Speech Modification SMART American Accent Training

In this fluent speaking practice, we use shadowing and backwards chaining to have perfect intonation, while working on integrating W and V sounds into fluent speech.

In this shadowing lesson, we work on intonation for verbs with and without phrasal verbs. Here are the phrases we cover in this lesson: That's where she ran. That's where she ran into it! They play soccer after school. Just play along with it for now. He walks to work every day. Let's walk through the notes. I don't know where to look. She will look out for her younger brother. She reads books before bedtime. Let's read up on it before class. You can hang your coat by the door. Try to hang in there for a little bit longer. He writes poems in his spare time. Let's write down our ideas. We sing songs at parties. Can you sing along with the music? I watch the news after work. Watch out for snakes on the trail. They draw pictures in art class. Let's avoid letting it draw out too long. He will pull the sled behind him. I think she might pull out of the deal. We study math for the test. Can you study up on the topic? We can get some for you. I need to get up at 5 am. They build sandcastles on the beach. He's trying to build up some muscle.

Have difficulty integrating your TH sounds into fluent speech? This practice focuses on the most common words with TH at the start and ends, to help you use this sound correctly and fluently in connected speech.

Letters PRO are pronounced differently when stressed on unstressed. We'll practice mix and match phrases with PRO as /prə/ (unstressed) and /prɑ/ (stressed) words in this shadowing lesson.

In this advanced mix and match practice, we work on integrating vowel schwa and vowel /ɑ/ into phrases. Many speakers struggle with differentiating vowel schwa and vowel /ɑ/ as in "nut" and "not." In this listen and repeat practice, we use common phrases with these vowels to help you master the vowels in fluent speaking. For more basic practice and learning these two vowels, check out this video: https://youtu.be/RQ1d4zQ9GCY For more on minimal pairs and other vowel contrasts, check out this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXFLCasjYl43lFxdcqCzUGbulhKIlRra&si=YgjVJhAz5zYFqsd6

In typical intonation patterns, we stress the last content word in a phrase, which is sometimes the verb. But in a phrasal verb, the meaning is contained in the preposition which follows the verb, so it gets the stress instead of the verb.  For example, we stress play in the phrase I like to play. But we stress out the phrase Let's see how it plays out. Phrasal verbs covered: run into, play along, walk through, look out for, read up on, hang in, write down, sing along, watch out, draw out, pull up, get up, build up video with visuals: https://youtu.be/6u7LJQwsdPg

In this lesson, we cover ST blends as well as how to pronounce words with Final L. Get pronunciation and fluent speech practice for these sounds. Shadow, list and repeat. For visuals, see our video: https://youtu.be/6xSoxz7FUb4

Sometimes, an L at the end of the word functions as a syllabic L.  That is to say, it functions as a full syllable (a vowel and a consonant).  It sounds like /əl/ or /ʊl/, with a the vowel being very short and reduced. One strategy for making syllabic L sound natural is to practice using words with ʊl to shape the syllabic L.  For words with ble, try saying bull, then shorten and reduce the vowel to "bl." For example, say "bull, bl, trouble." Listen, repeat, and shadow words and phrases with Syllabic L in this lesson. Video with visuals: https://youtu.be/CCrgIbjr6rs

In this lesson, we work on Vowel /u/ as in new shoe and vowel /ʊ/ as in good book. We'll practice phrases and sentences with minimal pairs like Luke and look, shooed and should, listen and repeat practice for fluent speech and shadowing. Check it out! Video for this lesson: https://youtu.be/ftvQPdMe_OI

Learn and practice the correct intonation patterns for compound nouns. Stress the first syllable or first word in a compound noun phrase. repeated phrases: I need the, it's in the, where's my did you see the, what happened in the, what about the, see you by the compound nouns: toothbrush classroom bookshelf waterfall football raincoat headache pancake moonlight newspaper jellyfish toothpaste hairbrush sunlight doorbell backpack haircut fishbowl handbag moonshine raindrop firefly compound noun phrases: grocery store, high school, coffee shop, air conditioning, swimming pool, book club, movie theater, ice cream truck, bus stop, power outage, traffic jam, fire department, police station, bank account, email address, job interview, music festival, rain shower, football game, birthday party, train station See the video with visuals: https://youtu.be/FAoxBxGO1aE

In this fluent speaking practice, we work on phrases with Flap T plus /ər/, like "better, water, lighter, and tighter." Listen and repeat everyday phrases with these words in this mix and match practice. phrases: getting, it's been, it's gotten, I'm feeling targets: better wetter water sweeter greater flatter tighter lighter Video for this lesson: https://youtu.be/cd8lrclnOp4

Words that begin with the letters CON usually say /kɑn/ "KAHN" when they are stressed, and /kən/ "kn" when they are unstressed. For example, "content" the noun sounds like "KAHN tent" and "content" the adjective sounds like "kn TENT." We'll do a mix and match listen and repeat practice with this set of verbs, adjectives and nouns: consider, concerned, convey, concludes, content, connect concept, content, context, conduct, concert, contacts See the video with visuals for this lesson here: https://youtu.be/pM36nnU0XXI

Shadow, listen and repeat for Vowel O linking! When we link words ending with /oʊ/ to words starting with a vowel sound, we have a /w/ glide as we link between the vowel sounds. In this lesson, we practice fluently linking with vowel /oʊ/.

In this mix and match fluent speaking practice, we focus on shadowing and listen and repeat for Vowels u ʊ i ɪ as well as linking unreleased /d/ sounds. See the video for visuals: https://youtu.be/h9UYK5LK7co

In this lesson, we look at fluent speaking for the phrases "might have" (might've, "MIGHduv") and "might not have" (might not've, "Migh(t)NAHduv). We'll learn how the stress pattern changes with different verbs, and do a listen and repeat practice for common sentences with these phrases. Also available as a video with visual supports on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/2Aew2WbNaQ4

Vowel /ɛ/ (red tent) and vowel schwa /ʌ/ (such fun) have a similar amount of opening. Vowel /ɛ/ is a front vowel, which means the back of the tongue will be lifted, while vowel /ʌ/ is a central vowel, which means the tongue will be relatively flat.  Use the recording below to practice these vowel contrasts, as well as phrases with both sounds, to feel the similarities and differences between the vowels.

Practice pronouncing "water" with a Flap T like a native speaker in this fluent speech practice. Listen and repeat, practice slow speech, and shadowing for sentences to master the word "water" in American English.

Get practice tips and an extensive listen and repeat practice for words ending in -st and -sts, such as last and lasts, first and firsts, guest and guests. We'll work at the word, phrase and sentence level to build your skills with these plurals and present tense verb forms.

In this lesson, we'll practice shadowing the Flap T in the middle of words and in linking, at the conversational level. Sound more natural and speaking more fluently in the American accent using this technique.

In this episode, we practice some of the most common phrases with the word "the," combined with challenging words with R. Use this advanced lesson to master combining these challenging sounds with easily in our listen and repeat format.