Pronunciation tips from bbclearningenglish.com

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The videos in the Pronunciation Tips section of this site are presented by Alex Bellem.

Alex has an undergraduate degree in Arabic and Turkish. She followed this with an MA in (Theoretical) Linguistics at University College London (UCL) and a PhD in Linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) where she focused on Arabic phonology and phonetics.

She's also a CELTA-qualified English language teacher and spent a few years teaching English as a Foreign Language. At the time these videos were made in early 2008 Alex was lecturing part-time in the Linguistics Department at SOAS and was working as a Pronunciation Linguist in the BBC's Pronunciation Unit.

The videos were shot by J-P Newman and many thanks to Matt Cleghorn for his enormous contribution to their editing.

Thanks also to Professor J C Wells for his insights.
 

On-line English Dictionaries

A couple of... Key ELT Resources:

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

With clear definitions and useful study extras, this monolingual dictionary can help you on your way to becoming a confident, natural-sounding English speaker.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary is the best dictionary for general British English on Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Select "British English" from the list of dictionaries at the top of any page on Cambridge Dictionaries Online to search this dictionary.

Key Features

Understand the meaning

Clear, simple and accurate definitions using easy-to-understand language: check the definition for polyhedron. More advanced meanings are given for more common words: check all the meanings for nut.

Find the meaning

Use the guidewords to identify the meaning that you are looking for. Look at the More Results panel next to the entry for hand.

Learn how to use the word

Thousands of natural example sentences that show how the word is used in context: The entry for the verb protest shows that it is used with the preposition against.

British English and American Pronunciation

Hear the words spoken online with thousands of recordings: Try listening to the two different pronunciations for the word sanctuary.

Also available as a book

Get the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary from Cambridge ELT

• 'Word partner' boxes show you how to use words in the most natural way.
• 'Extra help' section includes maps, illustrations and photos.
• 'Let's Talk' section focuses specifically on spoken English.
• 'Common mistakes' boxes help you avoid typical errors.
• Thesaurus panels help you widen your vocabulary.

Other dictionaries

• The Cambridge Essential Dictionary is suitable for elementary learners.
• The Cambridge Learner's Dictionary is suitable for intermediate learners.
• Intermediate and upper-intermediate students of American English may prefer to use the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary.
• The Cambridge Business English Dictionary contains definitions and examples of business terms.

Investopedia Financial Dictionary

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Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/dictionary/#ixzz1ulqWiax5

National Geographic/Cengage Learning