Listening: Understanding Natural Connected Speech B1 - Lesson 1: Recognizing Basic Linking Sounds (consonant-vowel)

Natural English: Linking Sounds Together

CEFR Level B1

Lesson Goals

In this lesson, you will learn to recognize and understand linking, a key part of natural, fast English speech. We will focus on the most common type: connecting a consonant sound to a vowel sound.

What is Linking?

In natural speech, fluent speakers don't pause between every word. Instead, they build a "sound bridge" to connect words smoothly. This is called linking.

The most common rule is simple: When a word ends with a consonant sound (like /t/, /k/, /n/) and the next word starts with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), the consonant sound "jumps over" to the start of the next word.

Listen to the Difference

• Written: pick it up
  Sounds like: "pi-ki-tup"
• Written: an apple
  Sounds like: "a-napple"
• Written: works in an office
  Sounds like: "work-si-na-noffice"
• Written: His name is Adam.
  Sounds like: "His-nay-mi-zadam."

Key Tip: Why do speakers use linking?

Speakers use linking for one main reason: speed and efficiency. It takes more effort and time to stop the air after every word. By creating a smooth "sound bridge" between words, speakers can talk faster and more naturally.

Understanding this will help your listening skills a lot, as you'll start to hear sentences as smooth groups of sounds, not just separate words.

Practice: What Did You Hear?

Listen to the natural speed sentences in the audio. Choose the correct written words that match the linked sound you hear.

1. Listen to Audio 1. Which phrase did you hear?
   • (a) a new umbrella
   • (b) an old umbrella
   Show Answer

   Answer: (b) an old umbrella. The linked sound is "a-nol-dumbrella."

2. Listen to Audio 2. Which phrase did you hear?
   • (a) turn it off
   • (b) turn off
   Show Answer

   Answer: (a) turn it off. The linked sound is "tur-ni-toff."

3. Listen to Audio 3. Which phrase did you hear?
   • (a) My name is Oudom.
   • (b) My name Oudom.
   Show Answer

   Answer: (a) My name is Oudom. The linked sound is "My-nay-mi-zoudom."

Vocabulary

• Linking (noun) [ការតភ្ជាប់]

  In speech, connecting the last sound of one word to the first sound of the next word to speak smoothly.

• Consonant (noun) [ព្យញ្ជនៈ]

  A speech sound like /b/, /d/, /k/, /s/ where the breath is partly blocked.

• Vowel (noun) [ស្រៈ]

  An open speech sound like /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ where the breath is not blocked.

Your Mission

Now, it's time to practice on your own. Try these two tasks.

1. Practice Speaking: Say these phrases out loud. Focus on making the linked sounds smooth, not separate.
   • "read a book" (say "rea-da-book")
   • "an old friend" (say "a-nold-friend")
   • "all of us" (say "a-llo-vus")
2. Practice Listening: Find a short, clear English speech on YouTube (a simple TED Talk is good). Listen for one minute. Can you find and write down at least two examples of consonant-vowel linking?