Speaking 6: Linking Sounds
Objectives: TOEFL iBT Speaking Skills: • Learn and practice elision to improve fluency. • Practice answering a TOEFL iBT Speaking question.
Introduction In this lesson, you will practice linking words together by blending the ending sound of one word with the beginning sound of the next. Fluent speakers do this naturally, so you won’t always hear every word pronounced separately . Practicing pronunciation and intonation will also improve your listening skills, so even though the focus here is on speaking skills, it will help with the TOEFL iBT Listening section as well .
Application
Linking Sounds Look at the words “type” and “of.” Say each word slowly and separately. When these words are spoken together in a sentence, they link together and sound like one word . For example, in the sentence “I wish they would stop it” you can link the “p” sound from “stop” to the “i” sound in “it .” • Note that linking depends on the sound rather than spelling. • Keep in mind the difference between consonant and vowel sounds. You will become more aware of how words might link in these situations: ◊ When one word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound, they might link together and sound like one word. (Examples: an orange “anorange”; fix it “fixit”) ◊ When one word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with the same (or very similar) consonant sound, the consonant sound may be pronounced only once or in some cases, prolonged. (Examples: bad day “baday”; pink car “pinkar”; feel lucky “feelllucky”) ◊ When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound, they might link together, but a “w” sound or “y” sound is often inserted to more smoothly link the two. (Examples: go up “gowup”; see any “seeyany”) It’s important to practice linking words this way when speaking to sound more fluent and to help you distinguish word boundaries when you are listening. Activity 6.1 Listen to the linked words below. Notice how they sound when they are linked together. Afterwards, repeat the phrases in the second column, linking the words together as indicated .
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