BM English Speaking Radio

Purpose: The purpose of this Roleplay is to show listeners how to properly answer questions during a job interview. We teach them, however, if they listen, they will learn how to answer with the proper pauses and intonation. Piyush: Hello Vishaal, thanks for coming today. Vishaal: Thank you for having me for the interview. Piyush: Now, why don’t you start by telling me about your employment background? Vishaal: Sure. I have been a Training professional for the last ten years. I have worked in training and management roles with a number of companies. I started work with ABC company in 2002 as an executive, worked my way up to the training department and have been doing that ever since. Piyush: What are some of the industries you’ve worked in? Vishaal: I have worked in telecommunications, financial services, travel, and recruitment. Piyush: What would you say your strengths are? Vishaal: My strengths are in creating training modules specific to learners, processes to ensure more effective learning and manage students efficiently. This helps save time and money for my employers. Piyush: What would you say are your weaknesses? Vishaal: My weakness is getting too involved with my job. I find it difficult to give time to my family and friends; however, I am working at striking a better work-life balance. Piyush: Why do you think you would be a good addition to this team? Vishaal: I am a very hard worker and a team player. I believe in high-quality training and am focusing on getting the job done. I have the technical skills and the experience required to work well with your team and deliver results. Piyush: Why did you leave your last job? Vishaal: I decided to leave my last job because I wanted the opportunity to grow and excel with a high performing team, and I felt that I have gone as far as I could with my previous employer. Piyush: Where do you want to be in 3 years? Vishaal: I want to be working for your company in a leadership role with more responsibilities which I know I am capable to handle. Piyush: Do you have any questions about the job? Alright, Listeners, let's do a recap and we will come To the questions as a part of the recap.   Recap: Thank you for having me for the interview.: Thanking the interviewer as the interview starts shows that you value their time. So, don’t just say Thank you, use this phrase. Have worked in various teaching and management roles: you MUST make it a smooth flowing answer. Don’t just list the years and companies you worked for. That is already on your CV I have worked in: AGAIN, Don’t only list the industries, use full sentences to make it like a conversation. This shows you are comfortable talking to new people. This helps save time and money for my employers: Always tell them how your strengths can benefit the company doesn’t only list your strengths. I am working at striking a better work-life balance: When asked about your weaknesses, always end on a positive note. I have the technical skills and the experience required to work well with your team and deliver results: When asked why you want to join, don't only say, hard worker, explain. I felt that I have gone as far as I could with my previous employer: never say anything bad about your previous employer. Here you are saying that you want more responsibility but there is no more opportunity at your current job. I know I am capable to handle: Tell them that you already know you have the ability. This shows your attitude is very good and you are ready to work Phrases to use in job interview Questions ask the interviewer: We must ask questions and use phrases, questions like: What is the further process of the interview? What will the orientation process consist of? What is the further process of this interview? How will I receive feedback on my performance? What critical issues is the organization currently facing? What traits do you consider critical to success in this position? What other training and professional development opportunities exist within this department Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the position: Again, thanking them at the end shows that you value their time. We, at BM English Speaking Institute train freshers and middle-level managers, to speak English Fluently and Confidently. To know more about BM Advanced English Speaking Course visit: https://www.bmconsultantsindia.com/advanced-English-speaking-course.html ----more---- ----more---- 

