Find the strong syllable
Notice which syllable carries the main stress in a longer word.
ModelThe committee reviewed the application yesterday.
Use it well: Check application in a learner's dictionary for the accent you practice.
Thirty-six practical cards on word stress, sentence focus, chunking, connected speech and intonation, aimed at one goal: being easy to understand.
Pronunciation on the TOEFL is about intelligibility, not accent. A listener needs to recognize your words and follow your ideas without effort. That depends less on individual sounds than on stress in the right syllable, emphasis on the important word, and pauses between meaningful groups of words.
The same features help in the other direction too. Connected speech, where words run together, is one of the main reasons fluent English is hard to follow, so learning how it works improves your listening as much as your speaking. These cards are text-only scripts and coaching points; say each model sentence aloud as you read.
Most useful for: Listen and Choose a Response · Listen to a Conversation · Listen and Repeat · Take an Interview
Notice which syllable carries the main stress in a longer word.
Use it well: Check application in a learner's dictionary for the accent you practice.
Give important content words enough clarity for a listener to recognize them.
Use it well: Practice researcher at a clear pace before saying the full sentence.
Related words can have different stress patterns across a word family.
Use it well: Check analyzed and analysis separately before recording the sentence.
Listen for the strongest syllable when learning a new academic word.
Use it well: Check geological in a learner's dictionary before practicing it.
Many compound nouns stress their first part more strongly.
Use it well: Listen for the usual first-part stress in classroom, then check exceptions separately.
Compare your recorded word stress with an authoritative pronunciation model.
Use it well: Check coordinator in the accent you practice; focus on intelligibility.
Make the newly supplied content easier to hear than familiar background.
Use it well: Prominence depends on the conversation, not only grammar.
Stress the corrected detail so the listener notices the change.
Use it well: A correction should preserve the rest of the message.
Use emphasis to show which alternatives differ.
Use it well: Do not stress every word equally.
Give dates and quantities enough emphasis when they decide an action.
Use it well: Repeat a critical number if the listener seems unsure.
Articles and other small grammatical words are often less prominent in connected speech.
Use it well: Clarity still matters; do not delete required words.
The same sentence can highlight a different word as the question changes.
Use it well: Meaning, rather than a fixed script, determines emphasis.
Group related words so a listener can follow a long message.
Use it well: Pause at meaningful boundaries rather than after every word.
A short boundary can help separate a reason from its conclusion.
Use it well: An unnatural pause can hide the relationship.
Aim for a pace that preserves words and makes the message understandable.
Use it well: Speaking faster does not guarantee stronger performance.
Practice remembering a short clause as a meaningful unit.
Use it well: In Listen and Repeat, aim to reproduce the heard wording exactly.
In connected speech, smaller words may sound shorter between stressed words.
Use it well: Avoid forcing every syllable into equal prominence.
A clear final phrase helps the listener recognize completion.
Use it well: Pitch and timing vary with intention and accent.
Listen for neighboring words that sound joined in natural speech.
Use it well: The written spaces do not always match audible boundaries.
Common unstressed words may be shorter than their written forms suggest.
Use it well: Reduction varies with speaker, pace, and emphasis.
A contraction can sound like one compact unit in a sentence.
Use it well: Do not confuse a contraction with missing content.
Keep final consonants audible enough when they distinguish meaning.
Use it well: The aim is intelligibility, not a single accent.
Give difficult consonant groups enough clarity for listeners to recognize key words.
Use it well: Slow down if needed, but keep the word connected rather than inserting extra pauses.
Try to identify the message from audio before seeing a transcript.
Use it well: A transcript can hide what you did not actually hear.
A completed statement often sounds different from a continuation.
Use it well: No single pitch contour works in every accent or situation.
Pitch movement can help signal that a speaker is asking.
Use it well: Question form and context are also important cues.
A rising tag can signal that confirmation is genuinely needed.
Use it well: Listen to context before assigning a precise attitude.
A falling tag can suggest that the speaker expects agreement.
Use it well: This is a tendency, not a mechanical scoring rule.
A change in prominence can shift what the speaker corrects.
Use it well: The words alone may understate the speaker's intent.
A speaker's pitch and phrasing may convey tentativeness.
Use it well: Do not infer an emotion from pitch alone.
For Listen and Repeat practice, reproduce the heard sentence accurately.
Use it well: Do not paraphrase when the task asks for repetition.
Articles and prepositions can matter in an exact repetition task.
Use it well: A missing short word still changes the target sentence.
In interview practice, make the first sentence respond to the prompt.
Use it well: A memorized unrelated speech does not meet the purpose.
Add one concrete reason or example after stating a preference.
Use it well: The reason should connect to the choice you made.
If a detail comes out incorrectly, correct it and continue.
Use it well: A brief repair is clearer than restarting repeatedly.
Aim to communicate words and ideas clearly across legitimate accents.
Use it well: Do not grade a learner against a single native accent.