English Listening: My New Hobby | Episode 26

01/24/25 • -1 min

My New Hobby | Episode 26 | The English Teacher Melanie Podcast

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Listen to a story about my new hobby!You’ll also learn how the words “how to” become the sound /haʊt̬ə/ in fast, natural spoken English.

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

THE STORY
I spend a lot of time at a craft store in my town because I’m really into scrapbooking. One day I was wandering around the aisles when I spotted what I thought was the greatest thing ever: A Star Wars crochet kit. It was in a box, and it included a book that explained how to crochet 12 mini-Star Wars characters. It also included a crochet hook and all the yarn & filling needed to make two of the characters. I didn’t actually know how to crochet, but I really wanted to learn because these Star Wars characters were so cute!

Crocheting is a craft. You make things by using yarn and a special hook. You create stitches and join them together to make things like blankets, hats, scarves, or cute Star Wars characters. The book in the kit contains patterns. A pattern tells you how many stitches and what kind of stitches you need to make to complete each character.

I learned how to crochet the same way everyone learns a new skill nowadays: by watching how-to videos on YouTube! I learned how to make the different stitches and how to crochet in a circle to make round shapes.

Crocheting requires patience, but it’s relaxing. Sometimes I can spend an hour working on one character. Of course, my eyes are blurry afterward because the stitches are really small, but that goes away eventually. My other problem is that I pull the stitches apart and start over again if I’m not satisfied with my work. It takes me a long time to finish one character, but I really enjoy crocheting!

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PRONUNCIATION TIP
HOW THE WORDS HOW TO BECOME THE SOUND /haʊt̬ə/ IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

It’s important to know how to say this sound so you can also hear this sound.

Listen to these sentences from the story:

I didn’t actually know how to crochet, but I really wanted to learn ...

I learned how to crochet the same way everyone learns a new skill nowadays ...

Did you hear the words how or to in those sentences? There are two things that happen when how is followed by the preposition to. In fast, natural speech, the two words are combined and reduced to the sound /haʊt̬ə/.

The preposition to is a function word. It’s a grammar word. In needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word. In fast, natural speech, the vowel O is reduced to the schwa sound /ə/, and to is pronounced /tə/.

When the letter T is between two vowel sounds and it’s at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it becomes the alveolar flap sound, which is also called flap T, tap T, flapped T or tapped T.

Learn more: Episode 24: How to pronounced the American T sound

It’s not a fully pronounced T sound, but it’s not a D sound either, as many students think it is.

There’s a bump behind your top teeth called the alveolar ridge. The tip of your tongue quickly taps, or hits, this ridge behind your top teeth.

Your tongue doesn’t stop in the middle of the sound as it normally does with a fully pronounced T sound. There is also no release of air after the T. It’s a quick tongue tap.

Listen carefully:
/haʊt̬ə/

How and to are not always pronounced /haʊt̬ə/. You will hear American English speakers say both /haʊ tu/ and /haʊ tə/

In fact, I said /haʊ tu/ in the story in this sentence:

I learned how to crochet by watching how-to /haʊ tu/ videos on YouTube.

In that sentence I used how-to as an adjective to describe the kind of videos I watched on YouTube.

Often when American English speakers are speaking slowly or when they...

My New Hobby | Episode 26 | The English Teacher Melanie Podcast

Listen to a story about my new hobby!You’ll also learn how the words “how to” become the sound /haʊt̬ə/ in fast, natural spoken English.

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

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PRONUNCIATION TIP
HOW THE WORDS HOW TO BECOME THE SOUND /haʊt̬ə/ IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

It’s important to know how to say this sound so you can also hear this sound.

Listen to these sentences from the story:

I didn’t actually know how to crochet, but I really wanted to learn ...

I learned how to crochet the same way everyone learns a new skill nowadays ...

When the letter T is between two vowel sounds and it’s at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it becomes the alveolar flap sound, which is also called flap T, tap T, flapped T or tapped T.

Learn more: Episode 24: How to pronounced the American T sound

It’s not a fully pronounced T sound, but it’s not a D sound either, as many students think it is.

There’s a bump behind your top teeth called the alveolar ridge. The tip of your tongue quickly taps, or hits, this ridge behind your top teeth.

Your tongue doesn’t stop in the middle of the sound as it normally does with a fully pronounced T sound. There is also no release of air after the T. It’s a quick tongue tap.

Listen carefully:
/haʊt̬ə/

How and to are not always pronounced /haʊt̬ə/. You will hear American English speakers say both /haʊ tu/ and /haʊ tə/

In fact, I said /haʊ tu/ in the story in this sentence:

I learned how to crochet by watching how-to /haʊ tu/ videos on YouTube.

In that sentence I used how-to as an adjective to describe the kind of videos I watched on YouTube.

Often when American English speakers are speaking slowly or when they...

Previous Episode

English Listening: My Summer Reading List | Episode 25

[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/englishteachermelanie/My_Summer_Reading_List__Episode_25_-_English_Teacher_Melanie.mp3′′ title=”25 My Summer Reading List” artist=”English Teacher Melanie” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_pinterest=”true” ]

Listen to a story about reading in the summer!You’ll also learn how the words “want to” become the sound /wɑnə/ in fast, natural spoken English!

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

THE STORY
Every year as we get closer to summer, you start seeing recommended summer reading lists everywhere. Newspapers, magazines and bookstores all publish their own lists of recommended books. A summer reading list is just that – a list of books you want to read over the summer.

