Hi, I'm very happy today because I have a huge announcement.
A new course is now available to help you with your pronunciation.
And it's for all levels.
Visit pronunciationcourse.com and get it now for a special price.
And now, enjoy today's episode.
Hi, I'm Georgiana and I'm back with a new episode.
I'm here to help you speak English fluently.
If you want to help me, share the podcast with your friends and family.
That would mean a lot.
Thanks.
Okay, let's start.
As I just said, I've decided to share with you some of the words which my students often mispronounce.
I'll start by telling you the correct pronunciation and then I'll use this word in a sentence.
I don't know if you've ever noticed, but when you say a word individually, the pronunciation may sound a little different from when it's in a sentence.
Also, before you continue listening, make sure you check out the transcript.
Visit my website speakenglishpod.com and look for the episode number 35.
I'll start with the word audio.
We pronounce this word like this.
Audio.
I've noticed that Spanish speakers pronounce it just the way it's spelled, but that's incorrect.
This is the right way to pronounce it.
Audio.
Let's see an example.
Every week, there's a new Speak English Now podcast audio lesson.
Let's continue with busy.
This word isn't particularly difficult to pronounce.
But I guess that some people tend to get confused by the way it's written.
We pronounce this word busy.
Let's see an example.
I was in a mood to go swimming this afternoon, but I had a really busy day.
I'll continue with chocolate.
In the US, people pronounce it like this, chocolate.
And in British, it's only two syllables, chocolate.
Example, James enjoys drinking his coffee with a dark chocolate tablet.
He enjoys drinking his coffee with a dark chocolate tablet.
Let's move on to comfortable.
This word is pronounced comfortable in American English and comfortable in British English.
Let's listen to an example.
My armchair isn't comfortable enough.
My armchair isn't comfortable enough.
I'll need to buy a new one.
Let's continue with should, would and could.
Let me repeat.
Should, would, could.
Make sure you don't pronounce the L in these three words.
Some people do this and it's incorrect.
Let's see some examples.
Anne should visit her grandparents more often.
It would be awesome if you came with us to the beach.
You could admit that you're completely wrong.
I'll continue with another word.
Mountain.
I've noticed that most students find this word very complicated to pronounce.
And it gets even more challenging depending on the accent you choose to use.
In British English, it's pronounced...
Mountain, mountain.
And in American English, it's pronounced mountain, mountain.
Here you drop the I in the second syllable.
Let's listen to an example.
I didn't know this mountain was so tall.
Let's continue with a similar word.
Curtain.
Both mountain and curtain can be confusing.
My students tend to pronounce ein, curtain, mountain at the end of the word, which is incorrect.
Let's listen to an example.
My aunt and uncle had a beautiful red curtain in their living room.
I'll continue with the word vegetable.
This is one of the most difficult one for my students.
I've even listened to some students pronounce it as vegetable.
If you have many difficulties pronouncing the word vegetable, don't worry about it.
Instead of trying so hard to say vegetable, just replace it with the word veggie instead.
Examples.
I should cook more vegetables.
Eat your veggies.
My mom used to tell me when I was little.
Let's continue with exercise.
This is another word that I hear people mispronounce.
You should pronounce it like this.
Let me repeat.
Let's listen to an example.
Tom loves exercising in the nature.
I still have a pair of words that we use very often.
Walk and talk.
Just like the words could, would and should talk and walk are pronounced correctly without the consonant L, We say talk and walk and not talk and walk.
Remember to drop the L. Let's listen to an example.
My friends and I enjoy walking every Sunday and talking about our week.
I hope you're enjoying yourself.
Let's continue with the story with questions and answers.
I've prepared a mini-story using all the expressions that I've mentioned in the first part of the episode.
Let's see how it works.
I'll give you some information, a phrase or two.
I'll ask simple questions.
After each question, there will be some seconds of silence.
It's your turn to answer the question.
Try to give an easy and short answer, not a complex one.
After you answer, I'll give you a correct answer.
This process will continue and, little by little, I'll be telling a story using questions and answers.
Let's get started.
Alice was a busy businesswoman who loved to eat tons of chocolate every day.
Was Alice a businesswoman or was she Catwoman?
Alice was a businesswoman, not Catwoman.
Catwoman is a fictional character.
Was she busy or did she have a lot of free time?
She didn't have a lot of free time.
She was a busy businesswoman.
Did she hate eating chocolate or did she love eating chocolate?
She loved eating chocolate.
She didn't hate eating chocolate at all.
How much chocolate would she eat?
Tons of chocolate.
She would eat tons of chocolate.
When did she eat tons of chocolate?
Once a year?
No, no, not once a year.
She ate tons of chocolate every day.
Who ate tons of chocolate every day?
Alice or her cat?
Not her cat.
It was Alice who ate tons of chocolate every day.
One day, She listened to an audio about the benefits of exercising.
What did Alice listen?
Did she listen to a video or audio?
Not a video.
She listened to an audio.
What kind of audio did she listen?
Was it about the benefits of dancing?
No, no, not about the benefits of dancing.
The audio was about the benefits of exercising.
When did Alice listen to the audio?
One day.
She listened to the audio about the benefits of exercising one day.
Who listened to the audio?
Did Alice listen to the audio?
Yes Alice listened to the audio.
She decided she should change because she wasn't comfortable with her health anymore.
What did she do?
What did she decide?
That she should stay the same or that she should change?
She decided she should change, not stay the same.
Why did she decide to change?
Was it because she was comfortable with her health?
No, no.
She decided to change because she wasn't comfortable with her health anymore.
Was she uncomfortable with her family or with her health?
With her health, not with her family.
She wasn't comfortable with her health anymore.
She drew the curtain of her window and saw people walking and talking near the mountain.
Did she draw the curtain of her mother's window?
Not her mother's window.
She drew the curtain of her window.
What did she see?
People or animals?
People.
She saw people walking and talking.
Were the people walking or jogging?
Walking.
They were walking.
They weren't jogging.
Where were the people walking and talking?
Near the beach?
No, no, not near the beach.
They were walking and talking near the mountain.
From that day on, she decided to start exercising and only eat fruits and vegetables.
When did she decide to start exercising?
From that day on, She decided to start exercising.
From that day on, Did Alice start exercising or watch TV?
She didn't start watching TV.
Alice decided to start exercising.
Would she only eat fruits and vegetables?
Yes, she decided to eat only fruits and vegetables.
Did she only eat veggies and fruits from that day on?
Yes, she only ate veggies and fruits from that day on.
Great!
This is the end of this short exercise.
As you can see, answering many simple questions can improve your speaking, just like in a real-life conversation.
Today, you've only seen a small example of how the question and answer technique works.
Do you want to unlock this full potential?
I have a huge announcement.
A new course is now available to help you with your pronunciation.
And it's for all levels.
Visit pronunciationcourse.com and get it now for a special price.
