Pronounce TH with our Silly TH Story
The Theodore Thurston Story
Pronounce TH
Theodore Thurston was an athletic, aesthetic, thirty-three year old thistle-sifter, a father of three, and a really thoughtful person. Born in 1933 in the city of Bath, Theodore was always the guy to say thank you when thank you was appropriate. His mother and father, Theona and Thackery, were also very thankful. They would say thank you for this and thank you for that and then thank you for some other thing that you had done last week. Maybe something you had already forgotten – but not the Thurstons. They were relentless thinkers and thankers. Not saying thank you was, to them, anathema.
Sometimes you would think, “Enough already. You are really a bother! Are you from another planet or something? You have thanked me to death. Wouldn’t a simple, silent thumbs-up be enough?”
But no, they wouldn’t stop with the thanking. There was simply no stopping the Thurstons until one day, when the whole world went dry. Yes, one day there was no more water in the water tanks. Not to mention, no beer, wine or coffee in the tanks, bars, stores and coffee machines of the world. With nothing to drink, the Thurstons got quieter and quieter as they got drier and drier. Finally, there was silence. They were through with all that thanking.
Well, I can tell you that the world was thoroughly thrilled, although thirsty. The aftermath of this change, from incessant thanking to thoughtful silence, was stunning. But nor being capable of thanking people never went down smoothly with the Thurstons, and the clever, unstoppable Thurstons developed a stunning new method of synthetic water generation. Soon they were rehydrated and back to their old ways, thanking this one, that one and the other one. The people of the world were thankful, of course, for this worthy water technology, but they were nonetheless irritated with all the renewed thanking. Their patience was growing thin.
But the Thurston’s were immune to their protestations, and went blithely on with their thank you for this and thank you for that until one day, there was a terrible bloodbath and all the Thurston’s were, thankfully, murdered.
The end.
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"It's on the Tip of my Tongue" Pronounce the English TH
There are two English THs – voiced and unvoiced. If these sounds do not occur in your language, they may be difficult for you to produce. Or they may sound childish, silly or just wrong. (These sounds do not appear in Dutch.) Trust your teacher or your audio and practice, practice, practice. Be like a child and enjoy making these fun new mouth-sounds. Keep your facial and throat muscles relaxed. Stand in front of a mirror to be sure that you see a wee bit of the tip of your tongue.
In the beginning, just practice the pure English TH sound, being sure you can sustain it like a singer with a long note: Thh, thhh, thhhhhh.
Put your fingers on your throat to feel the difference between the vibrated (voiced) and unvibrated (unvoiced) TH.
Try speaking the voiced TH in: this, these, that and those. Did you feel the vibration?
Now say “thank you.” Put your hand in front of your mouth to feel the “wind” from the unvoiced TH in “thank.” Hold a piece of paper by one corner, with the lower tip of the paper hanging in front of and just level with your mouth. Then speak the unvoiced TH and see the paper blow away from you.
Note that the positions for both THs require the tip of the tongue to rest between the front teeth. The lips are relaxed and slightly open. Do not put your teeth on your lower lip! (that makes an F sound.)
Note that the vibrated version has slightly more tension and blocks most of the air release. When you correctly speak the vibrated TH, you will feel a vibration or tickle on the tip of your tongue. When you speak the unvibrated TH, you should only feel the air passing.
In English, before the words thousand, you must add a number OR an article. Thus, one thousand OR a thousand. Never just thousand! (This is also true for hundred and million. Thus a hundred, one million, a billion, etc.)
Here are some practice lines. Go slowly and be sure that you make good THs and finish words completely and accurately.
TH Voiceless (Unvibrated)
Did he say thank you?
He thanked our wealthy author on Thursday.
I think thin thieves always travel north, not south.
Thistle sticks: sixty six thousand and six thistle sticks.
Thadeus Thorn sifts thistles.
Ouch! He stuck a thousand thistles in his thumb.
TH Voiced (Vibrated)
This, these, that, those, the
Mother, brother, father, feather, weather, whether
Their mother was gathering the feathers together.
