Responsibility. Availability. Reliability.

These are some tricky words!

But did you know there's a pattern in pronouncing words like this- words with the -ITY ending?

And did you know the pronunciation of this suffix is different in the American accent vs. the British accent?

When you...

Do these two words sounds the same in spoken English?

TO vs. TOO

Seems like they should, right?

But surprise surprise- "to" and "too" actually do not sound the same.

In this latest Clear English lesson, we're playing with the difference between these words.

Because sometimes...

"Is there a 'g' sound at the end of the word WRONG?"

This question came from one of my stellar Clear English Academy students in a practice session the other day.

It's tricky, right? We see the letter G, but there is actually no /g/ sound in this word!

Many of my students unintentionally add a...

It's a mistake to think that learning and practicing pronunciation is less important than developing your vocabulary and grammar.

In fact, I'd argue that it's more important.

I know, I know. I'm a pronunciation nerd.  It's my thing so of course I think it's...

Did you know there is a rhythmic pattern to pronouncing words like HR, DMV, and CST?

These are called initialisms. Initialisms are abbreviations where you speak the first letter of each word in the name of something. 

HR- Human Resources

DMV- Department of Motor Vehicles

CST- Central...

Do you every think "I want my English to sound more natural..."

Then wonder, but how the heck do I do that? What does that even mean?

You feel like something sounds a bit "off" in your speech but you're not sure exactly what that is and you're completely clueless as to how to fix it.

Well...

How hard is it, really, to change the way you speak?

Actors do it all the time, right? Admittedly, some better than others. :)

There’s a difference, though, in the way a performer approaches voice training. It’s a completely different mindset than the way you’re probably...

Homophones are words that sound the same but have a different meaning, spelling or both!

Some homophones are pretty common and known, such as too/two or there/their.

Others homophones are more surprising. 

In this lesson, we'll practice 15 pairs you may not be aware of so you...

**Click here to grab the practice PDF that goes along with this lesson.**

Sometimes you just need to spell things out. L-I-T-E-R-A-L-L-Y.

Especially when sharing personal information like your name or address. Especially when sharing this type of info over the phone.

...

Last week, I helped student in The Clear English Academy who had a vowel stuck in her nose!

Not quite the same amount of drama as that time when I was 8 and my cousin Mitch got a pea stuck up his nose... 

But still something that needs attention!

In this lesson, I'll show you how...