Pronunciation

In C1, you will need to identify and work on (polish up) your problem areas. Check out the helpful links provided below.

Needs analysis task. Due date: October 31st.

Read and record the following text. Focus on your intonation. Try to make the appropriate pauses. Remember your endings and how to link words. Do not correct yourself. Try to read and record the passage in one go. The objective of this task is to find out where your weaknesses lie.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. The gang had been trying to get together for over a year. It hadn't happened. We were all too busy with our jobs and families.

"The gang" is a group of seven guys and girls who have known each other since their university days. Some of us live in the same city while others live all over the country. The two who live furthest away are in Canada.

Funny how nowadays nothing is really that far away thanks to air travel. The trouble is getting our schedules to coincide. Most of us are teachers so we coincide during the summer holidays. However, Brenda and Edward who are in Canada, are lawyers so their holidays vary depending on their workload and whether or not they get the summer off as they work on a rota.

(You can record it on your cell phone, on your computer, on youtube, or download this free program: http://audacityteam.org/. Once you have recorded it, send it to me: carmedphd@gmail.com. Thank you for your efforts.)

After the needs analysis, the issues which have come up most are:

1. Incorrect vowel length: http://www.macmillanenglish.com/phonemic-chart/. Listen and try to reproduce the individual sounds as closely as possible.

2. -ed endings: http://www.englishmaven.org/Pages/Pronouncing%20ED%20Endings.htm. This will help you identify the type of ending. You can listen and repeat at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j32SurxnE4s

3. -s endings: http://www.elementalenglish.com/3-sounds-of-the-plural-s-in-english/

4. Stress on words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65AgbiwQ6ko

More practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbcEiFTmkQo

5. Rules for dividing syllables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u56LBmMlqc

6. Word stress in intonation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPCBWsVUp0

7. Watch this video to see how important intonation is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0G_yZfXJUQ

Correct/IMPROVE your pronunciation by typing your sentences in, then listening to a person read them back to you:

http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php

Review the pronunciation of your vowels with this video: