Secret #1: LEARN ABOUT WORD STRESS Word Stress is golden key number one for speaking and understanding English. Word Stress is *very important*. You can try to learn about Word Stress. This is one of the *best* ways for you to understand spoken English especially English spoken fast. What is Word Stress? Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic, for example. Do they sound the same when spoken? | 7 Secrets to study Eng Secret 1 LEARN ABOUT WORD STRESS Word Stress is golden key number one for speaking and understanding English. Word Stress is very important . You can try to learn about Word Stress. This is one of the best ways for you to understand spoken English -especially English spoken fast. What is Word Stress Take 3 words photograph photographer and photographic for example. Do they sound the same when spoken No They sound different because one syllable in each word is stressed stronger than the others . PHOtograph phoTOgrapher photoGRAPHic This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables TEACHer JaPAN CHINa aBOVE converSAtion INteresting imPORtant deMAND etCETera etCETera etCETera The syllables that are not stressed are weak or small or quiet . Native speakers of English listen for the stressed syllables not the weak syllables. If you use Word Stress in your speech you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension. Secret 2 SENTENCE STRESS Sentence Stress is golden key number two for speaking and understanding English. With Sentence Stress some words in a sentence are stressed loud and other words are weak quiet . Look at the following sentence We want to go. Do we say every word with the same stress or force No We make the important words big and the unimportant words small. What are the important words in this sentence Yes you re right WANT and GO. We WANT to GO. We WANT to GO to WORK. We DON T WANT to GO to WORK. We DON T WANT to GO to WORK at NIGHT. It s impossible to explain everything about Sentence Stress in this email. The important thing for you is that you know it exists and try to learn about it. Sentence Stress is very important Secret 3 LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN Students sometimes say I don t listen to the BBC news on the radio because it s too fast for me and I can t understand it. That s a pity When it s too fast for you when you can t understand it that is exactly when you NEED to listen to it How can
