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.
I repeat, pronunciationcourse.com.
And now, enjoy today's episode.
Okay, let's start.
In today's episode, I'll focus on the pronunciation of some words which my students often mispronounce.
Later, you'll practice your speaking skills with a funny mini-story.
Before you get started, make sure you read the text.
Go to my website, speakenglishpodcast.com, and look for episode number 46.
Awesome!
Let's get started.
I've noticed that you love my pronunciation episodes, so I've selected nine more popular words that my students often mispronounce.
I'll start by telling you the correct pronunciation, and then I'll use each word in a sentence.
Captain A captain is someone who leads or has authority over others.
In American English, we pronounce it like this.
Captain.
Captain.
Let's see an example.
He was the captain of the ship and the sailors had to obey him.
Let's continue with the word cousin.
A cousin, also called first cousin or full cousin, is the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.
Let me say it again and you can repeat after me.
Cousin.
Example.
My cousin and I always used to get in trouble when we were kids.
Another word on my list is island.
I must have listened to my students pronounce this word incorrectly thousands of times.
And yeah, we never pronounce the consonant S. We say island and never Iceland.
It's island.
Let's see an example.
Every time I have a fight with my sister, I feel like fleeing to a deserted island.
The following word is pronounced muscle. you should always say muscle, muscle and not muscle.
Let's see an example.
After exercising at the gym yesterday, all the muscles in my body were sore.
Let's continue with the word situation.
Many people find this word difficult to pronounce because it's not easy to guess the pronunciation based on the way it's written.
This is the proper way to pronounce it.
Situation.
Situation.
Example.
This tense situation is becoming increasingly difficult to bear.
Let's continue with another word that many students find it challenging to pronounce.
I'm talking about the word society.
You should pronounce it like this.
Society.
Society.
Society.
Let's see an example.
Their parents are more comfortable living in a traditional society.
And I also wanted to include the word soldier in today's lesson.
For those of you who don't know the meaning of this word, a soldier is someone engaged in a military service.
I'll pronounce this word again so you can repeat after me.
Soldier.
Soldier.
Let's see an example.
Every dead soldier has a face, a story, and a heartbroken family.
The word statue is another word that I wanted to include in today's lesson.
A statue is usually a representation of a person, animal or mythical being that is created by sculpting or modeling.
Listen and repeat.
Statue Statue Example, the moment he saw her for the first time, John stood still like a statue.
And here's our last word for today.
The truth is that many people are mispronouncing it.
I'm talking about the word vehicle.
A vehicle is used to transport people or goods, especially on land, such as a car or a truck.
You should pronounce it like this, vehicle.
Vehicle.
Let's see an example.
Jimmy insisted on leaving the vehicle at her disposal in case she needed it.
Before I continue with the next section, let's listen to the nine words one more time.
Listen and repeat.
Captain Cousin Island island muscle, muscle situation situation society society soldier soldier statue, statue.
I hope you're enjoying today's lesson.
Let me just point out that in order to get a better pronunciation, you should be listening more.
Many students enjoy reading books or articles.
But especially if you have a low or intermediate level of English, it's very convenient to listen to the audio of the text as well.
Now let's continue with a story told with questions and answers.
I've created a mini-story so that you can practice your speaking.
Let's see how the mini-story works.
First, I'll start by giving you some information, a phrase or two.
And then I'll ask simple questions.
After each question, there will be some seconds of silence.
Now it's your turn to answer the question.
Just try to give an easy and a short answer, not a complex one.
And after you answer, I'll give you a correct answer.
This process will continue and I'll gradually tell you a story with questions and answers.
Let's get started.
This morning, I told my cousin that I had a bizarre dream.
I was an army captain on a tropical island.
To whom did you tell about your dream?
To my cousin I told my cousin about my dream When did you tell your cousin about your dream?
This afternoon No, no, not this afternoon.
I told my cousin about my dream this morning.
Was it a regular dream or a bizarre dream?
Oh, it wasn't a normal dream.
I must confess it was a bizarre dream.
Were you a navy captain in your dream?
Not a navy captain.
I was an army captain in my dream.
Were you at sea or on an island?
I wasn't at sea.
In fact I was on a tropical island.
In my dream I had huge muscles and looked just like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Did you have any muscles in your dream?
Yes I did.
In fact I had huge muscles in my dream.
Did you have huge muscles in real life?
No no, not in real life.
Only in my dream.
I had huge muscles in my dream.
Did you look like Woody Allen?
No, absolutely not.
I didn't look like Woody Allen.
I looked just like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I was standing entirely still while a famous high society sculptor was carving a statue.
Were you dancing in front of the sculptor?
Oh no, I wasn't dancing in front of the sculptor.
I was standing entirely still.
And what did the sculptor do?
Did he paint a portrait?
No, no, sculptors don't paint.
The sculptor was carving a statue.
Was he a famous sculptor?
Apparently he was.
He was a famous high society sculptor.
Was he carving a statue of your cat?
Not a statue of my cat.
I didn't have a cat.
He was carving a statue of me.
Suddenly, a soldier ran towards me saying, Captain, we have a situation.
Did this soldier walk quietly towards you?
No, no, he didn't walk.
The soldier ran towards me.
Did this soldier sing?
Oh no, he didn't sing.
The soldier said something to me.
Did the soldier tell you to relax because everything was going well?
He didn't tell me to relax.
The soldier said that we had a situation, something about a dragon.
Apparently, the angry dragon woke up, so I immediately got into the military vehicle.
Who woke up?
Your wife?
No, no, not my wife.
I didn't have a wife in my dream.
It was the dragon who woke up.
Was the dragon gentle?
Absolutely not.
Dragons aren't usually gentle.
And the dragon in my dream was angry.
So, did the dragon wake up or fell asleep again?
He didn't fell asleep.
The dragon woke up.
Did you get into the Ferrari?
No, no, I didn't drive a Ferrari in my dream.
Instead, I got into the military vehicle.
Suddenly, I woke up and I had no huge muscles, no soldiers and no military vehicles.
I was just an ordinary guy.
Did you continue sleeping?
No, unfortunately not.
Suddenly I woke up and realized that it was all just a dream.
Did you still have huge muscles?
No, no.
I didn't have huge muscles anymore, nor did I have any soldiers or military vehicles.
Everything was gone.
Did you still look like Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Oh, no.
Sadly, I was just a regular guy with an ordinary life.
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.
