This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 537.
Perfect this word stress for perfect English pronunciation.
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Hey there, Aubrey.
How's everything?
I'm great.
How are you?
Feeling good.
Aubrey, do you feel like you ever use incorrect word stress?
Yes.
Every now and then when I'm reading, I won't read ahead so I don't know the context.
And maybe I'll say perfect instead of perfect.
Something like that could easily happen when we're not sure the context yet.
Oh, completely.
I went to a Spanish meetup on Wednesday for the first time in quite a while that I've even spoken Spanish.
And I walked in.
I thought this was like, oh, we're just going to chat.
It's going to be fun.
But actually, I walk in and they're reading an article from El Pais.
And we're going around and each person is reading a paragraph.
And I'm like well, this is quite a way to get back into it right after a year or something not speaking.
And I was really, really going off in terms of my pronunciation.
My intonation was really off, right?
When you're cold with a language, this can happen.
Yeah, that was a true crucible for your Spanish there.
It got better after that.
After that, we chatted and it was my kind of Spanish.
But yeah, it was pretty intense in the beginning.
I was like, do I need to walk out?
I'm excited to talk about this because your stress, your word stress, can make a huge difference to whether your message is clear or not.
You want to make sure your word stress is correct at work.
And this is never harder than with nouns and verbs that the same word can be stressed differently depending on whether it's a noun or a verb.
Exactly.
And this question comes from Bilal Karimi.
So I'm going to go ahead and read it.
You ready?
Yeah.
Hi, Lindsay, I hope you're fine and feeling well.
I have a problem with verbs and nouns.
Like in English, we have two syllable nouns and verbs with the same spelling, but a big difference in pronunciation, like the word perfect.
When it functions like a noun, we stress the first syllable, but as a verb, we stress the second syllable.
Very true.
I know about these things, but I can't apply them while speaking.
So any advice?
Thanks for your lovely podcast.
Excellent question.
I love this.
And this is the level that you're at.
Most of you are aware of this, but it's really tricky to apply them while speaking, right?
So we're going to give you some great tips, ways that you can work on this, so that, as you're speaking at work, you can automatically use the right one.
And it's no wonder it's tricky, right?
I think a lot of our listeners might feel like we're already just trying to keep up, maybe still translating from our native language.
So to get the right stress of the word in the moment, understanding the context immediately, tricky.
It's very tricky.
And especially at work, it's vital that your message is clear, right?
So we want to make sure that you're always understood.
Yes, you can have an accent.
Your pronunciation doesn't have to be perfect.
But it is important that the thoughts that you're having, the ideas that you're having at work, are understood and respected.
Yeah.
So what can we do then, Aubrey, to make sure we get it right in the moment when it really matters?
Yeah.
So we have five tips today that we're going to share.
And the first one is using contrast drills.
So this is saying both forms back to back.
So for example, record, record.
Conduct, conduct.
So you're taking these word pairs where there's a noun and a verb and doing contrast drills.
Yep.
And the last one is permit and permit.
Right?
Exactly.
So drill, record yourself, make sure you can very clearly hear the difference.
And this is going to train your brain to be able to say the correct one.
You can also use them in sentences, but just this contrast drill of saying both pronunciations is hugely helpful.
Yeah.
It's kind of like you're front-loading the work.
So at least when you realize what word it is, right?
Because these are different words.
Exactly.
Different meanings.
Different meanings of, yeah, essentially.
So at least when you see what the context is, you know the meaning, then you can pronounce it correctly.
You've practiced pronouncing it correctly, right?
Exactly.
Yes.
And the second tip is to record yourself and exaggerate.
So you're going to say the words out loud, exaggerating stress by lengthening the stress syllable, and you're slightly reducing the unstressed ones.
So for example, you could record yourself saying, Present, present, right?
You're emphasizing the vowels more than you would in a regular conversation in order to solidify them in your brains.
What's another one you could do, Lindsay?
Or you could do contract or contract.
Contract, contract, right?
You're not going to exaggerate like that when you're out at a party, obviously.
But when you're studying on your own, that's the time to do it.
Exactly, right?
This is in order to add the correct pronunciation to your active brain, right?
So that you can bring it up and use that correct word stress when you use these words.
And then the third tip here for today is to shadow.
And our listeners I think that's how a lot of our listeners have gotten better at listening is by shadowing us here on the show.
But you can pick a podcast you love, a piece of listening that you love.
You're basically repeating native speech, which helps you practice recognizing and using the correct word stress.
So it's like recognition, I think, is a huge piece of this, Aubrey.
Exactly.
Right.
And then you just start hearing it correctly.
So you know which word stress to.
