I don't fully understand what a contraction is. So if I put an 's, 'll, 'd, 've, etc after any word does it make it a contraction? Only in spoken English. But in written English, some contractions are not usually written that

The only way to hear a difference is listening to contrasting pairs, in my opinion. Minimal pairs, you know. Beat - bit fool - full etc. If you have such major problems, then maybe you could start with an accent reduction course. For American

Of course both those books have CD's. Without CD's those books would be worthless... Both books are especially about intonation, linking words, reduced sounds and something about pronunciation you can hardly find in books on American

Yes, the accent (and even vocabulary) of American English differs from region to region of the country. Some people respectfully and humbly suggest that foreign students try to speak like native speakers who live on the West Coast (Washington,

Hi Freekarol, I'm not familiar with either of those books, but I'd say the most helpful part of any "accent training" book will be the CDs that come with the book. There are many different ways of learning about the sound of

I have a book called American Accent Training. And now I consider buying Mastering the American Accent. Do you think the second book can something important to teach me that is not in American Accent Training book? Thanks all for your effort to

I was going to say NO! (dictionaries for learners say that the weak form is only a conjunction, and American Accent Training says so too) but I just checked on Merriam Webster, and a weak form is listed for the pronoun too... so, if it's

I'm undergoing accent neutralization training. My instructor says that when a word ends with a vowel sound and if the next word starts with a vowel sound, then I'm supposed to add an "r" in between to read that out. I'm a bit

Language teachers, could you tell us about some ways in which you are providing "learners with the tools to cope with 'real-life' communication ..."? Here in my country, they don't. And I heard it's so in most other

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the material you want, but it depends on what kind of English you are interested in. If you are interested in British English rather than in American English, you can find a lot of free stuff on the BBC