Pronunciation and American Speech Patterns

In today’s global marketplace speaking clear understandable English is very important. Ineffective communication due to pronunciation problems can waste time, cause errors, and create barriers and misunderstandings in the workplace and around the world. Having an accent, however, is a natural part of any language. The goal of this course, therefore, is not to eliminate any trace of an accent you may have, but to help you speak clear, understandable American English.

Main topics:
• Learning how to produce sounds you find difficult or confusing in American English. This may involve learning to move your mouth muscles and tongue in unfamiliar ways.
• When to put spaces between words
• When to connect words: How to make connections between words in order to be more easily understood.
• Intonation, The speech music of American English. Pitch patterns and rhythms can completely obscure or change the meaning of a word or sentence.
• The correct intonation for questions, answers and lists
• Slowing down so that your listener knows where one word or phrase ends and another begins.
• What to do when your listener doesn’t understand you.
• Communicating over the phone
• Checking for meaning
• Asking for help
• Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
• Frequently mispronounced words
• Using an online dictionary with audio