constantly hear “what?” “Excuse me?” or “what did  you say?” Today I'm going to show you how I work  

with my students who are speaking English as a  foreign language on how to be 100% understandable.

I'm going to show you a clip of me working  with a student. Working with him, I said,  

if you do this, you go from 85% understandable to  100% understandable. It has to do with linking,  

that's smoothness between words, and longer  stressed syllables with a bigger pitch change.

Okay. Uh, well, it's, it's very interesting.  Because, uhm, I'm an accountant.

Okay, hold on. I didn't actually, it  took, I had to think. I had to say. Wait,  

what did he say? What you said was,  'It's very interesting,' is that right?

Ah, Yeah.

Okay. So, my mind did not hear 'very,' it  took me a second. I had to think. Wait,  

'what did he say?' Oh, he said 'very.' And,  the reason for that was, it's very interesting.  

I need, it's ve-ry, not 'It's very,' it's  very, I need more of that clarity of your  

stressed syllables. That's how my mind goes,  oh, very, it's very, if I hear, it's very,  

it's very interesting. It's really hard for me  to get that. It's all too flat. I need those,  

boom, boom, boom. It's very interesting. Because  you know, even if all of your sounds were right,  

which they were. You had /v/, you had /ɛ/, you  had /r/, you had /i/. You had all the sounds.  

But I didn't have the rhythm that I needed  to immediately recognize the word. So,  

I had to think about it a little bit. I had  to sort it out. What did he say? He said,  

it's very interesting. And this is something  that I want all my students to know and I  

think you probably do. The sounds are only  part of it. You have to also give me the  

rhythm that I'm expecting or it gets harder to  understand. Okay, so, it's very. Just say that.

Okay. It's very interesting.

Okay, just it's very, not interesting. We're  going to, we'll deal with that later. it's very.

Okay, It's very.

M-hmm. Now, let me just hear you say ve.

Ve.

It's a v though...

Yeah.

I know, that's, the Spanish.  It's like, it's all the same.

Yeah. It's, it's tricky.

It's Ve.

Ver.

Very.

Yes, exactly. I needed a little bit more opening  in your mouth. It was a little bit ver. Very.

Very.

Right. That, that's, those sounds are a  little bit more clear to me. It's very.

It's very.

Yes. Good. It's very.

It's very.

Yes. So, now I understand it right away. The  first time I didn't. It's very, it's very. Ohh,  

that's kind of hard. It's very. Okay,  now we're going to take, interesting.

It's very interesting.

Okay, that's better. It's very interesting. So now  I have, uh-ahhh, and the first time it was sort of  

it's very interesting. I got a little bit on /ɛ/.  But now we're, we're, I'm getting more of that  

pitch modulation, that clarity and this is exactly  what I work on with Spanish speakers often,  

is give me more contrast. Stretch out your  long syllables. Give me that melody. Okay.

The first time I heard 'very', I had to try to  figure out what he was saying. But when he said  

it VER-y, with that clear, long stressed syllable,  the up-down melody, I understood it right away  

without having to think. I want to show you  another time I didn't understand him, and we talk  

about a way to practice to help him naturally add  more smoothness and pitch change to his English.

We have deadlines for companies and then June.

Okay, deadlines was hard  for me to understand. I only  

understood after you said it and I figured  out what you must have said. Not because I  

understood it. Deadlines, deadlines...  That's easy for me to catch. Deadlines,  

that's easy for me to catch, right? So deadlines,  it's a noun, it's the, the focus of what you're  

talking about. Businesses have deadlines  in March, right? What month did you say?

Deadlines?

What month do they have deadlines?

Ahh, Okay. Yeah, in March, in March.

Okay. So, businesses have deadlines in  March. If those are the most important  

things that you're trying to tell me, right? If  you just said business and March then I'm like,  

well, what happens in March, but if  you say deadline, then I get it. So,  

because that's one of, those most  important words that's why it needs  

that length. Businesses have deadlines  in March, let me hear you do that.

