That's awesome to hear! When you open your mouth more, you give your voice more space to resonate, and you have more time to create the shapes for various sounds!
@@Englishwithkim yes! I've been watching a lot your videos and they've all been so helpful! I also realized that I tend to slur if I don't focus on opening my mouth more
I once said to a client, "You don't want to slur your words, but you don't want to attack them either." There's a balance, and you have to experiment to find what works for you. Sounds like you're on the right track!
@@Englishwithkim I'm trying my best! I'm Italian and after some research it seems our voice tends to resonate in the throat, I gotta open my mouth more and think about the mouth for sure!
Thanks for the kind words, Mary! It means a lot to hear you're rewatching my videos! I'm hoping to record some new videos soon, so if you think of questions you'd like me to answer, I'm open to ideas!
Thank you very much. You are an excellent teacher, and your videos will help me to improve my speaking of English a lot! God bless you! Have a great day.
Kim, l just suffice by saying that you are one of a kind. God loves you for what you are doing. Yours sincerely, B. Delgoshaei, phD The George Washington University
I like a lot the way you represent the speaking changes in your graphics for easy understanding and repetition. I' ve been studying English for years and I still have problems mainly when talking. I hate to hear myself! My mother language is Spanish, a lot easier than English. I never thought that English pronunciation was so complicated. Kim, thanks for your valuable help. Saludos from Texas
Thanks for the awesome feedback - I'm glad this video helped you! Every language has its quirks - as a non-native Spanish speaker myself, some of the things that come easily to you are challenging for me!
so American English is uttered from the middle of the mouth. I always thought it was proyected from the chest. My native language Spanish, is proyected from the middle- high of the mouth...I really like the resonance of American sound.. great content!
I have heard other people say that the American accent is projected from the chest as well. I would say it's a combination of both. Try relaxing the back of your throat to give your voice space to come from lower in your body. Take a deep breath. Focus on starting to produce sound from your chest, let your voice travel through a relaxed throat, and let the sound bounce around the center of your mouth. You can think about filling up the center of your mouth with the vowel sound. Resonance is tricky to describe, so I encourage you to play around with it until you find a voice quality you like!
I'm glad this helped you! These exercises are great for getting more comfortable with how your voice sounds and exploring what's possible in your voice. You may want to check out this series on finding your voice as well: ua-cam.com/video/Haf1hUDql8s/v-deo.html I also have this video on learning to like your voice: ua-cam.com/video/F7pxUrzgpJM/v-deo.html
Thanks - I'm glad my approach is working for you! The more you explore your voice, the more control you'll have over how you're expressing yourself. As I often say, small steps over time lead to big progress!
That was such a spectacular video.I have been feeling uncomfortable with my voice, like sounding as an impostor. But with the video I get the crucial points of the problem.Thank you so much form the bottom of my heart.
Oh my god, I need to say THANK YOU for making this video. While I speak English quite fluently, I feel less confident in speaking because the quality of my voice can change so quickly somehow. I think I had watched so many videos teaching people the hack of the placement and there’s so many people that mentioned the chest but failed to mention the importance of the center of the mouth. So the resonance goes from the chest to other parts of the body instead of the Centre of the mouth. Your video just provided so much clarity and I definitely feel more confident and more comfortable now ❤❤❤
I'm happy to hear you feel more confident and comfortable expressing yourself with your voice! It is so important to give your voice space to resonate!
That was a brilliant video Kim! Those exercises are very useful. The optimal pitch in English is going to be different from that of our first language. That point is easy to overlook but so true.
Great! You can guide may actors or voice over artists. Your way of teaching is well rooted. It impressed me and I do appreciate it. I hope, someday you could teach me southern drawl, especially Albama accent. someday. Thks
Thanks for the kind words. I learn a lot about my own voice from making these videos. It makes you appreciate the artistry of actors for sure! Unfortunately, I'm not a dialect coach (or an acting coach), so I'm not comfortable teaching the southern drawl. My focus is on helping people communicate clearly and confidently.
Hi Kim! What's the difference between low pacement and center of the mouth placement? Some people say that the american accent is located in the center of the mouth and other say it is a low placement, I don't understand the difference and how can i achieve it. When we learn each ipa sound of the american accent we already learn the right placement/resonance by doing the right mouth movements?
I understand your confusion because I have come across these same resources in my own research. By low placement, do you mean chest placement? My guess is that people talk about chest resonance to get you away from nasal resonance, just like I mentioned in this video. That said, almost all of the resources I have found emphasize middle of the mouth placement so that's what I would suggest working towards. You have to think about where you are directing the sound of your voice and start experimenting!. Try moving the sound back and forth within the mouth until you find what feels like the center of your mouth. Your goal is to find what feels natural to you, and what qualities you like hearing in your voice! Getting the right mouth movements is not the same as resonance. Resonance is about the overall quality of your voice, the fullness or richness, where it sounds like your voice is coming from. My understanding is that individual sounds have their own placement, but when they come together into spoken language, they start changing. Think about how we link sounds together, reduce/drop sounds, even change them entirely based on the sounds that come before and after. But getting back to the point of this video, you need to start playing around with this until it feels like something you can do with your voice. I have been planning this video for months and playing around with placement/resonance until I felt like I could show it on video!
if you want me to be really specific, I got this information from Rachel's English youtube channel ("placement and american english pronunciation" & "american accent trick: placement" ) that's why I'm confused. Other thing that I'm confused too is, if different sounds have different placements why a language is considered to be placed on (american accent exemple) the center of the mouth when the sounds m, n, ng are placed on the nose? resonance and placement are the same? how many resonances exist? head, nasal mouth (in the mouth we have front, middle and back) and chest? thank you so much for your time Kim!