Learn more: Episode 05: The reduced form of “and” in spoken English

People want to relax in the summer. It’s hot out. Summer days are long. Reading passes the time while you’re relaxing outside, while you’re lying by the pool or on the beach, or while you’re on an airplane traveling to your summer vacation destination. Summer books are considered light reading: books that are entertaining and easy to read.

Learn more:
Episode 17: The reduced form of “or” in spoken English
English Vocabulary: Relax, Relaxing and Relaxed

Back in May I decided to compile my own summer reading list. I chose some books recommended by Canada’s main chain of bookstores, and some books recommended by a popular women’s magazine. I also added some books that I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I started with a list of 12 books, but I keep discovering new books and adding more to my list.

Learn more: English Idioms with the Word Book

I looked for the books at the library. I don’t want to waste money buying books that I’m only going to read once. I found some of the books right away. Other books on my list were checked out, so I put a hold on them through the library website. I have to wait for the books to be returned to the library. When it’s my turn, the library will hold the book for me until I pick it up. I’m 35th in line for one of the books. I have to wait for 34 people ahead of me to finish reading that book. I probably won’t read that book until the fall!

Learn more:
Improve Your English by Reading Children’s Book Series
Episode 10: My Library Books are Always Late

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PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW THE WORDS WANT TO BECOME THE SOUND /wɑnə/ IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represents sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

It’s important to know how to say this sound so you can also hear this sound.

Listen to this sentence from the story:

People want to relax in the summer.

Did you hear the words WANT or TO in the sentence? There are 3 things that happen when the verb WANT is followed the preposition TO. In fast natural speech, the two words are combined and reduced to the sound /wɑnə/.

The verb WANT ends with a T sound and the preposition TO begins with a T sound. In spoken English, same consonant sounds are linked, so you only have to say the T sound once, with no pause between the words: /wɑntoʊ/

Learn more: Episode 23: How to Link Same Consonant Sounds

The preposition TO is a function word. It’s a grammar word. It needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word. In fast, natural speech, the preposition TO is reduced to the sound /tə/, where the vowel becomes the schwa sound /ə/.

So WANT TO becomes /wɑntə/

The N consonant sound and the T sound have the same starting mouth position. The tip of your tongue is touching the alveolar ridge or gum ridge behind your top teeth. Instead of finishing the T sound, American English speakers just don’t say the T sound at all, and so /wɑntə/ becomes /wɑnə/

/wɑnə/ is also the sound for WANT and the article A, for example “Do you want a /wɑnə/ cup of coffee?”

WANT and TO are not always pronounced /wɑnə/. You will hear American English speakers say both /wɑnə/ and /wɑntoʊ/ with the linked T consonant sounds. Often when American English speakers want ...

Next Episode

English Listening: Behind the Scenes | Episode 29

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Listen to a story about how each podcast episode is created!You’ll also learn how to say and hear the reduced form of the preposition “for” in fast, natural spoken English.

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

THE STORY
I want to do something different with this story. I’m going to take you behind the scenes and explain how each podcast episode is created. Several weeks in advance I make a list of possible stories. Sometimes I think of a good idea quickly, other times it takes a while. Before I came up with the idea for this story, I made a list of 40 topics, most of which will never become stories.

Learn more: How to use the English verb “explain”

Next, I begin writing the story. I organize all my thoughts into paragraphs and then I edit the story sentence by sentence. I check all the words to make sure I’ve used mostly core vocabulary, and I make sure all the words are in the right order. I use four dictionaries and a thesaurus to make sure I choose the best words. I want the story to be challenging, but not too hard for you to understand. When I’m satisfied with the story, I look for something to explain in the pronunciation tip.

Listen: An Easier Way! | Episode 11

Recording each episode takes a while, because I record sentences and paragraphs multiple times until I’m satisfied with how they sound. I use a microphone and a small recording device, and then I put the episode together using audio editing software. I use another program to add metadata to the final mp3 file, so that when you play the episode in iTunes or your podcast app, you’ll see the title of the episode, my name, and my logo. I upload the finished mp3 file to my podcast host.

Learn more: Two ways to pronounce “the”

The final part of the process is publishing the episode on my website. I add the photo, the podcast player, and the transcript to a new post. I read the post a few times, but sometimes I miss a typo. Once the episode is published and live on my website, it’s time to tell people that it’s there. A process that started a few weeks ago ends with sending an email to my email list, and posting the episode on social media.

Learn more: English Vocabulary: Sometimes, sometime, and some time

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PRONUNCIATION TIP
HOW TO HEAR AND SAY THE REDUCED FORM OF THE PREPOSITION FOR IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

Listen carefully to some sentences from the story:

Before I came up with the idea for this story, ...

... but not too hard for you to understand.

I look for something to explain in the pronunciation tip.

Did you hear the preposition for in those sentences?

The preposition for is a function word. It’s a grammar word. It needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word.

Learn more: How to say and hear more function words

Usually, in fast, natural speech, the vowel in a function word is reduced to the sound [ə]. That sound is called the schwa, and it’s the vowel sound in all reduced syllables and words.

However, there is an R after the vowel in the preposition for, so the vowel sound becomes the r-colored vowel sound [ɚ], the same sound at the end of words never or together. So, in fast natural speech, the preposition for is pronounced /fɚ/, like at the end of the words offer or prefer.

I didn’t say, “look /foɚ/ something.”

I said, “look /fɚ/ something.”

Can you hear the difference?

This is also the way that the syllable F-O-R is pronounced in the words, forget /fɚˈgɛt/, forgive /fɚˈgɪv/, and information /ˌɪnfɚˈmeɪʃən/.

Here are some more sentences to practice with the preposition for:

Wait for me.

This is for you.

Let’s go for a walk.

QUESTION
This is episode 29. Which story is...