I suffered a "mini-stroke" and it only appears that my speech and swallowing responses/reflexes were affected. My articulation improved immediately after hearing and then practicing this video. Thank you VERY much! You have blessed me tremendously!
I had a problem with 'lazy speech, not articulating enough when speaking a long period of time. I started doing these exercises and it helped me drastically. I can tell I wasn't using all my mouth muscles, because after during the exercise for the first time, my mouth felt so "stretch" and my air way is more opened if that makes sense. I also can speak louder now. I was kind of known for being soft spoken. Thanks!
she said once that the only way to get an american accent was to get a coach, she also said that we cant learn a new accent off of free videos on youtube am glad you proved her wrong with what you have accomplished!!!
EXCELLENT EXERCISES!!! Thanks so much - this goes beyond ESL teaching. I am a non-native speaker so this helps very much, but it also helps, like someone else pointed out, people who have speech impediments. I have some undiagnosed speech issues so I've checked out different sources to help my articulation problems. This video provides the clearest, most helpful exercises I've seen - I think it''s going to help me very much even with my own native language speech/tension issues. Thanks, bless you!!
This is the tutorial I have been looking for. Thank you so much!! I will definitely practice it every day on my own and apply to my speech. Hope my accent will improve and people can understand me better. :)
Thank you so much Rebecca Linquist for making this great video. I have tried for years to loose my accent and have not had any significant improvement. I took classes with many of the so called accent coaches for many years and nothing worked. This exercises have done wonders for me. They really worked. I am a foreigner from South America and my accent now is almost nonexistent. Thank you so much for creating this video!
I was searching on web about the differences about american accent and british. Your videos are perfect! I was doing all the mouth exercise together with you. Thanks a lot for your time. You are very precious for non-speaker English language. kisses
R, Thank you so much for posting your videos. I suffered a stroke and had weakness on my left side, your you tube facial exercises and other you tube videos have helped me strengthen my face and speech. English is my native language. Please consider posting a video for stroke victims. Thanks
Hi Rebecca, I'm originally from Pakistan but was born and raised in Kuwait (Arabic country). When I came to US first time I had a tough time learning American Accent but your video has helped me a lot. Thank you once again. Gosh
I keep practicing this movement. It dramatically change my ascent! I have been trying to lighten my heavy ascent for years. I tried many methods, however only this one work obviously!! Thank you! Thank God!
If you are not using those muscles, then it can be challenging. It's an awareness exercise so that you can start using them (slowly), perhaps massaging the area to get the muscles active, and then begin using them more. Over time, it will get easier.
i have learnt from American Accent Course, which is very good in my opinion, that when you speak, try to limit the mouth movement as much as possible to sound like an American. but then i see this video advise otherwise. I've got to agree totally with Rebecca that most of ESL students dont move and open their mouth enough. thanks again for this video
Rebecca, my apology for a very late response. No, I didn't worked in Telus, Philippines. T'was at Global Contact Services International. Right now I am out of that company after THEY scammed our Account. I am now working in the Government focusing on Peace Process. Still don't know if I will still go back in the Call Center industry. Yet this helped me a lot. Just ignore others who criticize this. For us who are not an American, this helped us s lot for learning. Keep up the good work!
Hi Rebecca, Just wanna say that I am studying to be an actor so speaking clearly and confidently is a must for any actor. Your video's have really helped me to improve my communication skills. Keep up the good work and don't let negative people ruin ur progress. Take care of yourself hun and i look forward to seeing more of your clips in the future. I will be saving them for future reference. :D
Hi,how are you today? I`m improving my english accent as well. I was born in San Diego,CA , and I moved to Brazil when I was 7 years old. So now I have 18 years old since I came back to U.S in June,2008. Thank You...
Hi Rebecca, Glad that you've posted a video to educate us on the use of American Accent. Not sure if you've heard of Singapore but I've a pretty strong Singaporean accent (my first language is English). Feeling kinda apprehensive as I'm heading down to the states this coming fall semester and worry if American won't be able to understand me. Hope you can advise me on this. PS: I speak English since the day I was born.
omg!! I'm glad i found this helpful videos... i will compromised myself everyday to do this exercises... i'm a child care teacher and i want to improve myself in order to become a role model to my children who are learning from me and help those children who were born in this country, but their first language might not be English... i would like to obtain all your videos. but that will be coming soon
@1SOTODANIEL I don't think I can type it in as a URL here in UA-cam (it doesn't allow typed in websites), but it's at the end of all my videos. First the 3 w's - then englishbythehour and then the dot and then the com (this may get through!)