They’ve had a lot of bother over the weather.
They’d rather gather those berries with their mother.
There’s their brother, together with their father.
Therefore they’d rather go together.
TH Mixed
They’d rather have a bath with their clothing on.
There’s the wealthy author whose brother has a toothache.
The weather from the north and south on Thursdays is soothing.
Those athletes have nothing other than each other, the weather, and their youth.
THR Consonant Clusters
Our athletes ran three thousand meters.
When you are thirty-three you have not lost your youth.
Thunderstorms can be thrilling.
Those thirty-eight thousand and three thieves were brothers of different mothers and fathers.
Those thrones are from the south. These thrones are southern.
Those thrones are from the north. Those thrones are northern.
He thrust three thrilling threads through the window.
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Conquer Your Fear of Speaking English at Work with Private Training
According to linguists, our language is intimately connected with our identity and sense of self-esteem. As children, mastery of language is an essential survival skill. Effective communication gets us what we want and need, enables us to be social, and makes us feel competent. Our mastery of our mother tongue tells us we are smart and part of our group. And of course, other people judge us by our language ability–beginning early with our proud parents. “Did you hear that? She called you ‘papa!’ “ And later, (if we are lucky) the positive reinforcement continues with high school teachers who say, “Great work on that essay!” We get the message: Language competency = smart. Language incompetency = dumb.
Are you looking for a private, personalized Spoken Business English Course?
When we learn a second language (an L2), we are immediately aware of our deficiencies. We know that we are, in fact, inadequate. Suddenly, competent adults are challenged to perform, and come up short. This experience can be devastating for business people who pride themselves on their communication abilities. They know that these abilities are a cornerstone of their success. No amount of product knowledge, technical expertise or passion can compensate for language disability.
Many professionals will not ask for help with this deficiency. In fact, they may engage in avoidance behavior – trying to hide their “problem” by avoiding situations that require their second language. When such situations cannot be avoided, they fall silent and let others carry the discussion. Stress and English anxiety are the obvious results for the professional. Lost time, revenue, and “edge” are the obvious losses for the company.
• Meetings
• Negotiations
• Social business interactions
• Fielding questions and objections
• Presentations
• Agreeing and disagreeing
• Explaining
• Phone calls / Listening
• Asking pointed questions
• Telephone conversations
While these situations are mastered by many professionals in their mother tongue, these same professionals become disabled when they must perform in their L2.
• I can’t find my words.
• I always think in my mother tongue.
• I have to think too long before I speak.
• I am too agreeable in English: I say yes because it is too hard to say no.
• I cannot be persuasive in English.
• I let other people take over in meetings. I just sit there.
• I dread and/or avoid meetings with English speakers.
• I cannot be a leader in English.
If your fear of speaking in English at work is holding you back, contact The English Center about customized private training. Private training is absolutely the way to begin building English confidence. Contact us today about fully customized 1:1 training, online or in person in Amsterdam, Den Haag and Amstelveen.
If English anxiety problems are affecting you or your colleagues, you can be sure of two things: Workers with these issues are under stress and not performing at optimal levels. Needless to say, that means corporate profitability is suffering, and completive edge is diminished.
Remember – many professionals will hide their fear of speaking English from bosses and colleagues, perhaps – even from themselves.
By Brenda de Jong-Pauley, MA, May 2019, 2024
Brenda holds a master’s degree in psychology and is the founder/director of The English Center in Amsterdam.
Learn more about English Center private Business English training.
Storytelling is a hot topic these days. Leaders, change makers, sales people and entrepreneurs all need to tell stories. Stories that engage, inspire and persuade. Here are 17 tips to help you become a better business storyteller.
1. Be visual: tell a story that your listener can see. Engage the listener's inner
eye.
2. Make your story memorable and repeatable: in business, you want people
to (re) tell your story, right? As storytelling expert Michael Margolis says, that
retelling = free advertising.
