Listen to this song by "El Príncipe Gitano", a very good artist but , arguably, his English pronunciation leaves much to be desired....
Still sceptical? Then, try this one!
I hope these two videos have whetted you appetite to practise English pronunciation!
Now watch two videos where the teacher explains why learning English pronunciation is important. Watch, listen and answer the questions below.
Video 1
1- Why is pronunciation important, according to the teacher? Good pronunciation is very important for good spoken communication
2- She says it's not important to speak like a native speaker. What is then a good pronunciation for her? What is important is that you're able to speak clearly and that you don't prevent other people from understanding what you are trying to say.
3- The teacher says there are lots of different accents. What's her accent? Standard Southern British English Accent.
Video 2
1- What's her first advice to those who want to improve their pronunciation? To try to learn each different sound of English.
2- Why does she think learning the symbols representing the sounds is so important? Because that way we learn the sounds.
3- How many sounds are there in English? There are more than twenty-six sounds. In fact there are over forty different sounds in English.
4- Where can you often find these symbols? You can find them in dictionaries for English learners.
5- Why are slashes / / used? They are used to show that it is the sounds which have been written and not the letters, the transcriptions are written between slashes.
6- So, what's the teacher's advice about sounds and symbols? She says that if you want to improve your English pronunciation, you sholud learn the different sounds and if you want to learn the different sounds you should learn the symbols.
7- What's the point in learning sounds and symbols in English? If you know the symbols and the sounds you'll be ble to use many dictionaries to find the pronunciation of any word in English and you won't even need a teacher.
Well , after all these videos I think it's time to work and to work hard........
I CORTA/I LARGA
SPELLINGS PARA LA "I LARGA"
A SHORT DIALOGUE USING WORDS WITH THE DIAGRAPH "EE"
Mr McGuee: Hello, Josephine. Are you raising money for your school?
Josephine: Yes, Mr McGuee. Would you like to buy a tree?
Mr McGuee: I've already got one of those.
Josephine: How about your very own street?
Mr McGuee: I'd love it. But I already live in my very own street.
Josephine: That's pretty much all I have Mr McGuee.
Mr McGuee: How about if I buy your sneeze?
Josephine: What? I can sell you something normal like a tree.But a sneeze? It's just plain weird!
Mr McGuee: I'll give you 5 bucks for it.
Josephine: Sold it!
E LARGA
E CORTA
O LARGA
O CORTA
A LARGA
DOS PRONUNCIACIONES PARA LA A CORTA
U CORTA
U LARGA
SCHWA
