In addition to learning the correct sounds of English, you will also learn to use the correct rhythm of English. Using the correct rhythm of English is sometimes even more important than saying every sound correctly. It’s when you use the correct rhythm of English that others will understand you the best. Using the correct rhythm involves using all of the following: first, you have to use the correct word stress. Word stress is knowing which part of the word needs to be stressed or emphasized. For example, in English, there are many words that are spelled the same but have different meanings depending on the way we stress the word. For example, the word desert is a noun meaning a dry climate, but desert is a verb meaning to leave or abandon someone or something. Desert, desert. Do you hear the difference there? We’ll also talk about sentence stress. Sentence stress refers to the way we stress or un-stress certain words in our sentences. Next we have intonation. Intonation is the rising and falling of our pitch while we speak. There are rules that tell us when our voice needs to go up and when it needs to fall. We’ll also talk about linking. A fluent English speaker does-not-talk-like-this-with-every-word-separated. We talk like this, with our words connected. You will learn how to connect your speech so it sounds nice and fluid. Next, is pausing. Although you need to connect your speech, you also need to know when it’s appropriate to pause. Appropriate pausing is very important for effective communication. And finally, we’ll talk about rate of speech. Many non-native English speakers speak entirely too fast, which makes it very difficult for a native speaker to understand. In this course you will learn and practice using the correct rate of speech. Learning how to use all of these skills will help you speak using the correct rhythm of English. I know it sounds like a lot, but through this 12 week course, we will progressively layer these skills one by one in a very natural way.
