In this course, you’ll practice the sounds of American English that might sometimes be confusing. You'll practice both consonant and vowel sounds. You’ll also learn about the things that give English its special “music,” such as how to stress the right syllable in a word, how to make your voice go up and down in a natural-sounding melody, and how to naturally connect sounds and words. Learning these things will help you speak more clearly and make sure that others can understand what you're saying.
This course is useful for English language learners who want to improve pronunciation of American English for better communication.
Note that access to all of the lectures and handouts are free to anyone, but the graded assignments and quizzes are only available in the paid version of the course. You will need to submit recordings of your own pronunciation for graded assignments.
Tricky American English Pronunciation
proposé par
Université de Californie à Irvine
Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Semaine
1Welcome
In this course, you will learn about the consonant and vowel sounds of American English and practice some of the difficult sounds. You will also learn about and practice intonation and stress. Practicing these things will help you improve your pronunciation and make your speech easier for others to understand.
2 vidéos (Total 1 min), 1 quiz
Tricky Consonant Sounds
In this first week, you will practice the consonant sounds of American English. Consonants are the sounds where the air coming up from your lungs meets some obstacles on the way. The first sounds in the words time, sand, and moon are consonants. After a quick quiz to find out which consonant sounds are the most difficult for you, you’ll practice some pairs of sounds that might be confusing and learn some tricks for telling them apart, and you’ll start to understand how your mouth moves when you say these sounds.
9 vidéos (Total 58 min), 8 lectures, 5 quiz
9 vidéos
Pre-Test Review3 min
Consonants Overview5 min
Tricky Consonant Pairs Part 19 min
Tricky Consonant Pairs Part 210 min
Consonant Pairs Practice5 min
Final Consonants and Consonant Clusters7 min
Final Consonants Practice6 min
Shadowing a Conversation4 min
Pronunciation Tips5 min
8 lectures
Consonants Pre-Test Directions5 min
Supplemental Materials2 min
Consonants Overview2 min
Tricky Consonant Pairs2 min
Final Consonant Clusters1 min
Shadowing Directions2 min
Shadowing Assignments
Pronunciation Tips3 min
4 exercices pour s'entraîner
Consonants Pre-Test24 min
Tricky Consonant Contrasts Practice Quiz10 min
Final Consonants and Consonant Clusters Practice Quiz10 min
Graded Quiz20 min
Semaine
2Tricky Vowel Sounds
This week, you’ll practice some tricky vowel sounds in American English. Vowels are sounds that come out of your mouth very smoothly, like the first sounds in apple, ocean, and out. Vowel sounds are very important for being understood in English. They’re the “heart” of each syllable, and they need to be said clearly to avoid misunderstanding. Our goal is to help you pronounce English in a way that can be easily understood by listeners in real life, and mastering vowel sounds is an important step toward that goal. Now let’s practice the vowel sounds of American English.
9 vidéos (Total 50 min), 7 lectures, 5 quiz
9 vidéos
Vowel Sounds Overview3 min
Tricky Vowel Contrasts Part 17 min
Tricky Vowel Contrasts Part 26 min
Tricky Vowel Pairs Practice6 min
Unstressed Vowels6 min
Unstressed Vowels Practice5 min
Shadowing a Conversation3 min
Pronunciation Tips5 min
7 lectures
Vowels Pre-Test Directions5 min
Supplemental Materials5 min
Tricky Vowel Contrasts2 min
Unstressed Vowels1 min
Shadowing Directions2 min
Shadowing Assignments
Pronunciation Tips3 min
4 exercices pour s'entraîner
Vowels Pre-Test24 min
Tricky Vowels Practice Quiz10 min
Unstressed Vowels Practice Quiz10 min
Graded Quiz20 min
Semaine
3The Music of American English Pronunciation
This week, you’ll learn about some things that give English its special rhythm and melody. You’ll learn about syllables—the small chunks of sound that make up the “beats” in words—and word stress—the way some parts of words are emphasized more than others. You’ll also see how some words become shorter and weaker when we talk. Since these words are used very often in ordinary speaking, we can’t understand spoken English without them. Our goal this week is to help you use the music of English to communicate more effectively and to be understood more easily when you speak. Enjoy learning about the music of American English pronunciation.
