Hey there! This is TOP episode 49: Pronunciation Tip: Baltic, Nepal, Arkansas
My name’s Ola and I am an English teacher. This podcast is for you if you want to start speaking English fearlessly. I help people fight the fear of speaking, become confident, fluent and independent.
In this episode, you’ll practise speaking and in turn boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning!
Welcome back! I’m thrilled you’re here with me. Today we’re dealing with pronunciation. Let me quickly remind you. I don’t think you have to forget your accent or focus entirely on it. I do believe incorrect pronunciation may lead to misunderstandings. And it’s possible that incorrect pronunciation will make your message unclear. And that is precisely what we want to avoid. The plan is you’re able to communicate your thoughts and you’re understood by the people you talk to.
Ok, making that clear I’m absolutely ready to roll. The sound we’re paying special attention to today is long vowel sound /ɔː/.
You know the drill, but just in case you’re here for the first time let break down the whole episode. The main goal for me at least for me is to make you speak. Speak to yourself, out loud. Be prepared for some pauses during this episode. These are designed to make you speak up. Repeat the words and sentences after me. You’ll repeat words, you’ll repeat sentences, proverbs, tongue twisters and funny rhymes. Trust me, repeat them out loud.
First, let’s listen to and repeat words with the /ɔː/ sound:
call
core
draw
jaw
law
raw
saw
bought
caught
taught
thought
author
chorus
order
border
abroad
toward
reward
launch
awful
awesome
mortgage
astronaut
resort
resource
award
daughter
Sean
Baltic
Balkans
Malta
Nepal
Gibraltar
Baltimore
Arkansas
That was the last word. Really surprising, huh? I used to pronounce it ‘Arkansas’. But, forget it, it’s just incorrect. The correct pronunciation is /ˈɑːkənsɔː/. Let me remind you that at teacherola.com/49 there’s a transcript to this episode, and it’s free. So go there, grab it and check if you understood all the words we’ve just practised.
Shall we move on? Now, we’re going to practice whole sentences. Are you ready, ok, here we go:
the door.
Claud at the door.
I saw Claud at the door.
I thought I saw Claud at the door.
law.
to study law.
wanted to study law.
Sean’s always wanted to study law.
abroad.
to study abroad.
ought to study abroad.
sure you ought to study abroad.
I’m sure you ought to study abroad.
author?
favourite author?
your favourite author?
Who’s your favourite author?
thought that.
sorry I thought that.
awfully sorry I thought that.
I’m awfully sorry I thought that.
an order.
to place an order.
like to place an order.
I’d like to place an order.
draw?
did you draw?
What did you draw?
raw data.
saw raw data.
only saw raw data
I only saw raw data.
Well done! Good job! Time for some proverbs with the /ɔː/ sound. Ok, let’s do this:
Pride goes before a fall.
Second thoughts are best.
The more you get the more you want.
When you open the door don’t forget to close it.
Yaaas, finally funny rhymes. This is the last task today. Listen and repeat:
It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring.
It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring.
Snail, snail,
Put out your horns,
I’ll give you bread
And barley corns.
Snail, snail,
Put out your horns,
I’ll give you bread
And barley corns.
There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,
Who wished he had never been born:
So he sat on a chair,
Till he died of despair,
That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.
There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,
Who wished he had never been born:
So he sat on a chair,
Till he died of despair,
That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.
Here you have it. Thank you for staying till the very end. I hope you’ve practised all along and found out something new.
Please don’t forget to download the worksheet and try to translate Polish sentences from this episode into English. This free worksheet is available for you at teacherola.com/49. Grab it right away.
Please spread the word, share this podcast with someone you think might need it.
Next Wednesday, we’re going to practice vocabulary, because it’s gonna be a vocabulary booster. Subscribe to this podcast if you haven’t yet. And I’ll see you next Wednesday. Goodbye! Happy learning.