Thanks, Rajesh. This is my oldest most popular video! So funny ... did it back in 2009, and amazing people are still watching it! Check out my website for the lastest info: www.englishbythehour.com
OMG. Thank you so much! I'vee been looking accent training like this. I am currently an actor, obviously not from america, and one of my challenges is the american accent. I have tried different exercises, but this seems the best for me. Thank you!
U r amazing. Mouth moving really the best way. I`ve tried many ways but no way help my accent like this mouth moving. There r many teachers in the world but nobody teachs like you. now i know why americans jaws r wide, so if i wanna know american accent i get american wide jaw ))) u r really adorable
Thank you so much, your such a great accent teacher. I love the way you teach very articulate. I think you're well experienced with accent area. Once again, thank you hope you don't feel tired of teaching us.
Well I guess practitioner insight is an important part of evidence-based practice, too. Sorry if I sounded short in my last comment! It's wonderful you've been able to help so many people!
I felt pain but I still was moving my tongue, jaw and mouth, and finally I said 'Robert!' as American. Now I need improve my grammar, and keep going exercicing 'r' sound.
For pronunciation, yes, being language-specific is helpful. This exercise is for anyone who wants to gain more control over his/her articulators ... it works with any language.
Wow! You seem like an awesome teacher! I am a non-native American English speaker, but when I came to the States everybody thought I was raised there, but I still have my "gaps". Hopefully I will learn something from this and perfect my accent. PS: You look good.
Today I went to an interview in English and the hiring manager told me to come back in one month... I felt really frustrated since I've studied a major in English for 4 years. The hiring manager told me that the only problem I had was the pronunciation, I will exercise my articulation with this video.
@surfertedd Yes and yes ... I do think American English requires more mouth movement than many other languages, but I also agree that many Americans don't have to move their mouths as much as I'm suggesting for 2 reasons. 1: not everyone wants to be a public speaker ... some people mumble and don't care and 2: native speakers of a language can make sounds easier than non-native speakers (especially adults learning a new language) can, so exaggerated mouth movement can help.
@Geeljasjes Here are a few reasons: 1) not to have to repeat when speaking to American audiences; 2) to get promoted while living and working in the US; 3) to improve interviewing skills in the US; 4) when working in a call center in another country and interacting with the US; 5) when working in a global community ... hundreds of reasons ...those are the 5 I can think of first.
Thank you so much, Rebecca, for this video. Although English is my first language, I'm hoping these exercises will improve my speaking which seems to have become "lazy" over time. Thanks again. Nancy
@Geeljasjes P.S. Check out this chorus competition on youtube. They won't let me link from here. But you can search "Bohemian Rhapsody - Battle of the Choirs Australia Final ". They are Australians singing a song by a British group, Queen. And they are singing it with American accents! Not sure why this happens, but American English seems to be the universal singing accent.
@Geeljasjes Dialect: "A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary." In the US there are several dialects, according to linguists. If a Boston accent is considered a dialect, thus also would an New Zealander or Irish way of pronouncing English.
Extremely Great Work Rebecca,I have watched your other video of american english tips for indian speaker and other two as well and now I can definitely say you are really very very technical and professional in phonetics I have never seen such a great knowledge in phonetics in anyone else,I have subscribed and will let other as well. I have great improvement in my language in just 2 videos but still facing problem in "r",Anyway thanks for sharing knowledge and help.
The /r/ is such fun, isn't it? We basically have 2 /r/ positions - rolling the tongue back w/o touching the top of your mouth and pulling it back, flat and thick with an arch ... avoid "trilling" or letting the top move freely, and avoid touching the top of your mouth in any location, keeping the middle of your tongue taut, doing the work, and you'll be fine!
Thanks for helping,I have tried but not getting entirely same sound,could you make a video specifically focusing at "r" and "t" sound so then I can watch it over and over again and learn it clearly.I think I can speak everything similar but only this 2 sound clearly separating from american accent and I can be easliy identified as Indian speaking. Thanks
hello i have a form of transverse myelitis which affected my speech.....i am Canadian but who cares as long i can articulate my words if i end up with an American Accent that would be fine with me cuz at least i will be able to talk better than i am now!! my voice is like a whisper and no one can hear me:( thank-you Rebecca:D
Great video. As non-native speaker it may help to maste American and perhaps Irish to a certain extent. Much easier to master an English or Aussie accent.
