Linking with Vowels 2 (Understanding Spoken English Series)

[shihanfernando123]

thanks ma'm for the vid... It's really helpful for me

[chakimhamzah]

I I am an ESL teacher in SMPN 102 Cijantung ,Jakarta,Indonesia. Thank your videos help me so much I cant find the material like those! You give my student clearly understand why they feel hard to repeat the native speech when we practice in language laboratory. to other teachers in whole the world/include stacy join in my group: TEFL association Jakarta and ELT forum Jakarta  or my facebook: chakim hamzah email: frans115@yahoo.com

[freealaysha21]

hi thank you for these videos! i am a pre-school teacher and it is very important for me to learn english grammar and perfect pronunciation of words. we do have books to help us with our written english but our pronunciation and accent is different..i hope you can post more videos..thank you Stacy!

[dhaka4040]

And as a result, when we watch the westerners speak English - be they are on screen or in flesh and blood - we can understand, frankly speaking, no more than 50% of what is said. But if the same thing were presented before us in written form, we could understand 100% or so. By "we" I point to those of us who have learnt this language (except for its spoken side) well.

[EnglishwithStacy]

@dhaka4040

Thanks for your feedback. I'm trying to do lessons on aspects of spoken English that aren't commonly taught. I'm glad they're helpful. I put up some new videos this week on syllable and word stress. I hope they're useful for both listening and pronunciation.

[gianbf]

@dhaka4040 I thought that i was the only with this problem. I feel you.

[dhaka4040]

Thanks Stacy (assuming it's your name). I had been an English language teacher in my homeland for more than 15 years. We do have many books and teachers skilled enough to teach grammar aimed at perfecting our written English. But I must admit that there is not any methodical way in our educational system that could teach us perfect pronunciation of words, and how they are pronounced in sentences, and how the informal spoken English differs from its formal counterpart etc.

[dhaka4040]

Fantastic! In fact this two words sounding like one has been one of the most difficult aspects of spoken English for me to decipher. Now I know some golden rules.

I think analytical videos like this would be more useful for us the foreigners to learn how the spoken English words. That would be better than books. After all books can not pronounce the "Zit" thing the way a video can.

Are you planning to bring out a comprehensive DVD containing such soul-opening videos in near (or far) future?

[EnglishwithStacy]

@dhaka4040

I hadn't thought of doing a DVD, but it's a good idea. Right now, I just have time for the videos (and not as much time as I'd like!), but it's something to consider for later. Thank you for your kind words!

[1adrs]

Hi!! Are you going to make any further videos related to this topic?

Thanks!

[EnglishwithStacy]

@1adrs

Yes, I plan to do more. I'm finishing a book project and hope to have more time in December or January. Some of my other videos like Silent /h/ and Past Participles also teach linking, even though "linking" isn't in the title. You might want to look at those if you haven't seen them.

[infrareduk]

Much thanks and prasie four these video providings...i understand i iz getting very much better at the england language.

Lots of happiness lady from Mirrkshatt

[voyeg3r]

zit fantastic :) embora escrito, mas isto é uma brincadeira

[Moustafach1]

Thank you very much. You are amazing :)

[EnglishwithStacy]

Yes -- I'll include "th" in a lesson. In American English, "with them" and "with him" are pronounced the same. Some people say "withum" and some people say "withem." The only way you would know the difference is from the context (the other words in the sentence): "There's Paul. Let's go with him." vs. "There are Paul and Nancy. Let's go with them."

[hotvietnameseboy]

Hello, Mam. I really appreciate what you are doing. Would you please make a video about "th" linking sound. How do Americans say in the following cases: with them; with us; with him?

[LevrekNet]

I'm an IESL foreign student ( level 3 - HI ) and I've been studying in a community college for 2.5 months to improve my english though my teachers have never mentioned us about this linking yet I am still having some troubles with understanding fast english.... maybe this is really going to help me.. Thanks.

[EnglishwithStacy]

Yes! This is exactly what I was hoping for! You're right -- a lot of teachers don't teach this, but it is really helpful for understanding fast speech, especially what you hear on TV or in the movies. Americans don't speak the English you learn in textbooks. You need specialized instruction to understand what is happening in fast English. I'm glad these videos are helping you!

[chiusungto11282]

Really thank you for this, for I seldom pay attention to the much reduced syllabic in spoken American English.

[benji3001]

Thanks Stacy, good job.

My goal is fluency. Improve my listening and speaking skills via listening to many things about the same topic or author, e.g..

*Similar speakers.

*Similar topics.

and then, improve my intonation.

Pleae your advice.

[EnglishwithStacy]

I think your ideas for improvement are good. I recommend listening to the radio (or iPod) rather than TV so you can focus on listening only. Even when you're doing something else, try to have the radio on. You will be learning even if you are not paying attention. Your subconscious mind is taking in information. You may not realize it until months later when suddenly you find you know a particular grammar structure and you didn't even study it! Try it for 6 months. You will be surprised!

[diloluen]

thx a lot it's really useful