign student - When a student from another country comes to study in the United States, he has to find out for himself the answers to many questions, and he has many problems to think about Where should he live? Would it be better living in a dormitory or in a private room off campus? Should he spend all of his time studying, or should he take advantage of the many cultural and social activities that are offered? At first, he may not feel that he fits in with the American culture He may not feel confident when he speaks Little by little, however, he learns how to handle himself in various situations Finally he begins to feel very secure and “at home” Unfortunately, this long-awaited feeling doesn’t develop suddenly It takes time Paragraph 2: Volcanoes - Volcanoes are holes in the Earth’s crust which allow molten rock to escape from beneath The molten rock, or lava, may flow out gently or it may be blasted high in the air with gas and ash in a violent explosion There are eight hundred and fifty active volcanoes active around the world Do you know where the mountains of fire are found? Three quarters of them are found within a zone called the “Ring of Fire” One edge of the zone stretches along the west coast of the Americas from Chile to Alaska The other edge runs along the east coast of Asia from Siberia to New Zealand Twenty percent of these volcanoes are located in Indonesia Other big groupings are in Japan, the Aleutian Islands, and Central America Paragraph 3: the Chinese language - Chinese is the most unusual language It differs from English and most other major languages in that it has hundreds of different dialects A person who lives in one section of the vast country of China, often cannot understand a fellow Chinese who lives in another section These two major dialects are Cantonese and Mandarin Cantonese is a southern dialect Mandarin, a dialect that originated in northern China, is spoken by more Chinese than any other dialect - Non-Chinese people say that the Chinese seems to “sing” their language China sounds as though it is sung, because many words are only one-syllable long and because the tone of voices change for each word As in English, many words have more than one meaning The speaker’s tone of voice indicates each word’s specific meaning - Even more fascinating than the variety of spoken sounds is the Chinese written language It has no alphabet Instead, it employs sounds called “characters” Each spoken word in the language is represented by a separate character Originally, the characters were drawings that depicted meanings of words, but over the years, they have simplified, and most no longer look like the things they represent Long Pham [Type text] IZONE Paragraph 4: the Supercontinents - Around 100 to 150 million years ago, there may have only one continent on our planet At least that is what some Earth scientists have decided after years of research If you look at the map of the world carefully, you can see that the present-day continents could be thought of as pieces of gigantic jigsaw puzzle In your imagination carefully put the pieces of together to form the supercontinent You will see that if you took away the South Atlantic Ocean and pressed South America and Africa together they would fit very nicely You could continue removing oceans and seas and put other parts of the world together quite easily until you get to the last pieces of Australia and Antarctica Scientists believe that the continents of Australia and Antarctica were once linked together They may have split slowly off from the supercontinent and then separated from each other as recently as 40 million years ago Long Pham [Type text] IZONE [...]... speakers of English use a flat intonation pattern or monotone, this can create uninteresting and misunderstood speech Everything is very flat  Monotone speech can be very boring to listen to - Listen to the following advertisement: o - Have you ever tried one of Diane’s Donuts? They are so delicious I have eaten many different kinds of donuts, from all over the country? I have eaten many different kinds of. .. -25) – Video 2 – Consonant sounds o Some of the consonants may not exist in Vietnamese o Even though some of the consonants may exist in Vietnamese, they are pronounced slight differently with an American accent o The tongue is in a slightly different position or the lips move more firmly or softly; or the vocal cords are vibrating slightly differently o o All of these factors affect the American consonant... silent, even if it’s at the end of a word - In British English, people don’t generally pronounce the final r at the end of words o - How do you product the American r o o o o o - Teacher, four more The tip of the tongue should never touch the top behind your upper teeth The rolling “r” is Russian, don’t do this – that sounds like American accent to foreign speakers Curl the tip of the tongue and pull it... at the beginning of words o o o o o - Rock Rip Reach Road Rain o o o o o Rich Rome Raise Robe Rice o o o o o Four Air Year Turn Poor R at the end of words or after a vowel o o o o o Car Far Star Door Bear - R in the middle of words - Very Direction Arrange Erase Correct Marry Garage Original - Hurry Zero Marine Berry Operation Caring Arrive Everyone R blend - R is the strongest sound of the blend Long... It was so beautiful that I took many pictures with my camera and I used three rolls of film After drinking two cups of coffee, I got dressed, left the house, and walked three miles home [Type text] IZONE - Additional rule 2 – the “CH” (tS) sound, the American d3 sound, consonant h - The Ch (tS) sound o Is a combination of the t sound and the “SH” (S) sound o Is an unvoiced sound - Word practice Beginning... and down your upper teeth - When the l is at the end of the word, it’s a little bit more difficult than that Your tongue is relaxed and it touches right behind the upper teeth and it stays there E.g.: I will call Bill - Note that when placed at the end of words, “l” comes from the tongue movement, not placement - The American “l” is prolonged – (softer and longer) Word practice: Beginning Lunch Local... reason could be the sound exist in Vietnamese, but it never appears at the end of the word or the middle of the word So when you say these letters, you don’t say them the way you should with an American accent - Rule 11 – fully pronouncing each sound - You must fully pronounce each consonant sound Don’t take any shortcut - Most of us are not aware with what we are doing with our mouth when we’re speaking... your upper teeth 3 times Practice saying the following numbers (move your lips fully and try every consonant) o Seven o Twelve Rule 12 – voiced & voiceless Depends on the vibration of your vocal cords Affect your pronunciation of your –ed ending, the –s ending and the vowel length The best way to test whether a consonant is voiced is to put your fingers on your throat – you can feel your vocal cords vibrating... sound of the blend Long Pham [Type text] IZONE - When the blend is at the beginning of a word, your mouth prepares for the “R”, by coming forward even before you say the word R blend at the beginning of words Training Print Trust President Trip Product Great Cracker Tropical Crawl Bring Break - R blend in the middle of words Training Trust Trip Great Tropical - Bring - Sentence practice: o The story... more like “gườ” - You need to round your lips and you need to have a lot of air coming through, so make sure that your vocal cords are vibrating and there is air coming out of your lungs - You can practice with: o o - First, say “OOOOOO” Then, go into “OOOOOWAWAWAA” Word practice: Long Pham [Type text] IZONE - W at the beginning of words: o Why o o o o o o o - Wipe Wish Weight Wing Always Away Beware