Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson,
I'm going to give you some pronunciation tips
so that you can get a higher score on your
IELTS, TOEFL, or any other English exam. Okay?
Now, this is for you if you're appearing for
your exam for the first time, or if you didn't
get the score you needed before and you're not even sure why did you get a low score
and you want to be able to get a higher score
on the speaking test, I'll show you some points
which you might not be aware of, that once you correct them, you will definitely get
a higher score. Okay? Lots of times, students
come to me, and I've worked with thousands
of students over the years in person, on Skype,
okay, in classes, and these small changes
which they can make and you can make, all
right, make that difference to raising their
score. Okay? So let's look at what these small changes are. Let's begin.
Okay, so the first mistake that's often made
is when pronouncing a negative word, you need
to say it correctly, and it's often not pronounced
correctly. For example, in the TOEFL exam,
you listen to something and then you have to describe what did you hear, right? So,
you need to say something like, "The man can't decide", but sometimes, when people
say "can't", we don't hear the ending and
we need to hear the ending because otherwise
the meaning changes, right? So, you want to
say, "He can't decide", you could always say
"He cannot decide", but the first time, it doesn't sound very natural to say that. So,
you could say, "He can't decide", right? Or,
"She doesn't know", all right? So, make sure
that you're really pronouncing that negative
word very clearly, so it doesn't sound like
"He can decide" instead of "He can't decide". Stress that word, okay?
All right. Next, when you're saying the endings
of words, they need to be very clear. For
example, we already talked about one part, the
negative, but now, let's look at even the verb.
If I do not say this sentence correctly, then it
will sound like this, "I don't like". "I don't
like", no, but that's what I sometimes hear when
students are speaking, even though they're really
trying to say the right thing and they know the
right thing, right? So, you want to make sure
that this one sounds like "I don't like", "I
don't like". You want to make sure that that "t"
is very clear, and this word, "I don't like",
finish the word. Say the endings of the words,
okay? So, for example, on the IELTS, if they
ask you, "What do you do in your spare time?"
Say, "Well, I like to stay busy. I don't like to
waste time." Okay? Pronounce the "t"s, say the word
fully to the end, okay? So that "like" doesn't
sound like "lie". "Like", "I don't like", okay?
You can pause the video if you need to, okay?
Repeat after me, go back, listen to it again,
just so that you are really saying... Making
these changes as we go along, or when you go back,
listen again and practice, okay? Next, there's often an issue with articles,
okay? So, what are articles? Like "a" and "the",
right? So, sometimes what's happening is that
the article is actually missing. So, this is a
grammatical error, or it could be a pronunciation
error if you're saying it, but I can't hear it.
Your examiner needs to hear the article, okay?
So, make sure that you pronounce the articles
very carefully. If you don't pronounce them,
then, of course, it becomes a major grammar mistake. And unfortunately, articles are so
common and so important in English that when
we don't hear them, that's a very basic error
that can really bring down your score, okay?
So, you don't want to make this error at all,
so let's see how to say the articles. "I'm a
student." In the aisles, they often start by
asking you, "What do you do?" So, let's say you
say, "I'm a student. I'm a student." Not "I'm
student." And then don't eat up that word, okay?
Make sure you're saying the article very clearly.
"I'm a student. I'm an engineer." Okay? Whatever
it is. Or on the aisles, they also ask you
sometimes, "Where do you live?" So, "I live in an apartment. I live in an apartment. In
an apartment." Now, here, even though you had
this little awkward combination of words, right?
"In an apartment. I live in an apartment." So, make sure that those articles are heard
very clearly. Now, another mistake, and this
mistake is not so much like a grammar mistake,
okay? It will just make you sound much more fluent if you make this small correction,
alright? Here, the mistake actually became a grammar mistake, which was more serious.
But here, it's more a matter of fluency. And of
course, they're also checking for your fluency.
