Posted on January 26, 2012

English spelling is quite irregular due to several factors. The spelling may reflect the way people pronounced the word in English historically, and it has now evolved to a different pronunciation. A great deal of words come from other languages such as French and Greek, and they retain elements of the original spelling although these words are pronounced differently in English.English spelling can trick people learning English into pronouncing words incorrectly.

I often hear people pronounce the “l” in words like “salmon” or “calm” when it should be silent: /sæmən/ and /kɑːm/. The weak vowel sound called “schwa” is the most common vowel in English but we have no special letter to transcribe it in everyday spelling. If you say “A car” the word “A” is pronounced with a schwa. It is written like this in the International Phonetic Alphabet: /ə/.

People studying English have a tendency to pronounce each vowel in a word as if it’s a strong vowel but in fact it is often a schwa especially in unstressed syllables. The word “above” has a schwa as its unstressed first syllable and the second syllable rhymes with “love”: /əˈbʌv/.

Watching TV or films with subtitles is great for improving your pronunciation as well as your listening. As you listen and read you may notice words that are pronounced very differently from the spelling.

Posted on December 5, 2011

While in Paris this Autumn I visited the wonderful “La Maison des Trois Thés” in the fifth arrondissement. The atmosphere was so peaceful, the staff were charming and explained at length about the traditional way to pour and enjoy tea.

There are a multitude of different teas and the staff are happy to make recommendations based on what other drinks you like, for example what kind of beer you drink. I came out so relaxed it was as though I’d had a spa treatment.

Posted on November 26, 2011

When I meet people I often hear sentences like “I am living in London since two years”. However, in this sentence you have to use the present perfect, or the present perfect continuous. Why? Because the action of you living here started in the past and is still happening today.

So this sentence should be:

• “I have lived here for two years” (You have moved here permanently) or
• “I have been living here for two years” (You have moved here temporarily)

If you just want to say that you live in London you can use the first part of the original incorrect sentence:

• “I live in London” or
• “I am living in London” if you are here temporarily.

The present perfect is quite difficult conceptually so don’t feel disheartened if you struggle with this at the beginning.

Posted on October 11, 2011

I recently rediscovered natto when I came across it in an Asian supermarket in the UK. This is now one of my absolute favourite Japanese foods, it’s very healthy too.

I remember when I first went to Japan in 2005 I bought a natto hand roll as a snack. Having just arrived in Japan I couldn’t read the characters 納豆 and I had never heard of it. I was so surprised by the consistency and taste that I spat it out!

I kept being served natto again and didn’t like it for a long time but eventually over time I really started to love it. It’s a bit like Marmite in this respect, you really either love it or hate it. If you are Japanese living in the UK, I’d be interested to hear what you think about Marmite.

Posted on September 20, 2011

I always enjoy listening to the BBC World Service at home or on podcasts when I have a long journey to make. I have recommended it to students for a long time as a way to practise listening skills because you can listen to news, real life stories and discussion.

They have a site for learning English too and you can watch videos with subtitles. This is a great way to improve your listening and even your pronunciation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/