  Purpose: The purpose of this Roleplay is to show listeners how to meet people for the first time. The conversation need not be long, but it can flow and be quite fulfilling if done correctly using Business English Phrases for an Impressive Introduction. Vishaal: Hello, my name is Vishaal. PIYUSH: Hello Vishaal, I’m Piyush. Vishaal: Nice to meet you Piyush. PIYUSH: What do you do for work Vishaal? Vishaal: I am an English Trainer and I help students learn English quickly and easily. How about you Piyush? What do you do? PIYUSH: I am a Business consultant. I help businesses increase their profits by creating efficient systems and processes. Vishaal: Wow. That sounds interesting! PIYUSH: Where do you teach Vishaal? Vishaal: I train students at BM in Andheri, and my students are from all walks of life. PIYUSH: How long have you been doing that for? Vishaal: I have been training for 3 years now. How about you? Where are you based? PIYUSH: I am based in Mumbai, India. My clients are based all over the country; however, most of them are in Mumbai. Vishaal: Do you have a Business card? I’d like to contact you to help me get more business. PIYUSH: Sure! Let’s have a conversation and see if we can work together. Give me your card also. If any of my clients are looking to improve their English I will send them in your direction. Vishaal: I appreciate that very much  Piyush. It was great to meet you. PIYUSH: Same here, I will shoot you an email so we can schedule a meeting. Vishaal: Thank you. Take care. Recap: 10 business English phrases for impressive introductions I have used in This episode. Nice to meet you: Means you are glad or happy to meet the other person. I am an English Teacher and I help students learn English quickly and easily: When you use a complete phrase like this, it shows fluency. Don’t just say your company and designation. That sounds interesting: This shows you are listening to the speaker and if you are interested in the conversation, he will continue to talk with you. all walks of life: This means people of all ages from all backgrounds. been doing that for This means the person is still at his current job and you want to know from how many years he has been there. Where are you based: With this, you are asking which city or area the other person’s office is in. I’d like to contact you to help me get more business: Simply means that you would like to work with this person and help each other out. Send them in your direction: Which means “I will send them to your office” I appreciate that very much: A better way of saying “Thank you”, especially if you are talking to a foreigner. schedule a meeting: Means, let us set up a time and date for a meeting to discuss business. These are 10 business English phrases that you must use at conferences in order to get more contacts for your organization. We, at BM English Speaking Institute train freshers and middle-level managers, to speak English Fluently and Confidently. To know more about BM Advanced English Speaking Course visit: https://www.bmconsultantsindia.com/advanced-English-speaking-course.html  ----more---- ----more----

What is word stress? In English, every word is made up of “parts” or what is technically called “syllables”. we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one word, we stress ONE syllable. We say one syllable very loudly (big, strong, important) and all the other syllables very quietly. Let's take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic. Do they sound the same when spoken? No. Because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable in each word. And it is not always the same syllable. So the "shape" of each word is different Why is Word Stress Important? You might think that as long as you can communicate with English speakers (and you are probably already able to do so), it is not necessary to know which syllable should be stressed. However, word stress is an important part of speech. Here are some reasons why: Native speakers rely on stress to process what they hear and use it to identify words. Word stress affects the sounds of the vowels in the word. Learners who know where to stress words are more confident in speaking and reading English. Miscommunication between non-native speakers and native speakers of English can be the result of incorrect word stress patterns by the non-native speakers. Knowing about word stress helps learners to identify words when listening. Knowing the stress pattern of words can help you remember the pronunciation of new words. Knowing stress rules will help you pronounce new words that you come across. Once you know which syllable to stress in a word, it will be much easier to apply vowel reductions. So, how do I know where to stress and where not to in a word? That’s an interesting question, here are two very simple rules about word stress: 1. One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.) 2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants. Here are some more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand where to put the stress. But do not rely on them too much, because there are many exceptions. It is better to try to "feel" the music of the language and to add the stress naturally Resource for practice: https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-rules.htm 

I want to speak like a brit, is it easy? Speaking with a British accent can be one of the easiest things to do as our accent is closest to theirs. How can I speak like a Brit? You need to Master 4 Sounds to Speak with a British accent. Shall we have a look? Here are a few aspects to look at: 1. The-U’s While in American English the “u” is often pronounced as oo, in British English it is pronounced more as ew with an emphasis on the last letter. For example: The word “tune” is pronounced as “tewn”  in British English and “toon” in American English or the word “duty” would be pronounced as “Dewty”  unlike American English where it would sound more like “Doody.” Try to practice a few: Tune Duty Stupid Tongue twister: Luke stewed while he cooked a stew.  2. The -A’s In standard British English the sound of the “A’s” is distinctly an “ah” sound like that of the word “car”  or rather “cahr”. Let’s practice a few:  plant,  can’t,  bath,  glass  path Tongue twister: Andrea and Andrew ate eight acid apples accidentally 3. The R’s In the standard British accent it is uncommon to pronounce the final “r” of most words, rather it is left open at the end. Some examples would be: Chair-Ch-eh Cover-Cov-ah Father-Fa-tha Rather-Ra-tha Tongue twister: Father, mother, brother, sister, hand-in-hand go together.  4. Finally, the T’s “T’s” are very under-pronounced in American English and often even take the sound of the letter “d” like “wadder”-water. If you want to really impress a British English speaker it would be a  good idea to always pronounce your “t’s” properly both at the beginning, middle and end of a word. Try practicing some of these with the open ending but a pronounced “T”. Water Waiter Winter Titanium Tongue twister: Tea for the thin twin tinsmith ## End ##

I want to speak like an American, is it easy? Speaking with an American accent can be hard for many reasons but the biggest challenge for some English learners is because certain sounds in Spoken American English are not found in other languages (and vice versa). For us Indians, we need to master certain sounds that Americans have that we don't have. (Because our accent is closer to the British accent. How can I speak like an American? You need to Master 5 Sounds to Speak with an American Accent: 1. The sound /r/ This is the most important sound that makes the difference between American and British Accents. All the Rs must be rolled.. for this, you need to keep the tongue back. Do not let your tongue touch inside your mouth. Round your lips and push forward. Examples: Ride, Rabbit, Hard, Fire, Carol Tongue twister challenge: Ryan rode the railway to Romania and meet Reese and Rowan in Rome. 2. The sound /t/ We usually make a softer T... the Americans make it sound like a TH.. or the Hindi  ठ Examples: Tree, Team, Tom, Twelve, Tray, Tame Tongue twister challenge: Terry and Tom told Tim they want to try twelve trays of tea 3. The sound /p/ Put your lips together firmly, stop the air completely, then pop the lips open. Not a vocal sound. Examples: Pot, Peter, Pay, Play, Help, Apple Tongue twister challenge: Peter wanted to help Patty make the apple pie so he put the pot on the stove top. 4. The sound /sh/ Touch the palate with the sides of the tongue and release the air slowly through the passageway formed down the center of the tongue. This is NOT a sound made with your voice. Examples: Sugar, Sure, Mention, Chef, Chicago, Ocean Tongue twister challenge: She wished she had mentioned about the shoes to the chef  5. The sound /K/ /C/ Bring the back of the tongue to the velum, stop the air completely and then release with a voiceless sound. Examples: Cat, Clean, Crazy, Kettle, Kean Tongue twister challenge: The crazy cat cleaned the kettle and made a cup of caramel coffee.  

What is an accent? An accent is a way a person or a group puts emphasis on different parts of a word. It also refers to the rhythm with which a person or a group speaks ANY language. It can also refer to the speed at which a person speaks So how many types of accents are there? Well, there are a lot.  There are a large array of different accents within primarily English speaking countries, like the US and England, and there are a large array of foreign English accents. Can I learn an accent? ABSOLUTELY.... The ability to learn accents and different dialects take training, patience and voice talent. As many people say, the best way to learn a foreign accent or dialect is to speak it. ... One of the hardest things to learn in the voice acting business is speaking in other accents. Right technique How do I go about understanding people from the US? It’s quite easy, we are exposed to US accent everytime we watch an English movie... here are some tips: So today’s episode you’ll learn how to understand fast spoken English. Let’s go! UNDERSTAND REDUCTIONS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING Americans reduce a lot of sounds when they speak. For example, you read “Don’t you want to get a coffee later?” Then we squish it all together when we speak, and it becomes /Duhwntchuh wanna gedduh coffee layder?