11 vidéos (Total 66 min), 8 lectures, 5 quiz
11 vidéos
Syllables and Word Stress6 min
Syllables and Word Stress Practice4 min
Intonation8 min
Intonation Practice8 min
Linking in Connected Speech8 min
Linking Connected Speech Practice6 min
Reduced Words6 min
Reduced Words Practice4 min
Shadowing a Conversation2 min
Pronunciation Tips6 min
8 lectures
Supplemental Materials5 min
Thought Groups and Intonation1 min
Supplemental Materials5 min
Connected Speech and Reducing Sounds1 min
Supplemental Materials10 min
Shadowing Directions10 min
Shadowing Assignments
Pronunciation Tips3 min
4 exercices pour s'entraîner
Syllables and Word Stress Practice Quiz10 min
Intonation Practice Quiz10 min
Connected Speech Practice Quiz10 min
Graded Quiz20 min
Semaine
4Other Tricky Things
In this final week of the course, you'll look at a few more tricky points in American English pronunciation. First, you’ll learn about the different ways to pronounce the –s and –ed word endings, which have important grammatical meanings, and you’ll learn when to use each kind of pronunciation. Next, you’ll practice pronouncing numbers like 14 and 40, 15 and 50, 16 and 60 that can cause misunderstandings. You’ll also learn about the pronunciation of the words “can” and “can’t” –the difference between them might surprise you. Finally, you’ll practice some sound changes that happen when words come together in common spoken expressions like "gonna" for "going to," "wanna" for "want to," and "shoulda" for "should have."
8 vidéos (Total 45 min), 8 lectures, 5 quiz
8 vidéos
-S and -Ed Endings7 min
-S and -Ed Endings Practice5 min
Some Tricky Words6 min
Some Tricky Words Practice6 min
Common Linked Expressions5 min
Common Linked Expressions Practice4 min
Shadowing a Conversation3 min
Pronunciation Tips5 min
8 lectures
-S and -Ed Endings1 min
Supplemental Materials10 min
Tricky Words1 min
Common Linked Expressions1 min
Shadowing Directions2 min
Shadowing Assignments
Pronunciation Tips3 min
Learn More1 min
4 exercices pour s'entraîner
-S and -Ed Endings Practice Quiz10 min
Tricky Words Practice Quiz10 min
Linked Expressions Quiz10 min
Graded Quiz20 min
Enseignants
Tamy Chapman
Instructor, International ProgramsUniversity of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education
Marla Yoshida
Academic CoordinatorInternational Programs
À propos de Université de Californie à Irvine
Since 1965, the University of California, Irvine has combined the strengths of a major research university with the bounty of an incomparable Southern California location. UCI’s unyielding commitment to rigorous academics, cutting-edge research, and leadership and character development makes the campus a driving force for innovation and discovery that serves our local, national and global communities in many ways.
Foire Aux Questions
Quand aurai-je accès aux vidéos de cours et aux devoirs ?
Une fois que vous êtes inscrit(e) pour un Certificat, vous pouvez accéder à toutes les vidéos de cours, et à tous les quiz et exercices de programmation (le cas échéant). Vous pouvez soumettre des devoirs à examiner par vos pairs et en examiner vous-même uniquement après le début de votre session. Si vous préférez explorer le cours sans l'acheter, vous ne serez peut-être pas en mesure d'accéder à certains devoirs.
À quoi ai-je droit si j'achète le Certificat ?
Lorsque vous achetez un Certificat, vous bénéficiez d'un accès à tout le contenu du cours, y compris les devoirs notés. Lorsque vous avez terminé et réussi le cours, votre Certificat électronique est ajouté à votre page Accomplissements. À partir de cette page, vous pouvez imprimer votre Certificat ou l'ajouter à votre profil LinkedIn. Si vous souhaitez seulement lire et visualiser le contenu du cours, vous pouvez accéder gratuitement au cours en tant qu'auditeur libre.
Quelle est la politique de remboursement ?
Une aide financière est-elle possible ?
Do I need any special equipment for this course?
You will need a computer, smart phone, or other recording device to record your voice in .mp3 format for graded assignments.
D'autres questions ? Visitez le Centre d'Aide pour les Etudiants.
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