Get Rid of your Accent Part One

Name: Get Rid of your Accent Part One
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English Sounds of Received Pronunciation

Created byOlga Smith Linda James

Last updated 9/2019

English

What you'll learn

Three hours of video instructions and demonstrations with Linda James, a top British speech tutor, and her student Olga Smith
Useful insights from Olga Smith about difficulties with English sounds that students have and explanations how to overcome them
Lessons that teach you how to produce all 43 sounds of Standard (British) English
Tried and tested drama school method for accent reduction
Pronunciation rules to make your speech grammatically correct
Detailed descriptions of difficulties in pronunciation for speakers of world languages with recommendations

Course content

4 sections • 46 lectures • 3h 2m total length

Introduction and the long [α:] sound as in "bark"5:39
Speech organs position:
Open jaw, relaxed lips; flat tongue pulled back a little. The sound is made in the back of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 1 with our apps and books. Check your jaw position in the mirror.
The long [u:] sound as in "moon"3:43
Speech organs position:
Jaw is almost closed, lips pushed forward tightly into a whistle shape; the back of the tongue rises up towards the soft
palate at the back of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 2 with our apps and books. Check your jaw position in the mirror.
The long [ͻ:] sound as in "door"6:58
Speech organs position: Open jaw, lips are slightly rounded and pushed forward. The back of the tongue
rises at the back of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 3 with our apps and books. Check your lips and jaw positions in the mirror.
The long [i:] sound as in "feet"4:52
Speech organs position:
Jaw is almost closed, lips are spread, the front of the tongue is high and forward
in the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 4 with our apps and books. Check your lips and jaw position in the mirror. Control your tongue.
The long [3:] sound as in "bird"3:20
Speech organs position:
Jaw is half-open, relaxed lips; the middle of the tongue
rises slightly.
Practice the sound in lesson 5 with our apps and books. Check that your lips and jaw are in neutral position for this sound in the mirror.
The neutral sound [ǝ], schwa as in "the"5:00
Speech organs position:
Jaw is half-open, relaxed lips; the middle of the tongue rises slightly. The sound is very short.
Rule: Schwa is usually found in an unstressed syllable or word.
Practice the sound in lesson 6 with our apps and books.Check that your lips and jaw are in neutral position in the mirror for the target sound.
The short [ɪ] sound as in "pig"3:08
Speech organs position:
Jaw is nearly closed, lips slightly spread; the front of the tongue rises high in the
front of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 7 with our apps and books. Think about high tongue position for the target sound.
Comparison long [i:] and short [ɪ] sounds2:34
Practice the comparison in lesson 8 with our apps and books.
The short [ᴧ] sound as in "duck"3:36
Speech organs position:
The jaw is half open, lips relaxed; the middle of the tongue rises slightly
in the centre of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 9 with our apps and books.
The short [ɒ] sound as in "box"2:01
Speech organs position:
The jaw is quite relaxed and open; the lips are coming forward a little. The back of the tongue
rises slightly.
Practice the sound in lesson 10 with our apps and books.
Comparison long [ͻ:] and short [ɒ]1:27
Practice the comparison in lesson 11 with our apps and books.
The short [e] sound as in "pet"3:32
Speech organs position:
Jaw is half open, lips are in a soft smile position; the front of the tongue rises three
quarters of the way up towards the roof of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 12 with our apps and books; check in the mirror that your lips are in a soft smile position for the target sound.
The short [ʊ] sound as in "book"2:05
Speech organs position:
The jaw is almost closed, lips rounded and forward. The back of the tongue is high
in the back of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 13 with our apps; check in the mirror that your lips are rounded and forward for the target sound.
Comparison short [ʊ] and long [u:] sounds1:12
Practice the comparison in lesson 14 with our apps and books.
The short [ᴂ] sound as in "cat"2:08
Speech organs position:
Open jaw, open loose lips; tongue almost flat at the bottom of the mouth.
The sound is made in the front of the mouth.
Practice the sound in lesson 15 with our apps and books; check in the mirror that your jaw is open for the target sound.

