Good pronunciation is very important for good spoken communication. However you do not have to speak like a native English speaker to have good pronunciation. There are many different natural varieties of English pronunciation in Britain and around the world. The activities and resources in this part of the site are designed to give an introduction to certain features of standard southern British English pronunciation. There are videos, interactive quizzes and downloadable activities and materials which can be used for self-study or for teachers with lower-intermediate students.

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.