As I mentioned in my previous comment and in the video, the best thing to do is to experiment and play around with resonance in order to understand how it works for you and your voice. The term "placement" is commonly used by singers and vocalists to describe how you're changing the quality of your voice using the parts of your voice that resonate. Resonance refers to the fullness and quality of your voice when it is vibrating in different parts of your body. For the average person, this term is more accessible. Resonance and placement are different ways to describe how to "color" or change your voice to achieve a certain sound. In the video, I mention four main areas of resonance, but my understanding is that your voice can resonate just about anywhere if you try! Yes, there are different places in the mouth to resonate. Try this resource with a good explanation of how resonance changes your voice: musicaltheatreresources.com/2017/05/23/voice-technique-tip-how-to-adjust-your-resonance-without-placement/ And try this one for a simple visual of where different accents resonate: www.gausnell.com/blog/2015/10/20/hints-to-mastering-any-accent As with any voice technique, each expert explains in a way that makes sense for them and you should always focus the explanation that lands for you!
If you voice is husky, you might be speaking from your throat without enough breath behind your words. I would suggest trying some of these breathing/relaxation exercises: ua-cam.com/video/IKUWcrVGrZE/v-deo.html Breathing more often will help you get more power behind your words. Our voices often "fry" when we run out of breath. I also encourage you to think about where you're directing your voice when you speak. Like I said, it might be from your throat, which is leading to a "squashed" sound. Try directing your voice to the center of your mouth and visualizing it really filling up the open space in your mouth. You probably also need to simply open your mouth more when speaking. I talk about both of these approaches in this video: ua-cam.com/video/yPhRWQrKubc/v-deo.html Let me know if any of these suggestions work for you!
Great job Kim now my family thinks I’m tryna summon something. Love the content tho I’ve lived in Seattle for 3 years but still trying to see how much more I can improve and your exercises are very beneficial.
Hahaha, so true! These exercises can be so awkward if other people are around! There is always room to improve, especially if you enjoy exploring your voice and finding better ways to communicate. I am learning a lot about my voice and how I can use it better through making these videos!
I'm happy you enjoyed it - it really is fun and as a bonus you get more control over your voice. The fluttering can be challenging if you don't have enough breath to push the air forwards. Just keep playing!
You are not alone! How are you doing with the other exercises where you move sound around and play with it? When experimenting with resonance, try relaxing the back of your throat and taking a deep breath. You may want to start the sound in your chest and then follow it up into your head. Try opening your mouth more and visualizing the sound filling up your mouth. It can also help to imagine the sound bouncing off the inside of your mouth. The thing with resonance is that you can't really do it wrong - you just have to play with it to get your voice to take on the quality you want it to have.
Hi Patty 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
Thank you, really useful information that nobody teaches! You sound like a different person when you produce the sounds from the center of your mouth and the nostrils, I speak spanish and my voice is nassally, Im going to try to bring it down to my chest and use the nasally voice when it is addecuate. However how do I bring it to the center of my mouth? I can bring it down to my chest and I noticed that I sound like and old man kinda angry.
I'm happy you found this helpful! I was surprised how different I sounded too. Many Spanish dialects are spoken from the nasal passage so that is very normal. Resonance is about visualizing where you want the sound to vibrate, which your body responds to. So you want to really open your mouth and imagine the sound filling up that space. It may be helpful to imagine moving the sound through your mouth towards your lips. That's one reason why we did the fluttering exercise. I can't actually speak well from my chest, but directing the sound towards there gets my voice out of my head. When I speak higher my voice strains so I have to remember that it is more powerful if I can drop my pitch and think about a really full sound. You can also try exaggerating and speaking in different voices to get more comfortable moving your voice around. It can take practice. Hope that helps!
Does your voice or sound resonate in the center of your mouth or the upper chest low I don’t get it can someone explain or maybe Kim can you please I’m so hard with this????
My understanding of resonance in English is that the sound starts in your chest, travels through a relaxed throat, and reaches its fullest sound in the center of your mouth. We focus on relaxing and bringing the voice down to give it more fullness and power. Resonance is challenging to understand and explain, and that's why I encourage you to experiment until your voice has the quality of sound that you want!
I would say you should practice one aspect of your voice everyday, based on the ultimate goals you're trying to achieve. The exercises towards the beginning of the video are about relaxing and exploring your voice.
Since my first language is Japanese , my pitch tends to be high when speaking English. And I really hate it because I stick out like a sore thumb when I’m around American friends.
I find that many non-native speakers start speaking at a higher pitch than Americans. We actually say less important words/syllables at a lower baseline pitch, and then hit that higher pitch level you're more comfortable with on the stressed syllables of stressed words. If you can find your natural baseline pitch in English, it will help. You don't have to change your voice/pitch entirely, you just need to learn when to speak at a higher pitch and when to drop lower. This video may help: ua-cam.com/video/AED6n4bEqEE/v-deo.html
Hi, Kim. Thank you so much for your video. I am wondering whether there is a reason that people are not confident when their baseline is very low. Sometimes I want to speak loudly, but I feel too nervous to do that while in some other situations I can speak loudly and confidently.
Your state of mind and how you feel definitely influences how strong your voice is, your pitch level, and how you sound! When you're more relaxed, your pitch may drop down low; when you're nervous, it may be higher. That's why it can help to take a few steps to relax yourself before you have to speak, or remind yourself that you want to speak more loudly and confidently even if you feel a little nervous. I'm not sure I can identify a specific reason why it happens, but it's a good idea to take notes on when it happens so that you can try to relax a bit in similar situations in the future.
Hello, Kim!! It's nice to see you back on UA-cam again. You must have been very busy and it's very kind of you to make this video for us :) Anyways, I would like to ask you to help me out with linking ed ending to a similar sound. I don't know how to put it...Like in the sentnce "I washED THe car" "I walkED To the bank"I've already learnED THis" I can't seem to link them smoothly without omitting the ed sounds :( Is there any solution???