Business have deadlines in March.

Right? Exactly. And I can tell it feels  a little bit, like effort to do that and  

the more you do it, the easier I think it will  become. Businesses have deadlines in March. And,  

I have worked with so many students where they  actually use their arm when they're practicing,  

on their stressed syllables. It helps that body  connection, it helps them remember to go higher  

than they want to. And, it also helps them not be  choppy with it or with effort. Right? It's like,  

the hand kind of guides them. So, don't be  afraid, to use your hand, when you're practicing.

Okay, got you. Yeah, it's ah, it's,  it's more intonation is ah, intention.

Exactly.

Intention with the conversation? Yeah.

Right.

I love how he talks about the intention of  speaking with this new technique in mind. You  

may be wondering about this guy. He's a student  in my Academy and once a month I do live classes  

where I work with students, and record them with  their permission. Everyone else in the Academy can  

attend the live class, watch, and ask questions.  All classes are recorded and put in the Academy so  

when students join, right away they can go to that  course, search on their own native language, and  

watch all the clips of me working with students  from their same language background. It's really  

helpful for students on their journey towards  more natural and easy-to-understand English.  

If you have any questions about the Academy  please post them here or shoot us an email,  

or simply visit RachelsEnglishAcademy.com. Now  here we talk about this change in the voice,  

these characteristics about English that make English clear and natural,  

but might feel strange if your  native language isn't English.

Yesterday was one of those days,  that I have to, sort things out.

Okay, hold on. And yesterday, I needed  a little bit more there. And yesterday,  

was one of those days. The one was  good. Yes-- I need a little bit  

more length there. And yesterday was  one of those days. Let me hear that.

And yesterday, one, yesterday...

So, let's hear the whole phrase,  and yesterday was one of those days.

And yesterday, uh one. And  yesterday was one of those days.

Right, exactly, one of those days.  Okay, what? What happened yesterday?

Well, it was one of those days that  all my clients called me and try to  

get their results as soon as  possible. So, yeah, it was...

Okay, that was pretty good.

It was very busy.

It's very busy. Okay, so, all my clients called  me. A little bit more, So, where all my clients  

called me-- That's a little unclear. Where all  my clients called me. That's more clear. So,  

you can have the one up and then  everything come down. But I, I just,  

I want that up to be higher.  And all my clients called me.

Okay, and all my clients called me.

Yeah, I totally get it. That's very clear to me.  So, it's sort of just freeing yourself up. To  

like, take your range and make it bigger. You  know, we want you maxing that out because it,  

just for a native speaker listening, it makes  it so much clearer. Now, I think if you and I  

were talking, and I was not an accent teacher and  I was just listening to what you were saying? I  

would understand most of what you were saying.  I might have to ask you a couple of times.  

Uhm, but if you just make  your pitch modulations higher,  

I would probably always understand.  Everything you were saying.

Your way is clear, okay thank you, yeah.

And that's a big difference guys. If all he has  to do is make his high syllables higher. Which,  

will in turn make them a little bit longer.  That's the only change he has to do.  

To go from being like eighty-five percent  understandable to probably a hundred  

percent understandable. And, it feels weird  because your language doesn't have that. So,  

it feels uncomfortable to do this. It's like if  this is my language and all of a sudden I had to  

do this. This would feel very uncomfortable to  me. So, I understand. But we just have to give  

ourselves that mental permission. You don't  sound weird, you know, you sound clearer.

Okay, thank you. Yeah.

So, all your clients called you? Now, I  want you to really exaggerate, do something.

Exaggerate, yeah.

Make it too much. I'll tell you if it's too much.

Yeah, becau-- because you know, this is,  

this is the thing. Sometimes for some reason,  I don't want to tell you alright? Because,  

I don't want to sound weird. But at the  same time now, we realize that I need it.