/ We reduce “don’t you” to /duhwntchuh/, “want to” becomes /wanna/ and “get a” becomes /gedduh/. You have to notice these to start understanding real English. To help you, I created an American Accent Survival Kitthat gives you audio exercises for 12 everyday expressions. Go get it! Seriously. And it’s free! DON’T DEPEND ON SLOW ENGLISH If you want to understand the way Americans really speak, you have to listen to real spoken English. A lot of books to study English give you audio that is slow, or clearly articulated. In the real world, it’s not like that. I’m sure you’ve noticed! So you need to also study English the way it’s really spoken. My video series “Tame The Hot Potato” helps you do that. For each video, you can get a worksheet to help you understand our everyday conversations in real spoken English.  KEEP ON PRACTICING YOUR ENGLISH  How many of you depend on television series and movies to improve your English comprehension? I know you do. TV is good and fun, but it’s not enough. You have to consciously work. Study. Do listening exercises The site elllo.org is one of my favorites for this, plus you can watch this video for an idea on how to use the site to improve your listening skills. And there’s also this lesson and this lesson where you can do some exercises. PRACTICE THE “AUDIO FLOOD”  If you’re thinking “Vishaal” I don’t even understand ‘audio flood’!”, let me explain. A flood is like when it rains a lot, a lot, a lot, and there’s a lot of water everywhere. In the streets, the houses. That’s a flood.  You have to flood your brain with audio in English. This is where movies and TV series are useful. You can also listen to American radio stations with the smartphone app TuneIn Radio.  Or listen to podcasts in English. My favorite for learning English is All Ears English because it’s English lessons but in real spoken English. PRACTICE YOUR ACTIVE VS PASSIVE LISTENING You see, there’s a difference between active and passive listening. And you need both. Most students have too much passive listening and that’s why their comprehension improves slowly. You have learned a few activities earlier, and here’s one more active listening activities that will boost your comprehension AND your pronunciation:  Shadow reading. Here’s how you do shadow reading. Get the transcript of the audio you listen to. For example, on elllo. You have the transcript of each audio on the site. As you listen, you read with the speaker. Not listen and repeat. You match the speaker’s speed, intonation, everything. It’s that simple! This makes you more conscious of how the words sound when they’re spoken at normal “American” speed. And what is the British accent easier to understand? Well, when a person says “British accent” often we may get confused, as the British accent on it’s own doesn’t exist; remember that Britain consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all of which have distinct English speaking accents. What we are going to focus on today is the typical standard British accent or rather something closer to the “Queen’s English”. Now let’ talk about the Australian accent, how is that different? So, I have heard visitors to Australia often remark about the difficulty in understanding the language. People from non-English speaking backgrounds who may have had the chance to study English at home still struggle to comprehend the Aussie vernacular and accent. Even Those from English-speaking countries such as the USA and England even find things difficult on occasion. Why is it so difficult to understand Australian Accent? When it comes to understanding the Australian accent, it’s useful to point out that not all Australians speak exactly the same way. But unlike other countries, where accents vary slightly depending on the part of the country from which someone comes, in Australia accents are more likely to differ based on class factors. Two people living in the city on opposite sides of the country — say, Sydney and Perth — might sound exactly the same, despite the distance. However, someone from the rural areas of Victoria is likely to sound different to someone coming from it’s capital, Melbourne. Australian accents can be split into three categories — broad, general and cultivated. Broad accents are generally used by rural Australians and can be likened to the exaggerated accents people like Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin presented to the world. General accents are the most common and are most likely to be used in metropolitan areas; Aussies like Hugh Jackman or Jennifer Hawkins employ this kind of accent. Finally, there’s the cultivated Australian accent, which has more similarities to British English and can be heard by the likes of Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis So how do we go about understanding the Australian Accent? One of the most common habits of Australian language is the tendency for speakers to run words into each other. While most Australians will avoid this when speaking one on one with someone from another country, if a foreigner finds themselves in a mixing in a group of most