Daily English - Day 34

Let's begin. This first paragraph is about photo albums. Keeping a family photograph album is a good way to save family memories for yourself and future generations of your family. Keeping a family photograph album is a good way to save family memories for yourself and future generations of your family Very old pictures can be taken to a photoshop and reprinted so that they can be placed in an album. Very old pictures very old pictures can be taken to a photoshop and reprinted so that they can be placed in an album Be sure to write on the back of the picture any information you remember about the people in it. Be sure to write on the back of on the back of the picture any information you remember about the people in it Also write the date if you remember it Looking at photo albums is a relaxing way to spend the day and it is a fun activity to share with family and friends Looking at photo albums is a relaxing way to spend the day and it is a fun activity to share with family and friends Your children, grandchildren, and their children will appreciate your efforts, too will appreciate your Your children, grandchildren, and their children will appreciate your efforts, too Ok, this next paragraph is called The Public Library Your library card can be your ticket to entertainment current events and new ideas ideas Almost every city has a public library library and there is no charge for a library card Libraries have books about many subjects but there are also other things at the library These include books on cassette tape these include These include other things at the library These include books on cassette tape Video Tapes Large Print Books CDs DVDs and magazines. Many have free programs in the afternoon or evening about travel, hobbies, or other topics of interest. Some cities also have a bookmobile or traveling library, which brings the library right into interest. Some cities also have a bookmobile or traveling library, which brings the library right into your neighborhood. Very good. Okay, this next paragraph is about John D. Rockefeller, who was a famous American. John D. Rockefeller did three amazing things. First, he acquired probably the greatest fortune in all history. They write into you who is a famous American. John D. Rockefeller did three amazing things. He did three amazing things. First, he acquired probably the greatest fortune in all history. He started out in life digging potatoes under the hot sun for four days an hour. In those days, there were not half a dozen men. There were not half a dozen men in all the United States who were worth even one million dollars. Even one million dollars. Eventually, John D. managed to collect a fortune that could be any one million dollars. Eventually, John D. managed to collect a fortune said to be anywhere from one to two billion dollars. And yet, the first girl he fell in love with refused to marry him. The reason given was because her mother refused to allow her refused to allow her daughter to throw herself away on a man who had such poor prospects. refused to allow her daughter to throw herself away on a man who had such poor prospects. Very good. Okay, this next paragraph is called Stars. In this paragraph, be aware of my pronunciation of numbers. Especially the TH and the voiced Z sound in the word thousand Okay, here we go. How many stars can you see on a dark clear night? How many stars can you see on a dark clear night? You can see about three thousand stars You can see about three thousand stars with your eyes alone. But keep in mind that you are viewing only part of the sky. But keep in mind that you are viewing only part of the sky. If the whole sky were visible you could count about five thousand stars. part of the sky If the whole sky were visible you could count about five thousand stars. If you look through a small telescope you might see as many as six hundred thousand stars. Through the most powerful telescopes you might see as many as six hundred thousand stars. Through the most powerful telescopes Astronomers can spot millions of stars. No one is sure exactly how many stars there are. But astronomers believe there are at least two hundred billion billion stars out in space. Now that we are putting it all together I want to give you the ten keys that I believe will guarantee you success in speaking with an American accent. Here we go. Number one. Practice and listen are the key. You can improve your pronunciation in only a few weeks. But for many people it takes longer. As I told you when we started practicing is important but so is listening. As you go through your day listen to the melody of English. English has its own rhythm and flow. Iggers, imitate the way they speak. You'll see that they also follow the same speech rules that I presented throughout this program. Number two. Do not leave off the endings of your words. Do not leave off the endings of your words. You may want to record those words into a mini voice recorder and play them back at a later time. Number four. And this is a big one. Open your mouth. Open your mouth more when you speak English than when you speak your native language. Native speakers of English generally open their mouths wider than speakers of other languages. People who speak English as a second language sometimes speak like this and they feel embarrassed to open their mouths too much. Okay, know these techniques that I'm teaching you. Be afraid to speak. Get involved in conversational speech and more intelligible English. Okay, number five. Don't be afraid to speak. Get involved in conversations. It is very important that you practice what you are learning and use these techniques loud in English for 10 to 15 minutes every day. This will help you strengthen and re-train the movement patterns of your mouth muscles that you use to produce intelligible English. Number seven. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation errors. Now this could be just audio or audio and video. It's a really good idea to do because it will increase your awareness of pronunciation mistakes that you may not even be aware of. Number eight. Watch the mouth movements of native speakers and try to imitate them. When you watch TV, look at the mouth movements of actors. Repeat what they are saying. Try to imitate the intonation and rhythm of their speech. Number nine. Here's a really good tip that many of my clients do. Buy books on tape and also buy the actual book. Go to your favorite bookstore and buy an American. This is very important so that you can hear their more English with them. Number ten. Be patient. You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. It will take time. Some people expect instant results. Now go and practice the paragraphs that we covered today and I'll see you at our next lesson.