3. Give your audience a reliable story path to follow: provide enough
information to guide them through the whole story with flow and clarity.
Do not make them guess what you mean and don’t let them get lost along
the way!
4. Understand your story fully from your omniscient (all-seeing) point of
view, and then tell it to someone who is a potential audience member.
Where are they confused? When did they have to guess about things?
5. Exclude details that don't add value. Be tough with yourself about this.
6. Less is more, so keep it short.
7. Bring pathos: know the authentic emotional value of your story and let it
come through.
8. Mind your logos: be sure that you use a logical structure.
9. Bring your reputation, because, if they don’t know you, why should they believe
you? If you’re not well known, introduce yourself with one or two quick
lines to establish your ethos (your credibility).
10. When it comes to vocabulary, be user friendly. Don't use words that only
professors know!
11. Be humble and make someone else the hero of your story. Or paint
yourself be a flawed hero. Remember, only your mother wants to hear
about how great you are.
12. Speak in a natural way. Use contractions such as she's, he's, they're,
we're and we’ll. Avoid excessive formality.
13. Mind your voice: Practice good articulation and pronunciation. Learn how
to use volume, pace and emotional tone to express meaning.
14. If you have stage fright (fear of public speaking) get some coaching. There
are many great strategies to help reduce anxiety and channel adrenalin.
15. Practice in front of a mirror, with friends and with your phone’s voice or
video recorder.
16. Manage your body: excessive movement is distracting. On the other hand,
stiffness indicates terror. Find a happy, natural medium.
17. Remember that we all more alike than different. When you share an
authentic story, told well and from the heart, your audience will connect
with you and see themselves in you. What a great way to begin a
relationship!
Want to learn more about storytelling? Please click on the link for more information about In-Company training, private English lessons and our Business English Intensive course.
What cities do you think of when you think of an English course? London? New York? Miami? Those are all great choices, but you should also consider – Amsterdam!
Amsterdam is one of Europe's most popular, international cities, and English is, without a doubt, the city's second most spoken language.
At the English Center, we specialize in quality private Business English training for Nederlanders and internationals. All courses are fully customized to meet your learning needs.
And you can choose a location in the heart of historic Amsterdam, in Amstelveen and in Den Haag. Or you can request Incompany training at your office in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Randstad. Many of these Amsterdam locations are in historic buildings.
Kromme Waal 9
A landmark coach house just moments from Amsterdam's Centraal Station, the River Ey, the Nemo Museum, The Bim House Jazz Club, The EyeFilm Museum, the Maritime Museum, and much, much more.
Van Eeghenlaan 27
In the Museum Quarter, this elegant coach house faces the beautiful Vondelpark and is in the heart of Amsterdam's most cultural district, featuring the Rijksmuseum (the national art museum), the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, the Diamond Museum, the Concertgebouw (the national concert hall and home of the Concertgebouw Orchestra) and more.
Binnenkant 24
Embrace the city's heart in our classroom just a brief stroll from Central Station, set in a charming national monument building. An added bonus: the classroom faces one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful canals.
For more information about learning English in Amsterdam at The English Center, please check out our homepage.
Job interviews are tough, and when you have to do it in your second language, the stress can be hard to manage. And while it many not seem fair, it is true that many employers will judge your intelligence and professional ability based partly on your use of the English language. In fact, English ability may be a top-line criteria, depending on the company you are interviewing with.
The truth about interviewing is that the best person for the job does not always win the job. The person who wins the job may just be the one with the best answers, the most confidence, the greatest enthusiasm, the best body language and the best mastery of Dutch and English.
A recent study of Google Inc. job applicants showed that the applicants who won the most jobs had
Pick one:
Great tech skills?
Great soft skills?
Yes, soft skills was more predictive of Google interview success than tech skills. People skills. Social Intelligence.
So while you probably cannot go back to school to get another diploma before your upcoming interview, you CAN practice answers and answer delivery (soft skills)
Let's start with some common interview questions How would you answer these?
Why are you the right person for this job?