Hi there! Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad you appreciate my time! :) When linking sounds together, you will drop the final sound on the first word and pronounce the one at the beginning of the second word. Because the -ed ending should sound like /t/ on washed and walked and /d/ on learned, you're not pronouncing the full -ed ending anyway. Keep in mind with those examples that "the," "to," and "this" wouldn't be stressed anyway, so you don't want to draw attention to them by overpronouncing them. As always, focus on stressing the key syllables of key words and relax on the rest of the sounds.
Can you explain the tongue repositioning between the ai and the au sound? I noticed that your tongue changed it’s shape between the two sounds, but I wasn’t able to replicate that change. Is the tongue more tense for the ai sound and more relaxed for the au sound? Thank you.
There are a couple of points to keep in mind when watching this video. Remember that both of those vowels (/aɪ/ and /aʊ/) are diphthongs, which means they are combinations of two vowel sounds. This means your tongue will move and change position to create the second sound. However, since you're transitioning between two sounds, the position might not be exactly the same as in the more "pure" vowel. In both vowels, you're starting out in the /a/ position. But you're ending in the /ɪ/ position and the /ʊ/ position which are quite different in shape. Your tongue arches more towards the center/front of the mouth during /aɪ/ to open up into the /ɪ/ shape, and your tongue drops slightly in the front but still lifts in the back during the /aʊ/ sound to end in the /ʊ/ shape. Keep in mind that I'm over exaggerating my movements to demonstrate for the video - but that might actually help you when you're practicing and stretching your mouth, too. Your lips are doing the movements but your tongue has to accommodate the shape, if that makes sense. If you're really interested in getting the tongue position right, try watching videos focusing on those five sounds (/a/, /ɪ/ /aɪ/, /ʊ/ and /aʊ/) and compare the differences. A speech language pathologist studies the science behind how we move our mouths and might be able to describe what's going on in more depth. Just keep experimenting!
Hello Kim, I am so glad to meet you. Most of my friends said that when I speak, I speak without intonation and it is not interesting. I am still practicing with your video and I find it very helpful. Thanks for your videos.
Nice to meet you! It is very normal to struggle with American English intonation if it's very different than your native language. This video will help you get more control over your voice, so I encourage you to keep practicing every day! Check out my playlist with more pitch and intonation practice here: ua-cam.com/video/m_sy-h7gGMc/v-deo.html
Kim, this is super helpful. But i am still a little bit confused. I am a Chinese so my native language has a relatively higher pitch compared to English. To sound more like American, I have been trying to intentionally lower the pitch of my sound, but that makes my throat feel tight and uncomfortable even though I could feel more vibration in my chest. Is there a way to solve this problem? And also, sometimes I feel like I am putting too much stress on my lips which makes phrases like "needs to" a little bit hard to pronounce because the transition between "z" and "t" is not smooth. Is this related to how I use my breath and how can I address this one? Thank you so much!
Thanks for the interesting questions. It is great to hear that you are experimenting with your voice and seeing what's available to you. As you mentioned, it sounds like part of the issue is related to your breath. I find my voice feels strained in my throat when I don't have enough breath behind my words. This video on breathing and thought groups will help: ua-cam.com/video/IKUWcrVGrZE/v-deo.html as will this one on how to speak clear English: ua-cam.com/video/MyrnliX9SAU/v-deo.html When you pause more between ideas, you are able to breathe more often and that enables you to get more power behind your voice. When you are relaxed, you're able to drop your resonance out of you nasal passage and into your diaphragm/belly. As I mention in the video, you're aiming your voice to the center of your mouth and out. Visualize filling your mouth up with the vibration of your voice. It can help to hold onto a few vowel sounds to get a sense for it. Have you seen this video where I also talk about resonance? ua-cam.com/video/yPhRWQrKubc/v-deo.html Finally, I would remind you to explore your pitch and find your baseline pitch in English. Your baseline pitch in Chinese dialects is probably higher than it is in English. So when you try to hit those higher pitch levels in English, you're actually going beyond what's comfortable for you, and it can sound like straining. Without having heard you, my guess would be that your normal starting pitch in your native language is actually where we would "hit" stressed syllables in English. So you actually want to explore your lower pitch levels. This video has a ton of pitch exploration exercises: ua-cam.com/video/AED6n4bEqEE/v-deo.html Just saw your other question about putting too much stress in your lips. When I say "needs to," my tongue is doing the work, not my lips. It may help to spend time focusing on where you're producing sounds. A lot of these sounds happen within the mouth.
I have heard other people say that the American accent is projected from the chest as well. Try relaxing the back of your throat to give your voice space to come from lower in your body. Take a deep breath. Focus on starting to produce sound from your chest, let your voice travel through a relaxed throat, and let the sound bounce around the center of your mouth. You can think about filling up the center of your mouth with the vowel sound. Resonance is tricky to describe, so I encourage you to play around with it until you find a voice quality you like! Other commenters have mentioned that letting the sound reach its fullest quality in the mouth helps them get the sound they're interested in.
Pitch is the frequency of your voice, or the highness or lowness of your voice. Resonance is the fullness of your voice and is how you fill up the spaces where sound vibrates (mouth, nasal passage, chest, head). So it's where the sound can expand and get more qualities. They work together - that's why I can't really get my voice into my chest without dropping my pitch.
Is it your voice that they can't understand, or the way you say your words? Do feel you're speaking quietly or not clearly? This video will help you speak more clearly: ua-cam.com/video/9jEP6sLyKkA/v-deo.html
You may want to hear what I have to say about having a "pleasing voice" when speaking English in this video: ua-cam.com/video/SR0HhxF7ZUA/v-deo.html That said, it's totally natural to not love how you sound, whether in your native language or in English. I have found that exploring what's possible in your voice helps a lot, since you will find what works best for you. That's what these exercises are about!
If someone has a breathy, weak or nasal voice, it would be best if they saw a speech pathologist or be evaluated by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. Please be aware that if someone has a vocal pathology, it is best to have it checked right away.
I thoroughly agree! These exercises are for exploring how your voice sounds in English because of influence from your native language, NOT for issues that should be discussed with a specialist.
