Welcome to this course on sounding natural when speaking English.
I am a teacher of English as an additional language, working mainly with professionals whose English is good, but they want to improve their pronunciation skills to 'sound more natural' when speaking English, especially when they are attending meetings and conferences with speakers from a range of nationalities.
This course, hits some of the key 'pain points' students experience daily.
It is overview to raise awareness of issues, to help you understand some of the curiosities of spoken English an help you sound more natural.
If your focus is business English, I have made a series of lectures on attending and running meetings in English, and I also run group and individual tutoring.
The first part of this course is about pronunciation of words in English:
Use of the destressed vowel, or 'schwa'
The pronunciation of regular past tense 'ed' verb endings
The sounds of 'plosive' letters - P,B,T,D,G and K and how they're used
The second part is about the 'flow' of sentences:
Dropping letters in spoken English
Running words together in fast speech
The use of stress on key words improve comprehension
A range of uses for expressions in conversation, as openers, to attract attention to the speaker, and common expressions.
The third part is about using English indirectly, for humour, or to avoid saying impolite or awkward language. Sarcasm and euphemisms are common in English, but rarely addressed.
Whatever your level of spoken English, you'll find something here to improve it.
Strategies that you’d learn in therapy without the time and cost of therapy.
Fail to plan, plan to fail. If you want to win as a rookie this fantasy football season let's get your plan started now!
I've been a teacher for 35 years, now working with EFL students online from all across the world. I'm regularly thanked for my patience and understanding in addressing concerns and have a good understanding of some of the 'pain points' of applying English in real world situations. Most of my students are professionals, working in multinational companies, who are used to running meetings in their native language, but 'classroom English' didn't prepare them for their current role - presenting in English to colleagues who may not have English as their first language. I also work with students who are new to the workforce. They may have the English skills, but not the management experience. I love teaching and helping students from all over the world. Maybe this will help me expand my reach!
