English sounds video 5: schwa /ə/ and /ɜː/

14 February, 20223 September, 2022 blogdeserena2 Comments

Hi there! Here’s video English sounds 5. In this video you’ll get to know about schwa /ə/ and /ɜː/ (making a sort of sound as if you were disgusted about something) . Why together? Well experience has taught me that both sounds are a bit difficult for Spanish English learners, but at the same time,…… Continue reading English sounds video 5: schwa /ə/ and /ɜː/

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English vowel sounds: /ɑː/

10 February, 202225 May, 2022 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

This is video number four concerning English vowel sounds. This sound doesn’t usually involve many problems for Spanish speakers, but a little practice is necessary to avoid making the sound too long or sounding a final ‘r’. This vowel sound is a feature that distinguishes rhotic and non-rhotic varieties of English accents, meaning by accents,…… Continue reading English vowel sounds: /ɑː/

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English sounds video number 3 – /æ/

12 January, 202225 May, 2022 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

If you have problems saying something like ‘Young rats in black hats’ or ‘The cat sat on my hat’ Then this video on phonetics will be handy as it will help you practise this open ‘a’ (ahhhhhhh!) sound. https://youtu.be/l3Y0jZY0d8g Serena’s blog

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What is phonetics and why should we learn it?

30 December, 202125 May, 2022 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

Some years ago I devoted part of the blog to this area of language learning, but now that the plug-in is no longer available, I needed to refocus on a new tool. So why not Youtube? I’m going to gradually upgrade all the stuff I wrote on phonetics and here is the very first video.…… Continue reading What is phonetics and why should we learn it?

A2 · B1 · B2 · phonetics

Silent letters in English words

3 September, 20182 March, 2022 blogdeserena2 Comments

Serena When you have a phonetic language like Spanish, for instance, it is quite easy to say the words you have learned from a book or a dictionary because if you know the sounds of each letter you can do quite well when speaking the language and everybody will understand you. But this is not…… Continue reading Silent letters in English words

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Learning English with songs Friday I’m in Love

21 July, 20189 August, 2022 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

This great song by the British band The Cure really puts one in a happy mood and I must say, that it doesn’t matter how old the song is or how many times you hear it, it’s always smashing. Apparently the song was written in response to press criticism accusing the group of being incapable…… Continue reading Learning English with songs Friday I’m in Love

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Listening Intermediate B1:Benjamin Zephaniah’s Talking Turkeys

17 December, 201728 August, 2019 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem on animal rights and Christmas, is not only thought provoking, but is also put in such a humorous and clever way, that you actually can’t help admiring him as one of Britain’s top post-war writers. Zephaniah, a dub poet and Rastafarian, once mentioned that his mission was to fight the dead image…… Continue reading Listening Intermediate B1:Benjamin Zephaniah’s Talking Turkeys

B1 · B2 · phonetics

The Importance of having a good pronunciation

9 November, 201728 August, 2019 blogdeserenaVideoLeave a comment

In yesterday's English class we were talking about the difficulties one can encounter when travelling to a foreign country. Some students mentioned problems such as: jet lag, losing their luggage or missing a flight, among others. When suddenly, one student said 'That people can't understand you'. I must say that he was absolutely right! Unfortunately,… Continue reading The Importance of having a good pronunciation

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Tag: pronunciation