You've conquered the grammar, built an impressive vocabulary, and can express complex ideas with ease. So why does your accent still give you away? If you've ever felt stuck in your pronunciation patterns, wondering why you can't seem to break through to that native British sound, you've hit what I call the pronunciation plateau. It's incredibly common for advanced learners, and it's frustrating precisely because you've come so far. This is about understanding why pronunciation work is so challenging, why it's actually about retraining muscle memory rather than learning new information, and how to move beyond "foreign-sounding" English to make British pronunciation an integral part of how you express yourself.

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

I’d like to introduce you to the schwa — English’s most common and mysterious vowel sound! In this episode of the British Vowel Sound Masterclass, we explore what the schwa is, how it appears in unstressed syllables, and why it’s essential for smooth, natural speech. Hear how it can appear as A, E, I, O, or U, with examples at the beginning, middle, and end of words. Perfect for non-native speakers aiming to improve pronunciation, fluency, and confidence.

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

Master the difference between the short /ɒ/ (as in what and hot) and the long /ɔː/ (as in water and talk). In this lesson, you’ll practice mouth positioning, tongue placement, and vowel length through repetition, word pairs, and tongue twisters. Perfect for sharpening your ear and improving your British English pronunciation. Exaggeration techniques included for maximum effect.

Transcript:

/ɒ/- What, hot, not, dog, lot, shop, clock, pocket, follow, hobby, What, watch, want, wallet, wash, wander,

/ɔː/- water, law, talk, walk, warm, thought, short, more, board, quarter, water, walk, talk, warm, wardrobe, warning,

(Minimal pairs 1)

hot — haaaawl,

not — nooorth,

dog — dawwwwrn,

what — waaa-ter,

cot — cooourt

(Minimal pairs 2)

what — water,

dog — talk,

watch — walk,

lot — law,

want — warm,

clock — caught,

pocket — board,

shop — short,

follow — fall,

wander — warning,

wash – warm,

wallet – wardrobe,

quantity – quarter,

not — north

(Minimal pairs 3)

dog — dawn,

cot — court,

rot — road,

got — gore,

pop — pour,

shock — shore,

cross — coarse,

body — board,

hobby — hoard,

off — or

(Tongue Twisters)

“Tom’s small shop sold lots of hot chocolate pots.”

“Tall Paul taught four warm dogs to walk by the shore.”

“Wanda watched Walter walk past the shop with a long, warm stopwatch.”

“Short dogs got lost on the long walk to the old forest.”

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274