If you want to improve your accent,
feel more comfortable when speaking,
and even improve your comprehension,
it’s no secret, pronunciation plays an important role.
Yes, working on your pronunciation
improves your comprehension.
I’m Christina and you’re watching Speak Better, Feel Great TV,
the place to boost your English and boost your career.
Today we’ll look at
the rhythm
of English
and
how paying attention to it improves your accent
and makes it easier for Americans to understand you.
Ya ready?
What are you doing?
I’m working on my pronunciation!
What are you doing
WHERE are you GOing?
What are you doing
Just like music,
English keeps a rhythm that is important for comprehensibility.
The combination of rhythm and stress
makes English a very musical language.
It also makes it very different from French!
Let’s look at an example sentence:
In French: “On va commencer”.
In my English: “Let’s go ahead and start.”
Do you hear how the rhythm is all approximately the same?
No,
Correct rhythm is like this:
The words that are stressed are clearly articulated.
GO and START.
The other words aren’t articulated. They’re squished into the rhythm of the sentence.
Why - is - it - so - diff-i-cult?!
WHY is it so DIFFicult?
This aspect of language is difficult for a few reasons:
First, maybe because before this video, you didn’t realize how important
the rhythm is
in speaking English.
You probably never studied this in school.
So, it’s very new to you.
Second,
French is totally different from English when it comes to rhythm.
It’s not easy to just change the way you talk!
Finally,
rhythm is
one of the first things children learn,
but it’s one of the most difficult things for adults to learn.
Oh, I give up! I can’t learn this. I’m not a musician!
You don’t have to be a musician.
But you can use music to improve your accent in spoken English.
How?
By singing!
Seriously, by singing!
Why does it work to improve your pronunciation?
1. You’re listening and imitating repetitively.
That makes it automatic
and you don’t even have to think about it!
2. It improves
both your pronunciation of individual words
and your rhythm of complete sentences
3. You can do it anywhere (well almost).
If you drive a car, take a shower, or cook or clean your house
(and I know you do at least one of those activities!),
you can use that time to sing in English!
J’ai pas le temps is no longer an excuse!
4. You can put your body into it,
which helps you to naturally “feel” the rhythm
and 5. It’s fun
that’s the most important reason!
“Should I stay or should I go now?
Romain
we’re finished for today.
That’s it for today!
Remember, to improve your pronunciation in English,
you need the right techniques.
And it helps to understand how pronunciation works too.
To get more videos like this,
go to ChristinaRebuffet.com and sign up!
You’ll get a new video each week,
plus exclusive bonuses.
And even if you don’t have a lot of free time,
you can boost your English and boost your career.
I’m Christina from Speak Better, Feel Great TV.
See ya next time!