The language sounds that could exist, but don't

The International Phonetic Alphabet: one sound for each symbol, and one symbol for each sound. Except for the sounds we can't make...

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Rhythm Guide

This is a fantastic way to learn rhythm notation, but it might make you hungry.

Would you like to learn about crotchets and quavers? Do you wish to impress your friends with your mastery of syncopation?

All you need is hot dogs, energy drinks and your favourite Mexican food.

Music Notes explains it all in this splendid chart to help everyone learn the rudiments of rhythm. Go on, clap along...

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Why English is Hard to Learn

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Pronounciation: -ed Verb Endings

Remember: 

/Id /infinitives that end in the sounds /t/ or /d/	/ d / infinitives that end in a voiced sound	/ t / infinitves that end in an unvoiced sound
needed hated dated seated	lived chilled enjoyed tried	shopped picked wished crunched

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"Ough"

Quiz:

Hi there, ESO Students!

10 points up for grabs valid for the 1st term to the student who sends the first correct answer to our mail. This is the quiz:

A man got up from his table in a restaurant and left a note for the waiter. This is what was written on the piece of paper:

I004I80

What do you think it means?

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Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com

2nd A ESO student Adrián Castro Rodríguez has asked us to publish this post again. It was first published on Thursday 10th December 2009. Here you are, Adrián:

Learning the sounds.

These are the symbols for the sounds of English. Clicking on a symbol will take you to another page where you can watch a video about that particular sound.

The sounds are organised into the following different groups:
Short vowels
 
Long vowels

Diphthongs (double vowel sounds)

Voiceless consonants

Voiced consonants

Other consonants

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Forvo: Pronunciation Guide

What is Forvo?

Forvo is the largest pronunciation guide in the world. Ever wondered how a word is pronounced? Ask for that word or name, and another user will pronounce it for you. You can also help others by recording your pronunciations in your own language.

Join us for free whatever your language is and help the world to communicate better. Enjoy listening and collaborating.

Try it here (or the Spanish version here).

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Sound of the week /i:/

/i:/ is a long, front, close vowel. This sound should mean no problem to you as it is almost identical to the way we pronounce the letter 'i' in Spanish when we say 'sí'.

The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also called bright vowels because they are perceived as sounding brighter than the back vowels.

The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.

It is unrounded, which means that the lips are spread.

Examples of /i:/ are:

fleece /fli:s/

sea /si:/

machine /mә'ʃi:n/

Maybe the biggest problem for Spanish speakers is to tell the difference between the long vowel sound /i:/ and the short vowel /i/ (read here the post about the short vowel /i/). Watch this video and in a couple of minutes you will be pronouncing both sounds perfectly!

You can also download the video, download the poster with examples, download radio programmes or take a few quizzes on pronunciation.

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