Pronunciation ChallengeCan I Learn English Alone?

I think that is the only advantage of taking a class, and i would say that with a little bit of creativity, with a little bit of imagination, you could really get over that anyway.

I think that is the only advantage of taking a class, and I would say that with a little bit of creativity, with a little bit of imagination, you could really get over that anyway.

"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going." - Rita Mae Brown

How’s it going, everyone! It’s your host Hubert Tran, with a brand new episode of the Pronunciation Challenge! Today, I’ll be presenting a topic that all you listeners will find interesting. The topic I’m referring to is about learning English! Can you do it on your own though without a classroom setting? With the advent (Advent means an arrival that has been awaited) of the internet, all the information we need is at our fingertips and most importantly, access to people from different parts of the world! I mean, the Pronunciation Challenge is trying to help you listeners with English from wherever you are located! Growing up watching movies set in the future, talking to someone through video chat was always something that seemed so far away. Here we are now, Facetiming, Skyping, and even Zooming our loved ones from all our devices! The future is now people! Let’s get to the featured sentence and come back so I can tell you about someone famous who learned English entirely through Youtube!

Today’s featured sentence:
I think that is the only advantage of taking a class, and I would say that with a little bit of creativity, with a little bit of imagination, you could really get over that anyway.

I’ll say that again.

I think that is the only advantage of taking a class, and I would say that with a little bit of creativity, with a little bit of imagination, you could really get over that anyway.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
Advantage
Three syllables.
“AD” has a short U sound. “VAN” sounds like the vehicle you drive, van and “TAGE” can actually sound like “itch” like your back has an itch you need to scratch. Advantage.

Next up, we have
Creativity
Five syllables
With “CREA”, imagine it being spelt “KREE” like a tree, same long E sound. With the second syllable, simply say the letter “A”. With “TI” that’s a short “i” sound but with a “T” sound in front. “VI” has a short U sound and for the last syllable, simply say the letter “T”. Creativity.

Lastly, we have,
Imagination
Five syllables.
“I” has a short i sound. “MA” has a short A sound. “GIN” has the same sound as the drink, gin. “A” just say the letter “A”, and “TION” has your typical “T I O N” ending, “shun”. Imagination.


Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. Advantage
Definition
a condition giving a greater chance of success
Used in a sentence you could say,
“He clearly had an advantage over his opponent because they suffered an injury prior to the match.”

Next word,
2. Creativity
Definition
producing or using original and unusual ideas
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Walt Disney was full of creativity when he created his iconic Disney characters.”

And lastly,
3. Imagination
Definition:
the ability to form pictures in the mind
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“I can’t sleep because I have an overactive imagination.”

Ok, so did you guess who this famous person was? I’d imagine the younger listeners would be more familiar with this person because he’s pretty young himself. The person I’m referring to is the rapper from Indonesia, Rich Brian! He learned how to speak English and rap all from watching Eminem and Drake rap videos! How crazy is that?! That’s also very inspiring because if you listen to his music and interviews, he sounds exactly like a native English speaker! He did all this on his own without stepping foot in an English classroom!

In fact, I did something similar with Cantonese. I learned the sounds from watching the Cantonese dubbed version of Dragon Ball Z! I loved that anime so I would watch hours upon hours of it and eventually, could understand and hear most of the tones in Cantonese! Now, I can trick people into thinking I’m from Hong Kong if I keep my sentences short.

Alright, that about does it for me today. Make sure to get your recordings in and keep tuning in daily for a new episode of the Pronunciation Challenge! Don’t forget to drop by my Instagram @hughtran_ and say hi! Until the next episode, see ya!

I think that is the only advantage of taking a class, and I would say that with a little bit of creativity, with a little bit of imagination, you could really get over that anyway.