What are your strengths? Your weaknesses?
What is your leadership style?
What kind of team player are you?
Where do you want to be in 10 years?
What do your colleagues say about you?
And... tell me about yourself. Watch out! This one is tricky and requires forethought and rehearsal. And please do not say "I was born in.. I grew up in.... I graduated from high school in...." No timelines! And do not simply repeat what it says on your CV.
If you understand the questions and know the answers to questions like these in good English, that is a good start.Then you want to rehearse (role play) those answers, and the answers to lots more questions, with a trainer who will give you honest, actionable feedback.
Then work on more subtle things (soft skills), such as
How long should I speak in response to one question?
Can I use English intonation correctly?
How good is my listening ability? Will I understand the questions correctly?
Is my spoken English easily understood by others or do persistent English errors cause listener confusion?
What is my rate of speech in English? Too fast or too slow?
How is my English fluency (that means flow, or the absence of awkward pauses and things like"mmm, um, ah, etc.
How much personal detail should I reveal?
What is my body language saying about me? My eye contact?
When should I ask questions of the interviewer?
Tips before you go to the interview
Take an English level test so you know and so you can state your (official) level of English
Get a professional to edit your English CV and cover letters (you would be amazed at the errors we see!)
Work with an English trainer to clean up any significant pronunciation, grammar or idiom errors
In English, practice the most common interview questions.
Find out who will be in the interview room. Talking to one person is different than talking to several. If you interview with several people, be aware that your eyes and body will give you away. That means that you will naturally"pitch" yourself to the person who is either the friendliest or who has the most stature. Sexism can be revealed here! So be sure you include everyone with your attention.
If possible, find out the nationalities of the people you will be interviewing with so you can be culturally sensitive.
Never, never, never walk in with no questions of your own. Do your homework and have smart questions about the company you are interviewing with.
Get help! Prepare for your English language employment interviews. Using standard interview questions, we plan, rehearse and role play strong responses to expected questions. In addition, we have online video Business English courses and personal coaches here in the Netherlands who ssist with CV's, letters of motivation, profile photos and videos. Contact us about preparing can a for your upcoming job interview in English. Tuition for three hours of training: 210 euro
What does it mean to have confidence? To feel confident?
It means a belief in yourself. A feeling of security and the expectation of positive outcomes. Some people seem to have loads of general self confidence and others seem to possess very little. It is probably, at its core, a learned and inherited personality characteristic.
But confidence also has a lot to do with our skills. And when it comes to English, (or any second language acquisition) our feelings of confidence are directly connected to our ability to communicate verbally. To listen, comprehend, and respond appropriately. That is where, as we we say in English, the "rubber meets the road." Because verbal communication is where we are truly tested, and where we are likely to fall short.
Speaking your second language reveals your ability. There's no spell check or editor in the conversation with your friends and colleagues. We feel naked, and we are, because we are only armed with our ability to
So how can you improve those skills? How can you become more confident in speaking English? By practice – but not just any practice – the right kind of practice. You need leveled, comprehensible input and the right language partner who will work with you to develop your skills. The wrong teacher can damage your confidence and your ability, while the right teacher can give you wings. So choose carefully!
I recommend:
One of the most common English grammar mistakes is incorrect use of the present simple simple tense. If you are Dutch, this is especially likely because the present simple tense is more flexible in Dutch than in English.
The English grammar mistakes below are common in conversation and written texts and are often seen on IELTS and other English tests.
Let's look at the ways to use present simple in English
To make statements of fact or opinion
To talk about schedules
To talk about things that will happen in the future
To show a pattern of general truth. Expressions. Proverbs.
With adverbs of frequency
Want to learn more about English grammar? Try a few private English lessons to (re)learn the grammar rules you are still confused about. Let one of our native-speaker teachers explain it all!
Would you like to take a free English level test now?
Here are some of the most common mistakes we see in English writing.
Wordiness: Using unnecessary words to express something that can be said more clearly with fewer words. Read this wonderful free Purdue University OWL article to reduce your wordiness.
