Lisa’s Blog

An article in today's LA Times states that babies are found to cry in their native tongue. They hear the melody and intonation while they are still in the womb and imitate it once they are born. Read the article:...

Do you have young children who are learning both English and your native language? Here's a very interesting article which discusses the benefits of speaking two languages.For adults, it also states: "New research even indicates that the onset of Alzheimer's disease...

Here is a great way to work on improving your American accent:Buy a book on audio. I suggest a non-fiction topic because the speech is generally better suited for this type of practice. Listen to a sentence or a phrase, then pause it and repeat what the speaker said....

Alex asks:Hello Lisa,You say in your book that the final "s" in the words "is" and "has" is pronounced as /z/. Then what if when "it is" and "it has" are contracted to "it's", does the "s" remain /z/ sound? Many thanks,AlexHi Alex,When "it is" is contracted to "it's"...

Paolo asks:Is singing songs a good way to improve my pronunciaton or not? I'm just asking because sometimes rappers or singers tend to pronounce words with a different "cadence" just to make them rhyme with one another, what do you think?Yes, singing is a great for...

Take a look at my new video that will teach you how to correctly pronounce the word "world." Almost all of my students have a hard time with this word. It consists of combinations of sounds that don't exist in other languages.

Here are some interesting quotes from some famous people discussing how their accents have affected their lives:I learned to change my accent; in England, your accent identifies you very strongly with a class, and I did not want to be held back. StingI guess when I...

Nouman from India wrote:I dont find your Course DVD's in India. Is there a way I can order them?Thank you and wish to see more of your videos in Youtube- NoumanHi Nouman,I will be making more YouTube videos soon. You can buy the DVDs "Mastering the American Accent" -...

I often get asked how to pronounce these two words. Are they the same or different?They are different. Here is how to pronounce them:For "worm" say "were" and then add a "m" sound at the end.for "warm" say "wore" (past tense of wear) and then add an "m" at the end. So...