I think you already know that words like

twenty
plenty
internet
etc.

are very often pronounced without /t/.

💡The rule is simple: we omit /t/ after /n/ after a stressed vowel

⚡️ What might come as a shock though is this rule works in some less frequent words too. That’s where hearing a word without /t/ might sound unusual.

✅ Watch to the short video below and notice a word that’s first pronounced with /t/ and then, seconds later, without /t/.

❓What’s is this word?

Have you guys seen this viral clip yet?

If you haven’t, please do!

One of the aspects we keep working on with my students a lot is word stress. ⚡️ This is because stress is number one criterion for your clarity: even if your sounds are perfect, but you’re misplacing a stress, you might sound unclear OR - just like the guy in this video - OFF.

Do you want me to break down the SWEET potato thing from the video? Leave your reaction if you do 🔥

Great work everyone 😍 Here’s the key and a short video breakdown:

The odd one out in the quiz above is …

STEREOTYPE

⤵️⤵️⤵️

There are quite a few videos on Instagram I would never skip- however many times I’ve seen them

And this reel below is genuinely my most favorite one

There are two wonderful ways to deal with a pronunciation mistake you accidentally made while speaking.

1) just move on, it might not be that noticeable, and slips do happen. No big deal.

2) if it is too big to move on from, double down on it. Just go all in like the woman in the video. Self irony is great, but it might require some skill to summon it 😀

Test yourself!

❓Tick the words in which the letter “s” is read as a voiceless consonant /s/ (like in “stay”) not /z/.

Pay extra attention to the words where their international equivalents often have the voiced consonant!

For example, compare Ru vs. Eng below.

💡Note that all the English words below are pronounced with a voiceless /s/

база — base
изоляция — isolation
эпизод — episode
оппозиция — opposite
кризис — crisis

etc.

How to criticize and decline properly?

With some of my students, we started breaking down the topic of criticism and rejection.

Do you have to give someone negative feedback so that you’re heard, clear and firm, or do you want to “soften the blow” and sound warmer?

Maybe, you want to strike a neat balance between both of these?

All of that is possible if you know how to manipulate your melody correctly, and that’s exactly what we’re exploring in class

Ps
Pronunciation training is so much more than drilling tongue-twisters like “Peter Piper picked whatever he picked”, and that’s what I love about it ❤️

Let’s end this debate today

Which is harder to understand:
American or British?

*both have various dialects and sociolects within, so think about it in general. Which is more challenging most of the times you hear it?😀

Fair point- British English in all of its variety is statistically (and notoriously) harder to understand.

I have a British pal who watches certain British TV shows with captions on: that’s how hard it can be to decipher what some people from the north of the uk are saying 😀

Anyway, here’s a short clip to practice your understanding of 🇺🇸 English.

❓WHAT IS SHE SAYING?
Type your ideas in the comments and hide them like this: select -> format -> spoiler

Days without a British barista NOT understanding me when I say “for here”: ZERO

Honestly, I have tried to switch to what they say here when they want to have a cup of coffee inside, but the American “for here” slips through automatically.

Unfortunately, it sounds very seriously unclear to some British baristas 😭

Do you know what Brits say instead of “for here”? Type below ⤵️⤵️⤵️

So, Brits would say “to have in” instead of “for here”, and in the context of a noisy coffee shop they’re very likely to not be able to recognize the American phrase from the first attempt

The British are so sensitive to American words and pronunciations ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

Could I have imagined I would be giving on-the-spot feedback to different UK speakers and winning the Best Evaluator award for that?🥹

Just doing what I love and investing a lot of time and effort in getting better at it ❤️

I have a couple of coaching spots open, by the way. DM me at @YourAccentCoach for details 😌

What is she saying here?

Here’s your chance to work not only on your listening skills, but also pronunciation

Type what you think the anchor is saying in the comments. Hide your idea like this: select -> format -> spoiler

❗️If you hit this post with 30 reactions, I’ll share the right answer and a pronunciation breakdown you’ll enjoy 🔥