More practice: https://youtu.be/rBm6rz93wRgThe problem with consonants is that they block breath.The solution?Make consonants into vowels.“didn’t” “that” “about” “really”Wait wait wait, how do we make consonants into vowels?Let’s start with the letter L, which makes an LLLL sound.You might be doing that with the tip of your tongue touching up here.BUT! That’s really stopping air. LLL / LLLHow about we make a dark L: press the tip of your tongue against your bottom front toothLLLLLL / LLLHear the difference? It’s because that lower tongue position allows so much air to move through.Breath is one of the 4 most important concepts for American English—it’s a central part of our 4-Step American accent course.When we keep air flowing, we are able to link sounds more.Really can become “really”. “The last was really a little low.”So what have you discovered Captain Accent?Well, all those consonants you make with the tip of your tongue up here….can also be made with the tip of your tongue down here.Nine. Nine. Tight. Tight. Think. Think. Sis. Sis. Rare. Rare. Dead. Dead. Why would you want to do this?Well, it’s going to help words flow more.World. World. Regularly. Regularly. And sentences can flow more too.I didn't really think that much about itIn fact, these lower positions are going to help you link words together the way native speakers do.For instance, have you heard of a fast D/flap t sound? It’s why we say “I dis” instead of “it is”Part of the reason for this is that the T can become more of a vowel sound and let air pass. “it is” “it is” “it is”. My tongue doesn’t even have to touch anything at all. “What are” “that’ll” “write up”Same thing with the silent t; if you pronounce a T in “center” and “interview” you block air. But, by removing the T before an N, you get a much smoother sound. “center” “interview”And held Ts, Stop Ts, and other held sounds? Again, you won’t hear the consonant, but you WILL hear the breath keep flowing. “can’t go”/”can’t go” “not cool” “that works”Even TH wants to become a vowel sound with more breath; often, it can completely disappear, like after the letter N “and then” “an nen” “send the” “sen ne” The R sound is similar to that too. I know, a lot of people have learned R is a strong consonant, but it actually wants to be weaker than the vowels around it.Rare. Rural. Rear. If your contact with your tongue and mouth is too firm, you block breath. But if we treat R more like a vowel and let air through more easily, we get a much more natural Rare. Rural. Rear.Don’t just take my word for all this though. Listen to these native speakers say these sentences with a and try to copy them as they dramatically weaken consonant sounds.It wasn’t a big deal to meWhere did you get it?Can we afford it?The easiest way to weaken consonants and sound natural is increasing breath, like we learn in this video here.❗❗❗❗❗❗JOIN our channel to get access to our Pronunciation Group on Telegram, where you receive feedback and suggestions for YOUR pronunciation every day. See what it is like here: https://youtu.be/FDwPuwstUEoWho am I? My name is Geoff Anderson. I got my MA in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2012, and have been teaching since 2010. I've studied Italian to around level C1-C2. I was also an IELTS examiner for the speaking/writing tests for 3 years.Want to know what classes with me are like? Check out our Mission: English program, where we do livestreams that YOU can join Monday through Friday! It'd be great to do pronunciation exercises with you, answer your American English accent questions, and improve together in our supportive community; see what a Mission: English class is like here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZ0dlSbrSXhxuga9nOujvx6FL9LU22h7#fluentamerican #vowels #consonants

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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