Combined Syllable Words Accent Training

Posted by Venture English on September 3, 2013

Sep 03, 2013

Sometimes our students ask us to teach them the sounds that the letters of the English alphabet make. They are convinced that if we teach them correct letter sounds that they will then have proper pronunciation. There is some truth to this. It's impossible to have proper accent or pronunciation when someone makes a Ph sound when they are actually trying to make an F sound. (Pharm verses Farm). However, there is much more to accent than just letter sounds. One of the key aspects to proper accent and pronunciation is learning how certain words or letter patterns 'roll off the tongue'. What I mean is, as a word is spoken, how does a native speaker combine the vowels and the consonants to form the word. 

In regards to English, the reason this is important is that English is a lazy language. This is not a joke or over-statement. Native English speakers are notorious for slurring words and sounds so that they become unintelligible to the uninitiated. If you think I'm joking just consider the English use of contracted forms, ie. "I am" becomes "I'm" and "s/he is"  becomes "s/he's" and "we are" becomes "we're". If you think that's bad, in spoken English one can often hear slang such as 'wanna' or 'gonna' in place of the real 'want to' or 'going to'. The reason, English speakers are too lazy to accurately enunciate all the vowels and consonants in the words that make up our sentences.

So how is a non-native English speakers supposed to learn these accent ques? Without the help of a native speaker it is impossible. However, we have included the recorded and worksheets below to help you gain proficiency in both your ability to understand and speak with a more neutral accent. Please download the audio and listen to it repeatedly as well as read along with the accompanying pdf file so that these word blends become second nature to you. Enjoy and leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below