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The document that fooled Hitler: Practising past simple –ed pronunciation
A document published yesterday, reveals the crucial role that Britain’s code-breaking experts played in the D-Day landings – the 1944 invasion of France. The story is practically the same as one that...
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The Magnificent 7… Tips for English Pronunciation
I don’t want to speak to English people! Do you ever feel embarrassed about your English pronunciation? Do you often feel that your reading, grammar and listening are much better than your speaking?...
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Lose your accent
A lot of students at SGI have asked me how they can lose their accent. Well, firstly it’s a very difficult thing to do and probably more importantly, is it even necessary to lose your accent and try to...
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How do you pronounce –ed endings???
There are 3 different ways to pronounce –ed endings: /d/ /t/ & /ɪd/ Listen out for them as I read through the text. The rules about when you use the different –ed endings are below the...
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Playing with past tenses: Beckham baby Part II
I have used several different past tenses in this article. Can you feel/understand the difference between the different uses? Don’t worry if you can’t, because there is a simple explanation of the past...
View ArticleSteve Jobs talks about life and death
This is Steve Jobs talking to Stanford University graduates about life lessons. It’s an inspirational speech and nothing is better as an obituary to his life. You can watch and listen to the Apple...
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English Pronunciation
If you’re on Facebook then you may have seen this latest viral posting. Unusually, it’s NOT a funny video or photo, but actually a poem! It’s all about the difficulty that students of English have with...
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Beginner’s English – Countries: The couple who sailed round the world
Do you know how to say the names of countries from around the world? Here is a story where we can practise saying country names. Listen to the mp3 of the text to hear the correct way to say the words....
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English Conversation – English guys discuss clothes
These discussions are brought to you by St George International English School in London. The people that you can hear talking are native-speaker English teachers at the school and they will be...
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British native speakers discuss the London Olympics
The people talking are British native speakers and also teachers at the school. They are chatting about everyday subjects, just like they would normally. That means that the conversation is completely...
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Natural English Conversation: English Gentlemen
This is English conversation as it really happens in the UK – totally natural and not simplified to help English students. This is not the kind of recording that you get in an English textbook (actors...
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Natural discussion: Brits discuss the Royal Family
This is completely natural conversation by Brits from London. It’s not scripted or read out by actors like some recordings that you get from English textbooks. You’ll be able to hear the difference...
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Accent training: ‘th’ sound exercises
Accent training is desired by lots of students. It seems that everyone wants to sound like a native speaker because my students have asked me so many times, “How do you lose your accent?” Well, let me...
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R&R 22: English Accent – Missing England
English Conversation Real & Relevant Podcast 22 Two English teachers with two types of English accent. Melissa is back in the pod and talks about the things that she has been missing while she...
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Accent reduction: Native Speaker speech pattern copying
You were promised some accent reduction training in yesterday’s blog, so here it is! At the end of this blog RECORD YOURSELF saying the example sentences – I will get back to you to try to help you...
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English Pronunciation: Be understood
English teachers and students often focus a lot on vocabulary and grammar when doing speaking preparation for exams like IELTS, whilst neglecting improving their English pronunciation. Well, it’s good...
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A meaning of a word ruined by mispronunciation
A meaning of a word can be completely changed by wrong pronunciation and that’s why a lot of English humour is based on mispronunciation. If you pronounce a word incorrectly it can change the meaning...
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English Pronunciation and intonation – Sentence stress
English pronunciation of individual words can be difficult because of the seemingly ‘no rules’ issue with English spelling. But this blog is not about pronouncing individual words, but about how to use...
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British English v American English accent – which is easier to understand?
OK, so the English invented English and then the Americans took it, changed the spelling and the way they spoke it. But in a British English v American English accent fight, who would win? Well, the...
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