A Break From Winter!

Well, these past couple of weeks we have had a little break in New Jersey from the cold, cold temperatures.  One day it got to 57°F in my little corner of the world!  Nice!

(You may have noticed that I often begin a blog post by commenting on the weather.   Commenting on the weather *is* a great conversation opener as long as you make the comment unique or personalize it to the person you are talking to.   So you could say, "Wow, its supposed to snow all day tomorrow.  Do you think the kids will have off school?"  

 That *personalizes* the weather comment--first of all it tells the person you're talking to that you know they have kids and second of all it tells the person you're talking to that you care about their kids.  In addition, if YOU have kids, it can lead to a conversation about what arrangements you and the person you're talking to have for your kids when they're off school--do you leave them home alone?  Do you leave them in the care of a relative?

(Most parents, unless one parent stays home or unless there is another adult at home, regard snow days from school as a minor hassle.)

In any case, I came out with a new video.  Check it out!

Its a demonstration of how to make the "ee" /ɪ/ sound as in beat vs the "i" /i/ sound as in bit.   Now remember, one thing that may help you with the short /i/ sound as in "bit" --like "a little bit"-- is that you sort of hang your jaw down a little bit but not too far.  You don't open your mouth wide--you relax your jaw and let it hang a little bit.

Try it!

BIT

SIT

MITT

versus

BEAT

SEAT

MEAT

SLEET

HEAT

and so on.   All right?  And remember, if you're interest in ESL or accent reduction lessons a consult or two to get yourself straightened out on any American cultural issues you may have, give me a call at (732) 807-5424 or check out David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction website.    You can also check out my ESL and Accent Reduction YouTube channel or my American Idiom of the Day Twitter Feed.  All right?   Give me a call TODAY!