Pronunciation ChallengeHow to improve your English with MUSIC and MOVIES!

The funny thing about trying to copy someone is that you stop thinking in your language, and as you're trying to copy your accent will drop off, especially when you're trying to match their speed.

"You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." - On the Waterfront, Maarlon Brando

Good day everyone, this is your host for today’s Pronunciation Challenge episode, Hubert Tran! Here’s a video everyone should be interested in. How to improve your English with music and movies! I actually tutor several students and one of them who made the quickest progress is a kid who loved singing! He didn’t speak a lick of English (Speak a lick is an idiom meaning to not even speak a little.) and after a few months is now one of the top students in his class. Of course, I’m a great teacher but my student made it much easier by passionately singing English songs! We would learn the lyrics to English songs at the end of each class. Let’s get to the featured sentence and come back so I can tell you how I learned a language and can now fool people into thinking I’m a native speaker.

Today’s featured sentence:
The funny thing about trying to copy someone is that you stop thinking in your language, and as you're trying to copy your accent will drop off, especially when you're trying to match their speed.

I’ll say that again.

The funny thing about trying to copy someone is that you stop thinking in your language, and as you're trying to copy your accent will drop off, especially when you're trying to match their speed.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
Accent
Two syllables.
The first syllable “AC” has a short A sound paired with a K sound. “CENT” sounds the same as the past tense of send, sent. Accent.

Next up, we have
Language
Two syllables
With “Lan”, make sure the NG sound is nasal. Meaning the sound goes up to your nose. Let it ring in your nose. LANG. With “GUAGE”, imagine it being spelt, “G W U J”. Language.

Lastly, we have,
Speed
One syllable.
I know this may seem like an easy word but a lot of my students either say this word as “sped” or “spid”. The trick is to literally say “E” and stretch it out. EEEEEEEE. Speed. That applies to other double E words.



Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. Accent
Definition
the way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words
Used in a sentence you could say,
“Is that a British accent I hear?”

Next word,
2. Match
Definition
to be as good as someone or something else
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Nobody could ever match Usain Bolt’s speed on the racetrack.”

And lastly,
3. Speed
Definition:
how fast something moves
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Please slow down because you’re driving past the speed limit.”

Speaking from experience, I can confidently confirm that learning a new language through watching movies works! This is how I learned Cantonese in Toronto without ever stepping a foot into Hong Kong or Southern China. If I keep my phrases short, people often think that I am from Hong Kong. I don’t speak Cantonese at home either. I actually speak Teochew, also known as ChaoZhou to our Chinese-speaking listeners. What I did was simple. Growing up, I loved watching Hong Kong films. I would repeat phrases I heard Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and even Leslie Cheung said. I would look at the mirror and say the lines exactly the way they said it. I would express emotions the same way they did. I copied and I learned how to speak like them. This is why I became an actor.

Alright everyone, go and find your favorite movie or song and get to practicing, or should I say, copying? Make sure you get your recordings in though! See everyone again in the next episode! Bye!

The funny thing about trying to copy someone is that you stop thinking in your language and as you were trying to copy your accent will drop off, especially when you are trying to match their speed

Day 153