Beer or bear? The diphthongs /ɪə/ and /eə/ in English

It's the last tongue twister revisit from season one. How will you get on? Have fun!Season two should be out in early May. Make sure you're subscribed (if you're not already) so you don't miss it!The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon, as is a video bonus for this episode. There's more advanced English there, too. If you use social media, come follow me on Instagram (feed shared to Facebook and Twitter).Support the show

5 Apr 20215min

In our third Season 1 short bonus, we revisit the “Skirts and shirts” tongue twister.Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss season 2 (which all being well will be coming to you early May). The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon, as is a free video bonus for most episodes. There's more free English there, too :-) Support the show

29 Mars 20216min

In our second Season 1 short bonus, we revisit the “Fred fed Ted” tongue twister, practising the /e/, /t/ and /d/ sounds in particular. Have fun! Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss season 2 (which all being well will be coming to you late April or early May). The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon, as is a free video bonus for most episodes. There's more free English there, too. &nbs...

22 Mars 20217min

A deeper look at the "lesser leather" tongue twister, talking about all the sounds we've looked at so far in the tongue twister, and showing some different practice techniques. Have fun! Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon, as is a free video bonus for this episode. There's more free English there, too. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitt...

15 Mars 20216min

It's the final full episode from Season 1 of English Sound Building. We recap the sounds we've discussed in previous episodes by looking at some key words, and talk about different ways to vary the 'listen and repeat' practice. The episode was getting long, so I'll make a few short episodes (as well as video bonuses) for the next few weeks to recap some of the tongue-twisters as well. Practise with all episodes as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sur...

8 Mars 202118min

This episode of English Sound Building is all about the /əʊ/ sound. We look at some common words with the /əʊ/ sound, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a lot of /əʊ/ sounds. Try to listen to episode 4 about the schwa sound before this one, if you haven’t already. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one. The Podcast script is now available free on my Patreon, as is a free video bonus for this episode. The...

1 Mars 202110min

This episode of English Sound Building is all about the /ɒ/ sound. It’s shorter than the last two episodes, which have worked you hard! We look at some common words with the /ɒ/ sound, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a lot of /ɒ/ sounds. As usual, I start with a brief introduction on how to make the sound. If you're happy with that, skip to the 2.30 mark to get started with the workout. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe ...

22 Feb 202110min

In this episode of English Sound Building, we consider the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense. This picks up on the /t/ and /d/ sounds we discussed last week, and also thinks about where an extra syllable is and isn’t added to those past tense -ed endings. We look at verbs matching three pronunciation patterns, as well as some fun and challenging sentences with a mixture of sounds. Practise as often as you can to build muscle memory, and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss...

15 Feb 202120min