Diphthong [ǝʊ] as in "boat"4:10

Speech organs position:
Start with relaxed lips and tongue in [ə] as in “the” position (Lesson 6).
Then bring the lips forward into the short [U] as in “book” position (Lesson 13).
Practice the diphthong in lesson 16 with our apps and books; check in the mirror that your lips are first in the neutral position and then go forward for [U]sound.
Diphthong [eɪ] as in "pay"2:48
Speech organs position:
Start in [e] as in “pet” position, with the lips in a soft smile and raised front of the tongue
(Lesson 12). Then the front of the tongue rises a little more forward, to [I] as in “pit” position, and the lips spread slightly (Lesson 7).
Practice the dophthong in lesson 17 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [ɔɪ] as in "boy"3:01
Speech organs position:
Start in [ͻ:] as in “fort” position, lips forward and quite tight; the jaw is fairly closed (Lesson 3).
Then move to [I] as in “pit” position; the tongue rises forward, lips slightly spread (Lesson 7).
Practice the diphthong in lesson 18 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [ɪə] as in "ear"3:40
Speech organs position:
Start with the tongue high in the front of the mouth in [I] as in the “pit” position (Lesson 7).
Then drop the tongue back into [ǝ] as in the “the” position (Lesson 6).]
Practice the diphthong in lesson 19 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [aɪ] as in "pie"2:49
Speech organs position:
Start with flat tongue, open jaw in [a] position as in “pasta”. Then move to [I] as in “pit” position; the jaw closes,
the tongue rises slightly, lips slightly spread (Lesson 7).
Practice the diphthong in lesson 20 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [ʊə] as in "poor"2:44
Speech organs position:
Start with lips forward in the [U] position as in “book” (Lesson 13).
Then move to [ǝ] position, as in “the”, with the lips falling back and jaw opening.(Lesson 6).
Add [j] as in "yes" before [U] to get tripthong [jUǝ].
Practice the diphthong in lesson 21 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [eǝ] as in "pair"3:00
Speech organs position:
Start in [e] as in “pet” position, lips spread, front of the tongue lifted in the front of the mouth (Lesson 12).
Then the tongue relaxes back into schwa as in “the” position; the lips become floppy and loose (Lesson 6).
Practice the diphthong in lesson 22 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Diphthong [aʊ] as in "cow"3:53
Speech organs position:
Start with flat tongue, open jaw in the [a] position as in “pasta”.
Then bring the lips forward into the short [¬] position as in “book” (Lesson 13).
Practice the diphthong in lesson 23 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.

Semi-vowel [j] as in "yes"4:12
Speech organs position:
Start with the front of the tongue high as in [i] “feet”; then, immediately move the tongue down to the neutral
schwa position [ə].
Practice the sound in lesson 24 with our apps and books.
Semi-vowel [w] as in "was"4:40
Speech organs position:
Start with the lips forward, as in [u] “boot”, then immediately pull the lips back to the neutral schwa position.
Practice the sound in lesson 25 with our apps and books; check your lips positions in the mirror.
Plosive consonants unvoiced [p] as in "put" and voiced [b] as in "but"6:54
The lips are pressed tightly together and suddenly move apart to allow the compressed air to escape in a small explosion. This is [p] sound. Add voice for [b] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 26 with our apps and books.
Plosive consonants unvoiced [t] as in "two" and voiced [d] as in "do"9:07
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue contacts the alveolar ridge (or the teeth ridge) and suddenly moves down to allow the compressed air to escape in a small explosion. This is [t] sound. Add voice for [d] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 27 with our apps and books.
Plosive consonants unvoiced [k] as in "cake" and voiced [g] as in "go"5:12
Speech organs position:
The back of the tongue contacts the soft palate at the back of the mouth and suddenly moves down to allow the compressed air to escape in a small explosion. This is [k] sound. Add voice for [g] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 28 with our apps and books.