Hi Rebecca your vedios are very useful to me. I don't know when I use for example a long o or a short or medium is there a rule to know when I use the correct speeling for any words. thank's very much Rebecca I realy have a respect for you, you're outstanding
The mouth is part of human speech organism. I agree with you that the movement of the mouth does have a certain affect on how we sound. To me, the mouth, however, doesn't have much to do with accent like the way you suggest for practice.
Rebecca Great video, could you please recommend any exercises for mumbling speech, I mumble especially with RRR,s, should I try the R and L exercise, a response would be greatly appreciated. kudos
maz hussain LOTS of articulation ... exaggerate the movements and hold the sounds longer an go as SLOWLY as you can with the movements, making sounds as you go. Do this every day, and you're pronunciation will improve. As for "mumbling" in general, awareness is key. If that's not working, try hiring a Coach!
For British speakers, if you want to sound more American, the easiest thing to do is to start controlling with the jaw rather than the lips, especially for the /a/ sound as in "prOject" - notice it's a long /ahhh/ for Americans, like the doctor's office "ahhhh" sound. We also use the /ae/ sound in words like "after, last, ask, class, or past." The jaw exercises I demonstrate are good for creating a more "lax" articulation.
For people from any language, not just you native Americans, the use of the mouth muscles depends mostly on personal characteristics, interest, speech speed and pitch, emphasis etc. It doesn't necessarily mean that people with standard american accent all use the mouth muscles so much like the way you suggest.
How could I not have found out about this insightful video until now? I am very much interested in picking up an American accent. (This is kind of a hassle to my English girlfriend though) So I have recently re-opend up a book called American Accent Training by Ann Cook, which I've been using on and off, and also have been following many instruction videos on youtube. Unfortunately, I have noticed that I feel a lot of pressure and tension around my neck and upper chest, and this leads me to sound choppy/halting/jarring like other Korean English learners. Thankfully, I've got a hint from your video and am going to focus on controlling my breath and jaw/mouth movement. Thank you!
+DG H Feel free to contact me for a free consult .... I replied to your other post as well ... www.englishbythehour.com (408) 429-3557 ... takes all the mystery out of the process and you'll see a result in 10 weeks!
Great video!! On some of these exercises i can barely get my tongue out. There is alot of tightness in my lower jaw. Will this ease up over time? Will i be able to extend my tongue further? As a native new yorker i speak with a lazy mouth and would like to articulate better!
@rebeccalinquist I recognize these problems as you say and I've recognized it on my speech in a few words (specially that I work with kids they also call my attention for a few of these). But I've got a different question, how come when people sing usually they are "accentless"?
@toinkzgr : yes, cyrus and taylor speak different American dialects. In fact just off the top of my head I can think of about 10 different styles of American dialect. It can even vary from state to state (and we have 50 states). The USA is so huge there was plenty of space and opportunity for these different accents to develope over our 225 years. Example....someone from Boston Massachusetts would speak "quite different" from someone in Kentucky
Great exercises!!! I would like to lose my accent completely or minimize it to a minimum. Is there a regimen of exercises that I should follow? How much time during the day should I be doing these exercises?
Thank you very much for the several videos, Rebecca!! This video (i believe) is one of the most powerful video amongst several good ones you have out there.My question is - How long should one do these exercises for and in what frequency? I currently do each exercise, back to back for ~ 2 mins and try to do 2 sessions a day if I can. Is that good, or do I need to do more? I used to stammer when I was a kid, and occasionally face this issue even now. Any videos for overcoming stammering? Thanks!
@rebeccalinquist Is a mirror really necessary? I really don't think it's that hard to make yourself concentrate on watching your mouth for a two minutes.
@aliaea Hi Aliaea, if you are referring to our "Guide to Speaking American English with Confidence & Clarity," this is the guide we use with all of our clients. When you purchase a self study package, I also analyze your speech based on a diagnostic, so take the diagnostic and return it to me for analysis if you haven't done that already - that's key. You need to focus on your specific issues in the right order to get result. Feel free to email me directly for more details.
Well Thanks for this great video , but i would like to say that we can do that without any training , coz i found myself able to move my mouth flexibally and able to prounounce the hardest words not only in American or british accent but in other hard languages like chinese ... The secret of traning your mouth automatically is when you hear and see an english speaker then try to imitate him/her and reapting while you are alone or so , just do it again and again its effective way !
