Vowel #6
/Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #6 in American English: /a/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
sharing the life stories of immigrants, expatriates, and refugees to the United States
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #6 in American English: /a/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #5 in American English: /æ/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #4 in American English: /Ɛ/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #3 in American English: /ei/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #2 in American English: /I/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Alan teaches the pronunciation of Vowel #1 in American English: /i/. He includes spelling patterns, exceptions, and sample sentences for practice.
Do you HAVE a hat or WEAR a hat? What about a tattoo? What about dreadlocks? English grammar has a simple rule to answer these questions. Click here now!
Alan looks at a short email between two Americans and dissects the informal language that they use.
Informal Expressions and Their Meanings
shoot you an email = email you (quickly, casually, no big deal)
grabbing lunch = having lunch (not a big commitment)
reach out = connect, contact, communicate (informal)
on your radar = planned, in your plans, in your awareness
swing by = come, visit, stop (for a brief, informal visit)
no pressure = I don’t want to obligate you if this isn’t desirable.
a fit = convenient to your needs or plans
circle back with you = re-contact you
Paraphrasing with a Little Shortening
Last week, I emailed you about having lunch tomorrow. I know you are busy, but I thought I would check to see if lunch was still planned. I am still available tomorrow if lunch isn’t possible. Tom and I will be downtown at a Morgan Stanley meeting today, and if you are free, I could come after lunch to see your new office. No pressure either way if it isn't good for you, but I thought I would re-contact you about this. (86 words, 14% reduction)
Advanced English pronunciation tip: Alan gives nine examples of when native speakers don't pronounce "h" in their speech. A recommendation for sounding less like a robot, more like a native speaker.
Did you know there are three ways to pronounce "h" in American English?
Once you've understood the individual sounds of English (consonants and vowels), it's time to focus on the music of English pronunciation. Alan gives an introduction to English rhythms with this lesson on word stress.
Writers and editors agree to disagree on this: whether the serial comma (also called the Oxford comma) is good for English writing. You can decide for yourself here. If you have examples to share with us, we're all ears!
An overview of the 24 consonants of American English, part 2. Alan gives examples of the "flowing" consonants. In the previous lesson, he went over the "stop" consonants of English.
An overview of the 24 consonants of American English, part 1. Alan gives examples of the "stop" consonants. In the next lesson, he will go over the "flowing" consonants of English.
In this follow-up lesson on English punctuation, Alan handles the pesky hyphen one on one.
How many balls does it take to build a snowman? How you answer says a lot about where you are from. Alan looks at cultural assumptions through the simple act of snowman-building.
Last Halloween, University of Louisville President James Ramsey apologized for dressing up with staff members in sombreros, serapes, and bushy mustaches. But many Americans wondered what the big deal was. The big deal is cultural appropriation. Find out why it's not okay for people to dress up as or parody other ethnicities.
Foreign words can be tricky, especially at fancy hotels and restaurants. Join Alan as he untangles 10 commonly mispronounced words that English has adopted from other languages.
According to Charlton Heston, “Political correctness is just tyranny with manners.” With all respect to the actor who played Moses in the iconic 1956 film, "The Ten Commandments," this information does not come down from God Almighty. It is instead the typical response by people who look a lot like Mr. Heston and (less famously) me: white, able-bodied, hetero, Christian males. Watch here to find out why we need to lose the expression "PC" altogether in the new millennium.
What is the difference between the following statements?
In intercultural conversations, we make a big distinction between stereotypes and generalizations. If you remember only one idea from this conversation, remember this:
These two concepts are often confused because they both involve making broad statements about a group of people. This is where the similarity ends.
When we make a generalization, we are attempting to look at the behavior of many people and note similarities. While we do this, we focus on being descriptive and not judgmental. We are also able to modify this broad view if we encounter new examples which disprove the description we are trying to make.
On the other hand, stereotypes tend to lock people into categories with the idea of limiting that group. Stereotypes seek to make judgments rather than to describe. Once we make stereotypes, we then are reluctant to modify them.
In the examples we mentioned earlier, statement #1 uses judgmental words like “closed” and “only.” By contrast, statement #2 gives examples to describe (and not judge) interpersonal behavior. We can use this second statement to inform how we might approach Latinos for the purpose of doing business.
The first statement gives us a negative view which doesn't allow any flexibility or growth; this negative view will be retained in our subconscious (where we don't think about it) and can influence our future interactions. On the other hand, the generalization of #2 gives us actionable knowledge which may (or may not) be borne out in individual interactions with, say, Venezuelans or Mexicans, for example. We don’t take the generalization as iron-clad, but it gives us principles to consider when we enter into relationships with members of that group.
Here’s a useful summary to keep in mind.
Generalizations are helpful because they
Stereotypes are harmful because they
I hope this distinction is useful to you. Let us know if you have good examples of generalizations that have helped you in intercultural situations
Feel Like You Belong is a sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always “touch-your-heart” real conversation about fitting into the American culture. It introduces guests who have made the immigrant journey to the United States. The stories–of both struggle and success–will help newcomers feel more confident in sharing their opinions and expertise, more likely to want to stay in the U.S., be more productive in their jobs, and fully invest in their communities.