Learning English

Session 2 - News Review

sack / fire 
remove from a job

defying
refusing to obey

betrayal
act of not being loyal

Session 4 - Macbeth

out (C1)
a long way from home

set out (C1)
begin an attempt

out of (B1)
from an amount or number

out of his mind (C2)
unable to deal with things normally because of something bad

get out (B1)
become known

find out (A1)
discover

out (A1)
not at home

out (B1)
determined

out (B1)
available to everyone

sets out (C2)
begins (a journey)

gives out (B2)
makes; produces

left out (B2)
not included

KEY
A1 = Beginner
A2 = Elementary
B1 = Lower Intermediate
B2 = Higher Intermediate
C1 = Towards Advanced
C2 = Advanced

Session 5 - Tim's Pronunciation Workshop

Summary

Over this series, we've looked at how:

/t/ and /d/ sounds disappear between consonants
'Mashed potato' becomes /mæʃpəˈteɪtəʊ/

Consonant sounds can link with vowel sounds
'An egg' becomes 'anegg'

Certain vowel sounds can link with certain other vowel sounds by adding sounds
'The shoe is…' becomes 'the shoe /w/ is…'

Two consonant sounds can join together, or twin
'It takes two' becomes /ɪteɪks tuː/.

Some sounds can change completely
'Green Park' /griːn pɑːk/ becomes /griːmpɑːk/.

Unstressed grammar words are often weak
'I'd have been late' becomes /aɪdəv bɪn leɪt/

Schwa is important to the rhythm of natural spoken English
'A piece of cake' /ə piːsə keɪk/