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Fun Easy English Classroom March 12
 

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American English
pronunciation
lesson 8
American English Pronunciation Lesson 8

Today in the Fun Easy English classroom you are going to learn to pronounce the sound a as in the words hat, jam, pan, ran. Remember "practice makes perfect" if you want to improve your English speaking ability.
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Pronunciation: American English Lesson 8

Pronounce the sound a as in the words hat, jam, pan, ran. Watch the following pronunciation videos and learn to pronounce this sound correctly.
 
Video: American English Pronunciation Lesson 8
Spelling
a abbey, after, an, animal, bag, bath, battle, bland, fast, glass, hat, jab, jam, lamb, man, pan, ran, stand, tap, valley
 
Note: the red letters all have the same sound
 
Sound: Voiced and Unvoiced

This is a VOICED sound which means Your Vocal Cords DO vibrate when making this sound.
You CAN LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover your ears with your hands.

Try covering your ears with your hands as Akiko is doing in the picture.

Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you listen to your vocal cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD
You CAN FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if you place your hands on your neck.

Try placing your hands on your neck as Akiko is doing in the picture.

Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you feel your vocal cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD
The following diagram shows the most important parts of your head and mouth used for pronouncing the sounds of English. It also shows the location of your Vocal Cords.
 
Position: Mouth, lips, and tongue

The following descriptions explain the proper mouth, lips, and tongue position when you make this sound.
Mouth

Your mouth should be relaxed.
Lips

Your lips should be unrounded.
Tongue

The front part of your tongue should be in the lower part of your mouth.
Practice video

Listen to the video and practice repeating each word.
 
 
Pronunciation practice words

Look at your mouth in a mirror and practice pronouncing the following words. Make sure your mouth, lips, and tongue are in their proper positions.
after an animal bag
bland fast hat jam
lamb pan ran stand
 
Note: the red letters all have the same sound (watch the video above)
 
Test: Pronunciation word test

Choose the correct word from the pronunciation practice word list above to complete each sentence.
1.  I like to read a book ________ I eat breakfast.
2.  A cheetah can run very ________.
3.  He ________ all the way home from the store.
4.  The ________ was full of groceries.
5.  They had to ________ in line for hours.
6.  The food was very ________.
7.  She likes to wear a ________ during the afternoon.
8.  It is common to cook vegetables in a ________.
9.  Americans often eat bread with butter and ________.
10.  An aardvark is an interesting ________.
From YOUR Teacher: Nasal Sound

The sound in this lesson is pretty much a nasal sound which means it kind of comes from your mouth and your nose.
 
Additional Lessons
About These Lessons

The following classroom lessons are great for students who want additional conversation, listening, and reading practice.
  • Conversation Lesson - Intermediate Level. Let's Learn English conversation lesson with a conversation video, a video script, audio listening practice, and a new words section.
Conversation Lesson 19 - Movie Night
(Intermediate - Conversation, Listening, Reading)

In this lesson Anna loves movies! And Pete has invited her to see one with him. But is that a good idea?
Lesson Video

Watch the video and then read the video script.
Video Script

Anna: Hi, can you tell me how to get to your movie theater?
(Movie theater worker on the phone gives directions.)
Anna: Oh, that’s easy. OK, thank you. Bye.
(Anna meets Pete outside of the theater.)
Anna: Hi, Pete! Thanks for the movie invitation.
Pete: Yeah, sure Anna.
Anna: I love movies. I love the plot! I love the set design! I love the costumes! I love -
Pete: Anna, I take movies very seriously. You're not one of those people who talks during a movie, are you?
Anna: No.
Pete: Good.
Professor Bot: Anna loves movies. And..she loves talking about movies. And Pete doesn’t sound happy about that.
But he’s trying to be polite. He can do that with Indirect Questions.
We can ask a question directly: Where is your movie theater? or indirectly as Anna does:
Anna: Can you tell me how to get to your movie theater?
They have the same meaning. But indirect questions are more polite and a little more formal.
Many indirect questions begin with:
Can/Could you tell me…
Would/Do you mind…
Would it be possible…
or
Do you know…
Hmm, do you know if Anna will stop talking? I sure don’t.
Keep watching. And, this time look for indirect questions that begin with: Would you mind…
Anna: I love the smell of popcorn. I love seats that rock.
(Her chair makes noise as she rocks back and forth.)
Pete: I love when people are quiet.
(The lights go down and we see movie light on their faces.)
Anna: Ooh look, the previews are starting. I love to see what movies are coming out. Oh, this one looks good!
Pete: Anna, the previews are part of the movie experience. So, would you mind not talking?
Anna: Oh, sure, sure.

