Focus on practicing the placement and intonation of American English on its own in this video. Work on phrases on the vowel “uh” – take away the words and other sounds to focus on the placement and melody of the phrases. Study with Rachel’s online … [Read more...]
Melody -- or Intonation -- is an important part of the character of American English. How does the pitch of the voice move throughout a sentence? How do changes in intonation affect meaning?
Ways to say “What?”
What should you say when you didn’t understand someone? This video gives several ideas of words and phrases to use to say “what?” when you need someone to repeat himself. Don’t by shy using these phrases! YouTube blocked? Click here to see the … [Read more...]
JULIA BOORSTIN — Interview a Broadcaster!
Study conversational English in this interview with NBC Broadcaster Julia Boorstin. See how even professionals use reductions and contractions all the time, and learn some new vocabulary. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the … [Read more...]
Word Stress and Lists
Study the intonation of phrases that involve lists so people can follow your speech more easily. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw05jLyV9Rc Video Text: In this American English pronunciation video, … [Read more...]
Questions and Intonation: Up or Down?
The intonation of statements goes down, and the intonations of some statements goes up. This difference in the direction of the pitch changes the meaning. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the … [Read more...]
How to Stress a Syllable :: The Shape of Stress
The shape and melody of the voice – the intonation – is one of the most important factors in sounding natural and American. Learn how the shape of a stressed syllable should be. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the … [Read more...]
Function Words – Pronunciation + Intonation/Word Stress
What are function words? Learn what they are and how important they are for providing rhythmic contrast in spoken English. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mS7w_np2Nw Video Text: This video will … [Read more...]
Intonation
Intonation in the melody of speech, the rise and fall of pitch. Having a feel for the intonation of American English is important. It is a concept that affects and is affected by rhythm, and makes up the defining character of American … [Read more...]
Musical Language
In this video, I reflect on a podcast I heard (Radiolab out of NYC – one of my favorites!) that relates to the musical nature of language. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x37Sy49HD4 Video Text: Hi … [Read more...]
Questions vs. Statements
How does the intonation of a phrase change for questions and statements? Learn the difference in this video. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUWCvEpS0KY Video Text: Today I'm going to talk about … [Read more...]