@rebeccalinquist thanks for reply..i will do these steps everyday..coz i had a tongue tie operation when i was a kid.. and whenever i speak fast my tongue gets twisted..
@Link13BC What happens is some speakers don't like using the mirror because they don't focus on the mouth muscles (they look at their whole face) and sometimes we are self-critical and notice we don't like our hair style or whatever ... if you instead use a small mirror and look only at your mouth, I find my clients have a much easier time creating change.
@caitlynchristine333 As a native speaker, you don't need to ... but what if you tried to learn another language? You might to exaggerate to get the right sound quality ... get it?
Hi Rebecca! Maybe I'm wrong but I think you have a nice standard English accent. I understand all your speech. I heard to a Texan guay trying to teach American accent and was a nigthmare for me. By the way you're so beautuful too.
Fortunately I've had the had the tremendous advantage of experimenting on my own clients (over 800 of them) over the last 7 years, and I've developed techniques that that have produced results, so that's a good thing ... it's not theory, it's experience in behavioral change!
@SBLEOO Is your question proof that mouth exercises work? I would just say try them and see if they help you - they are not useful for everyone, and if your jaw hurts or makes a noise, stop doing them!
Rebecca, please ignore those ignorant comments which are nothing more than pure stupidity. Vulnerability is part of the world of UA-cam. You are an excellent teacher and your videos are great, keep up the good work. I'll subscribe to your channel. thanks
Does (can) this video and exercise be applied to those of us with an English accent? It's just becuase you say ''Native'' and I'm not sure if you mean Native as in not American, or Native as in not the English language.
@nahclara It's been awhile since I worked with a Brazilian, but a couple of things I remember are voicing issues (when you use a vibrated vs a voiceless consonants) like easy with a /z/ not an /s/, and for some Brazilians, not putting a vowel in between the root and the /ed/ endings in a word like "changed" - it would be pronounced "change ED" instead of "changd" (just a /d/, no schwa or short /i/). Those are a couple of things I remember ... I think the /r/ is challenging too.
i have extensive vocabulary but i cant really say the words correctly sometimes cause of my lisp and sometimes i usually stop in the middle of a sentence as a result. what should i do rebecca?
@kaatjecat123 I don't think they have any ill intent ... teachers just pass along their native accents, but you can learn whatever accent you like with focus and commitment (and coaching if you want to get there quickly).
@toinkzgr Yes, throughout the US we have regional dialects. To an extent, each person has his/her own "idiolect" or personalized way of speaking. It's to your credit that you can hear and implement the differences and are speaking in a way that helps you to be effective in your job!
I LOVE AMERICAN ACCENT AND I LOVE YOUR VOICE TOO, but I don't usually practice pushing the lips forward and keeping them backward like the way you suggest.
After 11 years . Now I'm watching this video for improving my pronunciation☹
From 2020🙌
I suffered a "mini-stroke" and it only appears that my speech and swallowing responses/reflexes were affected. My articulation improved immediately after hearing and then practicing this video. Thank you VERY much! You have blessed me tremendously!
I had a problem with 'lazy speech, not articulating enough when speaking a long period of time. I started doing these exercises and it helped me drastically. I can tell I wasn't using all my mouth muscles, because after during the exercise for the first time, my mouth felt so "stretch" and my air way is more opened if that makes sense. I also can speak louder now. I was kind of known for being soft spoken. Thanks!
she said once that the only way to get an american accent was to get a coach, she also said that we cant learn a new accent off of free videos on youtube am glad you proved her wrong with what you have accomplished!!!
EXCELLENT EXERCISES!!! Thanks so much - this goes beyond ESL teaching. I am a non-native speaker so this helps very much, but it also helps, like someone else pointed out, people who have speech impediments. I have some undiagnosed speech issues so I've checked out different sources to help my articulation problems. This video provides the clearest, most helpful exercises I've seen - I think it''s going to help me very much even with my own native language speech/tension issues. Thanks, bless you!!
Thank you so much! :-)
This is the tutorial I have been looking for. Thank you so much!! I will definitely practice it every day on my own and apply to my speech. Hope my accent will improve and people can understand me better. :)
Thank you so much Rebecca Linquist for making this great video. I have tried for years to loose my accent and have not had any significant improvement. I took classes with many of the so called accent coaches for many years and nothing worked. This exercises have done wonders for me. They really worked. I am a foreigner from South America and my accent now is almost nonexistent. Thank you so much for creating this video!
