VOA Special English Video Clips for Clear Pronunciation and for Listening Practice

Dear All (All friends and students)


I have included many video clips for all of you to practice reading aloud and practice enunciating clearly. Hopefully, you'll be able to make a clear and easy to understand presentation.


What you can do is listen to the whole news first and then stop the clip often and repeat after the speaker.  Notice how the speaker pronounces each word, particularly how she/he stresses each word (word stresses) and how she/he links each word together (sentence stresses). Next, notice the intonation, or how she/he raises her/his voice up and down. 


Please make use of your knowledge of phonetics you have gained from your training and from the articles I have posed in some of my web blogs.  When you are not sure of the stress patterns, look up in a recommended website of an online dictionary and repeat after the model pronunciation of each word.


In class, each of the students will be assigned to report one article in front of the class.  Each will have to:


1. Listen to the whole article and copy (in print) the exact wording of the news to report it in front of the class. 


2. Practice reading aloud following the model news announcer. Study where the speaker pauses and mark on the script accordingly.


3. Look up in an online dictionary and practice pronouncing each word you find difficult to understand. Pay attention to the vowel and consonant sounds, word stress patterns and intonation. You may need the knowledge of how to read phonetic symbols.


4. Then start your own presentation of the news. First, repeat after the speaker phrase by phrase.  Then, read everything on your own.


5. Record your own voice when you think your reading is good enough.


6.  Listen to your recording and see if you can understand each word you have read clearly.  You can compare your reading with the speaker so that you can improve your pronunciation before the class presentation. Try to be fluent and don't stop or hesitate too often.


7. Now in class you should be ready to report the news or article to all your classmates.




Here is the first clip: Business

Business Students Compete to Solve Global 

Problems

http://youtu.be/zsm8t_YSiTs

And the second one: Technology
No More Guesses at How to Say a Name

http://youtu.be/kdUzREDSWp8

The third: Technology

South Korea Tops 'Information Society' Report

http://youtu.be/-D89Ng0ydTg

The forth: Business

A Quick Lesson in Ways Businesses Are Organized

http://youtu.be/CZ-V_J1RUuI

The fifth: labor
Development Report # 392 (Forced labor)
http://youtu.be/YOTbTJDjqrE




The sixth: Health
Medical Spies Keep Watch on Leaders

http://youtu.be/A0fiGZSScxo

The seventh: Arts
'Decoy Capital' Finds Real Appeal in Fake Birds

http://youtu.be/7m-NPUZqlnA

The eighth: Health
Biology May Keep New Fathers Close to Home
http://youtu.be/BqKmNT4OBoo






The ninth: Health
Gut Bacteria: We Are What We Eat
http://youtu.be/QwTOI5YoqrA






The tenth: Education
Websites Show Young People How to Save

http://youtu.be/QJFUwZ9iwBk

I'll add some more interesting clips to this blog in a few days.  Meanwhile, choose one clip and start practicing.  Moreover, you can choose your favorite clips from VOA Special English by yourself.


I will come back soon! Until then.

It's good to know Phonetic Alphabet

First of all, you should know that the English spelling does not help us pronounce correctly. There are many words sharing the same spelling but with different pronunciation.  Many of you might guess from the spelling of some words and mispronounce the words by associating them with the words you have seen and are familiar with. For example, you see the word "mow" so you think of the word "now" and pronounce it with the same vowel sound "au", which makes it "mau".


 However, this is the wrong pronunciation because the vowel sound of "mow" is the same as the vowel sound in "no".  The right pronunciation is "mo" as in "no" and not "mau" as in "now".  This can happen all the time with some other words such as "giant"(=j) and "god"(=g), "chime"(=ch) and "character"(=k), "see"(=s) and "Sean"(=sh).


How can we know how to pronounce each sound?  Do we have to learn only by trial and error? Do we have to feel embarrased every time other people don't understand our pronunciation and in the end exclaim "Oh, you mean - - - - - -?"


Please watch the videos about phonetics and pronunciation from the website BBClearningenglish.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIPOGkyx-7I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSYJ2jNhaMs&feature=related





Here is a video clip for consonant sounds from BBC learning English.  After the clip ends, you can click the suggested clips appearing at the end for other consonant sounds:






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh6uuwkA3o8&feature=related
























































































I'd also like to recommend many other websites which provide us with useful videos.


The first one is
http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/


The second one is
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/anatomy.htm
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html


I'd also like you to click the following website and practice whatever you can:




http://evaeaston.com/consonants.html
http://evaeaston.com/vowels.html
http://evaeaston.com/t-d-Id-pattern.html
http://evaeaston.com/s-z-Iz-pattern.html
http://evaeaston.com/sl-pattern.html
http://evaeaston.com/stress-pattern.html


If you want to pronounce better, you must keep practicing and you can click this website:


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/


Don't forget to learn the phonetic symbols given after each word you click.


Next, I'd like you to look at more videos from Youtube as suggested here:













The following video shows how to pronounce the final "ed" sounds and introduces sentence stresses and intonation.  It is very cute indeed.

http://youtu.be/XlSeYt6PN6s

Suggestions for practicing stresses

Dear Students


I am posting the video clips for sentence stress for you to practice.
Please spare some time for these exercises.


