Jennifer Tarle's Blog, page 137

Should I worry about my child’s speech? Everyone understands him but he sounds "funny".

Most of the referrals that I get are for kids with “funny” speech.  Parents say, “everyone understands them.”  But…they have a “wobbly r”, “slushy speech”,  ”sound like they are from Boston”. If your child can’t say some sounds, namely the r, s, or th correctly, but everyone understands them, don’t be too concerned. If it

How to say PRODUCTION

Here is another question about a “long and difficult word”  How do you say PRODUCTION? As discussed last week, try to break longer words into beats or syllables.  Prouction has three syllables: PRO, DUCK,

How to say UNFORTUNATELY

This week’s question is from Brazil:   “I’d like you saying unfortunately – so hard.” To make this easier, break it into syllables: UN-FOR-CHEW-NIT-

How to say words ending in “IA”

When a word ends in the letters “IA” it can be pronounced two ways: Long E-short u (hysteria, malaria, crania) Y-short u (California, Georgia, Pennsylvania)

How to say BALD and BOLD

Today’s question is from India: “Hello! Thank you so much for your awesome videos. They are really helpful. By the way, can you do the word pair “bald/bold” in your next video, please? Thanks again!” Great suggestion!   I’ll add it to my video “to do” list. The difference in these words is the vowel.

Improve Your English Pronunciation Volume 3

Volume 3 of the iBook series – “Improve Your English Pronunciation:  Common Sound Mistakes of Japanese Speakers” is now available. Learn to pronounce the sounds at the end of words: M, N, NG, -ED and -S endings, final consonant voicing: Master the most difficult sounds of English! Improve Your English Pronunciation: Common Sound Mistakes of

What should my baby be doing during the first year of life?

Before children speak, they pratice a lot!  When your baby is born, he will cry and fuss by vocalizing.  He coughs and burps, too.  These have little to do with speech.  By the end of the second month, you will start to hear some sounds other than crying. The first thing that you will hear

My child doesn’t talk. I wish he could tell me something.

Maybe he already is telling you something. Just not with words. We get our point across in many ways. A quick glance to let a friend know not to say something. A facial expression to communicate disappointment. Pointing to a preferred item when we have laryngitis. Grabbing someone’s hand when we are scared. Handing your

How to say WH

Our question today is from Panama:  ”Hello.   The h in the word why is not pronounced?  Thank you.” Correct.   WH is considered one sound…W This is the case in the words: WHAT, WHEN, WHY, WHERE,

“I’ll”

This video targets a frequently mispronounced word: I’LL. Say it correctly to get the your meaning across