Module 5 · Lesson 6 of 8
Pronunciation that is easy to understand
Be easy to understand without changing your accent: word and sentence stress, chunks, intonation, linking, word endings and problem sounds, with drills you record.
In this lesson
- Explain what the Pronunciation criterion rewards, and why clarity matters more than a native-like accent
- Put the stress on the right syllable of common tricky words, and on the key words in a sentence
- Shape chunks with one main stress each, and use rising and falling intonation for lists, questions and unfinished ideas
- Link words smoothly and pronounce -ed and -s endings so the examiner can hear your grammar
- Identify your own two or three problem sounds and work on them with a 15-minute recording routine
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Inside this lesson
- The aim: easy to understand, not ‘native’
- Word stress: the shape of a word
- Words that are shorter than they look
- Sentence stress: make the key words stand out
- Chunks: one main stress in each
- Intonation: what your voice does at the end
- Connected speech: let words join up
- Word endings: where pronunciation meets grammar
- Problem sounds: find your own
- A 15-minute routine for practising alone
- Worked example: diagnosing one recording
- Read it marked, then make it yours
- On test day, and over the next two weeks