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"A picture is worth a thousand words ..." blog

Speaking and Pronunciation: discussions
and interactive exercises

Your goal in any kind of oral or written communication is to express yourself clearly so that you are understood by your listeners or readers. The study of pronunciation may seem tedious or even unimportant to some but correct pronunciation leads to expressing yourself effectively.

Listed below are links to discussions and interactive exercises in speaking and pronunciation from the best ESL and EFL resources on the Internet. Clicking the blue links will take you to the specific pages where the discussions and activities are, while clicking the website name will take you to the home page. Take time to browse these excellent websites; they are consistently good and fast loading. Besides the activities and exercises listed below, these sites generously offer, free of charge, a tremendous range of valuable resources for ESL and EFL teachers and students. (Please take note of the differences between American English and British English when browsing these sites.)

Pronunciation Help
Learn to correctly pronounce every word in the poem “The Chaos” and you could possibly be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world

Speaking and Conversation Skills for Advanced Level English
Pronunciation and Speaking Skills for Beginning Level English Learners
English Pronunciation and Speaking Skills for Intermediate Level

Note: Real Player required; register for free membership and full access

The sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet
Introduction to phonetic transcription
The ASCII Phonetic Alphabet
Demonstration of phonetic transcription

Improving your pronunciation
Telling a story
Talking about the weather
How to keep the conversation going
How to talk about illness
English greetings
Giving your opinions
Talking about likes and dislikes in English
Agreeing in English
Making generalisations
Giving advice in English
Suggestions in English
Speaking about hopes in English
Making invitations
Making appointments
Complaining in English
Making offers
Making predictions
Talking about probability in English
Rephrasing
Making requests
How to express shock in English
How to say what's important
Better English speaking skills

English is not Phonetic
Word Stress in English with Quiz
Sentence Stress in English
Homophones
English Phonetic Spelling
Pronunciation Power
Linking in English
How to Pronounce "-ed"
How to Pronounce "the"
English Tongue-Twisters
Pronunciation Workshop

The Importance of Speaking Practice
Telephone English
Presentations & Public Speaking
Speaking about the Weather
Small Talk

Free, printable English dialogues for practice with friends and fellow students, with topics including Borrowing; Clothes shop; Eating out; Electrical shop; Plans & Excuses; Hotel; Flying; Was / Were; Bank; Complaining; Crime; Finding a flat; Preferences; Rules; Selling; Telephone

Note: Real Player and Flash Player required

Consonant Sounds
Vowel Sounds
Readings and Songs
Quizzes

Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

Online pronunciation guides to nine varieties of the English language (American, British, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Australian, Canadian, and South African), and nine other languages; Instant sound; Pronunciation samples by over 40 native speakers; All 1,000+ pages free

Oh and Ah (a free online interactive e-story for children 3 to 9)

In contrast to ESL instruction, Spoken English Learned Quickly teaches all vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and verb tenses using spoken English exercises. With this method, English grammar is reportedly learned faster and better, with these grammar lessons not adding instruction time because students learn to speak as they study grammar. Because this method teaches all components of spoken English simultaneously, students learn to speak English in half the time it would require with ESL courses. Lessons (text, PDF and MP3 files) and a 450-page student manual can be freely downloaded to your computer, iPod, Blackberry, MP3 player or PDA. Complete lessons contain enough recorded audio lesson material for two hours of study a day, five days a week for nine months.