The thing that seems bizarre to me is that whenever I watch a film or series with native American English speakers (or native English speakers from other countries), I notice that they don't drop (or stretch/round) their mouths/jaw that much to produce produce long-vowel sounds or diphthongs, yet they manage to produce those sounds perfectly. My fear is to come across as a caricature version of them - or worse, "under the influence" by dropping my mouth too much. What a tragedy lol!
You're right - native English speakers don't exaggerate the shapes quite as much. It's not just about what's happening outside the mouth; it's about what's happening inside the mouth too. The more exaggerated shape only really happens on stressed syllables - the rest of the time, our mouths are pretty relaxed. The idea is that exaggerating while practicing helps you get close enough to the right shape during natural speech, when you're concentrating more on the content of your words than the shape of your mouth! I also tell people to experiment - do people understand you better when you use these shapes on stressed vowels? Ultimately, it's not about sounding (or looking) just like a native speaker. It's about understanding people and being understood.
@@Englishwithkim I agree with you completely! Exaggerating the moth positions and sounds helps a ton with getting your brain to learn the sound, it's actually one of the best pieces of advice for beginners.
I have heard people say that placement/resonance happens in the chest, the back of the mouth, and the center of the mouth. The idea is to experiment and explore where your native language's resonance is, and how you can move it around to get the full, rich sound you want in American English. (It's different in other varieties of English and even in American dialects.) I find that a lot of non-native speakers are resonating from the nasal passage or the back of the throat. Try relaxing your throat (say ahhhh in the beginning of the video) and directing vowel sounds to the center of the mouth to see how that works. And remember to experiment until you achieve the sound you want, not what anyone tells you to sound like!
@@Englishwithkim I didn't buy that madam I can tell the difference of someone even outta country but english(first lang) speaker from an insider english speaker and someone who is non-english outsider That doesn't mean I haven't heard ppl who completely sound american but not from here
These exercises will help you explore your voice so you find what feels right for you. The idea is to get to know your voice so that you don't feel like you're faking it. This video will also help you communicate confidently with your voice: ua-cam.com/video/9jEP6sLyKkA/v-deo.html
Thanks!
3:55 3:56 3:57 3:57 3:57 3:57 3:57 3:57 3:58 3:58 3:58
I feel like I love my voice for the first time in my 32 years of life. Your great video made me so. Thank you so much, Kim.
That's amazing to hear! Thanks for sharing your success with me. I'm happy this video helped you!
Great!
My speaking and pronounciation suddenly improved after opening the mouth more! Never thought this before
That's awesome to hear! When you open your mouth more, you give your voice more space to resonate, and you have more time to create the shapes for various sounds!
@@Englishwithkim yes! I've been watching a lot your videos and they've all been so helpful! I also realized that I tend to slur if I don't focus on opening my mouth more
I once said to a client, "You don't want to slur your words, but you don't want to attack them either." There's a balance, and you have to experiment to find what works for you. Sounds like you're on the right track!
@@Englishwithkim I'm trying my best! I'm Italian and after some research it seems our voice tends to resonate in the throat, I gotta open my mouth more and think about the mouth for sure!
Thank you so much 😀😁😄
You are so welcome!
Thanks a lot for this video 😂😂😂😂
You're most welcome!
greatful mam ur way of teaching is very nice .i can easily learn many things from ur videos .thank you mam
It's awesome to hear you can learn a lot from my videos. You're most welcome!
American acent amazing teaching
That's kind of you to say! Happy you found it helpful!
I like her accent so much. It has so much flow and is very clear 😊
Wow, that's so nice of you to say!
It's really useful Mam
That's great to hear!
Thanks for your video. It is great!!
You're most welcome - glad it helped!
Thank u very much kim now i can speak like anerican love from bangladesh
You're most welcome - glad it helped!
i love this tutorial
That's awesome to hear - glad it helped!
As a French person who recently moved to the US, this is the most helpful video I've found on UA-cam!
Thank you so much for this
You're most welcome! I'm happy to hear this was helpful for you!!
Thanks a lot. This is great
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks so much
You're most welcome!
Thank you❤I learn a lot
Glad it helped!
That was very good Kim. You are a good teacher!
Happy it helped - thanks for the kind words!
amazing first time ever i could feel different originates of sound thanks loads
That is awesome to hear! Glad it helped!
Thank you❤
You're most welcome!
Your videos are so helpful. I'm watching all of them again.
Thanks for the kind words, Mary! It means a lot to hear you're rewatching my videos! I'm hoping to record some new videos soon, so if you think of questions you'd like me to answer, I'm open to ideas!
I found this video on UA-cam, you are one of the great teacher thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Wow, thank you! I appreciate the kind words - and I hope you had fun and learned a lot while exploring your voice!
Thank you very much. You are an excellent teacher, and your videos will help me to improve my speaking of English a lot!
God bless you!
Have a great day.
Thank you for your kind words! I encourage you to watch this series of videos too: ua-cam.com/play/PL81YJkck6j1t6ZPViiL8zOLYVvz1Gjdjz.html
Kim, l just suffice by saying that you are one of a kind. God loves you for what you are doing.
Yours sincerely,
B. Delgoshaei, phD
The George Washington University
Thank you for the kind words. It means a lot!
Thanks so much for this useful video .
You are first teacher you make me laugh 😂😂😂 but I happy and thank you so much 😂😂😂😂I love you ❤
That's so kind of you to say! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I liked when you change your voice on diferent parts of your body, I found out that my voice is so pretty when I speak lower on chest
That's exactly why I encourage you to explore your voice! I also like how my voice sounds when I'm able to get it a bit lower.
Woaw. Really interesting. Thank you very much!!
You're most welcome! These exercises are fun to practice!
Hi Kim. Excellent video, you are great teacher thanks bye.
Thanks for the kind words!
I like a lot the way you represent the speaking changes in your graphics for easy understanding and repetition. I' ve been studying English for years and I still have problems mainly
when talking. I hate to hear myself! My mother language is Spanish, a lot easier than English. I never thought that English pronunciation was so complicated.
