I was singing and crying, my heart felt so full. I was also learning a good amount of Spanish. What was I doing, you ask? I was listening and singing along to some of my favorite songs in Spanish. I've always loved using music and songs to help me learn foreign languages, and you can do the same to improve your English. Benny Lewis, polyglot (speaker of many languages) and language learning blogger writes:
From FluentIn3Months.com
I want to say that it is super fun as well! Learning English through singing, especially if you are big music fan to begin with, will help take the BORING out of studying. Singing can help your grammar, can expand your vocabulary and can you more of an understanding of slang and and conversational English. The language experts over at Lingholic recently wrote about why music can be so effective for language learning. You can learn more about WHY this works here. And now I'll tell you HOW to make it work for you! Read on to see the 3 easy steps that will help you sing your way to better English:
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Today I have a guest writer, Sean Morgan, professional English tutor and American accent pronunciation specialist. He currently coaches over 30 students on italki from every continent (except Antarctica!). Read on to see Sean's article on grammar and pronunciation rules for the most used word in the English language: 'THE.' ................................................................................................................................................................... So, you want to improve your pronunciation in English, but you don't know where to start. I’m happy to say that there are universal ways to improve your English pronunciation.
Although each language learner has a unique set of challenges with pronunciation according to their native language and personal abilities, I have noticed a lot of commonalities among non-native English language learners regarding pronunciation. Pronunciation is a vast subject and cannot be covered in one article, so I will give you a great tip that can remove a sizable portion of your accent in a short amount of time: focusing on the word 'the.' When we begin to learn a new language, we usually focus on memorizing grammar rules and lists of vocabulary. But if we don't focus on pronunciation as well (by learning how to make the correct sounds and putting stress in the right places), we might not be understood when talking to native English speakers.
Besides knowing grammar and a good amount of vocabulary, of course you want to be understood by native English speakers when you speak. That's why it is just as important to focus on developing native sounding pronunciation. "But English pronunciation is so hard, Sabrina!," my students tell me. Yes, English pronunciation can be difficult, but I want to share with you a few resources and tips that can help you start improving your pronunciation today: We usually only learn very formal phrases like "Yes, please" and "No, I do not" in grammar books. But when we go out into the real world and speak with REAL ENGLISH SPEAKERS, we hear (and need to learn) a whole different version of English. Spoken English can be very casual. Even basic words have some casual alternatives. Did you know there are even casual alternatives for the words 'yes' and 'no'? These two words are VERY commonly used. Being able to understand and use these words will help you sound more fluent. Read and listen to my video to learn how to use these words: Uh-huh (Yes)
and Uh-uh (No) Watch my YouTube video to hear and practice the pronunciation!: There, they're, and their. I get asked all the time by my students if there is a difference in the pronunciation of these three words. I want to tell you all a little secret (that's not really a secret...) . . . The pronunciation is the same! Watch my video here below to listen to the American pronunciation of these three words: |
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