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Check out these videos from Tim's speaking workshop if you want to improve your pronunciation.

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Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. Are you a creature of habit? For example, do you have a routine in the mornings? Every morning, I like to have a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit. Mmmm. This is what some people in London told us when we asked them what they do in the mornings

Voxpops
I always have some breakfast.
I always go to the gym in the morning.
I always drink a glass of warm water when I wake up.

Tim
One thing that happens when we speak English fluently is that we sometimes add sounds between words to help link them together more smoothly and easily. Listen again. Can you hear another sound between the words I and always?

Voxpops
I always have some breakfast.
I always go to the gym in the morning.
I always drink a glass of warm water when I wake up.

Tim
Did you catch it? It's hardly there but when one word ends in /aɪ/, /ɪː/, /eɪ/ or/ɔɪ/ sound, and the next word begins in a vowel sound, we can smooth the link out by adding a small /j/ sound. I always [slowly] becomes I always [fluently]. This is sometimes called the linking /j/. But be careful, your mouth normally does this naturally as your mouth changes shape between the sounds. You don't actually want to add a full /j/ sound. Here are some more examples.

Examples
When I go on holiday I just want to lie on the beach.
The end of the film was brilliant.
I ate the whole cake in one go.
It was too high up for me to reach.

Tim
Right, now you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. You know the drill: listen and repeat.

Examples
When I go on holiday I just want to lie on the beach.
The end of the film was brilliant.
I ate the whole cake in one go.
It was too high up for me to reach.

Tim
Well done. And remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I'll see you soon. Bye bye! Right, now I've been looking forward to this biscuit. Actually, do you want to see a magic trick? Now you see it, now you don't. What? It's a magic trick - magic!

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Linking /j/

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Tim Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. Are you a creature of habit? For example, do you have a routine in the mornings? Every morning, I like to have a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit.

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Delicious Recipes and Culinary Vocabulary

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Delicious Recipes and Culinary Vocabulary

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The official home of all things Tasty, the world's largest food network. Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place!

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Check out this list of underused English words and see if you can integrate them into your vocabulary!

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28 Underused Words You Really Need To Start Using

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From absquatulate to vituperative, via Word Warriors.

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Test your vocabulary with this crafty quiz from Buzzfeed.

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Zoe : my family
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5672

Jake : food and animals in Canada
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5673

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Elias and John : our hobbies in Glasgow
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article6028

Renée : I am a Harry Potter fan !
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5814

Kate : my country, Kenya
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5667

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Mary : Harry and Meghan’s wedding
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article6059

Felix : arming teachers is not a solution to the gun issue
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article6050

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Vernon : Margaret Thatcher
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5414

Vernon : Brexit and David Cameron
https://www.audio-lingua.eu/spip.php?article5412

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Ted Talks:
How data is helping us unravel the mysteries of the brain
https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_mccarroll_how_data_is_helping_us_unravel_the_mysteries_of_the_brain

Ted talks:
How if went from child refugee to international model
https://www.ted.com/talks/halima_aden_a_place_of_hope_from_refugee_camp_to_international_fashion_model

Ted Talks:
10 things you didn't know about 🤬
https://www.ted.com/talks/mary_roach_10_things_you_didn_t_know_about_orgasm?referrer=playlist-the_most_popular_talks_of_all

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Check out this episode of BBC Learning English's "Pronunciation Workshop", featuring the "ə" also known as the "schwa".

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Tim
Hi, I'm Tim and this is my pronunciation workshop. Here, I'm gonna show you how English is really spoken. It'll help you to become a better listener and a more fluent speaker. You ready? Come on, follow me. Now, there's an idiom in the English language that means that something is really easy. Any idea what it is? Well, here's a clue. Do you know now? Let's ask the people of London:

It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake

Tim
A piece of cake - an expression that means that something is really easy to do, as well as meaning - a piece of cake. But listen again to the words 'a' and 'of'. They are actually pronounced the same. What is the sound - and are those words stressed?

It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake
It's a piece of cake

The words 'a' and 'of' are both pronounced as /ə/ and they're not stressed. This sound /ə/ is the most common sound in the whole English language. It's so common that it even has its own name - schwa. Now, it can be difficult to hear the schwa because it is never stressed. However, it's a vowel sound that's used in many grammar words like articles and prepositions. Here are some more examples.

Tim
So, you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. Are you ready to start? Listen and repeat.

Tim
Great work. Now remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation then please visit our website: bbclearningenglish.com. That's about it from the pronunciation workshop for now. I'll see you soon. Bye bye. Now, I've got a cup of tea and I've got a biscuit, I'm looking forward to a piece of cake. That was a mistake, but a tasty one.

