The other day, I was talking on the phone to my mom, like I do every Sunday night.
Romain was listening in on our conversation, and trying to understand. But when I talk to my family on the phone, my Mississippi accent really comes out (and I talk REALLY loud for some reason).
After I hung up, Romain asked “Pourquoi vous parlez de vélos ?”
Huh?
“Bah, je sais pas, tu disais un truc avec ‘bicycle’ tout le temps.”
I tried to imagine what he was talking about…
OH! BASICALLY!!!
I was saying “Basically…” A lot. It’ is typical in spoken English.
Do you ever get the impression that the words all run together, or that your American colleagues don’t articulate…at all?
You hear things that don’t make sense, or things that you just don’t understand.
This week’s SBFG episode is going to help you with that, because it’s got some exercises you can do to make it easier to understand real spoken English.
This is a 2-part series, so CLICK HERE for Part 2. You’ll get step-by-step instructions on how to improve your pronunciation in English with VLC.
I know, it’s not easy. I had the same problem when I first arrived in France, but you can improve, I promise! The secret is doing short, focused work, like with the exercises in the videos.
Now, I’d love to hear from you. In the comments below, tell me: What is your biggest challenge with pronunciation and comprehension?
Leave a comment below and share your challenge with The SBFG Community
You know, thousands of other French-speaking professionals come to SBFG to boost their English and boost their career. Your story may inspire and encourage someone who is having the same difficulties. You’re not alone! The SBFG Community is here to help!
Thank you as always for reading, sharing and joining in!
Have a fantastic week in English,
Christina
Actually , you can’t change your native accent and speak like an English person . However , you can do your best to change the way you speak with good intonation as well as stress . Pronunciation is the condiment that gives voice its flavor .
Hi Mollie,
It’s so good to see you over here AND on the YouTube channel!
You’re right, you can’t change your native accent. Or, you can, but it takes a LOT of work, and there’s really no reason to (unless you’re a spy or an actor…)
You’re absolutely right that the thing you can improve is the intonation and stress, which is really important to help people understand you when you speak. A lot of times, people tell me they want to improve their “accent”, but what they’re really talking about is their pronunciation, intonation, and stress.
And for food metaphors, I have an English teacher friend who specializes in prosody (“the music of the language”) and he always says “Pronunciation isn’t the icing on the cake, it IS the cake!”