Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!This podcast contains 26 sentences. Each sentence includes at least one 4-syllable word. The words are in alphabetical order, so the 4-syllable word in the first sentence is “alligator” beginning with “A” and so on. Sentence number 26 contains the word “zoology”.Note that some of the sentences are silly and nonsensical while others are perfectly normal. Don’t worry about the ones that don’t make sense. Your job here is to practice pronouncing English.  Let’s start:1. I was eaten by an alligator.2. She married a benevolent barbarian.3. He battled a cantankerous cauliflower.4. You can’t deactivate a dandelion.5. We rode up on an entertaining elevator.6. She was flabbergasted by my fettuccine.7. I donate generously to gastronomic startups.8. His harmonica playing was heartbreakingly sad.9. I will now introduce you to the isosceles triangle. 10. She doesn’t put jellyfishes in her jambalaya. 11. The kindergarten children of Kalamazoo are knowledgeable about Kookaburras.12. Our librarian spoke lyrically about her favorite books.13. Nobody wants to eat microscopic macaroni.14. The naturalist was also a skilled navigator. 15. My grandmother was a phone operator in Oklahoma. 16. I told the doctor about my peculiar palpitations.17. The politician’s quick-wittedness was questionable. 18. We had to regularly repair our car’s radiator.19. When we put out their dinner dishes, the dogs began synchronizing their salivation.20. Who put the teriyaki in the terrarium?21. Her ukulele playing was unbearably bad.22. A vacationer from Venice vaccinated me.23. Our watermelon was wonderfully juicy.24. I don’t know what a xylotomist is.25. She used to work in Yosemite Park.26. Is zoology the study of zoos?If you need to translate any of the words in this podcast, DeepL is a good translator.This podcast took several hours to write, record, and edit. Whaddya think? Is it worth a few dollars to you? Should I continue this work or quit? Your support will answer that question. Thank you.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!Fixed expressions are little English phrases that native speakers use all the time. If I were in your shoes, I would learn lots of fixed expressions.For variety, this podcast uses several synthetic voices to read the sentences. 1. The fact that she speaks five languages doesn't mean she's qualified to be president. 2. The fact that I just saw a rat means we're not eating dinner in this restaurant. 3. The fact that our next door neighbor owns three cars proves that he has more money than sense.4. On the way to work, a bird flew into my car.5. On the way to Paris, our plane developed engine trouble.6. On the way to the beach, it started to rain cats and dogs.7. To my amazement, dinner was ready and waiting for me when I got home.8. To his amazement, he got a perfect score on his physics exam.9. To our amazement, the storm passed by quickly and the weather was perfect for our picnic.10. To their amazement, their new film won first prize at the film festival.Plea for support... I need help keeping wadjasay available. Details in the podcast.11. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't move to Bombay. It's too hot there.12. If I were in your shoes, I'd marry someone more intelligent than your current girlfriend.13. She said that if she were in my shoes, she'd quit her  job and go to graduate school.  14. Without warning, dishes began to rattle on the shelves. It was an earthquake!15. Without warning, his mother began to cry. "What's the matter?" asked Maria.16. Without warning, the car in front of us hit a patch of ice and skidded off the road.17. That's the kind of thing that drives me crazy.18. Poorly prepared food in a restaurant is the kind of thing I can't tolerate.19. Drinking alcohol and driving is the kind of thing that should be severely punished.20. I got off to a fast start but after a few kilometers, other runners began to catch up with me.21.  She was out sick at the beginning of the semester, but after she returned to school she soon caught up with the other students in her class.22. I had to work late but I caught up with my friends at the mall later in the evening.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!Practice with the DJ sound, as in “judge” and “ginger.”1 - His travel agency has a large budget for advertising. 2 - Have you ever heard of an angel with an allergy?3 - The archaeologist apologized to the biologist. 4 - She lives on the edge of Egypt.5 - The earthquake caused a lot of damage. It was a huge emergency.6 - The engineer decided to enlarge the bridge.7 - In general he is a generous man.8 - My geography professor is a genuine genius.9 - My grandmother baked a gigantic gingerbread man.10 - The doctor suggested a diet of more vegetables and extra oranges.Episodes of the wadjasay podcast have now been downloaded more than 50,000 times. I am amazed.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!Here's a short poem to help you practice S, Z, and SH sounds. Dessert Time at the Zooquarium.A zebra sipped a milkshake.A serpent swam in cream.Hippos splashed and frolicked.In a gurgling chocolate stream.The zoo was full of visitors who buzzed like busy bees.And watched the sharks swim lazily through orange soda seas.The sounds were like an orchestra.As creatures chewed and slurped.At closing time, the whole place shook.An elephant had burped.© 2024 Barry KahnPermission is hereby granted to use this poem for educational purposes only with attribution to the author. Please see the transcript for the full podcast text.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!English has V sounds and W sounds. But some languages only have one or the other. If your native language is missing one of these sounds, you need to learn it. Otherwise we won’t know if you want to say “wet” or “vet”. To help you practice, I wrote this poem:Mind Your Vs and WsOur teacher is a vampire,He wobbles when he walksHis voice is kind of funnyBut we like the way he talks.“I want to drink your blood,” he says,“It’s so invigorating.”But he says ‘vant’ instead of ‘want’And so ‘inwigerating’.“Mind your Vs and Ws,” We tell him with regret,“It’s ‘while’ and ‘went’ and ‘west’ and ‘wary’And ‘whale’ and ‘worse’ and ‘wet’.”“Just so!” he says, “I see, I see,I’ll get them right I bet:It’s ‘vile’ and ‘vent’ and ‘vest’ and ‘vary’And ‘veil’ and ‘verse’ and ‘vet’.”“No!” We shout, and laugh and yellAnd act like we will riotUntil he shows his shiny fangs—And then—like graves—we’re quiet.© 2024 Barry KahnPermission is hereby granted to use this poem for educational purposes only with attribution to the author.                                                                                                          Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Send me a text message. Suggestions? Subjects for future podcasts? Let me know--thanks!Final consonant clusters with "r"What's a consonant cluster? Simple: take the "r" sound, combine it with another consonant like "d", as in the word "yard" and you have a small group or cluster of two consonants. In the sentences below you'll find words like these:  hard, guard, stirred, part, third, park, clerk, etc. Depending on your native language these may be easy to pronounce, or sometimes quite difficult.  (In another podcast we'll practice some of the longer, harder clusters. Can you say "desks" for example?)1- English is not so hard to learn.2- The guard watched us as we approached the door.3- My mother stirred the pot of soup.4- My brother gave me part of his sandwich.5- Please spell the third word in that sentence.6- She parked her car in the dark.7- I work as a clerk.8- Slurp is a verb.9- The horse ran around the race course.10- The nurse was carrying a purse.11- There are no cars on Mars.12- My cat purrs all the time.13- His dog snarled at me.14- I called her the ‘Girl with the pearl earrings.’15- Did you hear the alarm at the farm?16- I warned them of the approaching storm.17- She lives on a farm.18- He walked away from the accident unharmed.19- My friends got divorced last year.20- My first job was the worst.21- The horse was pulling a cart full of garbage.22- I like the girl with the curly hair.23- She poured out her heart to her sister.24- The world is warming.25- How much is that diamond worth?Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the Show.You can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

