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this drill.

"a" as in "cat" can sound different depending on the regional dialect of the speaker. It can seem very harsh and sterile in a Michigander, or a southerner might interject two syllables into it (ca-yat). To avoid any regionalisms, be sure to slightly pull the corners of the mouth backward, and open the mouth.

"i" as in "sigh" is also a diphthong. It is usually made by combining an "ah", as in father, with "e" as in we. (This can seem confusing to many foreigners, as they tend to think of "i" as it is pronounced in the Spanish word si, and "e" as it is pronounced in the Spanish word te. So to a Spanish person, a good way to spell the diphthong "i" would be "ay".)

"a" as in "cake" is also a diphthong. It is not directly identical to the Spanish "e" as in the Spanish word "te" aforementioned, as it has a bit of an "ee" sound as in "cheese" at the end. A good way to transliterate this to non-native speakers is "ey."

"t" as in "tea" in English is also not directly analogous to "t" in other languages, but it very similar. The most important thing to remember is that "t" in English is rather crisper and harder than the Spanish "t".

"l" as in "look" is pronounced by touching the tongue to the foremost part of the upper palate. This might be a challenge for Russians, who tend to pronounce this consonant at the back of the throat.

"w" as in "water" is not quite a "u" as in tool. It is similar to the vowel "u", however the lips are tightly pursed while speaking. When attempting to pronounce the consonant (this is not a vowel!) it can come out sounding like "wuh".

"uh" as in "butter" can be a difficult vowel for non-native speakers. It's hard to describe it if you've never heard it before. It's similar to "ah", but with the mouth and throat not as open. The best thing I can say is to listen to a native speaker and imitate as best you can.

The schwa can also be difficult for foreigners to grasped. It is an unstressed or unuttered syllable, almost like a non-vowel. To speakers who are used to giving their vowels their full attention, the concept of dropping a vowel can seem strange. Again, listen to native speakers and practice.

"y" as in "yellow" is sometimes considered a vowel, and sometimes a consonant. It is pronounced by almost closing the mouth and the back of the throat, but leaving just a little space open. The back of the tongue rises during this sound. The "y" sound often precedes "u", as in "cue".

"th" is another challenging sound for non-native speakers. There are actually two "th" sounds, a hard and a soft. The soft "th" as in "thought" is pronounced by placing the tongue near yet not quite touching the front teeth. The hard "th" on the other hand is pronounced by actually touching the front teeth with the tongue and then holding it there firmly while uttering the sound. Be careful not to involve your lips in this sound, and keep the tongue off the hard and soft palate.

There is a fantastic free audio course on the web for people learning English. It can help you to practice and get a feel for how English sounds when it's really spoken. It is at this address:

http://www.1-language. com/audiocourse/index.htm

There are many other excellent resources on the web to help you with Accent Reduction. They can be found at the following addresses:

http://www.esl.net/
h ttp://www.accentmaster.com/
htt p://libarts.wsu.edu/speechhear ing/academics/accent.html

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Claerr.
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