Note: Flash Player version 4 or newer required

Minimal Pair Practice & Quizzes, Songs and Poems, Tongue Twisters
Listen and Repeat Podcast (Audio for ESL/EFL; divided into Songs, Jokes, Listen and Read Along, Cloze, and Selected MP3 Files)

Classroom participation strategies
Preparation before class
In class: Taking the floor
Interacting with the others
Shaping the discussion
Fluency and communication

Oral presentations
Sample seminar presentation
Planning
Researching
Focusing
Structuring
Presenting
Practising
During the presentation
Guiding the audience
Long presentations

Note: Quick Time, Shockwave and Adobe Reader required

Free online lessons and activities in conversation, vocabulary, pronunciation, business English, and idioms

Pronunciation Exercises (starter/beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate levels)
Pronunciation skills: glossary, bibliography & activities

Note: IPA charts revised to 1993; updated 1996; Flash Player required

Pulmonic Consonants
Non-Pulmonics
Vowels
Other Symbols
Diacritics
Suprasegmentals
Diphthongs and Triphthongs

Note: Windows Media Player and Quick Time Video Player required for the practice test and tutorial movie

English language pronunciation practice with minimal pairs and Instant Sound - simply mouse over to hear the sound
Note: Flash required

How to pronounce specific sounds in English.
English word stress.
English sentence stress and intonation.
Pronunciation exercises and activities

Simply mouse over language patterns to hear them instantly spoken

Fee based with some free lessons in PDF format; English language learners want to share experiences and insights on contemporary topics - and expand their practical and academic vocabulary. Quotations and proverbs, from differing points of view, also encourage discussions, model excellent communication, and develop critical thinking skills. Students hold longer discussions, learn about their classmates, and gain practical experience.

You can create compelling conversations by asking simple, yet deep, questions like:
What brings you here?
How did you hear about this class (party/event/movie)?
What do you like to do online?
Where were you born? How many miles do you think that is from here?
Where are you in your family's birth order?
What makes you smile?
What have you been reading recently?
Can you recommend any movies to see or rent?
What's the most beautiful place you've seen?
What qualities make a good leader?
Which issues are important to you in this election?
Who chose your name? Why?
What music inspires you?
Where are you coming from?
Where are you going?
Where do you feel most comfortable? Why?
How do you release stress?
What do you appreciate about living here?
What did you learn at your last job?
What do you do to stay healthy?
What TV shows would you recommend to a visitor to your country? Why?
Have your habits changed in the last year?
How would your friends describe you?
What would you add?

Free ESL Lessons
Traveling
Studying English
Being Yourself
Talking about Movies
Practicing Job Interviews

“Teaming with an interpreter” tutorial, from Speak Your Languages

This course (with videos and text in MS Word or PDF) is for anyone who wants to communicate clearly with people who do not speak English. To communicate across a language barrier, you need the help of an interpreter who speaks both languages. But it’s a team effort. You can help your interpreter as much as he or she helps you. This course prepares you to work effectively with an interpreter, as part of a team. Working together, you will be able to communicate confidently and comfortably with people from all over the world. Since it is about a team approach, interpreters will also find this course useful. All types of organizations will benefit, including businesses, professional services, non-profits, government entities and educational institutions. Highline Public Schools, near Burien, Washington provided support for development of this online tutorial in conjunction with professional interpreters.

Typical English mistakes by speakers of other languages, by Language Project, (approved by the British Council; more examples available upon registration): Arabic speakers; Chinese speakers; Japanese speakers; Korean speakers; Portuguese speakers; Spanish speakers; Czech speakers; French speakers; German speakers; Greek speakers; Italian speakers; Polish speakers; Russian speakers; Swedish speakers; Turkish speakers.

How to Begin a Public Speech
Public Speaking in a Business Setting
How to Use Your Voice in Public Speaking
Tips for Giving a Memorable Public Speech
How to Use Openers in Public Speaking
How to Use Storytelling in Public Speeches
How to Use Humor in Public Speaking
Tips for Managing Time in Public Speaking
How to Engage an Audience in Public Speaking
How to Make an Audience Feel Comfortable in Public Speaking
How to Prepare a Public Speech
How to Close a Public Speech
How to Pace a Public Speech
Memorizing Vs. Notes in Public Speaking
Public Speaking Rules & Advice
How to Be a Good Public Speaker

Free Online Lessons : How to Begin a Speech: The Art of Public Speaking -- powered by ExpertVillage.com
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