Pronunciation Professor: How To Improve Your Pronunciation And Become Fluent

Pronunciation Professor: How To Improve Your Pronunciation And Become Fluent | Dr. Ron Thomson

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Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 60

@默-c1r Ай бұрын

This was one of your best interviews. This perspective was very unique. It was interesting to hear a phonetics researcher as opposed to the people studying vocab or grammar.

@duckboki7 Ай бұрын

Hey, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

@默-c1r Ай бұрын

@@duckboki7 I enjoyed the interview very much and have listened to it a few times already, thank you for sharing your insights! I hope more language learners and teachers discover your work!

@Limemill Ай бұрын

All in all, this has been THE most interesting and informative language learning-related video for me in months, if not years. Thank you Dr. Thomson and Loïs

@duckboki7 Ай бұрын

Thanks @limemill! Appreciated.

@ijafklasdf Ай бұрын

I'm glad you interviewed someone who specializes in pronouncation. Hopefully we see a few more of these from you.

@Limemill Ай бұрын

Being good enough to pass for a local during conversations is doable at an adult age even when the phonetic system is very different from your native one. I know this empirically. It is true, though, that you *can* find ways to overwhelm any such speaker to a degree where their accent and prosody start to give. But then, very similar things happen to native speakers who are extremely tired, for example. They start mumbling, mixing up sounds, intonating weirdly, etc. The way they do it would be slightly different as they don't have another default language to fall back to, but it will also be very noticeable

@eduardoaraujo6504 Ай бұрын

Thank you for another great interview. Your channel is an absolute must!

@loistalagrand Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@ivanrevkov843 Ай бұрын

Lois, could you make a video describing how You trained your american pronunciation?

@twodyport8080 Ай бұрын

The longer I study the more I am convinced that extensive listening is NOT the key to listening fluency. At least with what I study but maybe not all languages like Chinese. I actually think reading and speaking(imitation) are the key. I analysed a lot of audio and realized messages are compressed in real life therefore what you need to get good at understanding the way the language is templated/chunked. By that I mean, when you hear some sound your brain will "search" for the closest matching template/chunk and map that across as the meaning. Just listening does not work when the information is missing. You need that knowledge about templates/chunks. I found it best to build that up by active practice of immitation and reading. Of course to imitate you need to listen, but just listening alone is not sufficient.

@James_zai_dongbei Ай бұрын

What happened to your last sentence? It makes no sense

@twodyport8080 Ай бұрын

@@James_zai_dongbei fixed

@StillAliveAndKicking_ Ай бұрын

I used to listen to French podcasts, and progress was slow. Later on I changed to include reading a transcript while listening, and progress was much better. As you say, real speech includes lots of contractions and deviations from careful speech, making it very hard to decode if you do not know these contractions. Reading a transcript allows the brain to learn those changes.

@asdocneter Ай бұрын

@@James_zai_dongbei I think he unintentionally forgot the "are" and the sentence should read: "but maybe not all languages *are* like Chinese." (but what is "listening fluency" I have no idea... how can one's hearing be fluent...?)

@Limemill Ай бұрын

From personal observations, I think that, for integration purposes, there is a certain threshold that has more to do with prosody than accent per se after which most locals stop noticing, subconsciously, the accent and, therefore, stop adapting their own speech and treating their interlocutor as an out group member. Would be interesting to theorize what this threshold consists of for the majority of people as this can have very powerful real-life applications for second-language acquisition

@__adachi__167 Ай бұрын

Fascinating interview, specially the part about "um" and "uh" fillers vs. silent pauses. Please follow up with more about shadowing. Also I caught your cats getting frisky at 50:00.

@pohlpiano Ай бұрын

The argument for a silent period similar to the Refold system is actually a very interesting point!