Kim, thanks for your valuable help. Saludos from Texas
Thanks for the awesome feedback - I'm glad this video helped you! Every language has its quirks - as a non-native Spanish speaker myself, some of the things that come easily to you are challenging for me!
Great video. Thank you.
Thx for ur vdo its great and lovelyyy
Keep going ❤️❤️🔥👍
Thank you 😁
@@Englishwithkim 👍
so American English is uttered from the middle of the mouth. I always thought it was proyected from the chest. My native language Spanish, is proyected from the middle- high of the mouth...I really like the resonance of American sound.. great content!
I have heard other people say that the American accent is projected from the chest as well. I would say it's a combination of both. Try relaxing the back of your throat to give your voice space to come from lower in your body. Take a deep breath. Focus on starting to produce sound from your chest, let your voice travel through a relaxed throat, and let the sound bounce around the center of your mouth. You can think about filling up the center of your mouth with the vowel sound. Resonance is tricky to describe, so I encourage you to play around with it until you find a voice quality you like!
@@Englishwithkim great!
It’s very useful Thank you so much 😊 👍👍👍 i can learn it in a system.
Glad it was helpful! Experiment and find what works for you - that's what it's all about!
How you know all these, I am really surprised, I never see a tutor like you.. Thanks a lot Kim, such an amazing vedios...
Glad you like them!
Thank you so much Kim.
I feel like my voice is just so weird... heavy accent. I will try to work on it. Your video is so helpful.
I'm glad this helped you! These exercises are great for getting more comfortable with how your voice sounds and exploring what's possible in your voice. You may want to check out this series on finding your voice as well: ua-cam.com/video/Haf1hUDql8s/v-deo.html I also have this video on learning to like your voice: ua-cam.com/video/F7pxUrzgpJM/v-deo.html
Ur English accent is just amazing as ur are❤🌼
That's sweet of you to say!
It's a great video 😘
Thank you!
Thanks Kim for the video, is very helpful for making more sound like native....
That's awesome to hear! The more you understand how your voice works, the more control you're able to have over how you use it!
I really like how you explain it. Really interesting. I am Thai and I have high pitch and flat….I am working on the intonation.
Thanks - I'm glad my approach is working for you! The more you explore your voice, the more control you'll have over how you're expressing yourself. As I often say, small steps over time lead to big progress!
That was such a spectacular video.I have been feeling uncomfortable with my voice, like sounding as an impostor. But with the video I get the crucial points of the problem.Thank you so much form the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I'm glad this video has helped you understand what is possible in your voice!
Oh my god, I need to say THANK YOU for making this video. While I speak English quite fluently, I feel less confident in speaking because the quality of my voice can change so quickly somehow. I think I had watched so many videos teaching people the hack of the placement and there’s so many people that mentioned the chest but failed to mention the importance of the center of the mouth. So the resonance goes from the chest to other parts of the body instead of the Centre of the mouth. Your video just provided so much clarity and I definitely feel more confident and more comfortable now ❤❤❤
I'm happy to hear you feel more confident and comfortable expressing yourself with your voice! It is so important to give your voice space to resonate!
Hello Kim. I like the way you teach and I find your videos very useful. Great job. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad my videos and teaching style are helping you!
Nice video Maam
That was a brilliant video Kim! Those exercises are very useful. The optimal pitch in English is going to be different from that of our first language. That point is easy to overlook but so true.
Exactly! It takes some experimentation to find your natural voice in another language. I hope these exercises help you!
That worked
Awesome!
Nice video
Great! You can guide may actors or voice over artists. Your way of teaching is well rooted. It impressed me and I do appreciate it. I hope, someday you could teach me southern drawl, especially Albama accent. someday. Thks
Thanks for the kind words. I learn a lot about my own voice from making these videos. It makes you appreciate the artistry of actors for sure! Unfortunately, I'm not a dialect coach (or an acting coach), so I'm not comfortable teaching the southern drawl. My focus is on helping people communicate clearly and confidently.
@@Englishwithkim Appriciate 👍
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
❤
Hi Kim glad to see you
Your videos are very helpful and you're amazing teacher thanks a bunch
I hope you have a lovely weekend my dear teacher 😉🇧🇷
Thanks for the kind words. Same to you!
Yo.... Plz keep producing new videos consistently
Thanks for your support of my channel! Be sure to check out some of the older videos you may have missed.
@@Englishwithkim sure thanks
This is amazing!! 🤗
Hi Kim! What's the difference between low pacement and center of the mouth placement? Some people say that the american accent is located in the center of the mouth and other say it is a low placement, I don't understand the difference and how can i achieve it. When we learn each ipa sound of the american accent we already learn the right placement/resonance by doing the right mouth movements?
I understand your confusion because I have come across these same resources in my own research. By low placement, do you mean chest placement? My guess is that people talk about chest resonance to get you away from nasal resonance, just like I mentioned in this video. That said, almost all of the resources I have found emphasize middle of the mouth placement so that's what I would suggest working towards. You have to think about where you are directing the sound of your voice and start experimenting!. Try moving the sound back and forth within the mouth until you find what feels like the center of your mouth. Your goal is to find what feels natural to you, and what qualities you like hearing in your voice! Getting the right mouth movements is not the same as resonance. Resonance is about the overall quality of your voice, the fullness or richness, where it sounds like your voice is coming from. My understanding is that individual sounds have their own placement, but when they come together into spoken language, they start changing. Think about how we link sounds together, reduce/drop sounds, even change them entirely based on the sounds that come before and after. But getting back to the point of this video, you need to start playing around with this until it feels like something you can do with your voice. I have been planning this video for months and playing around with placement/resonance until I felt like I could show it on video!
if you want me to be really specific, I got this information from Rachel's English youtube channel ("placement and american english pronunciation" & "american accent trick: placement" ) that's why I'm confused. Other thing that I'm confused too is, if different sounds have different placements why a language is considered to be placed on (american accent exemple) the center of the mouth when the sounds m, n, ng are placed on the nose? resonance and placement are the same? how many resonances exist? head, nasal mouth (in the mouth we have front, middle and back) and chest?
thank you so much for your time Kim!
