Communicate Clearly with Your Voice in American English Archives • Page 9 of 12 • English with Kim

Pitch Exercises: Improve Your Stress and Intonation in American English with Steps and Glides

Have you practiced your pitch recently? If not, I encourage you to get started with these pitch exercises now so that you can be more easily understood by other English speakers. Learning to change and vary your pitch will help you: pronounce words more accurately; call attention to the most important words and ideas in your speech; and be able to express different emotions and attitudes through intonation. If you’re completely new to the … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Five Reasons Why Some English Speakers Don’t Understand You

If you’re like most non-native speakers, you’re probably concerned about whether people understand you when you’re speaking English. In this video, we’re going to talk about five reasons that some native English speakers may not understand you. The first one has absolutely nothing to do with you. So let’s get started! Reason #1: They choose not to understand you. One major reason that some native English speakers don’t understand you doesn’t have anything to do … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Sentence Stress in American English | How to Emphasize Content Words for English Rhythm

Want to sound more like a native English speaker? Then you need to create the natural rhythm and melody of American English through sentence stress. What do I mean by sentence stress? Sentence stress is when we put extra attention on the words that convey the meaning of the sentence. We signal which words are truly important in our speech by making them longer, louder and higher in pitch. Specifically, we make the stressed … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Three Reasons You’re Having Trouble Pronouncing Words in American English

If you’re like most people, you’re probably concerned that you’re not pronouncing words correctly in English. After all, when we’re speaking another language, it can be hard to know if the sounds that we hear inside our heads are actually coming out correctly. In my case, worrying about my accent in Spanish kept me from speaking confidently for many years. That’s why I emphasize helping you speak more clearly so that you’re more easily understood … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Word Stress in American English: English Rhythm and Syllable Stress for Clear Pronunciation

Most non-native speakers think that their accent will improve when they work on their pronunciation. And they’re right. Well, sort of. 🤔 For most people, pronunciation means the articulation of sounds. By articulation of sounds, I mean the way you move your lips, your mouth, your tongue, and your jaw. While these elements are important, they’re not as essential as word stress. Word stress is when we make one syllable of a word longer, louder … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Turn the Question Around By Asking What About You? | Repeat Questions Back with Stress & Intonation

You may have noticed I’m a big fan of asking better questions in English! After all, the main reason most people want to improve how they sound when speaking English is to connect in conversation with other people. Whether you’re interacting with your friends, colleagues, co-workers, acquaintances, or even strangers on the street, asking better questions will enable you to keep the conversation going. Let’s talk about how you can show interest in the … Read the article and watch the video lesson