American English placement is the key to speaking natural English! So, this Fluent American English pronunciation video gives you a 10-minute exercise to improve your placement with many of the major vowel sounds. Make this video a part of your English study routine to start improving your pronunciation and sounding more natural in American English.
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Transcript: This is the workout to sound more natural in American English pronunciation.
We will review placement for major vowel sounds, repeating each exercise 5 times.
Let’s warm-up by lowering placement down and relaxing our throats to let air through.
We’ll use the /a/ sound.
A
A
A
A
Let’s practice with a word now
Stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
And a quick phrase
Stop blocking shots.
Stop blocking shots
Stop blocking shots
Stop blocking shots
Stop blocking shots
Next up: long i
/i/
/i/
/i/
/i/
/i/
Now a word
Please
Please
Please
Please
Please
And a phrase
Please clean these
Please clean these
Please clean these
Please clean these
Please clean these
As you practice the sentence, try to keep the placement in the same spot for the entire time
Our next vowel is another that your first language probably has. Don’t worry about mouth position right now; just try and experiment to get as close to my sound as possible
/u/
/u/
/u/
/u/
/u/
A word:
New
New
New
New
New
Use new glue
Use new glue
Use new glue
Use new glue
Use new glue
Our next vowel, the short I, tends to be very difficult, so take your time
/I/
/I/
/I/
/I/
/I/
Quit
Quit
Quit
Quit
Quit
Quit littering
Quit littering
Quit littering
Quit littering
Quit littering
We’ve covered a lot already, let’s try some sentences that join these vowels. Remember to keep the placement low and have lots of air through your throat
Quit a new job
Quit a new job
Quit a new job
Quit a new job
Quit a new job
Which has been easiest for you, or hardest so far? Let me know in the comments.
Let’s look at some diphthongs now, starting with /eI/
/eI/
/eI/
/eI/
/eI/
/eI/
Day
Day
Day
Day
Day
Save dates
Save dates
Save dates
Save dates
Save dates
Our next diphthong is /oU/
/oU/
/oU/
/oU/
/oU/
/oU/
No
No
No
No
No
No smoking
No smoking
No smoking
No smoking
No smoking
/aU/
/aU/
/aU/
/aU/
/aU/
Found
Found
Found
Found
Found
Clowns found gowns
Clowns found gowns
Clowns found gowns
Clowns found gowns
Clowns found gowns
Let’s combine those last few:
They found rope
They found rope
They found rope
They found rope
They found rope
These will be our last 4 vowels
/3/
/3/
/3/
/3/
/3/
Bet
Bet
Bet
Bet
Bet
Bet pennies
Bet pennies
Bet pennies
Bet pennies
Bet pennies
/ae/
/ae/
/ae/
/ae/
/ae/
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Plan activities
Plan activities
Plan activities
Plan activities
Plan activities
/U/
/U/
/U/
/U/
/U/
Book
Book
Book
Book
Book
Book a booth
Book a booth
Book a booth
Book a booth
Book a booth
We’ll finish with the schwa
/^/
/^/
/^/
/^/
/^/
Run
Run
Run
Run
Run
Brothers run
Brothers run
Brothers run
Brothers run
Brothers run
Good brothers set plans.
Good brothers set plans.
Good brothers set plans.
Good brothers set plans.
Good brothers set plans.
You got your workout in for today! Here’s your next exercise!
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Our Fluent American English pronunciation videos help you improve your American English pronunciation or American English accent for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, or other English exams. Of course, you may just be studying for business reasons, travel, or fun; regardless, we are here to help.
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Who am I? My name is Geoff Anderson. I got my MA in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2012, and have been teaching since 2010. I've studied Italian to around level C1-C2. I was also an IELTS examiner for the speaking/writing tests for 3 years.
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