I was searching on web about the differences about american accent and british. Your videos are perfect! I was doing all the mouth exercise together with you. Thanks a lot for your time. You are very precious for non-speaker English language.
kisses
R, Thank you so much for posting your videos. I suffered a stroke and had weakness on my left side, your you tube facial exercises and other you tube videos have helped me strengthen my face and speech. English is my native language. Please consider posting a video for stroke victims. Thanks
Hi Rebecca,
I'm originally from Pakistan but was born and raised in Kuwait (Arabic country). When I came to US first time I had a tough time learning American Accent but your video has helped me a lot. Thank you once again.
Gosh
I keep practicing this movement. It dramatically change my ascent! I have been trying to lighten my heavy ascent for years. I tried many methods, however only this one work obviously!!
Thank you! Thank God!
So glad it was helpful!
If you are not using those muscles, then it can be challenging. It's an awareness exercise so that you can start using them (slowly), perhaps massaging the area to get the muscles active, and then begin using them more. Over time, it will get easier.
The exercise alone won't improve your accent, but it will you to gain more awareness of your facial muscles and how they work.
i have learnt from American Accent Course, which is very good in my opinion, that when you speak, try to limit the mouth movement as much as possible to sound like an American. but then i see this video advise otherwise. I've got to agree totally with Rebecca that most of ESL students dont move and open their mouth enough. thanks again for this video
Great video. Thank you.
I am working at a radio station and when practicing the first few shows I had such pain in my mouth. This really helped
Rebecca, my apology for a very late response. No, I didn't worked in Telus, Philippines. T'was at Global Contact Services International. Right now I am out of that company after THEY scammed our Account. I am now working in the Government focusing on Peace Process. Still don't know if I will still go back in the Call Center industry. Yet this helped me a lot. Just ignore others who criticize this. For us who are not an American, this helped us s lot for learning. Keep up the good work!
Hi Rebecca,
Just wanna say that I am studying to be an actor so speaking clearly and confidently is a must for any actor. Your video's have really helped me to improve my communication skills. Keep up the good work and don't let negative people ruin ur progress. Take care of yourself hun and i look forward to seeing more of your clips in the future. I will be saving them for future reference. :D
Hi,how are you today?
I`m improving my english accent as well.
I was born in San Diego,CA , and I moved to Brazil when I was 7 years old. So now I have 18 years old since I came back to U.S in June,2008.
Thank You...
Hi Rebecca,
Glad that you've posted a video to educate us on the use of American Accent. Not sure if you've heard of Singapore but I've a pretty strong Singaporean accent (my first language is English). Feeling kinda apprehensive as I'm heading down to the states this coming fall semester and worry if American won't be able to understand me. Hope you can advise me on this.
PS: I speak English since the day I was born.
I really learned a lot from you video. thank you.
thanks a lot Rebecca.... ur videos are of great help.... where can i get all of your videos?
omg!! I'm glad i found this helpful videos... i will compromised myself everyday to do this exercises... i'm a child care teacher and i want to improve myself in order to become a role model to my children who are learning from me and help those children who were born in this country, but their first language might not be English... i would like to obtain all your videos. but that will be coming soon
Rebecca,
you are a great teacher! Thank you!
I'd like to use this video for my students... Thanks for helping me!
@1SOTODANIEL I don't think I can type it in as a URL here in UA-cam (it doesn't allow typed in websites), but it's at the end of all my videos.
First the 3 w's - then englishbythehour and then the dot and then the com (this may get through!)
Really learn something from you . Mam you helped us
Thanks, Rajesh. This is my oldest most popular video! So funny ... did it back in 2009, and amazing people are still watching it! Check out my website for the lastest info: www.englishbythehour.com
OMG. Thank you so much! I'vee been looking accent training like this. I am currently an actor, obviously not from america, and one of my challenges is the american accent. I have tried different exercises, but this seems the best for me. Thank you!
U r amazing. Mouth moving really the best way. I`ve tried many ways but no way help my accent like this mouth moving. There r many teachers in the world but nobody teachs like you. now i know why americans jaws r wide, so if i wanna know american accent i get american wide jaw ))) u r really adorable
Thank you so much, your such a great accent teacher. I love the way you teach very
articulate. I think you're well experienced with accent area. Once again, thank you hope you don't feel tired of teaching us.
Well I guess practitioner insight is an important part of evidence-based practice, too. Sorry if I sounded short in my last comment! It's wonderful you've been able to help so many people!
i am addicted to ur videos!!!!