Australians, they often find the conversation hard to follow. In some cases, Australians will leave off certain syllables altogether; the suffix “ing”, for example. “I’m going to the football tonight”, then, may become “I’m go’n the football tonight” when many Australians are speaking in their local dialect. Any difference in words in Australian English? Australians also have a tendency to avoid pronouncing the “R” at the end of words. For example, a word like “bar” will be pronounced “ba” and a word like “doctor” will be pronounced “docta”. They also often shorten common words by taking the first syllable and adding a vowel. “Afternoon” will become “arvo”, service station will become “servo”, barbecue will become “barbie” and breakfast will become “brekky”. This is also commonly done with people’s names; somebody with the surname “McDonald” will probably become “Macca”, and someone with the surname “Roberts” will generally become “Robbo”. You may also notice  Australians use terms that you recognize in a way you may not be familiar with. Take the term “heaps”, for example, which is used in place of “really”. Something that is “really good” will be “heaps good”, or someone who is really sick will be described as “heaps sick”. Although we should point out, sick doesn’t necessarily mean “ill”, either — in Australia it could mean “great”! Yep, we’re a confusing bunch. Finally, one final thing to note is that Australians have a habit of answering a question with a double negative. “Not bad” is a common response to the question “how are you”. If an Australian agrees with something you’ve said, they may say, “You’re not wrong.” Or perhaps they think something is nice, or good — they might say that it’s “not too shabby. Listen to interviews of popular Australian Hollywood actors on youtube, actors like Nicole Kidman, Chris Hemsworth (He acts in the Avenger's movies as Thor), Hugh Jackman or watch Australian shows like  Home and Away and Packed to the Rafters. Resources:  www.elllo.org www.dialectsarchive.com              

How to remove MTI? There are certain sounds that we must practice in order to remove our MTI. As mentioned earlier, we need to identify from where we come in order to understand which part of MTI we need to remove. Let’s look at the most common sound errors: If we are from North Or West India, we have a problem with the S and SH sound The S is pronounced as the स in Hindi and The SH is Pronounced as the श. Before we move on to words, we MUST practice the sounds. In order to make the S sound, We must place the tongue flat on the roof of the mouth, stretch your lips like you are smiling and let the air out and say Ssssssss…..Ssssssssss For the SH sound, we have to place the tongue flat on the roof of the mouth, ROUND your lips and say Shhhhh…Shhhh…. Now practice both sounds  S, Sh, S, Sh, S, Sh, S, Sh, Now move on to words, here is a tongue twister: She Sells Sea Shells on the sea shore. You must first practice only the S and Sh sounds slowly first and then quicker, then try the Tongue twister one word at a time People from East India, mostly have a V and W pronunciation issue. To pronounce the “V”, place your bottom lip lightly under the top teeth and say “V”. Do NOT round your lips. Again V Try this tongue twister: Vincent Vowed Vengeance Very Vehemently To pronounce the “W” sound, round your lips and push the air out, and say Wh.. Again Wh Try this tongue Twister:        Whether  the  weather is cool. Whether the  weather is hot. We will enjoy the weather. Whatever the weather be People from South India mostly have a speed issue. The first thing is for us to speak slowly. As Indians, we speak at approximately 130 words per minute. The reason for this is that our Mother Tongues are spoken very fast and since a young age, we are used to hearing and understanding that speed. Here is an exercise to slow down: Choose a text that is approximately 75-200 words long. Pick something that you think you can read easily, such as a book from one of your English classes, or even a newspaper. Now, Read the passage and time yourself. See how long it took you to read the passage. Read the same passage again, but Add 15 seconds to your time... For Example, If it takes you 3 minutes the first time, the same passage should take you 3 minutes 15 seconds. Read the same passage again, add another 15 seconds. So, the passage that took you 3 minutes should take you 3 minutes 30 seconds. There are other sounds that we need to practice. The table below can help. Follow the instructions. AH AW OH OO AY EE I MARK MAUL MOAN MOON MANE MEAN MINE PART PAUL POLE POOL PAIN PEEP PIE TAR TALL TOLL TOOL TAKE TEETH TIE LARK LAWN LOAD LOO LAKE LEAK LIE SAAB SAW SNOW SOON SANE SEEN SIGN BAR BORN BONE BOON BAIL BEEN BILE TART TAUGHT TOE TOOL TAIL TEAL TILE FAR FALL FOE FOOL FAIL FEEL FILE GUARD GOD GOAD GOON GAIL GEEK GUY HARD HALL HOLE HOOP HAIL HEAT HI NASTY NOT NO NOON NAIL NEAT NIGHT CAR COST COAT COOL CAKE KEEP KITE   Download 350+ Tongue Twisters... 

