My boss is trying to put together a newsletter for the school, as part of a broader marketing strategy. He asked me to write some material (most of which would end up being translated, since the target is parents, not students). Because I'm not feeling particularly imaginative, I thought I'd use some of this pre-translated material as the content of my blog today.
Pronunciation Clinic. Each passage provides opportunities to explain specific pronunciation problems. In the above passage [not reproduced for this blog], for example, we talk about
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"dark L" versus "clear L" - the letter "L" in American English has two pronunciations, depending on if it is at the beginning of a syllable (clear or "light" L) or at the end of it (dark L).
There are two difficulties for Korean speakers in learning these sounds: 1) Korean has no sound like the "dark L" and 2) the Korean ㄹ has a "clear L" sound, but unfortunately, only at the end of syllables (because Korean ㄹat the beginning of a syllable is not an "L" sound at all, but an English "R"!). This means that Koreans are used to saying the "clear L" sound only at the ends of syllables, which is exactly where English always changes to a "dark L". For some speakers of American English especially, when we hear a "clear L" in place of a "dark L" at the end of a syllable, it can make it difficult or even impossible for us to understand, since in our language a "clear L" at the end of a syllable is "impossible"!
This passage (above) has a perfect contrast of these two sounds, in the words "normal" versus "normally". The "L" in the first is at the end of the syllable in the first word, so it is a "dark L", while in the second word, because of the adverbial ending -ly, the "L" "moves" to the beginning of the following syllable, so it is a "clear L".
Because Korean has no sound similar to the "dark L", and because they tend use "clear L" instead, this creates confusion for native listeners. I tell my students it is better to change the "dark L" into a weak, vowel-type sound similar to "O" (or Korean 어). Thus the last sound in /normao/ sounds more like "dark L" than /normal/ where the last "L" is a "clear L" (American English speakers will hear /normar/ if you make it a "clear L", and that's not a word!) -
"Schwa" is the name we give in English to the sound we write phonetically as /ə/. This sound is the most common sound in the English language - and it doesn't exist in Korean! So it can be difficult to learn. Part of the problem is that the schwa sound can be represented by any of the English vowel letters - a, e, i, o, u, y. Look at the following:
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'a' in about [əbaʊt]
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'e' in taken [teɪkən]
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'i' in pencil [pɛnsəl]
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'o' in eloquent [ɛləkwənt]
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'u' in supply [səplaɪ]
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'y' in sibyl [sɪbəl]
English often changes vowels to schwa
when they are unstressed. For example, the word "the" is
almost always pronounced [ðə] because it is an unstressed word
in English. But people are surprised to learn that, in the very rare
case where the word "the" is stressed, it is often
pronounced [ði]!
Another good example in the above
passage is the word "satisfaction" which is pronounced
[sætəsfækʃən]. Note the stress is on the third
syllable, and this causes the vowels in the two syllables on each
side of the stressed syllable to "drop" to the schwa. The
best way for Koreans to learn this sound is to listen to a native
speaker carefully and repeat the sound in various words over and over
again.
Keys to mastering English!
People so often ask me, "what is the easiest, fastest way for me to learn to speak English like a native-speaker?" Here are some ideas.
Imitation.
There are many things to remember, but I think one important thing that people often forget is that learning a language requires constant imitation. Do not be afraid to repeat what you hear. And repeat it again. And again. Memorize phrases, and repeat them to yourself as you walk places, or when you're alone at home, or as you go to sleep, or as you wake up.
Inhibition.
Another important thing is that you must not be afraid of failure. Someone once said: "Speaking a foreign language is something that everyone appreciates, even if you do it badly." In this way, it is different from most things - nobody wants to ride in a car with a person who drives badly, or eat food made by someone who cooks badly. But even if you speak English (or Korean, or whatever language you're learning) badly, you're still a hero. So don't be shy. Speak! Every effort is worthwhile.
Confusion is Fun!
The last thing I tell my students is: "If you understand everything I'm saying, you're not learning anything." If I think my students are understanding everything, I start to use more difficult words or grammar on purpose, because I want them to be a little confused. It pulls them along. So don't feel afraid or frustrated if you don't understand everything you hear in English - see it as an opportunity to learn something new. Learn to love the feeling of confusion you get when you hear difficult English, and remind yourself that the feeling of confusion means there is something new there for you to learn.
I really should take my own advice on language-learning, with respect to better and more effectively learning Korean. It's always easier to give advice than to follow it, though. Sigh.
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