Step by Step Proficiency English Language School » Pronunciation https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca ESL English Language School Sun, 08 Dec 2024 10:31:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Silent letter ‘t’ in English can be tricky for ESL students! https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/silent-letter-t-in-english-can-be-tricky-for-our-esl-students/ https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/silent-letter-t-in-english-can-be-tricky-for-our-esl-students/#comments Sat, 23 Nov 2024 07:46:47 +0000 Greg https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/?p=718 Letter ‘t’ is silent in many English words such as: ‘listen, whistle. hustle, castle etc. Most students already know that.

Letter ‘t’ is also silent in many words of French origin pronounced with the diphthong /eɪ/at the end  as in “day”.

( /e/+/i/)

Words like that include: ‘buffet, gourmet, ballet, valet etc..

Did you also know that letter ‘t’ is silent in ‘fasten’?

And that there is the /eɪ/ sound at the end of ‘resume’ as in; ‘Here is my resume.’

You have probably heard the phrase: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seat belts” many times but did not notice that letter ‘t’ was silent.

Maybe because you were more focused on fastening your seat belt! :)

Good luck practicing guys! :)

Want to learn more about English pronunciation, please join our English/ESL school in Ottawa!

We are always happy to help! :)

 

 

 

 

]]> https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/silent-letter-t-in-english-can-be-tricky-for-our-esl-students/feed/ 0 English pronunciation practice: partying versus parting https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-pronunciation-practice-partying-versus-parting/ https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-pronunciation-practice-partying-versus-parting/#comments Sun, 17 Nov 2024 06:31:34 +0000 Greg https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/?p=717
Hi guys! Here is how important it is to pronounce /j/ sound in English. Can you tell the difference?
Partying with our students is always fun ???? but parting with our students at our English school in Ottawa is always very, very  sad! ???? (It means saying good bye)
When you pronounce partying, please pronounce the /j/ sound before “ing”
How to pronounce English /j/?
In English language the tongue tip touches behind the lower front teeth, which is different than in many other languages. It’s a voiced sound, which means that your vocal cords are vibrating, we use our voice and air.
Good luck practicing! ????
Want to learn more about English pronunciation? Please join our English/ESL school in Ottawa!
Greg
]]> https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-pronunciation-practice-partying-versus-parting/feed/ 0 A few words of motivation for our ESL students at our English school! You can do it guys! :) https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/a-few-words-of-motivation-you-can-do-it-guys/ https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/a-few-words-of-motivation-you-can-do-it-guys/#comments Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:32:02 +0000 Greg https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/?p=715 Our students often say that learning English Pronunciation  and English Grammar is very difficult.
Here is my reply:
I know and I understand that it’s very, very, very hard …. BUT YOU CAN DO IT!!!????????????????????
Greg
Just join our English school, our ESL school in Ottawa!
]]> https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/a-few-words-of-motivation-you-can-do-it-guys/feed/ 0 English language spelling versus English pronunciation https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-language-spelling-versus-english-pronunciation/ https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-language-spelling-versus-english-pronunciation/#comments Fri, 08 Nov 2024 02:06:02 +0000 Greg https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/?p=714 English spelling or orthography (or to be more precise letters) often does not reflect English pronunciation in the same way as it does in many other languages, which may be very confusing for ESL (English as a Second Language) students.
One example is the word: ‘April’.
It is pronounced /ˈeɪprəl/.
The letter ‘a’ is pronounced /ei/ and is louder than other sounds, then it is followed by 3 consonant sounds pronounced one after another without any vowel sounds pronounced in between.
3 or more consonant sounds pronounced one after another in English linguistics is referred to as
‘a constant cluster’.
There are many words with constant sound clusters in English language.
What’s more, the three constant sounds are also pronounced in a different way than in most languages:
/p/ is voiceless (we just use the air, no voice), the sound is followed by a puff of air similar to the English /h/ sound (or the microphone sound, lol)
In most languages /p/ is voiced.
/r/ is totally different than in most languages.
(we roll our tongue without touching the gum ridge)
This sound can be the biggest challenge in this word, which is the main reason why many students hear /o/ sound from their language, which is incorrect.
/l/ at the end of words is pronounced longer in English than the beginning or middle /l/
Please think about the way you say: ‘like’ and ‘small’ in English, maybe there is a reason why there is double letter ‘l’ at the end of ‘small’ but surprisingly there is no double letter’ l’ at the end of the word ‘April’!
Another great example of a word with actually 4 consecutive consonant sounds is the word:
‘comfortable’
pronounced: /ˈkʌmftəbəl/ ,
please think it’s like:
/ˈkamftbl/ in your language, it’s just that letter ‘o’ is pronounced like a short and rhythmic letter’a’ in your language.
Hope this helps and you like my explanation guys!
I was trying to make it as easy to understand as possible! ????
Good luck practicing! ????
Greg 
If you would like to learn more, please join our English Pronunciation class at our English language school in Ottawa! :)
]]> https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/english-language-spelling-versus-english-pronunciation/feed/ 0 How to pronounce ‘Carter’ in North American English https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/how-to-pronounce-carter-in-north-american-english/ https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/how-to-pronounce-carter-in-north-american-english/#comments Fri, 25 Oct 2024 01:58:34 +0000 Greg https://www.stepbystepproficiency.ca/?p=710 Some North American words are very hard to pronounce for students. One example is a common name: ‘Carter’.
It consists of many sounds characteristic of just North American English. Here is the breakdown:
/k/ is voiceless and followed by a puff of air. (It’s the same in British English)
In most languages, the sound /k/ is voiced without a puff of air.
/a/is deeper and longer in North American English than in most languages but not as long as in British English.
/r/ is always pronounced strongly in North American English, it’s a very loud sound nonexistent in most languages.
(In British English it’s weaker but not pronounced in the middle of the name Carter.)
/t/ is pronounced almost like /d/ in most languages but it just slightly touches the gum ridge, not as strongly as the /d/ in most languages.
It’s called the North American flap sound. /t̬/
The phonetic symbol is like a letter ‘t’ with a line below.
This sound does not exist in British English.
/ə/ this sound follows /r/. It’s called the ‘schwa’.
When you pronounce nothing between the two consonant sounds, this sound will be perfect.
Please do not pronounce /e/ from your language when you say Carter.
/r/ is always pronounced strongly again in final position in North American English. 
(it’s usually not pronounced in British English)
Here is the phonetic transcription of Carter:
/ˈkɑːr.t̬ər/ – Canada/US pronunciation
/ˈkɑː.tə/ – UK,
(In British English final letter ‘r’ is pronounced if the next word starts with a vowel sound in connected speech, as in ‘Carter and’ pronounced fast)

Thanks Carter and good luck practicing guys! ????????
If you should need more help improving your English pronunciation, please contact our English school in Ottawa! ????
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