Parent Party: Pronouncing "par"

/

This short instructional video teaches English learners how to say words that begin with the letters "par" but have different pronunciations — like "parent" and "party"!

/ /

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.

No "itch" in Michigan

/

Many newcomers to the Midwestern state of Michigan mispronounce the name. It's not totally their fault. In this case, they might blame the French. Here's why.

/ /

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.

Vowel Contrast 10–11

/

Alan helps English students practice distinguishing words like "pull" and "pool." Can you hear the difference? Come listen and learn!

/ /

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.

SST: Columbus Discovered America

/

At Feel Like You Belong, we don't want to police what people say. However, we'd like to call attention to things that people say mindlessly, without thinking. One of those expressions we'd like to see disappear is "Columbus discovered America." Here's why.

/ /

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.

SST: All Lives Matter

/

Here we introduce another installment in our occasional series, Stop Saying That. The slogan we'd like to stop hearing: All Lives Matter. Tune in to learn why this is important.

/ /

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.

Vowel Contrast: /a/ vs. /ʌ/

/

English learners often confuse the vowel sounds /a/ and /ʌ/. In this brief tutorial, we give you practice listening to the differences and tips on how to make these two similar sounds.

Vowel Contrast: /i/ vs. /ɪ/

/

Many ESL students have trouble distinguishing these two vowel sounds: /i/ and /ɪ/. Here we give you practice in hearing the difference.

Vowel Contrast: /ɛ/ vs. /æ/

/

Today, we continue to unveil the difference among the 15 vowel sounds of English. Here we focus on vowels #4 and #5, contrasting the differences and giving listening practice with pairs of words to distinguish /ɛ/ from /æ/.

Consonant Contrast: /b/ vs. /v/

/

This segment highlights the difference between the English consonants /b/ and /v/. We give you a chance to practice along with the video and listen to contrasting pairs of words.

Changing How We See the World

/

When is the last time you thought about the map of the Earth? Hang on to your hats. We have a new way of looking at the world around us.

/ /
, , , , , , , ,

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.