Stage 1: FOUNDATION — Core Clarity
The basics: learn to enunciate and speak clearly.
1. TH Sounds
The 'th' sound is one of the most crucial omissions. '3' sounds like 'tree', 'both' becomes 'bof', and 'math' sounds like 'mats'. We tackle this problem immediately. Students will be taught how to produce the correct 'th' sounds after the first 2 lessons.
2. Final Consonants
The plural 's' , the past tense 'ed' and the hard 't' are among a few of the sounds often dropped in speech. 'Fact' sounds like 'fac' and 'walked' sounds like 'walk'. Learn to add these back in and sound eloquent.
3. Other Consonants
Two common omissions are the 'r' sound and the 'l' sound. "Police' sounds like 'poorise', 'children' sounds like 'chewren', and 'park' sounds like 'pak'. Learn to enunciate these vowels. Sound fluent and professional.
Stage 2: INTERMEDIATE — Voicing and Stretching Vowels
Sound natural, fluent and smooth with proper vowel sounds.
4. Voicing Vowels
Vowel sounds are supposed to be voiced. In Singapore, we often do not voice vowels, meaning the vocal chords do not vibrate when they should. Here we teach you how to voice vowels.
5. Long & Short Vowels
Vowel sounds are notoriously cut short and clipped in Singaporean English. 'Seat' sounds like 'sit', 'caught' sounds like 'cot'. Our aim is to stretch out the long vowel sounds.
6. Stretching Diphthongs
Diphthongs which are often clipped or cut short. 'Bad' often sounds like' bed', 'nose' sounds like 'nos' and 'fail' sounds like 'fell'. We look to help students stretch out the remaining diphthongs to ensure a smooth manner of speaking.
Stage 3: FLUENCY — Rhythm & Natural Flow
Sound natural, fluent and smooth.
7. Word Stress
Singaporean English tends to put the stress on the last syllable even when it should be on the first syllable.
'COLLeague' vs 'collEAGUE', 'CHARacter' vs 'ChaRACter', 'RUSH house' vs 'rush HOUR'. We learn what are word stresses and how to add them in.
8. Smooth Syllable Flow
English in Singapore tends to have a start and stop quality to syllables, or more syllables than required.
'primary' vs 'pri - mree'
'really' vs 'real-lee'
'killer' vs 'kew-ler'
Here we introduce and practice the concept of syllable flow to allow students to sound smoother when they speak.
9. Linking
In English, sounds should link together smoothly. Learning to link words makes your speech sound more fluid, relaxed and globally natural, instead of stiff and choppy.
10. Schwa (Natural Vowel Reduction)
Unstressed vowels should reduce to a soft 'uh' sound called the schwa. Using the schwa helps speech flow more naturally and rhythmically. When you relax your vowels and use the schwa correctly, your English sounds effortless, smooth and truly fluent.