As I mentioned in my previous comment and in the video, the best thing to do is to experiment and play around with resonance in order to understand how it works for you and your voice. The term "placement" is commonly used by singers and vocalists to describe how you're changing the quality of your voice using the parts of your voice that resonate. Resonance refers to the fullness and quality of your voice when it is vibrating in different parts of your body. For the average person, this term is more accessible. Resonance and placement are different ways to describe how to "color" or change your voice to achieve a certain sound. In the video, I mention four main areas of resonance, but my understanding is that your voice can resonate just about anywhere if you try! Yes, there are different places in the mouth to resonate. Try this resource with a good explanation of how resonance changes your voice: musicaltheatreresources.com/2017/05/23/voice-technique-tip-how-to-adjust-your-resonance-without-placement/ And try this one for a simple visual of where different accents resonate: www.gausnell.com/blog/2015/10/20/hints-to-mastering-any-accent As with any voice technique, each expert explains in a way that makes sense for them and you should always focus the explanation that lands for you!
@@Englishwithkim Hi Kim, what can you recommend for husky voice? My voice is my biggest insecurity, sound likes a cockroach hehe
If you voice is husky, you might be speaking from your throat without enough breath behind your words. I would suggest trying some of these breathing/relaxation exercises: ua-cam.com/video/IKUWcrVGrZE/v-deo.html Breathing more often will help you get more power behind your words. Our voices often "fry" when we run out of breath. I also encourage you to think about where you're directing your voice when you speak. Like I said, it might be from your throat, which is leading to a "squashed" sound. Try directing your voice to the center of your mouth and visualizing it really filling up the open space in your mouth. You probably also need to simply open your mouth more when speaking. I talk about both of these approaches in this video: ua-cam.com/video/yPhRWQrKubc/v-deo.html Let me know if any of these suggestions work for you!
Great job Kim now my family thinks I’m tryna summon something. Love the content tho I’ve lived in Seattle for 3 years but still trying to see how much more I can improve and your exercises are very beneficial.
Hahaha, so true! These exercises can be so awkward if other people are around! There is always room to improve, especially if you enjoy exploring your voice and finding better ways to communicate. I am learning a lot about my voice and how I can use it better through making these videos!
I laughed a lot at the "making sounds like a horse" part!!!
Me too! 😂 But it works!
Thanks for your tips. I had a lot fun practicing with you, though, I couldn't do the lip part. I will keep trying.
I'm happy you enjoyed it - it really is fun and as a bonus you get more control over your voice. The fluttering can be challenging if you don't have enough breath to push the air forwards. Just keep playing!
How do i do the jaw and center of the mouth resonance? I swear I can feel nothing going above my throat.
You are not alone! How are you doing with the other exercises where you move sound around and play with it? When experimenting with resonance, try relaxing the back of your throat and taking a deep breath. You may want to start the sound in your chest and then follow it up into your head. Try opening your mouth more and visualizing the sound filling up your mouth. It can also help to imagine the sound bouncing off the inside of your mouth. The thing with resonance is that you can't really do it wrong - you just have to play with it to get your voice to take on the quality you want it to have.
If anyone wants to get fluent please watch and practice on a daily basis. Surely it will be helpful..
Having better control over your voice will help you feel more confident speaking up!
@@Englishwithkim Thank you for feedback teacher. I am an ardent learner of English.
Thank you for this useful video! It's so fun to play with my voice like this and makes me more confident. This approach is really interesting.
That's so good to hear! I often say you need to explore the possibilities in your voice and now you know what I mean!
Hallo
Hi Patty 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….
Ap number dso
@@Englishwithkim hello
Thank you, really useful information that nobody teaches! You sound like a different person when you produce the sounds from the center of your mouth and the nostrils, I speak spanish and my voice is nassally, Im going to try to bring it down to my chest and use the nasally voice when it is addecuate. However how do I bring it to the center of my mouth? I can bring it down to my chest and I noticed that I sound like and old man kinda angry.
I'm happy you found this helpful! I was surprised how different I sounded too. Many Spanish dialects are spoken from the nasal passage so that is very normal. Resonance is about visualizing where you want the sound to vibrate, which your body responds to. So you want to really open your mouth and imagine the sound filling up that space. It may be helpful to imagine moving the sound through your mouth towards your lips. That's one reason why we did the fluttering exercise. I can't actually speak well from my chest, but directing the sound towards there gets my voice out of my head. When I speak higher my voice strains so I have to remember that it is more powerful if I can drop my pitch and think about a really full sound. You can also try exaggerating and speaking in different voices to get more comfortable moving your voice around. It can take practice. Hope that helps!
Does your voice or sound resonate in the center of your mouth or the upper chest low I don’t get it can someone explain or maybe Kim can you please I’m so hard with this????
My understanding of resonance in English is that the sound starts in your chest, travels through a relaxed throat, and reaches its fullest sound in the center of your mouth. We focus on relaxing and bringing the voice down to give it more fullness and power. Resonance is challenging to understand and explain, and that's why I encourage you to experiment until your voice has the quality of sound that you want!
Do I have to practice this everyday ?
I would say you should practice one aspect of your voice everyday, based on the ultimate goals you're trying to achieve. The exercises towards the beginning of the video are about relaxing and exploring your voice.
Since my first language is Japanese , my pitch tends to be high when speaking English. And I really hate it because I stick out like a sore thumb when I’m around American friends.
