Pronunciation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Since British English is my mother tongue, I can deploy its pronunciation naturally. You may as well picture this as a subconscious reflex: while pouring out my innermost thought, for example, I do not have to be focusing upon which expressions to use, how to construe the sentences correctly, and how the words are to be pronounced therein; things just spring to my mind almost spontaneously. This is all so because with a long-rooted routine – which in my English-speaking environment consists of numberless conversations considering my whole life – and a lot of frequent enunciation, pronunciation eventually grows automatic.
 

But do not worry, you do not have to spend a ‘childhoodly’ long time on perfecting your pronunciation. Instead, you are going to be given specially designed practical and theoretical exercises apart from the plain chatting exercises so that you can firmly cement the foundation of your speech. I have regularised everything for you in this field already! After having memorised all the regulations, I am certain that you will be surprised at how quickly you can imitate the highly prestigious British accent that many find mellifluous to hearken to.

 

In case you seek to aim purely at the pronunciation,I dare say that you should be able to master it within 3-6 separate lessons depending upon your diligence.

 

The subject contains the following modules:

• the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet),

• unique English sounds (and spelling upon request),

• general enunciative practice,

• American and British differences in pronunciation (and spelling upon request),

• the regulations of R’s,

• silent letters.

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The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In order for one to master the English pronunciation, the IPA is an inescapable must. Even the native speakers themselves have to use it when they encounter a never-before-heard or seen word (which they do from time to time). Truth be told, I have met numerous English-learners who attempted to master the pronunciation system by writing down the phonemes in basis of their own mother-tongues’ available sounds. It is needless to add that after having put on the erroneous pronunciation, it was tenfold harder for them to relearn the correct forms.

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Duration:

• Tutorees often choose this as the first introductory module, which by itself takes 1-2 modules, nevertheless it is recommended to intermingle it with the below modules as well.

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Unique English sounds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the English tongue has not many written letters – solely 26 –, the number of its phonemes is substantially more – viz. 43 –(plus a few foreign ones, e.g. the French-derived [ɒ̃] as in ‘croissant’ or the German-derived [y:] as in ‘über’, etc. What really makes English pronunciation challenging for its newbies is that amongst them, several phonemes cannot be found in most of the languages. E.g. [ð], (as in ‘there’), [Θ] (as in ‘three’), [r] (as in ‘river’), [ŋ] (as in ‘singer’), [w] (as in ‘water’) [æ] (as in ‘apple’), the diphthong [əʊ] (as in ‘only’), to name the most frequently mispronounced ones. This is usually chosen as one of the first modules wherewith the majority of my lower-levelled tutorees want to get started.

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Duration:

• You are going to be reading texts which are replete with particular unique English sounds, the mastering of which is estimated to take 2-4 lessons, depending on one’s hard-working attitude.I highly recommend this module combined with ‘general enunciative practice’.

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English spelling:

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks to the multiple linguistic innovations in the course of English history, the relationship between sound and spelling is now a patternless chaos. At times, the English spelling system is not phonetic to a point of being anti-phonetic. You can gobsmacklingly come to such a realisation after having seen the same vowel sound [iː] in eleven different spellings. E.g. ski (I), these (E), tree (EE), leaf (EA), thief (IE), seize (EI), key (EY), quay (AY), people (EO), phoenix (OE), and the technical word onomatopoeia (OEI). Or take the ‘-ough’ ending in the following words: cough [ɒf], tough [ʌf], through [uː], thorough [ə], though [əʊ], bough [aʊ], bought [ɔː], hough [ɒk], and the Celtic dialectal words lough [ɒx] and jough [əʊx]. The same four letters, ten different sounds. ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ you might panic. I ensure you that the answer is more than simple:welcome to the anomalous world of English!

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General enunciative practice:

 

 

 

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This module is all about pure practising mixed with pure practising. Firstly, you will be reading up self-made texts, each of which is focused upon imitating particular sounds, pre-eminently the unique English phonemes (see above) Thereafter, when you have learnt how to enunciate  carefully, you will be reading up given articles or simply having conversations wiih me. In the meantime, I shall be monitoring your progress and pointing out your errata and if need be, I shall be giving you advice as to how to overcome your mispronunciations easily.

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Duration:

• Customised

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How to sound British: the regulations of R’s:

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In American English, there is nothing newsworthy about the consonant ‘R’, howbeit is a different cup of tea in British English – it has its own will, so to speak. But fear not, for I am the author of this peculiar-looking regulatory list, holding the ins and outs of its patterns that will help you unlock the final door leading to slow but steady routinasition.

 

Duration:

Notwithstanding that this rather short module is normally part of the much larger ‘pronunciation module’, it is also selectable on its own, which I estimate should take 1-3 lessons depending on how painstaking you would rather that we studied it together.

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American vs British pronunciation:

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This is a separate curriculum. For further information, please click on the following button:

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Silent letters:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another special subject I concocted is the silent letters, which aside from enriching your word-hoard, also teaches you the commonest and special cases wherein you must not pronounce particular written letters. E.g. the A in mountain, B in doubt, C in muscle, CH in yacht, D in Wednesday, the second E in every, F (and L) in halfpenny, G in foreigner, G in night, H in hour, I in business, J in Don Juan, K in knife, L in talk, M in mnemonic, N in autumn, O in people, P in raspberry, Q in mosquito, R in foyer, S in island, a in soften, U in build, V in fivepence, W in wrist, X (and S) in faux pas, Y in prayer, Z in chez, and so forth. In this subject, we are going to begin with letter A, elaborate on each in alphabetical order, and finally finish off with letter Z. Elaboration covers everything you desire, e.g. spelling, pronunciation, exemplification, phraseology, and even etymology. It all depends on how thoroughly you want this module to be.

 

Duration:

• Basic extent: 1 lesson

• Medium, high extent: 2-4 lessons

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