English Pronunciation in a Global World

Develop your ability to understand and speak English.

In this course, you’ll find out which pronunciation features are important for mutual understanding. In exercises and videos, you will practise English sounds and stresses, and learn about other learners’ accents

Set goals to improve your English pronunciation

A huge range of people need to be able to speak English in today’s globalised world. This means that you’ll need to understand, and be understandable to, other non-native speakers. But diversity in spoken English should also be appreciated.

By the end of the course, you will have improved your English pronunciation so you will feel confident about speaking English in different contexts.

Explore different English pronunciation in use

Throughout this course, you’ll explore a variety of different English accents, helping you to understand some of the differences between your pronunciation and that of others.

These examples of different English pronunciations in use can help to provide context on the features of the language and how it’s spoken around the world.

Discover some of the English pronunciation rules

By the time you finish this course, you’ll have a greater understanding of some of the rules of English pronunciation and how they can differ. As well as looking at elements such as vowels, consonants and other features, you’ll also examine different English accents.

Ultimately, this course can help you set and reach your personal goals for English pronunciation.

Hear from our course team

You can take this course at any time.

We will announce a facilitated run of the MOOC in due course. During this time, you can communicate with us directly.

Meanwhile, you are always welcome to contact us for any questions, thoughts, etc. by leaving comments in the MOOC or sending a message in our Facebook page.

This course is for anyone who needs to speak English, in their studies, for work or in their personal lives. If you want to improve your English pronunciation, this is the ideal opportunity to set and achieve goals.

• What is important in English pronunciation?
• Introduction
• Sharing your English accent and experiences speaking English
• Needs assessment
• Setting goals for your English pronunciation
• Making a recording of your English pronunciation
• One major difference between English accents: rhoticity
• Ask your educator questions online
• Reflection
• English vowels
• Introduction
• Vowel length (short and long vowels)
• The TRAP-vowel
• The NURSE-vowel
• Pronunciation and language change: the STRUT-vowel
• The vowels 'oh' and 'ah'
• The diphthongs FACE and GOAT
• Application to the word list
• Reflection
• English consonants
• Introduction
• Consonant clusters
• Consonant features
• Silent letters
• Word endings
• Tricky consonants
• Interacting with your educator and mentors
• Application to the word list
• Reflection
• Suprasegmental features in English
• Introduction
• Live session
• Stress
• Intonation
• Linking and fluency
• Analysing the reading passage
• Assessing your English pronunciation
• Making a second recording of your English pronunciation
• Reflection and a short questionnaire