Exactly, and I think that's such a good  lesson for everyone. It sounds weird,  

because we don't use, we're not used to doing it.  So, we kind of shy away from it. Right? But it's,  

it's actually what would be clearer. So, even  though it's not your habit, breaking that habit  

can feel strange. Which is what holds some  people back from doing it, right? So, I'm here  

to give you the feedback, that it doesn't sound  strange. And, that I want you to do it. Okay.

Yeah, for sure, yeah, thank you.

For sure, did you guys hear that? For sure, for  sure. Exactly. Give me some more of that height.

He doesn't want to sound weird. And for some  students, this is the number one reason they're  

hard to understand. Because they want to be  comfortable, they speak English with the habits  

of their own native language rather than really  embracing the characteristics of English. And  

I get that. It's like trying on and developing  a completely different voice. And it's hard to  

break habits. Even though this student gets it,  and wants to do it, it just takes some reminding.

let's take that phrase, 'It isn't clear,'  and I want to hear. 'It isn't clear.'  

So, I want to hear even more pitch change.  Not clear, but clear, it isn't clear.

It isn't clear.

Right? Exactly. We want that kind of pitch  change on, not every stressed syllable. But,  

to emphasize, if it's, if it's, all  too much the same. It becomes kind  

of flat and it's a little bit hard to  pick out those stressed words and to  

get that clarity. I just said to get that  clarity. So, my voice went geeet. It wasn't  

ge, but get. More of that pitch change from  eve... to go, even higher and then even lower.

This student's native language is Spanish,  but really the smoothness, the pitch change,  

and the rhythm is something that I work  on with every single one of my students.

and I've noticed that my Spanish speakers,  sometimes it's all ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta,  

ta. It's really fast and staccato, and I have to  get them to stretch out the stressed syllables a  

little bit. And, on the phrase, 'I'm not sure,'  I heard from you a little bit, 'I'm not sure,'  

sure. But I would definitely want, 'I'm not sure.'  'I'm not sure.' Like it's all part of this wave.  

I'm not sure. Versus, I'm not sure. Uh-uhhh-uh.  That constant flow of sound with nothing breaking  

it up. And, a little bit more length on the  stressed word. So, can I hear you just say 'Sure?'

Sure.

Sure.

Right, I want to get you to even exaggerate  your melody change a little bit more. Sure.

Sure.

Right, I think bring your tongue  a little bit more forward. Sure.

Sure.

Good, does that feel weird?

Uhm, a little bit, yeah.

A little bit. Yeah, when people, when I  ask people to change their pitch more,  

sometimes, it feels really, like,  pretend. Like a cartoon or something.

We just keep going with that  clarity. It might feel like  

too much pitch change, but it's just right.

Well, I'm an accountant and, and I've been  working in taxes.   

Okay, now hold on. So, I've been working in taxes. I just want a  little bit more of the I--'ve been working in.

I've been working in.

Yes, that, that's clear to me Dad-da-da-da. I  think, I think the main thing to think about is  

higher pitches and your stressed syllables, that's  going to force you to take a little bit more time,  

bring it up and out a little bit. Otherwise, it's  too much within the same range, and it's a little  

bit harder for my ear to get. So, rather than  coming here. You're going to going all the way  

up here, for those stressed syllables. I've  been working on, I've been working in taxes.  

I've been working in taxes. Yes, that is cleaner,  clearer. Okay, so think about that as you keep  

talking, think about, a little uncomfortable.  It's going to feel weird to go up that high.

I just want to shout-out this student, Andres.  I feel that everyone who lets me work with them  

like this, in the public eye, is so brave.  They know I'm going to stop them and say,  

“that isn't clear.” And they let me work with them  in this way because they're ready for real change  

and they're willing to be vulnerable to help other  students also, who are watching, who are learning.

Okay, I'm afraid I have to work in this  

weekend and I'm trying to do,  to deal with uh, some things.

Uh-huh, I'm trying to deal, not deal.

I'm trying to deal with that.

I'm trying to deal with that.

Uh-huh, and also, I'm afraid, I'm going  to have to work this weekend, I'm afraid.