@StillAliveAndKicking_ Ай бұрын

This is an excellent video, very informative. For a long while when I tried to produce a French accent, it felt as if I was trying to betray my roots, to pretend to be something that I’m not. In other words, it felt dishonest and not authentic. I found that listening to a large number of speakers allowed me to discover the common features, and to understand how the accent worked. I could then produce the accent naturally without sounding as if I was trying to immitate someone. One important aspect was to understand the timing of French, and how it differs from English. I now notice that English and German speakers usually cannot get the correct timing in French. I doubt very much that I would be mistaken for a French person, but they would not know which country I come from as I speak a sort of international French with no obvious regionality although seven years ago one of my French speaking bosses thought I had a Quebec accent in French. I did live there 30 years ago. I have since lost my Quebec accent as a result of listening to European French. PS Thompson is pronounced Tompson, that one is a nice gotcha for non native speakers!

@duckboki7 Ай бұрын

I’m actually son of Tom, not son of Tomp. There’s a phonological explanation for why a “p” is inserted, and ultimately ended up leading to a misspelling (in the most common form of the name), which is etymologically absurd.

@StillAliveAndKicking_ Ай бұрын

@duckboki7 Yes, Robertson, Davidson, Jameson and so on. I think some pronounce your surname as Tompson, others as Tomson, at least in Britain, unless I am hearing something that is not really there.

@rsloma71 27 күн бұрын

This interview is very interesting. It provides a knowledge based on science but in a simple and practical way.

@k-lala 29 күн бұрын

Thank you very much for the interview! Lois and Dr. Thomson! It was very insightful and helpful✨

@jjero1 Ай бұрын

What an incredible and useful interview. Thank you so much.

@malenalucero6473 Ай бұрын

This interview was very insightful. I agree with the comments saying that it's useful also listening to people specialized in pronunciation.

@dufifa Ай бұрын

Thanks, the pronounciation and speaking of guest was moderate challenging for me, no simplifying

@little_engine_goes_to_Thailand Ай бұрын

I learned Chinese (Mandarin) while working in Taiwan. I can play online video games with Chinese players, and most don't realize I'm a foreigner. Some may ask which part of China I'm from because of my accent (possibly influenced by a Taiwanese accent). Occasionally, they don't even believe me when I say I'm a foreigner. While I'm far from fluent, on a good day, I can pull it off.

@YogaBlissDance Ай бұрын

THAT'S a limited vocabulary, I think he meant in a certain context, there would be a "tell" a word or use of phrase that would mark u as non native.

@little_engine_goes_to_Thailand Ай бұрын

@@YogaBlissDance Here’s a corrected version of your text: Yes, definitely- totally agree. What I was trying to convey is that with the right motivation and attention to detail, it is possible to train your mouth and vocal cords to produce new sounds. Accents are simply the result of applying your pre-learned vocal patterns to the sounds of a newly learned language.

@msmendes214 Ай бұрын

This one was so good! Thanks so much! (also, your English accent is so good that I truly would have never guessed you are a native French speaker. Lol like the gentleman mentioned, yes I can hear hints of pronunciation differences in your accent that don't exist in a native English speaker's accent but it's so small that I personally can't pinpoint what is the native language)

@Alec72HD Ай бұрын

If you didn't know about Kiwi or Aussie accents, wouldn't you think they have a foreign accent ?

@msmendes214 Ай бұрын

@Alec72HD I think of those accents as regional. But I'm not sure I'd think of it as a foreign accent in the same way I do when someone wasn't a native English speaker. For example, I can tell hindu/urdu speakers aren't native English speakers completely separate from the fact their English is usually UK accented

@ghazypheda Ай бұрын

شكرا

@duckboki7 Ай бұрын

خوشی ہوئی کہ آپ نے اسے پسند کیا۔

@eduardoidiomas5216 Ай бұрын

That was a good one!

@erikaalejandra8384 17 күн бұрын

As an English learner, I feel that an accent shouldn't be a topic of conversation. Of course, we're going to have some kind of accent-we're not native speakers, and that's okay! We should feel proud of our accent because we are learning and doing something that can be really difficult: mastering another language❤

@mle3699 Ай бұрын

Great interview, very insightful. Thank you.

@christiankennes6050 Ай бұрын

Interesting interview on new topics

@maybeide8078 Ай бұрын

"King's english", exactly, that's what I learned at school in Germany. Really funny, talking to the US collegues using "Queen's" english. Unfortunately, in the US "slang" is used extensively, even by the president, especially the new one, Mr. Trump, as well. And this is not taught at school, moreover it is seen as an error.

@Dr_haytam 25 күн бұрын

Is using babbel and pimsleur at the same time à good idea in order to learn german

@keepitshort4208 Ай бұрын

I'm a very slow learner and I want to learn Turkish. I'm more of a reality escapist, so it's hard for me to have interest in things. what's the best way for someone like me who is way below average level ?. Also would appreciate if you could let me know the prompt that i can use to learn the language through chatgpt.

@ЮрА-ш1н1в Ай бұрын

Learning is finding out what you already know.(с) Richard Bach

@stephenmetzler729 Ай бұрын

If you take the average non native speaker of course that is the case, but if you take an opera singer or british actors using am American accent. I do not believe this persons statement. It is just wrong because even though it is the case for the majority that have not changed to a fully native pronunciation. I myself learned Chinese and don’t really have an accent. I feel like this person only knows what is likely not what is possible.

@zak8953 Ай бұрын

You almost certainly have a foreign accent. It's more likely native speakers aren't giving you accurate or honest feedback. Even though Loïs speaks FANTASTIC English, he has a foreign accent and certain other non-native habits and patterns. Which is interesting because a lot of the professional linguists do not point this out for whatever reason. Again, this is not to take away from Lois' English ability as it is very high. I do have a bit of an obsession with second language acquisition as an adult with regards to accent and pronunciation.

@asdocneter Ай бұрын

Stating that 'nobody gets there completely' is an inaccurate generalization. I think that achieving an undetectable accent as a by-product of mastering a language (in terms of vocabulary, grammar, etc.) is indeed unlikely and often results in an approximation at best. However, if the learner prioritizes accent training and prosody as integral components of language acquisition, and works with a dedicated coach, this skill-like any other category (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, reading)-can be refined and perfected. I'm 48 years old, and English is my second language (Hebrew is my first). Despite this, I have absolutely no detectable accent-my speech is predominantly Californian, with an occasional hint of Texan. Not only do I teach English, but I am also a practicing accent coach, specializing in helping learners refine their pronunciation and master the nuances of American English. Although uncommon, a few students and accent trainees have undeniably achieved a perfect General American accent.

@Limemill Ай бұрын

He does make a strange remark right after where he says maybe it's possible to pull it off when it comes to regular conversations, but that, given the right test, you can still "break" someone's accent. Which is interesting, of course and makes sense but pulling it off for conversational purposes is what 99% of the people would consider to be the goal. Additionally, I think given the right test it's possible to make even a native speaker begin to mispronounce words

@asdocneter Ай бұрын

@@marcelosilveira7079 My line of work, and specifically the nature of my particular job, doesn't necessitate a website. But if you want to share with me what you're looking for, perhaps I can help you find it 🙏

@asdocneter Ай бұрын

@@marcelosilveira7079 My line of work, and specifically the nature of my particular job, doesn't necessitate a website. But if you want to share with me what you're looking for. perhaps I can help you find it 🙏

@georgettezanker7499 Ай бұрын

Thanks for your incredibly informative interviews. However, just went to your Anki core decks to find that no Black Friday discount has been applied. Yet...

@malemaline Ай бұрын

How do you work on pronunciation with a class of 30 and one teacher?

@EnglishMasteryHub-cx8vc Ай бұрын

49:58 two cats in the background l0l

@tanyastepanova1631 Ай бұрын

Cats in the background 😂❤

@yukiyuki1263 Ай бұрын

Can this pronunciation expert speak any foreign languages fluently with beautiful pronunciation?

@duckboki7 Ай бұрын

If I could, that would falsify my claim that it’s unrealistic to aim for accent free L2 speech. My Urdu pronunciation is definitely comfortably intelligible, however.

@DestinationNative Ай бұрын

Save yourself the hour this interview takes, and just do Shadowing drills on a daily basis in your TL. It really is that simple. Do that for 30 days, and watch as your pronunciation, and comprehension (by pure repetition of vocabulary multiple times), goes through the roof. Everything else is chaff.