Pronunciation: (SKILLS: listening, speaking, digital technology, thinking skills, oral communication)
Here are some pronunciation websites that I like.
English Accent Coach is an interactive online game that will help improve your pronunciation. This website has been created by a Canadian professor, Dr. Ron Thomson, at Brock University in Ontario. You have to sign up to use this website, but it's safe and completely free. Highly recommended!
The American English Pronunciation pronuncian site is very good . You can listen to podcasts on pronunciation and practise some sounds. For example, here's a link to the podcast on the difference between "13" and "30".
Rachel's English has videos that help you see and hear how to make the sounds of English. There are lots of videos that you can watch and listen to.
Manythings.org is a website created by ESL teachers. There are some pronunciation practice activities here that you could try to see if you can hear the difference between some similar sounds. You might also find the Daily Pronunciation Practice section useful.
Cows eat grass.
The cows eat grass.
The cows will eat grass.
The cows will eat the grass.
The cows will have eaten the grass.
Kids hide toys.
Some kids hide toys.
Some kids hide our toys.
Some kids have hidden our toys.
Some kids will have hidden our toys.
Cars need gas.
The cars need gas.
The cars will need gas.
The cars will need some gas.
The cars will be needing some gas.
Girls buy clothes.
The girls buy clothes.
The girls buy their clothes.
The girls are buying their clothes.
The girls will be buying their clothes.
Deer lick salt.
A deer licks salt.
A deer has licked the salt.
A deer is licking the salt.
A deer will be licking the salt.
Men cut grass.
The men cut grass.
The men cut the grass.
The men will cut the grass.
The men are cutting the grass. Top of this page
While sentence stress (emphasizing important words in a sentence) is very important for meaning, individual words also have stress on one syllable. Pronouncing individual words correctly will help other people understand the words you are using.
Linguapress.com offers six basic rules for figuring out word stress.
Really Learn English has a longer list of rules with lots of example words.
Languages such as Mandarin have what is called lexical tone; this means that the tone or the pitch of a sound can change its meaning. Listen to the Mandarin words for mother, hemp, horse, and scold (Audio source www.phon.ox.ac.uk):
Linking identical consonant sounds:
Linking vowel + vowel sounds:
do it .
see it .
I am
Linking consonant + vowel sounds:
Linking r, w, and y sounds:
you're right...
how well...
cry all night...
Consonant clusters:
English Club has a list of 600 regular English verbs. You can practice correctly pronouncing the past participles of these verbs.