English
Hello,
Here's an audio I recorded while reading an article in English. Could you listen to it, please? Do you understand what I'm reading? I know I have trouble saying some sounds and letters, but in general, how much percentage do you understand me?
What are the sounds/letters you think I need to work on? Any tips on how to work on them, considering my hearing impairment, please?
Headline image by thoughtcatalog on Unsplash
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Hi, ZZ. I can understand some parts, but to be honest, I'm not sure what you are saying in some parts. That's my honest opinion, but normally, when we chat, we don't listen to only the voice. We see your gestures, your facial expressions and more. These factors are also very important when we communicate. Don't you think? I don't think you need to worry about how much people understand with only your voice.
Hi Yumi, Thanks for listening and being honest!
I couldn't agree more! In my case as a hard-of-hearing person, I always need to see the lips of the speaker. When I watch a video or a movie, I turn on captions. Even when I was reading the article, there were words that I didn't know how to say or what they meant. I looked them up but I'm not sure I said them correctly in the end. 🤣😅
I understand it. It must be annoying, irritated and anxious. I think you're working harder and I respect you a lot!
The overall flow of your reading is really natural!! The tempo of it all was really good. I can understand most of it, but at times parts I couldn't understand well. I think the main reason was because the words at times seemed to merge into each other, and I couldn't hear the individual words. So, I would recommend practicing speaking very slowly, pronouncing each word as clear as you can. The other thing I noticed was how you pronounce your 'r's. It is a very hard sound for non-natives, so it is not surprising that your accent includes a flapped 'r'. I heard a flapped 'r' on something like 'anger' -- since this 'r' sound is at the end, it can distract from the sound of the next word. But I think having an accent is very charming, so I think slowing down a little will make the words a bit clearer. Then you can speed things up again.
Thanks, @yumiyumayume!
Hi @via-chan, Thanks so much for your detailed and constructive comment! I will keep in mind to slow down when speaking in general and I'll keep doing my best to improve my pronunciation!
I understand more or less like 80%, just from the point of view of non-native audience. I imagine native speakers will understand you fine. You have a nice flow of English!
Thank you @Lariza for listening to my audio and for your supportive comment! :))