I find that many non-native speakers start speaking at a higher pitch than Americans. We actually say less important words/syllables at a lower baseline pitch, and then hit that higher pitch level you're more comfortable with on the stressed syllables of stressed words. If you can find your natural baseline pitch in English, it will help. You don't have to change your voice/pitch entirely, you just need to learn when to speak at a higher pitch and when to drop lower. This video may help: ua-cam.com/video/AED6n4bEqEE/v-deo.html
@@Englishwithkim thanks!!
Hi, Kim. Thank you so much for your video. I am wondering whether there is a reason that people are not confident when their baseline is very low. Sometimes I want to speak loudly, but I feel too nervous to do that while in some other situations I can speak loudly and confidently.
Your state of mind and how you feel definitely influences how strong your voice is, your pitch level, and how you sound! When you're more relaxed, your pitch may drop down low; when you're nervous, it may be higher. That's why it can help to take a few steps to relax yourself before you have to speak, or remind yourself that you want to speak more loudly and confidently even if you feel a little nervous. I'm not sure I can identify a specific reason why it happens, but it's a good idea to take notes on when it happens so that you can try to relax a bit in similar situations in the future.
Hi, Kim thank you so much you do the great job God bless you.
Hello, Kim!!
It's nice to see you back on UA-cam again. You must have been very busy and it's very kind of you to make this video for us :)
Anyways, I would like to ask you to help me out with linking ed ending to a similar sound. I don't know how to put it...Like in the sentnce
"I washED THe car"
"I walkED To the bank"I've already learnED THis"
I can't seem to link them smoothly without omitting the ed sounds :( Is there any solution???
Hi there! Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad you appreciate my time! :) When linking sounds together, you will drop the final sound on the first word and pronounce the one at the beginning of the second word. Because the -ed ending should sound like /t/ on washed and walked and /d/ on learned, you're not pronouncing the full -ed ending anyway. Keep in mind with those examples that "the," "to," and "this" wouldn't be stressed anyway, so you don't want to draw attention to them by overpronouncing them. As always, focus on stressing the key syllables of key words and relax on the rest of the sounds.
English with Kim So, instead of "I washt the car" should sound like "I wash the car?"
Personally, I would be more likely to pronounce the full verb for clarity unless I was speaking really fast.
Thank you so much 😊😊😊
Can you explain the tongue repositioning between the ai and the au sound? I noticed that your tongue changed it’s shape between the two sounds, but I wasn’t able to replicate that change. Is the tongue more tense for the ai sound and more relaxed for the au sound? Thank you.
There are a couple of points to keep in mind when watching this video. Remember that both of those vowels (/aɪ/ and /aʊ/) are diphthongs, which means they are combinations of two vowel sounds. This means your tongue will move and change position to create the second sound. However, since you're transitioning between two sounds, the position might not be exactly the same as in the more "pure" vowel. In both vowels, you're starting out in the /a/ position. But you're ending in the /ɪ/ position and the /ʊ/ position which are quite different in shape. Your tongue arches more towards the center/front of the mouth during /aɪ/ to open up into the /ɪ/ shape, and your tongue drops slightly in the front but still lifts in the back during the /aʊ/ sound to end in the /ʊ/ shape. Keep in mind that I'm over exaggerating my movements to demonstrate for the video - but that might actually help you when you're practicing and stretching your mouth, too. Your lips are doing the movements but your tongue has to accommodate the shape, if that makes sense. If you're really interested in getting the tongue position right, try watching videos focusing on those five sounds (/a/, /ɪ/ /aɪ/, /ʊ/ and /aʊ/) and compare the differences. A speech language pathologist studies the science behind how we move our mouths and might be able to describe what's going on in more depth. Just keep experimenting!
Hello Kim, I am so glad to meet you. Most of my friends said that when I speak, I speak without intonation and it is not interesting. I am still practicing with your video and I find it very helpful. Thanks for your videos.
Nice to meet you! It is very normal to struggle with American English intonation if it's very different than your native language. This video will help you get more control over your voice, so I encourage you to keep practicing every day! Check out my playlist with more pitch and intonation practice here: ua-cam.com/video/m_sy-h7gGMc/v-deo.html
It was funny the horse sounds 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I know they are silly! Definitely loosens up your mouth and reminds you where to direct your voice!
Kim, this is super helpful. But i am still a little bit confused. I am a Chinese so my native language has a relatively higher pitch compared to English. To sound more like American, I have been trying to intentionally lower the pitch of my sound, but that makes my throat feel tight and uncomfortable even though I could feel more vibration in my chest. Is there a way to solve this problem? And also, sometimes I feel like I am putting too much stress on my lips which makes phrases like "needs to" a little bit hard to pronounce because the transition between "z" and "t" is not smooth. Is this related to how I use my breath and how can I address this one? Thank you so much!
Thanks for the interesting questions. It is great to hear that you are experimenting with your voice and seeing what's available to you. As you mentioned, it sounds like part of the issue is related to your breath. I find my voice feels strained in my throat when I don't have enough breath behind my words. This video on breathing and thought groups will help: ua-cam.com/video/IKUWcrVGrZE/v-deo.html as will this one on how to speak clear English: ua-cam.com/video/MyrnliX9SAU/v-deo.html
When you pause more between ideas, you are able to breathe more often and that enables you to get more power behind your voice. When you are relaxed, you're able to drop your resonance out of you nasal passage and into your diaphragm/belly. As I mention in the video, you're aiming your voice to the center of your mouth and out. Visualize filling your mouth up with the vibration of your voice. It can help to hold onto a few vowel sounds to get a sense for it. Have you seen this video where I also talk about resonance? ua-cam.com/video/yPhRWQrKubc/v-deo.html
Finally, I would remind you to explore your pitch and find your baseline pitch in English. Your baseline pitch in Chinese dialects is probably higher than it is in English. So when you try to hit those higher pitch levels in English, you're actually going beyond what's comfortable for you, and it can sound like straining. Without having heard you, my guess would be that your normal starting pitch in your native language is actually where we would "hit" stressed syllables in English. So you actually want to explore your lower pitch levels. This video has a ton of pitch exploration exercises: ua-cam.com/video/AED6n4bEqEE/v-deo.html
Just saw your other question about putting too much stress in your lips. When I say "needs to," my tongue is doing the work, not my lips. It may help to spend time focusing on where you're producing sounds. A lot of these sounds happen within the mouth.