So, what is it? It's how to pronounce the word
"the". Sometimes this word is pronounced like "the",
and sometimes we pronounce it like "the". So, how
do you know? It's easy. If the word after that
starts with a vowel, then you should say "the". And if it starts with a consonant,
then you can just say "the". Okay? And you will
probably need to use this word very often, right?
You know that this word comes up very often in
conversation, but also on the IELTS or TOEFL,
you're often describing advantages and disadvantages, right? So, you would say,
"The advantages of doing this are", but or
however, "the disadvantages", see the difference?
"The advantages", "the disadvantages", "the advantages", "the disadvantages". Okay? So,
because it starts with a vowel, we're saying
"the". What a nice, easy way to improve your
and upgrade your English and get a higher score. Most important, right? Okay.
Now, let's move to another area. This has to do
with short vowels. Now, this sometimes takes a
little bit longer to fix, so you really have to
work on it a little bit because it's possible
that in your languages, the short vowels are
pronounced differently or you just don't have
those kind of short vowels, so you need to work
on this one a little bit more. But first, my job
is to make you aware of it, and that's what I'm
going to do. So, short vowels are "a", "e", "i",
"o", "u". Usually, I hear mistakes with these
three; the short "i", the short "a", and the
short "u". So, the short "i" should sound like
"i", "i". Very short, very fast, very quick.
Not like "i", okay? The short "i" should sound
like "i", not "i", because what happens if you
say it incorrectly? If you pronounce this
"I live" long, it will sound like "I leave",
and on the IELTS, if they ask you, "Where do you live?" and you say, "I leave",
"I leave in England." Okay? Now, will the examiner understand that you leave in
London? Yes, but does it sound right? No. Your
score is going to go down because that word now
sounds like another word, and for any listener,
it's not a good point at all. Right? It changes
the meaning. So, again, it can be an easy fix.
Shorten it. Say it really fast. "I live in London."
"I live in Paris." "I live in Mexico." Okay?
Shorten it. "Live", not "leave". "Live". Good.
Now, let's look at the short "a". The short
"a" sounds like "a". I know, it's embarrassing.
You have to open your mouth a little bit, and
that's how it is. Okay? "A". If you don't open
your mouth, "a", you will not be saying this word
properly... This sound properly. Okay? Because
then it can sound like "eh". "A", "eh". "A", "eh".
See the difference? I need to open my mouth to
say this sound properly. For example, "We had",
not "we head". "Had", "head". "Had", "head". Okay?
The short "a" is wide open. Okay? Open your mouth.
Don't try to be shy. This is not the place to be
shy because, again, it will change the meaning,
and whatever good sentence you are trying to say
won't sound like a good, strong sentence
anymore. It will sound like incorrect grammar,
incorrect vocabulary. Okay? So, pay attention to that.
Another mistake is with the short "u" sound.
What's the correct short "u" sound? "A". Say it
after me. "A". It's like if sometimes you hear
native speakers, when they're not sure, they say
"a", "a". It's a little bit like that. Okay? "A",
not "u" for sure. Okay? "A". So, let's look at
this sample word. "Our culture", not "our culture".
There's also a little word that you can use to
check if you're pronouncing that short "a"
properly, and that is "Batman". You know that
famous guy that we all like so much? What's his
name? "Batman". "Batman", not "Bitman". Okay?
"Batman". It's a good way to practice your short
"a". All right? And now I'm going to show you,
after this, a few more areas where you can definitely improve your score.
All right, you can do this. Okay? Our goal is to
get the highest marks possible for you. All right?
We can do it together. All right, so let's look
at the next issue. So, this is something called
L1 interference. What's L1? L1 is language one,
or your first language, or your native language.
Okay? The first language that you learned to speak,
your mother tongue, and so on. So, sometimes,
obviously, your language can interfere whenever
you're trying to speak a different language,
like English. And you could say, to some extent,
that all of the mistakes here are related to this
issue, but some more specifically than others.
