Stress & Rhythm
English is a stress-timed language. We emphasize important meaning words and squeeze grammar words together to keep a steady beat.
The Beat of English
Contrastive Stress
Chunking & Pausing
Do NOT stress every word!
Mastering Rhythm 🎬
Watch Teacher Sopheak demonstrate how to naturally pause and stress words in complex B2 sentences. Listen and repeat!
Knowledge Check ⚡
Pronunciation Mission 🎯
Pronunciation Mission 🎯
Pronunciation Mission 🎯
Ask a Question 🙋♂️
Recent Questions
Hi Kesor! It's because of the rhythm we learned today! They squish the "function words" (like 'to', 'for', 'the') to keep the beat on the "content words". Don't try to hear every single word; focus on the stressed words to understand the meaning! 🎵
Can I just pause anywhere I want when speaking a long sentence?
No, pausing in the middle of a thought group (like saying "the... big dog") sounds unnatural. Pause between clauses (parts of the sentence that have their own subject and verb) or at punctuation marks like commas! ⏸️
Teacher, why do native speakers speak so fast? I can't catch every word!