Here are the video clips:

http://youtu.be/Wbs5aoqFtVQ

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

http://youtu.be/-toSnwSqqz0

_____________________________

http://youtu.be/lhRgU28n8rc




_____________________________________-

http://youtu.be/nwWPUfaqnpE

_______________________________

http://youtu.be/FNU2NKW6oQo

Dear Students


Please be informed that your pronunciation class has reached its half semester period.  Many of you are still struggling with the sounds and symbols.  Only the studies in class will not be enough to help you pass the exams with a good score.  You need to practice and check the pronunciation with the models from the provided video clips and recommended websites, from both my weblog and my lectures. Also you will have to click the Cambridge Dictionary online to review the spelling and symbols together with the model pronunciation for stresses and consonant and vowel sounds.


The Midterm exam includes written/listening test, which is 50 points, and the oral exam, which is also 50 points.


What will be in the exams?


As you have already been told, the written exam is divided into 5 parts. The first part is identifying which syllable is stressed.  The second part is writing the phonetic symbol of the initial sound.
The third part is writing the phonetic symbol of the medial sound.
The forth part is writing the phonetic symbol of the final sound.
Lastly, the fifth part is identifying the phonetic transcription of the whole word by choosing from 4 alternatives.


The oral test will include pronouncing 10 assigned words for stresses and consonant and vowel sounds (these are taken from the practiced exercises done in class or homework).  Then, the pronunciation of ten words taken from a dictionary. Finally, the reading of a sentence or a short paragraph.  This will be given to you when you arrive at the exam room and you have 15 minutes to prepare by checking with your notes or a talking dictionary. This oral exam is 50 points.


The dates of the exams have been announced, so be prepared for all of these forms of tests.


Remember that you should practice, practice and practice. If you go blank in the exams, I will assume that you are taking this course too slightly and the scores will reflect your lack of attention and effort in studying this course.


Happy Mother's Day!


Best regards
Kru Nina

Syllable Stresses

Word Stresses: the key to better pronunciation.


Have you ever found, as a Thai person, that it is hard to understand some words even though you can spell and read the words?  You know you can understand the meanings of those words quite well but wonder why you can't understand when a native speaker says those words.


If the answer to the first question is YES, and you have to ask the second question very often, you need to improve your pronunciation.


The first thing you need to look at and improve is your way of stressing words in sentences.


As a Thai person with a Thai accent, you tend to stress the last syllable of each word, which causes a lot of problems.  Moreover, you stress each syllable almost equally.  For example, you say
วอเท่อ for the two syllable word "water".  In fact, it should be pronounced "ว้อเถอะ" or phonetically "UK /ˈwɔː.tər/        
US/ˈwɑː.t ̬ɚ/.  Notice the stress mark / ' / in front of the first syllable.  The stress or emphasis is actually put on the first syllable "wa"  NOT THE LAST SYLLABLE "ter".  This illustrates the fact that you should not pronounce some English words the way you used to do. 


Click for an audio illustration:


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/water_1?q=water




You should not assume that other people who are not Thai will understand the word you have said easily because they usually don't think of the spelling when they hear you say it.  They will understand you only when you pronounce the word according to the standard pronunciation.  Only the similar or nearly similar pronunciation can click their understanding.  Many Thai people are not aware of this weak point and don't pay attention to changing the way they pronounce words.


Let me give you a few examples. 


The first example is the word "analysis".  Many Thai people pronounce this word "แอน-นา-ไล-
สีส" and don't realize that this is a wrong way to pronounce the word. It should be pronounced "เออะ-แน้ล-เลอะ-สิส" with the stress only on the second syllable NOT on every syllable. These phonetic symbols show how you should pronounce this word:

/əˈnæl.ə.sɪs/

Click this link for an audio illustration:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/analysis?q=analysis


The second example is "proposal".  Most of the Thais pronounce this word /พร็อบ-โพร-แซ่ล/ or /พร็อบ-โพร-เซิ่ล/.  Apparently, they put the stress on the first and third syllable. The right pronunciation should be       "เพรอะ-โพ้ษ-เสิ่ล".  The second syllable is stressed. The following is the phonetic symbols for the word:

/prəˈpəʊ.zəl//-ˈpoʊ-/ 

Click to hear the illustration:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/proposal?q=proposal


The last example is "management".  The common mistake among the Thais is /แม-เหนจ-เม้นท์/.  The word, in fact, should be pronounced /แม้-หนิจ-เมิ่นท์/.   The stress is actually on the first syllable.
See the phonetic symbols for its pronunciation:
/ˈmæn.ɪdʒ.mənt/

Click the link for an audio illustration:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/management?q=management

It is very difficult, of course, to change the way you pronounce each word that you have repeatedly mispronounced for many years and  have formed a habit that dies hard. Nevertheless, it is of no use continuing to stubbornly or ignorantly pronounce it the same way sticking to an attitude "Why do I have to care because English is not my mother's or father's language (my mother tongue)?"


Read on if you want to improve.  Stop reading if you are too lazy or too busy to change! 


The following video clips will help you to understand the importance of word stresses:


http://youtu.be/MxgykdX-C-o







http://youtu.be/WX1rrFh4OZw

http://youtu.be/gSNcI_agzpI

http://youtu.be/rMLym5C3FHo





http://youtu.be/3gOuZxNfynk





http://youtu.be/RZY8MlaYDPA




How are you doing? Ok, so far?

The above video clips are good for raising your awareness and helping you to understand how words are normally pronounced with certain stress patterns.


Practice more with the help of the following video clips:

http://youtu.be/9UUsMeytwko

Words with the stress on the first syllable:

http://youtu.be/aMbZkX3tS-4

Words with the stress on the first syllable and the ending "er":

http://youtu.be/jNfSSI5vW_M

Words with the stress on the second syllable:

http://youtu.be/Ef7o1pk35cA