Nasal Consonant [m] as in "money"4:36
Speech organs position:
The lips come together so that the breath cannot be released through the mouth. It escapes through
the nose where the sound is produced.
Practice the sound in lesson 29 with our apps and books.
Nasal Consonant [n] as in "no"3:33
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue is on the teeth ridge so that the breath cannot be released through the mouth. It escapes
through the nose where the sound is produced.
Practice the sound in lesson 30 with our apps and books.
Nasal Consonant [ŋ] as in "sing"5:11
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue is behind the bottom teeth, and the back of the tongue rises to contact the soft
palate, so the breath cannot be released through the mouth. It escapes through the nose, where the sound is produced.
Practice the sound in lesson 31 with our apps and books.
Nasal plosions7:16
Speech organs position:
When sound [n] is preceded by either [t] or [d], the tip of the tongue stays on the alveolar ridge, while the two sounds are made at the same time and the breath escapes through the nose.
Practice the plosions in lesson 32 with our apps and books.
Lateral consonant [l] as in "London"3:23
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue is on the teeth ridge and the back of the tongue is down.
The breath escapes from the sides of the tongue. The sound is voiced.
Practice the sound in lesson 33 with our apps and books.
Lateral plosions3:28
Speech organs position:
When sound [l] is preceded by either [t] or [d], the tip of the tongue stays on the alveolar ridge, while the two sounds are made at the same time and the breath escapes from the sides of the tongue.
Practice the sound in lesson 34 in our apps and books.
Unvoiced [f] as in "fun"and voiced [v] as in "van" sounds4:18
Speech organs position:
The top teeth gently make contact with the bottom lip and the air squeezes past. This makes the [f] sound.
Add voice for [v] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 35 in our apps and books.
Unvoiced [θ] sound as in "thin"3:39
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue comes between the top and bottom lip and the air squeezes past.
This makes [Ɵ] sound.
Practice the sound in lesson 36 with our apps and books.
Voiced [ð] sound as in "the"1:53
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue comes between the top lip and bottom
lip and the air squeezes past. Add voice for [ð] sound.
Practice the sound in lesson 37 with our apps and books.
Unvoiced [s] as in "sin" and voiced [z] "zip"5:34
Speech organs position:
The air travels along a narrow passage in the centre of the tongue and squeezes between the tip of the tongue and the teeth ridge. This makes [s] sound. Add voice for [z] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 38 with our apps and books.
Unvoiced [ʃ] as in "shock" and voiced [ʒ] as in "rouge"4:00
Speech organs position:
The tongue tip is near the bottom of the mouth and the air escapes along a passage in the centre of the tongue with lips slightly rounded. This makes [ʃ] sound. Add voice for [ʒ] sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 39 with our apps and books.
Unvoiced [h] as in "hotel"3:48
Speech organs position:
The space between the vocal chords is narrowed as air squeezes past to make [h] sound.
Practice the sound in lesson 40 with our apps and books.
The [r] sound as in "rat"5:57
Speech organs position:
The tip of the tongue curls back slightly in the roof of the mouth, just behind the alveolar ridge, and the breath squeezes past.
This makes the [r] sound.
Practice the sound in lesson 41 with our apps and books.
Unvoiced [tʃ] as in "chance" and voiced [dʒ] as in "job"6:01
Speech organs position:
Make the [t] “two” sound at the same time as making the [ʃ] “shall” sound. This makes the [tʃ] “church” sound.
Make the [d] “dog” sound at the same time as making the [ʒ] “measure” sound. This makes the [dʒ] “gin” sound.
Practice the sounds in lesson 42 with our apps and books.
Difficulties in pronunciation for speakers of world languages9:35
Existence of an accent can be explained by the fact that some English sounds do not exist in your native language, and your speech organs are not trained for them. Therefore these sounds may represent a particular difficulty in pronunciation. In the following chapters, we list speakers of world languages and their particular difficulties. We recommend that you start with the sounds that are the most difficult first.
Explanation of the method of learning1:41
This video is about how to do your homework.
English spelling and pronunciation0:55
Speech Organs
Sounds are created by our speech organs, namely the lips, tongue and jaw. The positions of our speech organs are different for different sounds. In this lecture we show you the speech organs in the diagram and list their names.

Requirements

Functional knowledge of English

Description

Are you tired of being asked to repeat yourself? Is your strong accent dragging you down? This course is based on more than 25 years of teaching experience. We have been helping hundreds of people to get rid of their accents and become confident communicators. All our courses, books and apps are very practical and to the point, they are focused and contain 10% of theory and 90% of practice.

This course teachers you how to speak without an accent. During this course students will learn all sounds of Received Pronunciation (RP). RP was called in the past the Queen’s English, Oxford English or BBC English. Today, RP is simply a neutral pronunciation of educated Southern English; it is also called Standard English. RP is associated with good education, high class and success. This course will provide you a short cut to a more valuable enhanced image, which in turn will open doors to greater opportunities.

Content of the course
This course consists of 42 private video lessons and three lectures. Linda James, one of the top speech tutors in the UK with over 25 years of experience explains and demonstrates how each English sound is formed in the mouth. Her student, Olga Smith tries to produce the sounds and then Linda offers very effective exercises for Olga. The atmosphere of a private lesson is wonderful. Olga highlights to Linda main difficulties that different nationalities have with particular English sounds. Linda offers very useful tips which cannot be found in books or apps.

Together, Linda and Olga have co-authored several international bestsellers in the series the Get Rid of your Accent. The popularity of their books led to creating accompanying apps. Lesson numbers in the video course, books and apps correspond to the same sound. Audio books are available on Audible, paperback books and e-books on Amazon.

This video course is designed to support our existing apps and books in the series "Get Rid of your Accent" with a demonstration of speech organ positions, providing a total solution for accent reduction on line.

The main benefits of this course to students
1. You will have fun learning English sounds in the atmosphere of a private lesson.
2. You will get useful tips and techniques for accent reduction which are unique to this course.
3. You will learn pronunciation rules that make your speech grammatically correct.
4. The course is adapted for smartphones, tablets, and computers, allowing you to study at any time, anywhere.
5. If you are taking private lessons, the course makes your lessons more effective and helps you to save money on a number of lessons you take.

Who this course is for:

People with regional or foreign accents who want to improve speech clarity
Actors with non-RP accents who wish to pursue an acting career in the UK
Hollywood actors who need to develop a British accent
Professionals, doctors, diplomats for whom a high standard of English and clarity of speech are important
Pronunciation and speech teachers
People who want to speak with a neutral accent of Standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) to enhance their social and professional life

Get Rid of your Accent Part One

What you'll learn

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Course content

Long and short English vowels15 lectures • 51min

Diphthongs8 lectures • 26min

Semi-vowels and plosive consonants5 lectures • 30min

Nasal, Lateral and Fricative Consonants and Affricates18 lectures • 1hr 15min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: