Overcoming Sluggish Articulation

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Many non-native speakers find it challenging to articulate sounds clearly and distinctly. This video discusses factors that contribute to this quality and offers suggestions for practice to strengthen articulation muscles and increase vibration on the vocal folds to improve sound quality, especially for southern Chinese males. www.englishbythehour.com

[@jamescox36]

I have a stiff jaw and a plump tongue, so I tend to mumble a lot. Your videos are really helping me to speak more clearly, and I'm an American!

[@monkeywrench4169]

This woman is clearly very knowledgeable. Great vid.

[@FrankQCMTL]

I like to record myself while reading a book out loud. It's nice to hear the difference between when you start and when you're warmed up

[@ramanansui629]

@@jjm2948 Blasphemy.

[@TheAnimalsMagicShop]

You have a lovely voice. Some of the voice teachers I've watched on You Tube overdo their s's and sound like a squeaky wheel when they speak. Great job, thank you!

[@rofu37]

I'm a south chinese sluggish articulator. I thought your information was very interesting! "thaaaaAaaaAaaaanK yoooooooOoouuuUUU"

[@scovydarlhabibi1602]

Hi Rebecca,this is superb coaching,stay blessed!

[@jerrydrinkswater5195]

Great tips, Rebecca. Thank you.

[@rebeccalinquist]

@projectali Definitely, find a good speech coach to help you make the changes. Feel free to request a consultation on our website - Englishbythehour (dotcom).

[@rebeccalinquist]

@abeeronah On this channel, you have access to 33 videos ... you can also come to our website for the latest ones, and I plan to release some new ones soon!

[@AparnaNatarajanSai]

This is awesome!! tx Rebecca!

[@rebeccalinquist]

That's a great suggestion! I found it and printed myself a copy ... I'll try to do that soon!

[@bongmanding]

I appreciate your videos, Rebecca. Been following your advices.

[@rebeccalinquist]

+Bong Manding Visit me on Vimeo: vimeo.com/161887983

[@rosacastro505]

Rebecca thank you for the video. I have been using this to help me with my recovery from brain surgery which impacted my speech.

[@rebeccalinquist]

Oh, wow! Best of luck to you in your recovery!

[@thelostjournalofmystifying354]

thank you for your help, my job requires a ton of clear articulation. we have to talk into a program for deaf people and have to sound as clear as possible. someone at my work showed this to me and it helped me significantly . i had no idea how stiff the muscles in my face were until i tried this . it helped to warm them up and strengthen them so i can speak more clearly. i still need more practice but these exercises helped alot

[@rebeccalinquist]

If you are interested in our coaching programs, visit our website: www.englishbythehour.com

[@rustyshackleford7984]

Working on just being a less lazy sounding speaker. Thank you!

[@lavieestbelle6068]

This is great, thank you.

[@Josv13]

Very helpful. Thank you

[@rebeccalinquist]

@g125 It's a valid question. The reason you feel that way may be that you are replicating the "pitch." It's important for Chinese speakers to focus on LENGTH not PITCH, so I think a female instructor is a bonus because if you hear yourself in your practice recordings with a high "pitch" it's a signal you are imitating pitch not length, and you can refocus. If you have a male instructor, you may not notice you are focusing on pitch, and not change to length as a focus. Hope this helps!

[@sirgacademy]

i hv downloaded all the video and i think it would be really helpful for me thank u so much for posting all this videos .....mk

[@shavedice5150]

this was a pretty useful video!

[@gateways06]

Great awesome.....very helpful.

[@daifangdai]

Hello Rebbecca, I happen to be a international high school student from southern part of China, I speak perfect mandarin Chinese, which made me very upset when I sounded like a total outsider talking to my American classmates. I have no problem with recognizing the sound-mark and pronouncing it; however, when it came to the real conversation with Americans, I realized the problem was on intonation and how to make it sound cohesive instead of separated words, my nervousness also limited me

[@rebeccalinquist]

Yes, especially if you systematically corrected while doing them.

[@joelouistorres3884]

Hello loved the video by any chance do you teach how to use the TelePrompTer?

[@houaritifest1501]

Hi, Rebecca , your mouth exercises are wonderful. I have an Arabic language and its difficult to me to mix the R and an another consonants, because for the R , I get back my tongue and I mixed with another alphabet like the F or the L sound , that seem difficult, perhaps with exercises I can do that. thanks

[@acadacabra2010]

I'm a chinese man from southern China and I have a terrible sluggish articulation , thannnnnkkkkk yoooooouuuu laaaaa!

[@patricianelson2077]

l'm recovering from a stroke. This was abig help.

[@rebeccalinquist]

so glad it helped!

[@MichaelBernardo]

I want to learn how to speak like how you made your video. You spoke very clearly throughout the video and put together each sentence and thought very effectively without using filler words. How did you know what to say immediately after each section? Did you memorize your presentation? Did you rehearse? Thank you for your tips they are very helpful.

[@rebeccalinquist]

Try ToastMasters ... great way to learn to speak publically ... if you are interested in accent work, our website is www.englishbythehour.com to request a consult!

[@rebeccalinquist]

Good observation! The American /v/ is a cross between an /f/ and a /v/, and depending on your first language, it will not sound like a /v/ to you at all ... like Russian, for example, and some Americans are very /f/-like in their pronunciations. I would recommend a late onset of the vibration for public speaking; so start /f/ migrate to /v/ and then end in /f/ for the best quality ... with optimal breath support of course! Great question!

[@masonwalker6925]

Great video. Thank you.

[@rebeccalinquist]

Glad you enjoyed it. I have an accent series now on Vimeo, and Exec Presence is coming in August! vimeo.com/ondemand/learnamericanaccent

[@HENJAM48]

I wonder could your exercises help people who have suffered a Bells Palsy and have lost the ability to whistle...

[@bellsfiz]

Does it work for singing?

[@mamatalu]

Rebecca, on your website would you post a list of accent coaches in other parts of the country that you consider are good? It would help us in finding a good accent coach. thanks.

[@premesupreme713]

Subscribing✊🏽

[@pessar1]

I seriously didnt know what was wrong, im pretty advanced but couldnt talk for 5 minutes without a flop, its much improved now thanksssss!!!!

[@rebeccalinquist]

a "flop"?

[@pessar1]

yeah like in sports, its informal for failure/mistake

[@MunsKi]

thanks!

[@y0ich1]

your smile bought me :)

[@rebeccalinquist]

@MansoorY I'm waiting too :-)

[@evelynmoore7502]

very helpful

[@rebeccalinquist]

@09pika09 So true! Changing your articulation can take months or years, so do be patient with yourself and consistent with your practice - even 5-10 minutes a day is better than not at all!

[@fazilsheriff3864]

lovely voice rebacca

[@houaritifest1501]

Hi, Rebecca Can you make a vedio who reads the poem the CHAOS and the Pronunciation poem. I can't thanks you enough

[@kelvinchabinga1527]

Hi good lesson

[@sjvcodbgek]

Thanks for the clues, as long as I am watching your videos and practicing everything my accent is totally different. and I have american friends that talk to me at my house and they are helping me too. I am brazilian though, and why did you decide to help people like that?

[@rebeccalinquist]

Combining sounds is challenging ... I suggest you record yourself so you can hear how you sound (may be different than in your head) and also play with different tongue positions for the /r/ ... Americans articulate /r/'s differently ... I would suggest working with anchoring the back of your tongue on the top molars for stability and also practice not touching the tip of the tongue on the roof of your mouth or just behind your teeth ... good luck with the practice!

[@mrdeathclaw66]

well, my problem is that my voice is kind of low, sometimes people are having hard time to understand what I'm saying, i hate talking loud, so, i don't know what needs to be done....

[@markspott1741]

My big problem with reading and talking is transitions from words that ends with "d" and the next word starts with "t or th". Ex, "several red things fell to the floor." After saying "red" it is incredibly difficult to find the "t or th". And worse if there is another "t or th" that follows. Ex, "several red things touched the ground." *IF* I can make it through, "several red things", I MUST pause for 2 to 3 seconds in order to say "touched the ground" otherwise everything else afterwards will be slurred and/or inaudible. The same tends to happen for words starting or ending with "r"...it literally takes my breath away and I must inhale in order to say the next words or they WILL be slurred. Do you have any videos on this type of phenomenon? And does that type of speech issue have a name? With the "t" issues above after "red", if I were to continue to speak the following "t"s come out as something between "d" and "t or th" sounds. Thanks

[@rebeccalinquist]

tongue strengthening exercises should help ... sounds like the tongue is challenged to lift multiple times to make those sounds in close succession ... that and focused practice

[@timruffmusic]

Rebecca, great mouth exercises! With your "v" sound that you're articulating, it sounds like your voiced "v" is mixed with a little bit of unvoiced "f". Is this typical practice with public speaking to have this bit of fricative "f"? With a pure voiced "v" it would seem to me like the best sound would have less hissing and more pure vibration. Thoughts?

[@broooksedmond]

Can tongue twisters improve articulation too?

[@SniperSam]

I speak with an impediment, not too obvious but sometimes, I wonder if its not just our muscles but how about brain function or fogginess?

[@justguitar2012]

She sounds like that high schooler that explains the 4th dimension.

[@roflmows]

hey, this never stopped Marlon Brando from succeeding :D

[@windyrainStorm]

hello Rebecca. I am a Filipino and i do speak English well.. i have been calling Americans and i think i need to work more on my accent .. i have been downloading all ur videos here :) thanks for the great video.. it helps me but still i am not that fluent in English.

[@GzheGzheGzhe]

Pretty cool video actually, i dont use my real voice in the videos (i use tts bot) because i cant understand what i am speaking, i hear mumbling instead, thank you

[@PhrontDoor]

What is the difference between a speech therapist and an accent coach?

[@rebeccalinquist]

good question ... some speech therapists are accent coaches, but some focus on other specialties, like working with stuttering for example or helping stroke victims rehab. Many speech therapists work with abnormalities or pathologies. Accent Coaches (like myself) come from a variety of backgrounds, some times speech therapy, but other times linguistics, music, education, or even acting.

[@PhrontDoor]

Thanks.. and I enjoyed the video -- it was informative and encouraging.

[@BrionyMinodora]

how about smoker voice? could have sworn Rachel Ray was here.

[@yolandayoung6519]

❤️❤️❤️

[@MansoorY]

And who's better than you to coach me? Just waiting eagerly for my Visa Credit Card to join you

[@anandsable1985]

You have a lovely voice.

[@maikehelder3785]

HAHAHAHHA when she did the mumble thing in the beginning, she sounded like Petra's mother from Jane the Virgin

[@TheCrippledEgg]

This is AMSR material

[@kidhypeness]

one person had their tounge cut out

[@rebeccalinquist]

@mamatalu Our coaches offer sessions all over the world, so no need to find one outside of CA, and honestly I don't know anyone using techniques similar to ours; we've developed our own "signature move" proprietary methodology that enables bevhavioral change in just over 2 months ... come to our website and check it out.

[@NjabuloHadebe]

This is one of the things I'm struggling with.

[@callofdutybloginfo]

never trust anyone reading off a teleprompter

[@rebeccalinquist]

Are you suggesting I'm reading off a teleprompter? Just curious ... I've never used one. That's a pretty big compliment if you think my spontaneous speech is that well organized!

[@BearPapa1990]

You look like Tony's shrink from The Sopranos

[@j.j9603]

Pronouciation restricted my social life

[@rebeccalinquist]

bummer

[@chargonchar]

@chargonchar sluggishly, sorry. (a good proof for Nietzsche's and my theory, isn't it? LOL But I am allowed to make errors, since English is not my first language. I'm German, as my Nietzsche quote may have indicated)

[@chargonchar]

The more intelligent a person is, the better he or she articulates. Dumb people always talk sluggish. There is a famous quote by Friedrich Nietzsche: "Better your style by bettering your thinking, it's that simple." (Den Stil verbessern, heisst den Gedanken verbessern, und gar nichts weiter; in: "Menschliches Allzumenschliches") He was referring to writing style, but it goes the same for talking style. THINK clearly, and you will speak clearly.