English Pronunciation Pod 51

In this weeks podcast, we're going to review the consonants which we've covered in the last
several podcasts. These consonants are known as the sibilant consonants. The sibilant consonants are /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/.
These consonants all involve placing our tongue tip near or on the gum ridge.

** I strongly recommend that you listen to the previous lessons about these consonants if you haven't already, before using this podcast.
Podcasts #38-50 give complete detailed instructions as to how to pronounce these consonants.

The Importance of Review:
One of the main purposes of this podcast is to emphasize the importance of reviewing material when studying accent reduction.
Some of my best private students here in New York City have told me that they are always reviewing the material from past lessons.
This is called maintenence of the fundamentals. Maintenence of the fundamentals will keep
your pronunciation skills strong and consistent.
It's like a professional musician who still practices the same scales everyday, or a dancer or athlete who warms up with the same routine everyday.

Build a Strong Foundation:
Practicing the fundamentals is essential because these are the building blocks of more
complex pronunciation patterns.

Exercise: Review of Sibilant Consonants: /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ and /dʒ/. This exercise creates a clear distinction between these consonant sounds.
Listen and repeat the sounds, paying careful attention to the differences in tongue position for each of them.
Again, if you're not have sure how to position your tongue for any of these sounds, you can find ,br>the full lesson in the podcast archive on our website.

Please listen and repeating the following consonant sounds:
/s/                         /z/                       /ʃ/                   /ʒ/                        /tʃ/                    /dʒ/

Now let's add a vowel sound to these consonants sounds.
Let's choose a simple vowel like /a/, so we can really focus on making the consonants as accurate and as distinct as possible.

/sa/                   /za/                    /ʃa/                /ʒa/                  /tʃa/                    /dʒa/

In this next exercise,we're going to practice some words which contain two different sibilant consonants that are often confused. Because these words contain sounds which are similar
and often confused, they can be very tricky and challenging to pronounce.

Exercise: Please listen and repeat the following words which contain two different
sibilant consonants.

/s/ and /z/

size... season

/s/ and /ʃ/

session... slash

/z/ and /ʃ/

musician ... physician

Pronunciaton Tip: If you are having trouble pronouncing musician and physician, I recommend that you break it down into smaller units. Start by just practicing the sound /zIʃ/ and then move
on to "musician."

/zɪʃ/... musician ... /zɪʃ/ ... physician

 /dʃ/ and /z/

Jazz ... residual

The" Secret" to Speaking English Clearly and Quickly

The best way to learn a new sound is to practice it slowly.
In fact, the secret to speaking English clearly and quickly is practicing slowly and accurately. Learning to speak English with a standard American accent is a gradual process, but if you work at it regularly and practice as often as you can, you're going to improve!

The Right Training Tools for Better Pronunciation:

It's important to have right training tools in order to improve your accent.

That's why I recommend that you check out my English Pronunciation Course in mp3 format-
Best Accent Training mp3s!

No matter what your first language is, Best Accent Training has the lessons you need for
speaking English clearly and correctly.

Best Accent Training mp3s contains all the sounds of English with step by step instructions
and practice exercises.
You'll also get all the vowels of English, all the consonants, syllable stress lessons, intonation lessons and connected speech!

Best of all, Best Accent Training is a fast and easy download that you can put on your mp3 player and take with you wherever you go!
I specially designed it for that purpose!

Download Best Accent Training today and practice your pronunciation wherever and
whenever you want to!

Any questions, comments or suggestions ? Contact us at:  contact@englishpronunciationpod.com

Thank you and see you next time!

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