All right? For example, in some languages,
you just don't have certain sounds, and then it
becomes extremely difficult when you're trying
to say it in English. But first, you have to
become aware of what that issue is, and then
you can work on it and retrain not only your
tongue, but also your ear before that to hear it,
and then to pronounce those words correctly.
Okay? And I know that you can do that. All right.
So, some examples of this is, for example, some
Spanish speakers, initially, when they're starting
to learn the language, they have a little bit of
an issue with the "y" sound. Okay? So, instead of
"yes", it might... They might be saying "jes",
instead of "yellow" might be "jello". Now,
obviously, that's a major mistake because it's going to create a completely different
word altogether. It's not just it doesn't sound good or there's a different accent.
Having an accent is not a problem. You can
have your accent-all right?-and it's wonderful,
and it's part of who you are, and it makes
life interesting, it's part of your heritage,
and we want you to have an accent. We just don't want your accent to create
misunderstanding. Okay? Or confusion for the
listener, and in this case, especially for your
examiner. Okay? All right. Or, for some Japanese
speakers, saying the "r" sound is also very
difficult, so "rice" might sound like "lice". Okay?
So, those are some specific areas that you should
check. You need to look at what are the common
pronunciation errors for people from my language
group, and work on those because that will give
you a quick way to accelerate your English fluency.
Okay? Always look at that. All right. Another common error for everyone,
almost everyone, is this consonant blend
with "th". Okay? This needs to be pronounced
with our tongue coming out of... Between the
teeth a little bit. "Th", "th". Okay? Now,
it appears in words like this and like this, so
when it's not said... When it's not pronounced
correctly, the mistakes are usually of two kinds.
Sometimes this "th" sound can sound like a "d"
instead; that's a mistake. And sometimes it can
sound like a "t" by itself. So, for example,
when it's not pronounced properly and sounds
like a "d", then instead of saying "father",
"father", okay? It might sound like "father".
No. "Father", it's much softer. Okay? And also,
the tongue is going to different places in your
mouth, so focus on that. "Father", not "father".
"Mother", not "mudder". Okay? "Brother", not
"brudder". Okay? See the difference? Can you
hear the difference? You need to hear the
difference. Okay? First, and "weather". Okay?
Now, let's say it all correctly. "Father", "mother", "brother", "weather". Okay? So,
say it, repeat it, record yourself, listen
carefully, get someone else to listen to it,
and see whether they're hearing the "th" sound or
whether they're hearing a "d" sound there. Okay?
There should be no "d" sound in those words. And
sometimes the mistake is that the "th" sounds like
a "t". So, this very common word, "that" could
sound like "tat", or "faith" could sound like
"fate". Completely different word. Or "everything",
"everything" could sound like "everyting". Okay?
"Thing", "ting". Quite a difference in sounds.
Right? So, you need to practice those, and if
you do, and if you really focus on it, you can
overcome them. Because I've just written a few
examples here, but there are actually lots of
words that would be affected if, for example,
you didn't pronounce your "th" properly. Okay?
Now I'm going to give you four more. All right?
Let's go. Now, we will look at contractions,
possessives, tenses, and plurals. Okay?
Now, in case you're already a subscriber, which
I really appreciate, you will have already seen,
perhaps, my earlier video on pronunciation hacks
with the missing "s". All right? And a lot of what
we cover here is to do with that, but this is a very good review for you in any case,
in the context especially of the IELTS or TOEFL
or any other exam. And if you haven't subscribed,
then you know what to do. And if you haven't seen
it before, I'm going to explain it right now.
Okay? So, contractions. So, what happens is that
sometimes students think that they are saying the
proper grammatical sentence, but we're not hearing
the ending of the contraction. A contraction,
of course, is when we shorten a word. Sorry,
shorten, let's say, two words into one word.
For example, instead of saying "I am", we say
"I'm", but we need to hear that last part. Right?
