Pitch and Intonation in American English Archives • Page 4 of 6 • English with Kim

Intonation Exercises: Change Your Tone of Voice to Express Emotions in English

In order to improve your intonation when speaking English, you need to develop sensitivity to the emotions and attitudes that native English speakers express through their tone of voice. A deeper awareness of how we communicate meaning through intonation will help you become more socially and emotionally intelligent in conversations with native English speakers. Once you’re able to identify the different emotions and attitudes expressed through tone, you’ll be able to start working on … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Choosing Falling or Rising Intonation: Show You’re Done Talking or Ask a Question

Are you done talking? Have you finished your thought? Can I answer your question now? If so, please let me know – with your voice. You’re probably really careful with your choice of words, but your intentions might be misunderstood if you use the wrong intonation pattern. Here’s why you need to confidently choose to speak with rising or falling intonation: If your pitch rises when it should fall, you may sound uncertain or … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Rising Intonation in American English | Use Rising Tone in Yes/No Questions and More

Ready to learn how to use rising intonation? In this article and video, we’re going to talk about how to use rising intonation in order to ask questions in American English. At the end, you’ll also learn the many other reasons that you may hear native speakers use rising intonation when speaking English. While falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in American English, rising intonation is the most versatile. In order to … Read the article and watch the video lesson

Falling Intonation in American English | Falling Tone in Statements and Information Questions

If you’ve been hanging around here for even a little while, you’ve probably heard me talk about the importance of intonation in American English. Intonation is like the music of English. It’s how our voices rise and fall in order to communicate certain meaning through our tone. In this video, we’re going to talk about the most common type of intonation: falling intonation. Falling intonation is most commonly used on normal, neutral statements and information … Read the article and watch the video lesson

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

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