I felt pain but I still was moving my tongue, jaw and mouth, and finally I said 'Robert!' as American. Now I need improve my grammar, and keep going exercicing 'r' sound.
These exercises didn't help my speech,but it sure helped me with the ladies!
You are very experienced,,i ve been looking for an instructor like you.My accent is awful,,i need to practice .thanks for this video
For pronunciation, yes, being language-specific is helpful.
This exercise is for anyone who wants to gain more control over his/her articulators ... it works with any language.
Wow! You seem like an awesome teacher! I am a non-native American English speaker, but when I came to the States everybody thought I was raised there, but I still have my "gaps". Hopefully I will learn something from this and perfect my accent.
PS: You look good.
Today I went to an interview in English and the hiring manager told me to come back in one month... I felt really frustrated since I've studied a major in English for 4 years. The hiring manager told me that the only problem I had was the pronunciation, I will exercise my articulation with this video.
You may want to take coaching if you really need to improve quickly: www.englishbythehour.com to view our programs and request a consult
@surfertedd Yes and yes ... I do think American English requires more mouth movement than many other languages, but I also agree that many Americans don't have to move their mouths as much as I'm suggesting for 2 reasons. 1: not everyone wants to be a public speaker ... some people mumble and don't care and 2: native speakers of a language can make sounds easier than non-native speakers (especially adults learning a new language) can, so exaggerated mouth movement can help.
thank, and also thank for your time making these videos as well
Thank you for these great exercises. That was a great work out for my jaw!
@Geeljasjes Here are a few reasons: 1) not to have to repeat when speaking to American audiences; 2) to get promoted while living and working in the US; 3) to improve interviewing skills in the US; 4) when working in a call center in another country and interacting with the US; 5) when working in a global community ... hundreds of reasons ...those are the 5 I can think of first.
Thank you so much, Rebecca, for this video. Although English is my first language, I'm hoping these exercises will improve my speaking which seems to have become "lazy" over time. Thanks again.
Nancy
@Geeljasjes
P.S. Check out this chorus competition on youtube. They won't let me link from here. But you can search "Bohemian Rhapsody - Battle of the Choirs Australia Final ". They are Australians singing a song by a British group, Queen. And they are singing it with American accents! Not sure why this happens, but American English seems to be the universal singing accent.
Thanks for the support :-)
@Geeljasjes Dialect: "A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary."
In the US there are several dialects, according to linguists. If a Boston accent is considered a dialect, thus also would an New Zealander or Irish way of pronouncing English.
awesome exercises, ill be doing them daily
Thanks a bunch for the video, and you have an amazing voice.
Thank you! The relaxing of the jaw makes a huge difference on my speech!
Very good exercise. ..
Many thanks
Thanks for the free and lovely tips !
Extremely Great Work Rebecca,I have watched your other video of american english tips for indian speaker and other two as well and now I can definitely say you are really very very technical and professional in phonetics I have never seen such a great knowledge in phonetics in anyone else,I have subscribed and will let other as well. I have great improvement in my language in just 2 videos but still facing problem in "r",Anyway thanks for sharing knowledge and help.
The /r/ is such fun, isn't it? We basically have 2 /r/ positions - rolling the tongue back w/o touching the top of your mouth and pulling it back, flat and thick with an arch ... avoid "trilling" or letting the top move freely, and avoid touching the top of your mouth in any location, keeping the middle of your tongue taut, doing the work, and you'll be fine!
Thanks for helping,I have tried but not getting entirely same sound,could you make a video specifically focusing at "r" and "t" sound so then I can watch it over and over again and learn it clearly.I think I can speak everything similar but only this 2 sound clearly separating from american accent and I can be easliy identified as Indian speaking.
Thanks
Faheem Ansari I would recommend coaching. Please visit our website and request a free consult! It works in 10 weeks.
Thanks a lot, good exercises rebeca !
you solved my problem.....I am very much thankful to you.
Thanks Rebecca, your vedios are very useful.
a little teachers like you focus on articulation mouth and tongue movement.
hello i have a form of transverse myelitis which affected my speech.....i am Canadian but who cares as long i can articulate my words if i end up with an American Accent that would be fine with me cuz at least i will be able to talk better than i am now!! my voice is like a whisper and no one can hear me:(
thank-you
Rebecca:D
Thanx rebecca, Im from South Africa busy studying Drama so this really helps :-)
Great video. As non-native speaker it may help to maste American and perhaps Irish to a certain extent. Much easier to master an English or Aussie accent.