"I'm from Madrid." So, when they ask you on your
IELTS exam, "Where are you from?" You want to
make sure that you get full marks for that answer.
Right? "I'm from Madrid." Not "I from Madrid."
Okay? Don't want it to sound like that. That
would be incorrect. And then all of these little
pronunciation errors can bring down your score,
but little pronunciation fixes can increase your
score, which is what we're after. All right?
Also, often on the IELTS, you're asked about the
weather and the place where you live, so you want
to make sure, again, that you're saying "It's
rainy." Not "It rainy." "It's rainy." Don't be in
such a hurry to answer that you feel you have to
go super fast, or don't let your nervousness
make you... Make you go fast. What's important is
clarity. Okay? And enunciation. All right? "It's rainy." All right? Good.
Now, you'll see that a lot of these errors
have to do with that missing "s". All right?
So, where does that missing "s" show up? In possessives. All right? "My wife's family."
Suppose you're asked on the IELTS, "What do you
do on the weekends?" "Oh, we go to visit my wife's
family." Let's say. So, you want to make sure
that it sounds like "my wife's family", not "my
wife family". Because if you say... If it sounds
like... Not if you say, but if it sounds like "my
wife family", then that's a grammatical mistake,
and then your score will go down. But if you say
"my wife's family", now it sounds perfectly
correct. Not only in terms of pronunciation,
but also in terms of grammar. Next, in the TOEFL,
you're often asked to listen to a lecture and
then describe what you've heard, so you might
need to, again, use these kind of possessives
to say things like "the professor's purpose",
"the professor's purpose", okay? Or "the man's
problem is that", okay? Or "the woman's suggestion",
all right? So, pay attention to those possessives.
"Wife's family", "professor's purpose", "man's
problem", "woman's suggestion". Okay? I need to
hear your "s", all right? That's the most important
thing we have to hear. "Wife's", "professor's",
"man's", "woman's", okay? Make sure that
you're saying it in a way that can be heard.
Next, when we talk about certain tenses, we need
to add an "s", right? Very often in present simple.
"She works in a bank." Make sure we can hear that
"s". "The professor explains", okay, in the TOEFL.
"Explains", "discusses", all right? So, make sure
that you say the "s" even in different kinds of
English tenses. Now, let's look at plurals. So,
let's say you're asked to describe your house,
okay, on IELTS exam. So, you might say, "I live in
an apartment. It has three bedrooms." All right?
So, very important to say that "s" at the end for
plural words, right? And we might have several
plural words in your speaking test. For example,
suppose you're asked to describe your hobbies,
so you want to make sure if you're describing
one of them that you say, "One of my favourite
hobbies", all right? This is a very common error.
"One of my hobbies", always "one" of many. "One
of my friends", "one of the reasons", "one of the
solutions", all right? Make sure you're putting an
"s" at the end of those plural words or what
should be plural words, all right? By doing all
of these things step by step, you will increase
your score. These small mistakes can make a big
difference in your score. Now, if you have not
watched that lesson on the missing "s", I do
recommend put a link to it in the lesson description
so you can go and watch that. It's a very important
lesson not only for your exams, but for speaking
in general, for being understood to be speaking
correctly, all right? And of course, for any exam,
all right? Also, I want to make sure that you go to
another lesson of mine if you make that mistake
with the "the" and "the", right? So, I have a
lesson on "and" and "the", so if you want to know
when to say "the" and when to say "the" and to
practice it a little bit more, you can watch that
lesson, that'll help you. And the other thing you
can do is subscribe to my YouTube channel because
I have many other lessons about how to improve
your English and how to do well specifically
on exams like IELTS or TOEFL. And of course,
go to www.engvid.com because there we have
thousands of lessons, including many that have
to do with doing well on the exams and also all
other aspects of English, okay? Thanks very much
for watching. I wish you all the best. Be strong,
be confident. You can do it. I know you can. I've
seen thousands of students make these improvements,