(Anna eats her popcorn loudly. Then, she begins drinking her milkshake loudly.)
Pete: Anna, I was wondering: are you almost finished with that?
Anna: No. There's still a lot of milkshake at the bottom.
(She drinks loudly again. And again.)
Pete: Anna, do you mind not drinking so loudly?
Anna: I'll try. But it's really thick.
(She moves the straw around and makes even more noise.)
Pete: Anna, what are you doing?!
(A person in the audience shushes Pete.)
Person in audience: Shh!
(Pete tells the person what was happening.)
Pete: I’m not the one making all the noise.
Person in audience: Shhh!
Anna: I’m done now.
(Anna now holds many noisy boxes of candy. Finally, she chooses a candy bar.)
Pete: Anna, would you mind opening that a little bit more quietly?
Anna: I'll try.
(She tries to open it quietly but cannot.)
Pete: Anna, just give it to me!
(He tears it open with his mouth. It makes a loud noise. Again, someone in the audience thinks he is making too much noise.)
Person in audience: Shhh!

Pete: (to the person) It's not mine. I'm opening it for her. Here.
Person in audience: Shhhhhh!!
(He gives the candy bar quickly back to her.)
Pete: Here!
Anna: Thanks, Pete.
Pete: Now, would you mind being more quiet?
(The light of someone’s phone shines in Pete’s face. He asks the person a question.)
Pete: Excuse me, would you mind turning down your phone light?
(Then, Anna’s phone rings.)
Anna: Oh, sorry! I forgot to turn my phone off.
(She tries to turn it off but drops it under the seat.)
Anna: Oh no! I dropped it. Where is it?
(She looks under the seat in front of her.)
Pete: Anna, can you please turn off your phone?
(She speaks to the person Pete just asked to turn their phone light down.)
Anna: Excuse me, would you mind lending me your phone light for a minute?
Pete: No! I’ll get it!
Person in audience: Shhhhh!
(People shush Pete again. He finally has had enough.)
Pete: Look, people, I’m not the noisy one here! So, you all need to shush the right person. And I should know about shushing! I shush people all the time!!
Security guard: Excuse me, sir. You can’t yell in a movie theater. Would you mind coming with me?
Pete: You're kicking me out? Me? But I’m always the quiet one in the movie!
(The security guard takes Pete out. Anna watches the movie and eats quietly from her bag of popcorn.)
Anna: Pete should know better. You have to be quiet in a movie theater. Shh, the movie’s starting!
Professor Bot: Well, that’s a surprise! I thought Anna would be the noisy one.
Well, she was … with her food. But Pete did all of the talking. At least he tried to be polite by using indirect questions.
Listening

Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation.
Practice
Now, you try it!

When you are in a new city or place, you may have many questions. For example, maybe you are visiting a museum, restaurant or some other place. You don't know how to find it. So, you ask someone a question. Then, when you arrive at the place, you have more questions.

Read about indirect questions below. Then, use the Comments section to practice making indirect questions!

Indirect Questions

Direct questions are questions that we can ask family, friends, or other people with whom we are close.

Ex: “Where is the movie theater?”

Indirect questions are polite and a little more formal. We use them when we talk to strangers or people we are not close with and in work situations.

Ex: “Could you tell me where the movie theater is?”

Common indirect phrases:

Can/Could you tell me…
Would you mind…
Would it be possible
Is there any chance….
Do you know…
Do you have any idea...

Word Order

When we make indirect questions, the word order changes. Look carefully at the sentences below.