Do u do like online english class?
Are you asking if I offer online courses? You can find more information about what I offer in the description!
I am an indonesian..i thought amrican accent placement is from the chest..isnt that right?..
I have heard other people say that the American accent is projected from the chest as well. Try relaxing the back of your throat to give your voice space to come from lower in your body. Take a deep breath. Focus on starting to produce sound from your chest, let your voice travel through a relaxed throat, and let the sound bounce around the center of your mouth. You can think about filling up the center of your mouth with the vowel sound. Resonance is tricky to describe, so I encourage you to play around with it until you find a voice quality you like! Other commenters have mentioned that letting the sound reach its fullest quality in the mouth helps them get the sound they're interested in.
@@Englishwithkim thank you for your detailed information.
Is pitch and resonance the same?
Pitch is the frequency of your voice, or the highness or lowness of your voice. Resonance is the fullness of your voice and is how you fill up the spaces where sound vibrates (mouth, nasal passage, chest, head). So it's where the sound can expand and get more qualities. They work together - that's why I can't really get my voice into my chest without dropping my pitch.
English with Kim make sense. Thank you 😊
Can u make a video how to have a fluent english pls
Here are some suggestions that may help: ua-cam.com/video/P6UXuOIqTA0/v-deo.html
@@Englishwithkim thank u so much ,ur the best
4:10
1:17
Noone can understand my voice so what to do
Is it your voice that they can't understand, or the way you say your words? Do feel you're speaking quietly or not clearly? This video will help you speak more clearly: ua-cam.com/video/9jEP6sLyKkA/v-deo.html
My voice doesn't look sweet, polite and pleasing when I speak English... please help how I speak ??
You may want to hear what I have to say about having a "pleasing voice" when speaking English in this video: ua-cam.com/video/SR0HhxF7ZUA/v-deo.html That said, it's totally natural to not love how you sound, whether in your native language or in English. I have found that exploring what's possible in your voice helps a lot, since you will find what works best for you. That's what these exercises are about!
My pitch is monotone 😁😁 I'm bad in speaking English
It takes practice. Try to have fun as you explore what is possible with your voice!
i feel son weired but gotta get the accent done
That's a great attitude! It feels weird to use your voice differently than you've been used to, but that's what gets results!
If someone has a breathy, weak or nasal voice, it would be best if they saw a speech pathologist or be evaluated by an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. Please be aware that if someone has a vocal pathology, it is best to have it checked right away.
I thoroughly agree! These exercises are for exploring how your voice sounds in English because of influence from your native language, NOT for issues that should be discussed with a specialist.
Kinda scares me how UA-cam knows about all my problems......
Well, that's because other people have the same challenges - we're in this together!
The thing that seems bizarre to me is that whenever I watch a film or series with native American English speakers (or native English speakers from other countries), I notice that they don't drop (or stretch/round) their mouths/jaw that much to produce produce long-vowel sounds or diphthongs, yet they manage to produce those sounds perfectly. My fear is to come across as a caricature version of them - or worse, "under the influence" by dropping my mouth too much. What a tragedy lol!
You're right - native English speakers don't exaggerate the shapes quite as much. It's not just about what's happening outside the mouth; it's about what's happening inside the mouth too. The more exaggerated shape only really happens on stressed syllables - the rest of the time, our mouths are pretty relaxed. The idea is that exaggerating while practicing helps you get close enough to the right shape during natural speech, when you're concentrating more on the content of your words than the shape of your mouth! I also tell people to experiment - do people understand you better when you use these shapes on stressed vowels? Ultimately, it's not about sounding (or looking) just like a native speaker. It's about understanding people and being understood.
@@Englishwithkim I agree with you completely! Exaggerating the moth positions and sounds helps a ton with getting your brain to learn the sound, it's actually one of the best pieces of advice for beginners.
So the placement of the American accent or english is in the center of the mouth and nowhere else?
I have heard people say that placement/resonance happens in the chest, the back of the mouth, and the center of the mouth. The idea is to experiment and explore where your native language's resonance is, and how you can move it around to get the full, rich sound you want in American English. (It's different in other varieties of English and even in American dialects.) I find that a lot of non-native speakers are resonating from the nasal passage or the back of the throat. Try relaxing your throat (say ahhhh in the beginning of the video) and directing vowel sounds to the center of the mouth to see how that works. And remember to experiment until you achieve the sound you want, not what anyone tells you to sound like!
Madam I could hear your non-English native accent, although it was subtle
But can I ask why you haven't been able to remove it yet?
That's interesting, because I'm American. That said, even native speakers have accents, so maybe you just hear some regional characteristics.
@@Englishwithkim I didn't buy that madam
I can tell the difference of someone even outta country but english(first lang) speaker from an insider english speaker and someone who is non-english outsider
That doesn't mean I haven't heard ppl who completely sound american but not from here
Really when i talk my lanuage its too ugly voice but when i talk english its more confatable to me
That's an interesting perspective! Sometimes we like how we sound better in other languages - that's why it's so important to explore your voice!
@@Englishwithkim oh thank you 👍👍👍ur perfect ❤️
🤣🤣🤣
Did you try the exercises?
@@Englishwithkim I did it and laughed a lot just feeling the different sounds. I felt a little fool but it's ok. Thanks for your feedback.
That's what I want to hear! It feels silly but it will help you feel more confident when speaking normally 😉
I think my voice is fake thats why i wanna change it
These exercises will help you explore your voice so you find what feels right for you. The idea is to get to know your voice so that you don't feel like you're faking it. This video will also help you communicate confidently with your voice: ua-cam.com/video/9jEP6sLyKkA/v-deo.html
Oaw
🤣🤣🤣
Did you try the exercises?