Hi everyone,
Do you speak too fast?
Do people have difficulty understanding you?
Are you tired of people at work asking you to repeat?
Misconception: ESL students think they have to speak at the same rate as their Canadian colleagues; however, speaking faster is more difficult to understand. Your goal is to speak slowly and clearly. Never forget the following points:
“The FASTER you speak, the heavier your accent will be.
The SLOWER you speak, the less pronounced your accent will be.”
The average Canadian speaking rate is 150 words/minute or 2.5 words/second. Relative to other languages, English is a fairly slow-paced language.
The Solution: Lengthen or stretch your VOWEL sounds for 1-2 seconds to lower your words/minute.
Student 1 Example: I’m happy that I live in Canada. (Spoken fast)
Student 2 Example: I’m haaapy thaaat I live in Caaanaadaa. (Slower, longer vowels and clearer).
Like any skill, this needs to be practiced each day for 30 days in order for the mouth and brain to form the lengthening of vowels as a new habit.
Watch the following YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ttDTszXG4M
Thanks for reading.