Podbean Podcast Site Category :   Education   Tags :                       

English Word-level Stress Rules & Practice

6Sep

Rule # 1: You should stress  new or important words with a slightly louder voice.

Rule #2: Basic words that form sentence  structure are generally unstressed, spoken with a normal voice.  For example, verbs, articles, and conjunctions are usually not stressed unless they are important to the message.

Listen Now:


icon for podbean  Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

 

Category: ESL · Pronunciation · Stress | Comments |

create mobile site

How to Ask for Clarification

4May

Useful questions and statements to elicit more information:

  1. I'm sorry, what did you say?
  2. Could you repeat that please?
  3. Pardon?
  4. I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said.
  5. You want to do what?
  6. Say that again.
  7. Could you say that slowly please?

Note: Being able to ask for clarification when you don't understand is actually a very good listening skill!

Listen Now:


icon for podbean  Standard Podcasts [00:02:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

 

Category: Clarification · ESL | Comments |

The 3 Pronunciations of -s & -es Endings

2May

Dear Listeners,

In American English, the sound of -s and -es depend on which sounds come beforehand.

1. If the noun ends in an unvoiced consonant sound: /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/, /th/-(thin), pronounce "s" as /s/.

2. When it ends in a voiced consonant sound, /b/, /d/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ng/, /r/ /th/ (as in the) or with a vowel sound, /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, pronounce "s" as /z/.

3. If it ends with /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/ like chair, /zh/, or the second "g" in garage, /dz/-(j), pronounce "s" or "-es" as /iz/.

/s/ /z/ /iz/
After unvoiced  letters After voiced  letters /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, /zh/
talks cars wishes
students candies teaches
books planes dishes
desks teachers faces
pockets computers watches
rings guesses

 

Category: ESL · Pronunciation | Comments |

3 Pronunciations of the Past Tense (-ed)

2May

Dear Listeners,

One of the common errors of pronunciation for nonnative speakers of English is the irregular rules of  pronunciation for the past tense spelling of -ed.  This podcast provides practice opportunities to listen and repeat the three pronunciations /t/, /d/, and /Id/.  Here is the chart I used for the presentation:

/d/ /t/ /Id/
Ex.  moved Ex.  washed Ex.  wanted
believed advised acted
cried discussed complicated
denied kissed dated
called jumped decided
deserved kicked expected
moved kissed hated
Listen Now:


icon for podbean  Standard Podcasts [00:04:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

 

Category: ESL · Pronunciation | Comments |

ESL Recordings to Share

26Oct

Dear Listeners,

Well, I have recorded many English lessons on audio but haven't compiled them yet on a podcast.  This will be my first podcasting channel in my career.  It will be interesting to see any trends in the variety of items that I recorded.  Mainly, I think they will focus on listening comprehension skills for English as a second language (ESL).   I look forward to your comments and hope to grow a following.

Best Wishes,

Sandra Rogers

 

Category: ESL | Comments |