General messiness and lack of structure: Many writers need to go back to basics. Try writing a basic 5 paragraph essay on a simple subject.
Word Confusion. Do not tell the teacher you really enjoyed the little rape if you meant the little rap. Here is the irregular verb rap this client was referring to. 🙂 It will help you with remembering English tenses.
Tense confusion: If you do not understand tense rules and logic in English, get some lessons and find out! Spell check and grammar checker may not correct these.
Passive form: In most modern non-academic writing, the passive form is not preferred. In non academic writing, choose the active form if it is appropriate.
Sentence length: Use short sentences when approriate. Not every sentence has to contain multiple clauses!
Sentence structure: Be sure you are using English sentence structure. Do not, for example, use Dutch sentence structure to write an English sentence.
Dashes and Hyphens: Keep these centered. Do not write. 12- 13. Write 12-13. And know the difference between an M and N dash, and know when to use them.
Too much punctuation: Do not over punctuate, especially in online docs and when you can use formatting to set things apart. Too much punctuation looks messy. Of course in academic writing, just follow the rules 🙂 of your style book.
Missing commas, comma splices and more: Know the comma rules and follow them. Read the Purdue Owl Quick Comma List.
And speaking of rules, what style are you following? At the very least, you must know if you are writing in British English (BE) or American English (AE) and stick to it! Your choice of BE or AE will dictate spelling, punctuation and even idiom.
Subject verb agreement: Always match the noun(s) with the verb: singular with singular, and plural with plural. . For example, "Paris and Amsterdam are among my favorite cities, but New York is number one."
Sentence fragments: Remember that every sentence needs a noun and a verb (except for imperatives, where the noun is understood).
And finally, the Articles a and an: If you were taught that an is used when the word starts with a vowel and a is used when the word starts with a consonant, you do not have the whole story. To be right all of the time, you have to say the article-proceeding word aloud (or in your head). Words that sound like they start with a vowel, such as hour and honorable, get an an. But words that sound like they start with a consonant, such as united and university, get an a.
Want to improve your writing skills? Take a look at our Business English Writing Course.
Do you want to learn English quickly? Do you need to improve your English for you job? Do you have an important appointment or presentation coming up soon? Or do you have to pass a test?
How you will improve your English depends on your budget, availability, and the speed at which you want to study.
If you have a generous budget, intensive courses are preferred to learn English quickly. Intensive courses provide what is called "immersion training." You can think of it as an English "brainwash." Maybe you have been told by friends and colleagues that you should "just go to London or New York" to improve your English. And that is not a bad idea. The logic behind that recommendation is that when you are surrounded by a language; when everything you hear, read and say is in the target language, your brain will adapt, and you will become more proficient. That is natural learning, and it's great. But what a natural, free range immersion experience will not provide are the corrections and understanding that you get from an immersion course with a native-speaker teacher. With immersion training, you are surrounded by English, but it is at the right level, with corrections and explanations, and focused on your individual needs.
You can choose half day or full day private intensives course.
That is the ideal path to fast English fluency.
If you have a mid-sized budget, consider several private lessons per week over a short period. While private lessons cost more than group lessons, you often get a whole lot more, as the saying goes, bang for your buck (=value). Because in a private lesson, you will be using the English language all the time. You never have to "wait your turn."
Another good choice is a two week small group intensive course with a native-speaker teacher who will be sure that everyone is actively engaging.
And if you have a small budget, check out our interactive Learn English App. It is just 55 euro per month of training, and you get unlimited access. So you could use it 3, 4, 5...8 hours per day or more and get big results. This app is so good that almost all of our students use it, whatever the size of their budget.
Finally, whatever you choose and whatever your budget, be sure that you are not just reading. Reading will not train your ear or your mouth, and listening and speaking are the skills you will use the most, right? Keep reading, but please please add English podcasts, English TV shows, movies and series.
If you would like to learn more about any of the training mentioned here to learn English quickly, just contact us.
