In this episode of English Sound Building we’re reviewing most of the sounds from Season 2, and some from Season 1, by looking at two tongue twisters and two rhymes. We're also revisiting some of the practice techniques we first spoke about in the S1 recap. Have fun! Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook o...
Jul 12, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 24
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re picking back up on the /v/ sound from earlier in the season, and contrasting it with its voiceless pair /f/. There's practice with individual words, minimal pairs and sentences. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes? Learn w...
Jul 05, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 23
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re learning about and practising the two 'l' sounds in English: clear 'l' and dark 'l'. We discuss where the sounds occur, and how connected speech can affect them. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes...
Jun 28, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 22
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re continuing from the last two weeks, thinking about how the /ʃ/, /ʧ/ , /ʒ/ and /ʤ/ sounds appear in faster speech. Sentence-level practice shows you how sounds interact with each other and encourages you to understand the changes made when listening, and, if you like, try them when speaking. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my...
Jun 21, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 21
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re continuing from last week, building on the /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ sounds to look at /ʧ/ and /ʤ/. There’s a lot of practice with individual words alone and in sentences, as well as some minimal pairs. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes? L...
Jun 14, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 20
In this episode we practise the /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ sounds in both individual words and sentences. Have fun! Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes? I'm currently fully booked on italki , but message me and I'll let you know when I have avaialbility. Support the show...
Jun 07, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 19
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re continuing with the /ʊ/ sound from last week, and adding on the long vowel /u:/ There’s a lot of practice with individual words, as well as a few minimal pairs and short sentences. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes? Learn wit...
May 31, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 18
In this episode of English Sound Building we’re looking at a really interesting pair of vowels: /Ʌ/ and /ʊ/. There’s a lot of practice with individual words, as well as some minimal pairs and short sentences. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow me on Instagram , Facebook or Twitter . Interested in classes? Learn with me on italki ! Sup...
May 24, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 17
This episode of English Sound Building follows on from last episode, this time looking at the /w/ and /v/ sounds in the middle or towards the end of words. As usual, we look at common words with both sounds separately, sentences with a lot of /w/ and /v/ words, and some words including both sounds. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon . Don't forget to follow m...
May 17, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Welcome to season 2! Let's continue to flex those pronunciation muscles! In this episode, we look at the /w/ and /v/ sounds at the beginning of words. As usual, we'll practise the sounds in individual words and then in sentences. There are some minimal pairs this week, too. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is available free on my Patreon (just scroll down on the main page). If you us...
May 10, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 15
It's the last tongue twister revisit from season one. How will you get on? Have fun! Season two should be out in early May. Make sure you're subscribed (if you're not already) so you don't miss it! The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon , as is a video bonus for this episode. There's more advanced English there, too. If you use social media, come follow me on Instagram (feed shared to Facebook and Twitter ). Support the show...
Apr 05, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In our third Season 1 short bonus, we revisit the “Skirts and shirts” tongue twister. Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss season 2 (which all being well will be coming to you early May). The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon , as is a free video bonus for most episodes. There's more free English there, too :-) Support the show...
Mar 29, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In our second Season 1 short bonus, we revisit the “Fred fed Ted” tongue twister, practising the /e/, /t/ and /d/ sounds in particular. Have fun! Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss season 2 (which all being well will be coming to you late April or early May). The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon , as is a free video bonus for most episodes. There's more free English there, too. Support t...
Mar 22, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 12
A deeper look at the "lesser leather" tongue twister, talking about all the sounds we've looked at so far in the tongue twister, and showing some different practice techniques. Have fun! Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon , as is a free video bonus for this episode. There's more free English there, too. Don't forget to follow me on Ins...
Mar 15, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 11
It's the final full episode from Season 1 of English Sound Building. We recap the sounds we've discussed in previous episodes by looking at some key words, and talk about different ways to vary the 'listen and repeat' practice. The episode was getting long, so I'll make a few short episodes (as well as video bonuses) for the next few weeks to recap some of the tongue-twisters as well. Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure yo...
Mar 08, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 10
This episode of English Sound Building is all about the /əʊ/ sound. We look at some common words with the /əʊ/ sound, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a lot of /əʊ/ sounds. Try to listen to episode 4 about the schwa sound before this one, if you haven’t already. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon , as is a free video bonus for this episode. T...
Mar 01, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This episode of English Sound Building is all about the /ɒ/ sound. It’s shorter than the last two episodes, which have worked you hard! We look at some common words with the /ɒ/ sound, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a lot of /ɒ/ sounds. As usual, I start with a brief introduction on how to make the sound. If you're happy with that, skip to the 2.30 mark to get started with the workout. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so yo...
Feb 22, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this episode of English Sound Building, we consider the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense. This picks up on the /t/ and /d/ sounds we discussed last week, and also thinks about where an extra syllable is and isn’t added to those past tense -ed endings. We look at verbs matching three pronunciation patterns, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a mixture of sounds. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't mi...
Feb 15, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this episode of English Sound Building, we practise the /t/ and /d/ sounds. This is another voiceless and voiced consonant pair, similar to /s/ and /z/ in episode one, or /θ/ and /ð/ in episode two. It’s not a pair which is likely to be essential in terms of understanding, but it is a pair which differs quite differently from accent to accent (including from English accent to English accents), so I hope you enjoy finding out more. In the first few minutes, I give some tips on making the sound...
Feb 08, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Let's smash some language learning goals and flex those pronunciation muscles! In this episode of English Sound Building, we practise the /ɜ:/ sound. This is a long version of the schwa sound we studied last week and, as the difference between long and short sounds is one of the factors which can affect understanding in English, is one worth spending some time on. In the first few minutes, I give some tips on making the sound, and typical spelling patterns that occur with it. If you're...
Feb 01, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 5
It's a new year! Let's smash some language learning goals and flex those pronunciation muscles! In this episode of English Sound Building, we learn more about the most common sound in English: schwa. This sound is important in distinguishing between stressed and unstressed syllables, and stressed and unstressed words (we'll talk about this more in a future episode). In the first few minutes, I give some tips on making the sound. If you're happy with that, feel free to skip st...
Jan 25, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 4
It's a new year! Let's smash some language learning goals and flex those pronunciation muscles! In this episode of English Sound Building, we work on distinguishing between the /æ/ and /e/ sounds. The way in which these sounds is pronounced varies a lot between different varieties of English. Depending on your language background, you may also find it difficult to distinguish between them. Although mastering the distinction is absolutely not essential to be understood, it's fun to...
Jan 18, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 3
It's a new year! Let's smash some language learning goals and flex those pronunciation muscles! In this episode of English Sound Building, we look at the voiceless and voiced "th" sounds. These sounds are not found in many other languages (indeed, they are not found in all Englishes!), and although they are absolutely not essential to be understood, it's fun to try :-) In the first few minutes, I give some tips on making the sounds. If you're happy with that, feel f...
Jan 11, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 2
It's a new year! Let's meet some language learning goals and flex some pronunciation muscles! In this episode of English Sound Building, we work on distinguishing between the voiceless and voiced pair /s/ and /z/. We look at some common words containing both sounds, as well as some fun and challenging sentences. English Sound Building is about having fun with sound and celebrating the physical side of language learning. It is intended for advanced learners, but of course you are welcom...
Jan 02, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 1