Hi Rebecca
your vedios are very useful to me. I don't know when I use for example a long o or a short or medium is there a rule to know when I use the correct speeling for any words.
thank's very much Rebecca I realy have a respect for you, you're outstanding
The mouth is part of human speech organism. I agree with you that the movement of the mouth does have a certain affect on how we sound.
To me, the mouth, however, doesn't have much to do with accent like the way you suggest for practice.
Rebecca
Great video, could you please recommend any exercises for mumbling speech, I mumble especially with RRR,s, should I try the R and L exercise, a response would be greatly appreciated. kudos
maz hussain LOTS of articulation ... exaggerate the movements and hold the sounds longer an go as SLOWLY as you can with the movements, making sounds as you go. Do this every day, and you're pronunciation will improve. As for "mumbling" in general, awareness is key. If that's not working, try hiring a Coach!
Rebecca Linquist Thanks for the prompt reply Rebecca , greatly appreciated will heed your advice.
For British speakers, if you want to sound more American, the easiest thing to do is to start controlling with the jaw rather than the lips, especially for the /a/ sound as in "prOject" - notice it's a long /ahhh/ for Americans, like the doctor's office "ahhhh" sound. We also use the /ae/ sound in words like "after, last, ask, class, or past." The jaw exercises I demonstrate are good for creating a more "lax" articulation.
For people from any language, not just you native Americans, the use of the mouth muscles depends mostly on personal characteristics, interest, speech speed and pitch, emphasis etc. It doesn't necessarily mean that people with standard american accent all use the mouth muscles so much like the way you suggest.
How could I not have found out about this insightful video until now? I am very much interested in picking up an American accent. (This is kind of a hassle to my English girlfriend though) So I have recently re-opend up a book called American Accent Training by Ann Cook, which I've been using on and off, and also have been following many instruction videos on youtube. Unfortunately, I have noticed that I feel a lot of pressure and tension around my neck and upper chest, and this leads me to sound choppy/halting/jarring like other Korean English learners. Thankfully, I've got a hint from your video and am going to focus on controlling my breath and jaw/mouth movement. Thank you!
+DG H Feel free to contact me for a free consult .... I replied to your other post as well ... www.englishbythehour.com (408) 429-3557 ... takes all the mystery out of the process and you'll see a result in 10 weeks!
This has truly helped me, I've just subscribed! Thank you!
Great video!! On some of these exercises i can barely get my tongue out. There is alot of tightness in my lower jaw. Will this ease up over time? Will i be able to extend my tongue further? As a native new yorker i speak with a lazy mouth and would like to articulate better!
nice one...and nice methodology too.
@rebeccalinquist I recognize these problems as you say and I've recognized it on my speech in a few words (specially that I work with kids they also call my attention for a few of these). But I've got a different question, how come when people sing usually they are "accentless"?
@toinkzgr : yes, cyrus and taylor speak different American dialects. In fact just off the top of my head I can think of about 10 different styles of American dialect. It can even vary from state to state (and we have 50 states). The USA is so huge there was plenty of space and opportunity for these different accents to develope over our 225 years. Example....someone from Boston Massachusetts would speak "quite different" from someone in Kentucky
Great exercises!!! I would like to lose my accent completely or minimize it to a minimum. Is there a regimen of exercises that I should follow? How much time during the day should I be doing these exercises?
Yes! By all means ... come to our website and sign up for coaching :-) Glad you liked the video.
i could certainly feel it in my jaw muscles doing the exercises.
Thank you very much for the several videos, Rebecca!!
This video (i believe) is one of the most powerful video amongst several good ones you have out there.My question is - How long should one do these exercises for and in what frequency? I currently do each exercise, back to back for ~ 2 mins and try to do 2 sessions a day if I can. Is that good, or do I need to do more?
I used to stammer when I was a kid, and occasionally face this issue even now. Any videos for overcoming stammering? Thanks!
look at the teacher face there is alot of black spot . but video editor make it hidden. very well. good job man
@rebeccalinquist
Is a mirror really necessary? I really don't think it's that hard to make yourself concentrate on watching your mouth for a two minutes.
@aliaea Hi Aliaea, if you are referring to our "Guide to Speaking American English with Confidence & Clarity," this is the guide we use with all of our clients. When you purchase a self study package, I also analyze your speech based on a diagnostic, so take the diagnostic and return it to me for analysis if you haven't done that already - that's key. You need to focus on your specific issues in the right order to get result. Feel free to email me directly for more details.