Direct: Why didn’t Penelope come?
Indirect: Can/could you tell me why Penelope didn’t come?
WRONG: Can/could you tell me why didn’t Penelope come?

Direct: Where is my phone?
Indirect: Do you know where my phone is?
WRONG: Do you know where is my phone?

Direct: Where is he?
Indirect: Would you mind telling me where he is?
WRONG: Would you mind telling me where is he?

Using do/does/did

For direct questions with do, does or did, this word is removed from the noun clause in the indirect question. (The noun clause in the first example below is "what time the meeting starts.")

Direct: What time does the meeting start?
Indirect: Do you have any idea what time the meeting starts?
WRONG: Do you have any idea what time does the meeting start?

Direct: Where do you want to sit?
Indirect: Can you tell me where you want to sit?
WRONG: Can you tell me where do you want to sit?

Using can/could

With some direct questions that begin with can or could, this word is removed from the indirect question.

Direct: Can/could I come to the movie?
Indirect: Would it be possible for me to come to the movie?
WRONG: Would it be possible can I come to the movie?

Direct: Can/could you share your popcorn?
Indirect: Would you mind sharing your popcorn?
WRONG: Would you mind can you share your popcorn?

“Yes or No” Questions

A “yes or no” question is a question whose expected answer is “yes” or “no.”

For "yes or no" direct questions without what, where, why, who, when and how, we use if or whether in the indirect question.

Direct: Does Anna take movies seriously?
Indirect: Do you know if Anna takes movies seriously?
Indirect: Do you know whether Anna takes movies seriously?
WRONG: Do you know does Anna take movies seriously?

Direct: Is this the right theater?
Indirect: Can you tell me if this is the right theater?
Indirect: Can you tell me whether this is the right theater?
WRONG: Can you tell me is this the right theater?

Direct: Has the movie ended?
Indirect: Do you have any idea if the movie has ended?
Indirect: Do you have any idea whether the movie has ended?
WRONG: Do you have any idea has the movie ended?
New Words
  • candy barn. a long, thin, sweet food, usually covered in chocolate
  • directadj. connected or related to something in a clear way
  • formaladj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing
  • indirectadj. not direct
  • invitationn. a written or spoken request for someone to go somewhere or to do something
  • kick outv. to force someone to leave a place
  • lendv. to give something to someone to be used for a period of time and then returned
  • milkshaken. a thick drink made of milk, a flavoring syrup, and often ice cream
  • plotn. a series of events that form the story in a novel, movie, or live theater performance
  • politeadj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people
  • popcornn. corn in the form of hard yellow seeds that burst open and become soft and white when they are heated
  • previewn. a selected group of scenes that are shown to advertise a movie or television show
  • rockv. to move someone or something back and forth or from side to side
  • seatn. something, such as chair, that you sit on
  • set designn. the creation of film, television or theatrical scenery
  • shushv. to tell someone to be quiet using the interjection “shh”
  • strawn. a thin tube used for sucking up a drink
  • take (something) seriouslyexpression. to treat someone or something as being very important and deserving attention or respect
  • thickadj. not flowing easily
  • turn downv. to lower the volume, temperature or channel of something by pressing a button or moving a switch
  • turn offv. to stop the operation or flow of (something) by pressing a button, moving a switch, etc.
Conversation Lessons

Study all 30 English intermediate conversation lessons. Let's Learn English conversation lessons each with a conversation video, a video script, audio listening practice, and a new words section. These lessons are for intermediate students.
Conversation Lessons

Study all 52 English beginner conversation lessons. Let's Learn English conversation lessons each with a conversation video, a video script, audio listening practice, video speaking practice, video pronunciation practice, a new words section, and a writing activity. These lessons are for beginning students.
Source: Voice of America
 
Additional Information
Avoid Ineffective Study Methods

The complete lesson includes an audio program explaining this topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section, and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program

Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
 
Improve Your Pronunciation by Training Your Ears

The complete lesson includes an audio program explaining this topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section, and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program

Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
 
Improve Your Long-Term Memory by Spacing Practice

The lesson includes an audio program explaining this topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section, and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program

Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
 
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