This is the first of many quick tips on pronouncing English "American Style."

In this video you will learn how native English speakers pronounce the modal have to.

I've been working with adults who speak English as a second language for a really long time now, and I've had the opportunity to see some people really succeed and become comfortable with English.  I've also seen a lot of others who never really get better no matter how long they have lived in an English speaking country.

Here are some of the things that I've noticed and some possible solutions.

First, people who have learned English for years and are still having a hard time with it almost never have enough real, meaningful English conversations.

Think about this- when I was a kid I took a 30 minute piano lesson every week.  This was my learning time.  During the week I was supposed to practice everyday.  But the truth is... I sometimes only practiced during the lesson, not on my own.  Did I learn how to play the piano?  Kind of.  Did I ever get really good?  No.

Speaking English can't be just a sometimes thing.  You have to use it often.  And when you use it, you have to "be in it."  Be in it?  What I mean is when you use English you have to think in it.  Translating is deadly.  And you have to feel it.  Don't just think of grammar rules and things like that.  It's about communication.

Another problem people have is even though they use English, they feel they keep using the same vocabulary and sentence styles over and over again.  (Does this sound like you?)

Something that can help (believe it or not) is reading.  When you read novels and newspapers, and magazines, and history books, and more, you pick up new vocabulary naturally and you see it within normal grammatical structures.

You may want to write down new vocabulary and phrases you come across and go back and read them out loud often.  Let new ideas and ways of saying things sink into your head.  Then you may be suprised at how often you start to hear some of those things in everyday conversations.  It's like having a new awareness of English.  Try your new words and phrases in your own speech.  That's how you can develop your English tremendously.

A third problem that people have in English is they are never really sure if they are using it right.  The good and bad thing about North Americans is usually they don't want to embarrass you or interrupt you when you make a mistake.  So sometimes you keep making the same mistakes and don't even know that you are doing it.  Often the native English speaker will say, "Your English is great."  And maybe it is.  But maybe they are just being polite.

If you have a trusted native-English-speaking friend or spouse who would be willing to point out your errors (in a friendly manner, of course) this can be very useful.  When the person points things out, don't be offended.  EVERYBODY makes tons of mistakes in a new language.  The only way to get better is to gradually make changes- one thing at a time.

It is exactly because of my experience with English learner- and because of my own experiences learning languages- that I started Accent on Speaking.  While we mostly focus on the American accent (that's another story) I realized that people really need to have the opportunity to USE the language and get friendly feedback on how they are doing.

So in addition to the American Accent Workshop, we started ESL Talk Time classes so people could have real conversation and real help.

In ESL Talk Time (www.esltalktime.com)...

  -you can pratice speaking English in a friendly environment

  -you can get feedback and advice on how to improve from a professional instructor

  -you can meet and discuss topics with 2-3 other people from around the world. (Personally, I LOVE this.)

  -you can join a class from anywhere, as long as you have a computer, the internet, and a microphone and headset.

I am always looking for ways to make English learning easier for you.  I guess that's why I'm in this business.  I know how it feels to be the person who speaks the second language.

If you would like to tell me your story, I would be happy to hear it.

If you would like to join one of our English programs, I would be delighted to have you.