Welcome to Day 3!
This is where the magic happens. ✨
Get ready to transform how you sound in English! Today is dedicated entirely to pronunciation, focusing on the subtle secrets that make speech sound smooth and natural.
In today’s lesson, we’re diving deep into the key features of fluent English, such as:
Weak Forms & Contractions – The rhythm-makers of English.
Vowel Sounds – Mastering the core sounds that define your accent.
Elision & Glottal Stops – The little “missing” sounds that make a big difference.
These are the precise details that make people say, “Wow, your English sounds so natural!”
Ready to begin?
First take a look at this video and then, let’s practise with the exercises
For today’s tasks, they are a bit different because pronunciation isn’t necessarily level-specific. These sounds and features are important at all levels, so we’ve organised the exercises as Task A, Task B and Task C instead of by level.
Whether you’re working at B1, B2 or C1, these pronunciation exercises will help you sound more natural and fluent. Let’s dive in!
Task A
Use the Interactive Phonemic Chart below to help you remember the symbols and sounds for each vowel sound covered in the lesson.
Task BBefore you complete Task B, let’s review some important pronunciation concepts:
Contractions
Contractions or short forms such as I’m, we’ve, they’d, etc. are very common in spoken British English. Had and would contract to /d/ after vowel sounds, e.g. I had /aɪ hæd/ → I’d /aɪd/. They contract to /əd/ after consonant sounds, adding an extra syllable, e.g. rain had /reɪn hæd/ → rain’d /ˈreɪnəd/.
Syncope
In the lesson, we saw that the schwa is often dropped from the middle of words such as favourite, camera and towards.
Click to hear some more common examples. Listen and repeat to practise.
- 3 syllables → 2 syllables: chocolate, different, memory, opera
- 4 syllables → 3 syllables: comfortable, vegetable, interesting
Repeat to practise the shorter, more natural pronunciation.
chocolate
Full form: /ˈtʃɒk.ə.lət/ (“CHOK-uh-luht”)
With Syncope: /ˈtʃɒk.lət/ (“CHOK-luht”)
comfortable
Full form: /ˈkʌm.fə.tə.bəl/ (“KUM-fuh-tuh-buhl”)
With Syncope: /ˈkʌmf.tə.bəl/ (“KUMP-tuh-buhl”)
every
Full form: /ˈev.ə.ri/ (“EV-uh-ree”)
With Syncope: /ˈev.ri/ (“EV-ree”)
different
Full form: /ˈdɪf.ər.ənt/ (“DIF-uh-ruhnt”)
With Syncope: /ˈdɪf.rənt/ (“DIF-ruhnt”)
interesting
Full form: /ˈɪn.tər.əs.tɪŋ/ (“IN-tuh-ruhs-ting”)
With Syncope: /ˈɪn.trəs.tɪŋ/ (“IN-truhs-ting”)
business
Full form: /ˈbɪz.ə.nəs/ (“BIZ-uh-nuhss”)
With Syncope: /ˈbɪz.nəs/ (“BIZ-nuhss”) – It sounds like “bizness”.
vegetable
Full form: /ˈvedʒ.ə.tə.bəl/ (“VEJ-uh-tuh-buhl”)
With Syncope: /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəl/ (“VEJ-tuh-buhl”)
The Glottal Stop – In our Modern RP accent, I sometimes use a glottal stop at the end of a word instead of a traditional /t/ sound. To make this sound, block the flow of air in the throat and then quickly release it like a small cough.
Now, let's complete Task B.
Task C