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BBC Learning English - Pronunciation / Tim's Pronunciation Workshop: Schwa

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Tim Hi, I'm Tim and this is my pronunciation workshop. Here, I'm gonna show you how English is really spoken. It'll help you to become a better listener and a more fluent speaker. You ready? Come on, follow me. Now, there's an idiom in the English language that means that something is really easy.

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In this activity you can learn and practise common collocations with do and make.

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Learn English with our free online listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading activities. Practise your English and get ready for your Cambridge English exam.

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Complete the Answers
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading/1r13-elementary-my-working-day-complete-the-answers.php

True or False Questions
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading/1r2-my-working-day.php

Question and Answer Match

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading/1r16-elementary-my-working-day-question-and-answer-match.php

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Read the text about a holiday in Spain. Choose the correct verb to complete the dialogue and practise the difference between past simple and the present perfect.

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Learn English with our free online listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading activities. Practise your English and get ready for your Cambridge English exam.

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Here you can learn 15 commonly used idiomatic expressions and complete a worksheet to test your knowledge.

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15 most common English idioms and phrases | EF English Live

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Here are the 15 most common English idioms and phrases that will enrich your English vocabulary and make you sound like a native speaker.

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What If English Were Phonetically Consistent? (B1-B2)

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What If English Were Phonetically Consistent? (B1-B2)

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Check out how the same letter combinations can sound different

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What If English Were Phonetically Consistent?

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Answer the questions about Yolanda and practise your grammar.

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Who, whose, which and that are relative pronouns. We use these to give extra information, or to make it clear which person, or thing, we're talking about. Answer the questions about Yolanda and practise your grammar.

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Who, whose, which and that are relative pronouns. We use these to give extra information, or to make it clear which person, or thing, we're talking about. Answer the questions about Yolanda and practise your grammar.

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Differences between British and American English

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Differences between British and American English

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Check out this quick guide to British and American word choices.

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5 June 2006

Henry looks carefully into the telescope which lets him see far, far away, as far away as the distant nebulae on the far edges of the Milky Way. Henry is an astronomer. He looks at the sky, and at stars in particular. Even though he spends much of his time looking at detailed computer reports, which are just lists and lists of numbers, his favourite thing about his job is looking through the telescope. And today he is very excited. He isn't sure yet, but he thinks he has seen a dense cloud which might be the beginning of a new star.

5 July 2006

Henry is still looking for a tiny point of light in the sky. He checks the lists and lists of numbers that his computer produces, and tries to make sense of them. He tries to turn the basic data into an image, a picture of the star he hopes to see, but it is not yet possible.

He arrives home feeling tired. His wife Anna sits down next to him. 'I've got some news ...,' she says.

5 August 2006

Henry is so excited about being a father that he has forgotten about his star. Anna is feeling sick and tired. Henry is no longer thinking about nebulae and clouds and gases. He is thinking about pushchairs and nappies.

5 September 2006

Anna and Henry go to the doctor. Anna has an ultrasound scan. Henry is used to seeing distant images of planets and stars and clouds, and now he looks at this image. It almost looks like a cloud, but it is much clearer. He can see the outline of a head, the features of a face. And he realises that this means much more to him than the distant stars he is used to looking at.

5 October 2006

Anna finally starts to get fatter. Henry is feeling terrified. For the first time now, he realises exactly what it means. In a few months' time, he will be a father.

5 November 2006

Anna looks at her tummy and now starts to feel that there is another living person inside her. She thinks about Henry's job, and remembers how excited Henry was a few months ago when he thought that he could see a new star.

5 December 2006

Henry thinks that Anna looks a bit like a whale, but that she is very beautiful anyway. He thinks that next Christmas everything will be very, very different.

5 January 2007

Anna feels like she wants to sleep all the time. She feels like the baby already wants to come out. The baby is kicking her from inside. She feels like a football. She can't wait to become a mother. Henry calls her ten times a day on her mobile phone.

5 February 2007

It can take as long as ten million years for a star to form, but Henry doesn't care about seeing his star any more. He knows that although he may be the first person to see a new star, it is impossible for him to see the birth of a star, from its beginning to its appearance. But he doesn't care, because a new star has just entered his life.

'But we haven't thought of a name!' says Anna, holding the tiny baby in her arms.

'I have,' says Henry. 'I've got a beautiful name for her.'

'What is it?'

'Stella. Let's call her Stella.'

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5 June 2006 Henry looks carefully into the telescope which lets him see far, far away, as far away as the distant nebulae on the far edges of the Milky Way. Henry is an astronomer. He looks at the sky, and at stars in particular.