Intonation and Speed of Speaking

Intonation Many people from different countries have improper intonation because their teacher had improper intonation. In many situations, being monotone is better than having bad intonation. The worst is when someone goes up and down too much on every word. Another thing you should avoid is to end high at the end of a sentence. To correct improper intonation, you need to remember to start high and end low. You cannot do it any other way. I recommend going to the interview section and listening to one of the audio files provided by a native speaker. You will hear proper intonation. After listening to the audio, record yourself and listen to it. Does it sound the same? If not, then find the areas that are dissimilar and make the necessary corrections. This advice is very trivial, but intonation is relatively easy to correct. You can fix your intonation with only a little effort. If you have a friend who is a native English speaker, you can usually fix intonation in a couple of lessons. Recording yourself and listening to yourself might be tedious, but having correct intonation can go a long way. I have had many students who fixed their intonation after 2 small sessions. The advice I gave them was the same as the one above. This will work, and if you want to speak with proper intonation, please follow this advice. Speed of speaking A common mistake of people who obtain English fluency with improper pronunciation and intonation is the speed in which they speak. Because they do not have perfect pronunciation and intonation, it is difficult to understand people who speak too fast. This is the biggest problem I have seen from people who gain confidence in speaking. In order to improve your communication, and to hear "excuse me" less often, it is important to have the correct speed of speaking. For people with confidence, my advice is to slow down and to speak clearly. Don't blend words together too much and make sure to separate words with a small pause for words that are difficult to pronounce. http://www.talkenglish.com/extralessons/intonation.aspx PRACTISE: I'm good at 'I'm' is used here as 'I am.'  'Good at' informs someone what you excel at and are comfortable doing. Here are some examples: "I'm good at drawing." "I'm good at video games." "I'm good at swimming." "I'm good at driving." "I'm good at reading." "I'm good at sports." "I'm good at writing." "I'm good at math." "I'm good at dancing." "I'm good at chess."  would like to + (verb) This sentence lets someone know what you would be interested in doing.  This can be a physical, mental or verbal action. Here are some examples: "I would like to answer that question." "I would like to compete in a cooking contest." "I would like to explain myself." "I would like to invite you over." "I would like to practice." "I would like to become a doctor." "I would like to see you more often." "I would like to thank you." "I would like to learn about animals." "I would like to meet the President." Do you like With this question you are asking someone what they prefer or enjoy. Here are some examples: "Do you like traveling on a plane?" "Do you like watching baseball on TV?" "Do you like skiing or snowboarding?" "Do you like going to bed early?" "Do you like spending time with me?" "Do you like repeating the class?" "Do you like playing video games?" "Do you like listening to music?" "Do you like practicing playing the piano?" "Do you like jogging with me?" It's time to + (verb) You are letting someone know that something is required to be done at the present time. Here are some examples: "It's time to say goodbye." "It's time to ask for a raise." "It's time to collect our money." "It's time to cheer for our team." "It's time to change the clocks." "It is time to decide what to do." "It is time to enjoy ourselves." "It is time to fill me in on what's going on." "It is time to help out." "It is time to join a gym."