So, for example, maybe on a podcast you hear someone say she gave a perfect answer in her recording which she finished in record time.
I need to perfect my answer so I can do it as quickly.
And you pause it.
So you're like oh, I heard some of these where I'm hearing the noun and the verb.
Rarely are you going to get a sentence where you have them right in there, but pause that and mimic it, shadow it, listen to it back, record yourself, compare the recordings and make sure your word stress is correct.
Yeah.
And then the other piece I want to mention before we take a quick break is pay attention, right?
So if you just say this phrase and you know which pieces to emphasize because you've written it that way You're not going to benefit from the activity at all.
Pay attention to what you're saying.
What are you saying exactly?
Right.
Because when I did my Spanish meetup, I could have just read the words, and that's what I wanted to do.
Right.
But I had to actually try to pay attention to what I was saying to get the right pronunciations.
Absolutely.
Right.
That is going to be vital because it is all about context.
The way I know whether to say perfect or perfect is the context of the sentence.
You have to really be paying attention.
Pay attention.
Yes.
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Okay, Aubrey, there's a fourth tip, right?
We're not just going to leave our listeners with three, there are five.
Yes.
And this is repetition, drilling, right?
I recently interviewed Hadar with the Influency Podcast about why repetition is so important.
She had amazing tips.
Scroll up if you missed that episode and check it out.
But you can write sentences with these tricky words or you can have AI write them for you.
Right.
You could use a prompt like please provide sentences that contain words that are pronounced differently as a verb and as a noun.
And then you have these sentences and you're going to drill.
You're going to repeat them.
And this is how we add it to our active vocabulary.
Love it.
So, for example, if you asked AI for this or you just came up with them yourself, it's also a good thing to do.
Here is one thing you might get.
She gave him a thoughtful present.
And then he will present the results this afternoon.
Or you need a permit to park here.
And for the verb, they won't permit entry without ID.
Mmm good, and again, thinking about what you're saying thinking thinking, don't.
I think it's easy to shut off our brains and just kind of speak right, don't shut off your brain.
Don't shut off your brain, right?
That leads us into number five, which is the most important.
Yes, you need to be doing this, drilling the repetition, the contrast drills, but what's most important is that you use them in actual conversations, use them in your speaking practice.
So have these words ready that you're working on adding to your active vocabulary and then practice using them in conversations.
Plan questions you can ask.
Like, for example, have you ever had to present at work?
That's giving you a chance to say present instead of present.
Yeah, or what's the best present you've ever received?
Now we're saying present, the noun.
You also could you know if you're working with a language exchange partner with?
I sort of forgot about this concept, but this is how I learned Spanish in New York.
Language exchange is twice a week.
Right.
So someone you sit down and you speak half an hour in English and half an hour in your native language with someone who wants to learn your native language.
You could prepare these questions for conversation with them.
Right.
Absolutely.
Right.
If you go with vocabulary that you are focusing on adding to your active vocabulary maybe a couple of grammar forms.
You're going with specific things that you want to work on.
It's going to be so much more worthwhile that time that you spend with a language exchange partner, with a teacher.
You have a goal at the end.
You know, you want to be more confident using that vocabulary.
Yeah, so incredibly good.
And for students that are in our courses.
Obviously, Open Conversation Club is such a cool benefit, such a great way to take everything you're learning in your courses, bring them into a practice context, learn how to speak spontaneously and correctly, right?
Absolutely, right?
I remind students a lot bring what you're learning in your course.
Bring the vocabulary that you're working on adding to your active vocabulary.
To Open Conversation Club.
That's the best place to practice using it, adding it in conversations that are stress-free.
It's a very supportive environment.
That's when you want to practice using it so you're ready for those in-person conversations.
You got it.
Aubrey, any final thoughts for our listeners today?
This has been a great question from our listener.
Wow.
This is so... Word stress is so important.
It really makes the difference in how Well, your message is understood how clear your speech is.
It's less about accent and more about word stress and rhythm.
So these tips, I think, are really going to help make sure that your ideas are respected and understood at work, because everyone will understand your message.
Yes, I love that you said that.
Make sure our ideas are respected at work.
That's the ultimate goal.
That is a form of connection.
That's the ultimate goal we're getting to, right?
So keep that in mind as you're doing these exercises that might feel a little mundane.
That's okay because we're getting somewhere together, right?
Exactly, right?
You know the goal.
You have the ideas.
We know that your ideas should be valued, right?
You have the expertise, but is it being noted?
Is it being shared?
Is it being understood?
That is vital.
And word stress has a lot to do with whether it is or not.
100%.
So well said.
All right, Aubrey, let's get off the mic for today.
I'll see you next time.
You have a good one.
See you guys next time.
Bye.
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