One of the science podcasts I listen to regularly is Astronomy Cast hosted by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay. In today’s lesson, you’ll hear a short excerpt from Episode 705: Water Worlds - Looking for Life Beyond Earth. First you’ll hear a clip from their podcast, and then I’ll break their speech into shorter fragments so you can listen and repeat. You’ll hear that Fraser Cain in particular speaks quite rapidly. It would be hard to repeat at his speed!1- Wherever we find liquid water on Earth, we find life.2- So it makes sense to search for water across the universe, and hopefully, we can find evidence of life.3- But what about worlds which are completely covered in water?4- Oceans, hundreds of kilometers deep. Can there be too much water?5- So this idea of water worlds, I mean, we learned everything we needed to know from that Kevin Costner movie, right?6- No, no, one of the things that I was thinking about preparing for this show 7- is just how magnificently wrong in pretty much every way that movie appears to have been, 8- except from a climate change perspective.9- And really, if you want one thing to be wrong, you want it to be the climate change part that's wrong.10- Yeah, but climate change causes sea levels to rise by a couple of hundred feet in the worst case scenario.Let's listen to the original podcast excerpt again.11- Right, no, that's true. It won't eat the entire planet. There will still be soil.12-  The coastlines will be roughly where they were, especially in places that are very mountainous.13- So it won't be hard where you're trying to find evidence of islands.14- No, no. But this idea of water worlds, we know they exist here in the solar system, and so we assume that they're out there.15- So give us sort of like an idea, what is the quintessential water world here in the solar system?You've listened to the original speakers, you've listened to me, and you've had a chance to listen and repeat. Now listen to the original one more time. Remember: you can't listen too much when you're studying a new language!Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Crazy English. We pronounce "ough" in too many ways...I thought microbiology was a tough course, but my professor was a thorough teacher. I studied hard throughout, and in the end I learned what he taught even though it was a challenge.1- I thought microbiology was a tough course…2…but my professor was a thorough teacher. 3- I studied hard throughout…4…and in the end I learned what he taught…5…even though it was a challenge.You did it! Good job.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