What is voice modulation? Voice modulation is the skill which helps you to emotion into the message you want to convey. It helps you to decorate your sentence with the expression, proper emotions and perfect use of the pitch. What's the difference between accent, pronunciation, and voice modulation? Are they all the same or different? An accent is a way a person or a group puts emphasis on different parts of a word. It also refers to the rhythm with which a person or a group speaks ANY language. It can also refer to the speed at which a person speaks.  Pronunciation generally refers to the clarity and correctness of the spoken word. For example, if you say "coach" for "couch" that is incorrect. Voice modulation is generally something associated with singing, however, everyone modulates his/her voice to some extent, on a daily basis. People shout when they are excited, they whisper when they want to be secretive, they may exaggerate certain sounds, and so on. This is a natural and normal aspect of speech. Why is it important? Voice Modulation is an important aspect of Effective communication. Without Voice Modulation, your speech would sound flat. there are basically 6 benefits to modulation: Binds the audience Expresses emotions Shows confidence Speech becomes interesting Allows speaker to stress/draw the attention of a listener Brings clarity in Communication  How do I modulate my voice? Voice modulation depends on 4 aspects: Pitch: the pitch is the volume of your voice. Example if you are angry your voice gets loud if you are sad your volume is soft, if you want to tell a secret, you whisper. Pace: Pace is your speed.. for example, if you are nervous or scared, you speak very fast, if you are relaxed, you speak with a clear and calm tone. Pause: Pause refers to the breaks we take in our sentences. We pause for many reasons. A few are at a comma, at a full stop (thought complete), we should also pause after giving important information, this will give the listener time to understand everything you have said. Tone: Tone is the emotion with which you speak. This is the most important part of modulation. You must speak with emotion as it will convey how you feel about the topic. Are there any exercises to practice? Absolutely. Here are 7 handy tips to help you practice. Record your voice: listen to it and see how flat it is. Sing along technique: Pick your favorite English song. Listen to the way the singer sings and try to imitate and record yourself singing. Now listen and compare both. Pick Ed Sheeran. The shut-eye technique: Pick a movie, listen to some of the dialogue with your eyes closed.. can you make out what the actor is feeling? Now try and do the same... watch the clip of My fair lady “the rain in Spain” the link of which is on our website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVmU3iANbgk Pitch your voice: if your voice is low, do the loud reading techniques. Read from 3 steps back and read a passage. See how clear you are. If you cannot hear each word clearly, read again in a louder voice. Pace balance: read for 2 mins. Add 5 seconds. Pause for a cause: read a passage newspaper, at a comma count 1 in your head and read again. At a full stop count 2 and move on... do this daily for 10 minutes. Tune your Tone: Try to repeat my tone in this passage.  

What are Indianisms? It is a fact well known and acknowledged that while we Indians don’t exactly speak the Queen’s English, the educated Indian’s grasp of the language per se is reasonably strong. Most Indians are bilingual (at the very least), speaking their mother tongue as well as English. As a result, due to the brain-to-tongue translation process, some uniquely Indian phrases have been born Indianism refers to a word or phrase which is a characteristic of Indian English. Indianism may also refer to the way a sentence has been structured as if it was literally translated from an Indian language to English  How do Indianisms affect our communication? As you know the ability to deliver clear high-impact communication is among the top 3 skills required to become a successful business leader.  However, I believe there’s an ability which is even more fundamental to workplace success - the ability to use a correct expression, phrase and word in one’s day- to- day written and oral communication. Of we use words and phrases that are purely Indian, it can deliver an unclear and sometimes an incorrect message. What are some common Indianisms? ‘’What’s your good name?’’  - this again is a translation from the sweet Hindi opener ‘aapka shubh naam kya hai?’’ ; the lift n shift from the Hindi to English doesn’t make sense,  especially in business communication. ‘Different different’ – a straight lift from the Hindi expression ‘alag-alag’ . Probably the most frequently used expression in India. A habit of thinking in Hindi makes us add the second ‘different’ to the sentence. 'Passing out' When you complete your studies at an educational institution, you graduate from that institution You do not "pass out" from that institution. To "pass out" refers to losing consciousness, like after you get too drunk, though I'm not sure how we managed to connect graduating and intoxication 'Prepone' "Let's prepone the meeting from 11 a.m. to 10 a.m." Because the opposite of postpone just has to prepone, right... INCORRECT.. you “Bring the meeting forward” There is an entire list on our website with corrections that you can go through and change.. Any other Indianisms apart from words and phrases? Absolutely. Our grammar leaves a lot to be desired of. Especially the way we ask questions. The use of Na kya, or what. We ask questions with the tone of our voice and not with proper grammar. For example: You are going for the meeting? Should be: Will you be at the meeting? How do we fix this? The first thing we need to do is correct our grammar. We as ind8ans love to use the continuous tense.. everything is “ing”.. going, coming, doing. English as a language has a tense for every situation and we MUST use them. Next, learn to ask questions correctly and not with the tone of our voice. Next, learn the correct terms and use them (look at the list on the site) especially in business communication. Think in English. If we translate directly, everything goes wrong. You CANNOT translate from one language to another, the grammar is completely different.

