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English Speak Like Native is Back!
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Did you guys miss me? I bet you did. Thank you so much for all your loyalty. It’s incredible how many emails I got from loyal followers just asking me when the website is going to be back up. Well, there it is. The website has been re-designed and now looks completely different. Parts…
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Blessed are the English learners who can master their emotions
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To master your emotions is to decide how YOU WANT to be feeling now as opposed to how you ARE feeling now! Imagine how difficult that is. As a matter of fact, for most people, it is beyond reach. While it is most certainly not beyond reach (unfeasible), it can easily be if it…
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Bad pronunciation: 3 don’ts
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Bad pronunciation comes basically from 3 reasons that your pronunciation may not be good enough or clear enough. We’ll refer to these 3 reasons as the 3 don’ts. We’ll use the following sentence to demonstrate the 3 dont’s. I will get back to you as soon as possible (you often say or hear that…
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Native English or Native American
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They’re not the same. You can be speaking native English without a purely American accent, British accent, Australian accent, Kiwi accent, Canadian accent, Irish accent, Scottish accent or South African accent. It can be a mix of all these accents. Your English could borrow different attributes or characteristics from each one of the accents…
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The schwa sound explained
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What is the schwa sound? It is a very LAZY and typically quick and short. In the world of colors, it is equivalent to GREY. In the world of drinks, it is equivalent to water, NO TASTE! Got the idea? I say it’s lazy, because we don’t need to make any effort with the…
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Error correction in pronunciation teaching
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Why we don’t do it much… Some say “don’t do it”, others say “do it in moderation”, and I say, do it as often as the learners need it. Note that I’m not talking about error correction in a General English class, I’m only talking about error correction in pronunciation courses where learners do…
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How to sound like a native speaker?
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WARNING: Is that what you really want? To sound like a native speaker of English? Then be prepared to live as two different persons in one. Relax, I’m not talking about schizophrenia, I’m talking about creating a new identity that can coexist with the old one peacefully. You will have to be comfortable speaking…
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From Advanced to Native-like English: Myth or reality?
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So you’re an advanced English speaker! You can speak fluently, you can say pretty much anything you want, you can even discuss politics, economy and other social issues intelligently and even eloquently. Congratulations. Many native speakers can’t do that with the language. You would be amazed to see how limited some native speakers’ vocabulary…
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Native or non-native English Teachers: My Verdict
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Damn it they are everywhere! There are almost more English teachers out there than students. Basically, anyone who speaks the language is eligible to teach it. In some countries, it is good enough if you are a native speaker, in others you are expected to have some form of certification (and not a qualification…