There are many collocations in English using the word “pain”. Here are a few to practice with.1) He immersed himself in the music and for a little while forgot the pain of losing his father.2) She took medications for a few days to ease the pain in her leg.3) It took me a long time to get over the pain of getting divorced.4) We shared both the joy and pain of raising our children.5) Her husband is a soldier. She knows the pain of separation. 6) Her addiction to drugs caused her family a lot of pain.7) I would like to spare you the pain of getting fired.8) He tried to conceal the pain in his foot.9) My boss is a huge pain in the neck. And HIS boss is a pain in the ass.10) Dr. Jones specializes in medications to manage pain. 11)  I have a high tolerance for pain.12) On a scale of one to ten, what is the level of your pain?13) A sharp pain shot up my arm.14) The pain increases when I try to lift something heavy.15) The pain goes away after I take a hot shower.16) She groaned with pain and pushed the baby out.17) I ignore the pain in my knees when I go for a walk.18) She wants to learn guitar so she puts up with sore fingers.19) My father was rushed to the hospital suffering from severe pains in his lower abdomen. 20) Sitting all day makes the pain in my back worse. 21) He stayed in bed all day with back pain.22)  The bee stings caused my sister extreme pain.23)  The soldier feels phantom pain in his missing leg.24) I have read that snow blindness can cause excruciating pain.25) The cause of my mother’s intermittent pain is a mystery.[I like DeepL for translations.]And a thank you to my supporters who help me pay the costs of running this podcast. Every penny helps! Buy me a coffee for a one-time donation or use the support link below:Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

Here are two home-made tongue twisters featuring "L". Lazy Lucy left languid Larry lingering in Louisiana.Lucille’s lizard lives happily in her yellow bungalow.(Note to Turkish speakers: look in a mirror and say English words beginning in "L". If you see the tip of your tongue sticking out, you are articulating a Turkish "L" -- in American English, the tip of the tongue is on the roof of the mouth behind your teeth.)Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

A reminder: collocations are words that are commonly used together by native speakers. For example “brand” and “new” are a collocation, as in “Look at my brand new car,” or “All her clothes are brand new.”Here are some collocations using the word “book”.1) Have you read her most recent book?2) I like to buy used hardcover books for my grandchildren.3) My uncle collects rare books.4) Did you read comic books when you were a kid?5) An encyclopedia is a kind of reference book.6) Oliver Twist is a book by Charles Dickens.7) It’s sad when great books go out of print.8) I have to take these books back to the library tomorrow.9) My sister is an artist. She illustrates childrens’ picture books.10) I couldn’t put that book down. It was too exciting!11) It’s very difficult to translate a book of poetry.12) My cousin is writing a book about the history of piracy13) She wrote a best-selling book which was made into a movie.14) I edit books for a living.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

1. I want some earthworms for my birthday.2. There are three thieves in my bathroom.3. My brother has a theory about everything.4. He put toothpaste on a feather and brushed his teeth.5. Mother’s panther loves the bathtub.6. There are three thousand therapists in New York City.7. Would you prefer something for dinner or nothing?8. I wear thick clothing in the winter.9. Thankfully they stayed together during the marathon.10. Don’t try to breathe beneath the water.11. I took an oath to follow the path of truth and honesty.12. I put on a bathrobe and stood in front of the fire to thaw out.13. Do you have the strength to carry your father across the river?14. He was the ninth man to go south today.15. Whether you agree or not, there are those who will follow me, I think. 16. Therefore thirty of us will attach the giant thermometer to the thickest tree.17. Roses are thorny plants.18. My grandfather looks youthful.19. She has a sore throat and a bad cough.20. Thirty is more than thirteen, and thirteen is more than three.Note that in compound nouns, both words are stressed. Here are some examples:HandshakeCavemanSunburnToothbrushGoldfishDesktopRailroadBodyguardSailboatBirdhouseFirefighterIntro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

This podcast is about the song: "Wreck of the Old 97". On September 27, 1903, there was a terrible train wreck. The story was turned into a famous train song, and the recording by Vernon Dalhart was the first to sell one million copies in the US.Here's a link to a YouTube video which tells the story and shows old photos of the wreck:The Wreck of the Old 97 was recorded by many country artists. The story of the train wreck is told in the video linked above, and there is a performance by the story-teller at the end of the video.Here are some other performances. Note: these are all examples of "country music"--you might not like it!Boxcare WillieFlatt & ScruggsJohnny Cash  And here are the lyrics to use for pronunciation practice. Note that different artists change the lyrics so the ones below are just one of the versions.The Wreck Of The Old 97Well, they gave him his orders at Monroe, VirginiaSaying Steve you are way behind timeThis is not thirty eight, but it's old ninety sevenYou must put her into Danville on timeHe turned and said to his black greasy firemanJust shovel on a little more coalAnd when we cross the White Oak MountainYou can watch old ninety seven rollIt's a mighty rough road from lynchburg to DanvilleAnd a line on a three mile gradeIt was on this grade that he lost his air brakesYou can see what a jump he madeHe was going down the grade makin' ninety miles an hourWhen his whistle broke into a screamThey found him in the wreck with his hand on the throttleHe was scalded to death by the steamNow ladies, you must take warningFrom this time now and onNever speak harsh words to your true loving husbandHe may leave you and never returnAnd here is Vernon Dahlhart's million-selling recording from 1924.Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com Support the showYou can now support my podcasts and classes:Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!