Well Thanks for this great video , but i would like to say that we can do that without any training , coz i found myself able to move my mouth flexibally and able to prounounce the hardest words not only in American or british accent but in other hard languages like chinese ...
The secret of traning your mouth automatically is when you hear and see an english speaker then try to imitate him/her and reapting while you are alone or so , just do it again and again its effective way !
WOW! I accidently came here after looking at singing warm up exercises. You are one good looking woman!
@rebeccalinquist thanks for reply..i will do these steps everyday..coz i had a tongue tie operation when i was a kid.. and whenever i speak fast my tongue gets twisted..
That's a pretty cool feature ... thanks for sharing it!
@Link13BC What happens is some speakers don't like using the mirror because they don't focus on the mouth muscles (they look at their whole face) and sometimes we are self-critical and notice we don't like our hair style or whatever ... if you instead use a small mirror and look only at your mouth, I find my clients have a much easier time creating change.
how long should we do each exercises? and how many times a day?
@caitlynchristine333 As a native speaker, you don't need to ... but what if you tried to learn another language? You might to exaggerate to get the right sound quality ... get it?
Hi Rebecca! Maybe I'm wrong but I think you have a nice standard English accent. I understand all your speech. I heard to a Texan guay trying to teach American accent and was a nigthmare for me. By the way you're so beautuful too.
Fortunately I've had the had the tremendous advantage of experimenting on my own clients (over 800 of them) over the last 7 years, and I've developed techniques that that have produced results, so that's a good thing ... it's not theory, it's experience in behavioral change!
@SBLEOO Is your question proof that mouth exercises work? I would just say try them and see if they help you - they are not useful for everyone, and if your jaw hurts or makes a noise, stop doing them!
It's really helpful, one of the best ever. Thanks a lot!
Rebecca, please ignore those ignorant comments which are nothing more than pure stupidity. Vulnerability is part of the world of UA-cam. You are an excellent teacher and your videos are great, keep up the good work. I'll subscribe to your channel. thanks
will this help you at being better at pronouncing French? I'm having trouble getting down the french accent
Does (can) this video and exercise be applied to those of us with an English accent? It's just becuase you say ''Native'' and I'm not sure if you mean Native as in not American, or Native as in not the English language.
It is very helpful... Thank you very much:) God bless!
i never realized that my tongue was so short! thank you for your video
@nahclara It's been awhile since I worked with a Brazilian, but a couple of things I remember are voicing issues (when you use a vibrated vs a voiceless consonants) like easy with a /z/ not an /s/, and for some Brazilians, not putting a vowel in between the root and the /ed/ endings in a word like "changed" - it would be pronounced "change ED" instead of "changd" (just a /d/, no schwa or short /i/). Those are a couple of things I remember ... I think the /r/ is challenging too.
i have extensive vocabulary but i cant really say the words correctly sometimes cause of my lisp and sometimes i usually stop in the middle of a sentence as a result. what should i do rebecca?
would like to haver english conversations. How should I procede?
Tkank you
Marcelo
Sure' visit our website: www.englishbythehour.com and request a free consult. Looking fwd to meeting with u!
for the u, what do you mean by "even though lips are round, the control is in the jaw"?
In British English, for example, the /u/ song is lip-controlled; but it is jaw-controlled in American English.
@@rebeccalinquist interesting, can you point me to some material to learn more details about jaw-controlled u?
@@jgg6500 My coaching? www.englishbythehour.com
@kaatjecat123 I don't think they have any ill intent ... teachers just pass along their native accents, but you can learn whatever accent you like with focus and commitment (and coaching if you want to get there quickly).
@toinkzgr Yes, throughout the US we have regional dialects. To an extent, each person has his/her own "idiolect" or personalized way of speaking. It's to your credit that you can hear and implement the differences and are speaking in a way that helps you to be effective in your job!
I LOVE AMERICAN ACCENT AND I LOVE YOUR VOICE TOO, but I don't usually practice pushing the lips forward and keeping them backward like the way you suggest.
@UncleFizzmo Have you ever tried it? If you look at your face, you don't focus on your mouth ... that's one of the biggest issues people have.
Try it!
@Micromusecut I am from Romania (Europe). Thanks for asking.
Very interesting! How can I get rid of the the clicking sound in my jaw while moving my tongue in circles? Thank you!
You're probably overdoing it. I recommend a smaller range of motion.