What is intonation? All languages have their own distinct melody or music. This music of languages is called intonation, and it’s something you probably don’t even think about when speaking your native language. Intonation is the rise and fall of your voice when you speak. Many times, it’s just as important as your words in expressing what you want to say. For example when you are angry your voice gets louder and when you are scared you voice gets softer or when you want to tell a secret, you whisper Why is Intonation important? Using the right intonation can actually change the meaning of your words. For example: I didn’t say he stole the money. Are there types of intonation? Yes, the two main types are Rising and falling intonation You use rising intonation when you ask a question and you use falling intonation when you make a statement. How can I learn intonation? The best way to learn is practice. To improve your intonation, you will first need to become aware of it. So before you do anything, record yourself speaking. Choose a paragraph that has different kinds of sentences, read it and record. Now get someone who knows English well to record the paragraph. Listen to them and try and repeat. Next, pick your favorite English movie on YouTube. Play and listen to the actors. Can you hear the feeling in their voice? Now try and repeat the dialogues with the same feelings. You must practice this daily.          

What is pronunciation? Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation"), or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language Why do we have pronunciation errors? We come from a region where there is no fuss about pronunciation. Maatraas make it easier. We have a well-defined structure of phonetics in Indian languages. We are used to that rich well defined phonetic. We should be proud of that, however, English is given a lot of importance today and we must learn the correct pronunciation For example: 1.Picture Wrong pronunciation: pi-ther Correct pronunciation: pik-cher   Sewage Wrong pronunciation: sea-wage Correct pronunciation: soo-ij   Executive Wrong pronunciation: exe-cu-tive Correct pronunciation: exec-i-tive   Relative Wrong pronunciation: re-la-tive Correct pronunciation: rel-uh-tiv   Tortoise Wrong pronunciation: tor-toise Correct pronunciation: tawr-tuh   How to improve my pronunciation? Improving pronunciation can only be done with practice. Practicing daily causes what is called muscle memory, our lips and tongues being muscles remember how to pronounce a word only if we practice enough. Here are a few steps to help you improve: Learn to listen: Before you learn how to speak, you’ll need to learn how to listen. Keep your ears open around people who speak English. Listen to the way they pronounce words and try to repeat. Learn from someone who speaks well: You must f8nd someone with a neutral accent and learn the proper position of the tongue and lips. Make a list of common words you use. Ask a fluent speaker to pronounce the words and record them. Listen to them and try to pronounce them the same way. Until you learn the correct pronunciation SPEAK SLOWLY. Of you speak very fast, you will go back to the old way of pronouncing. Pronounce the ending of each word especially the S and D. Video Record yourself: This is one of the most effective tools you can use. When you record yourself, you can see the movement of your lips and see if you are pronouncing them correctly.  

What is Mother Tongue influence? Mother tongue influence is a global term that is used. The correct full form for MTI as we locally call it is Mother Tongue Interference, but we refer to it in our day to day life as Mother tongue influence. Mother Tongue interference is the base or our native language that interferes with our English Speaking. Do only Indians only have Mother Tongue Influence? Not at all, and this is something that we all think that only we Indians have this, but, Mother tongue interference or MTI is in everybody who speaks more than one language, so anybody who speaks 2 languages wherein they speak their Native language at home and outside they speak English, all of these people have Mother Tongue Interference, for example, if you look at the Far East countries like Japan, China, Hong Kong etc.. They speak very quickly with very short words. The reason for this is because their base language which is Japanese or Mandarin (as in the case of China or Hong Kong) has very short syllables so that is what interferes with their English speaking. If you look at the European countries Like Italy or Spain, their base language has very long drawn sounds, so is why their language sounds very easy and slow. So, everybody has a Mother Tongue Influence, if they speak 2 languages. How does Mother tongue influence affect us? Mother tongue influence affects us in the following ways: Kills our Confidence Pronunciation errors Stage Fear No job No promotion How to identify MTI? New to the language, it will be difficult. Look at where you come from. If from the North “Pleasure” and “Pleasure”; Bengal “V” and “W”; West coast “S” and “SH” Listen to people who speak English, look at lip movements. How to eliminate MTI? Make a list of common words, use Oxford English dictionary app to pronounce or find someone who speaks well and as them to pronounce while you record. Use the recording to practice. Read aloud and record. Play it back and listen. Watch English News channels, especially Indian English news channels. Practice a lot. Practice makes perfect.