If you're saying "Not fair!," you're not the first English learner to feel that way! I' ll see you tomorrow.Īnd then, sometimes native speakers drop not only sounds but complete words. The m and l sounds are barely said aloud. Listen for them in the corrected sentences:īye. What's missing? The grammar sounds are missing, in this case the m and l sounds for am and will. When you listen to my sentence again, notice that the t is almost completely dropped from it's, and going to becomes gonna.Īs a teacher, I've often heard students say things like Speakers squeeze sounds together, or drop sounds, or say them so softly and quickly that a listener can barely hear them. Or, to say that in normal contracted speech, But in the real world, well, it's not going to happen. Teachers in second language classes often speak slowly and distinctly, as I am doing now. If only that were true in speaking! If only speakers paused briefly between words, it would be so much easier for learners. You can even leisurely look up the meaning of a word.Īnd at least in writing there are spaces between words. You can go back and read words again, perhaps break down the grammar. When understanding English is just between you and the written page, you can go as slowly as you want. It can leave learners feeling a little dazed as they try to catch the meaning.įor most adult learners, reading is, of course, much easier to understand. Normal contracted speech, especially in everyday conversational usage, can speed by like a bullet train. STUDENT: "English speakers talk too fast! I can't understand what they're saying."īETTY AZAR: Does that sound familiar? It's a common complaint of English language learners, one I've heard often from my university-level ESL students through the years. Azar will offer some advice on how to hear the sounds of grammar. Azar also supports research and professional development in the English language teaching field. The famous blue grammar book, now in its fourth edition, is in use at language schools across the world. Generations of English learners will recognize her best-selling book Understanding and Using English Grammar. Betty Azar is the most successful writer of grammar textbooks in the world. For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
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